2026 World Matchplay darts betting tips

The 2026 World Matchplay gets underway at the iconic Winter Gardens in Blackpool this weekend. Luke Littler is the main attraction as the biggest names in darts battle it out for the second most prestigious title on the PDC Tour.  

Littler won this event for the first time 12 months ago and is the clear betting favourite to lift the title again. Luke Humphries is regarded as his closest rival, but the up-and-coming Wessel Nijman is a clear threat and Gerwyn Price, Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen all have the pedigree to win and can’t be overlooked.

World Matchplay darts 2026 quick tips

• Tip 1 – Gian van Veen to reach the final – 13/2 with Betfred
• Tip 2 – Nine-dart finish (Yes) – 8/11 with Sky Bet
• Tip 3 – Over 4.5 170 Checkouts – 10/11 with Betway

World Matchplay Darts betting 2026

Luke Littler is enjoying another incredible season on the PDC Tour and is not surprisingly the hot favourite to win the 2026 World Matchplay title.

Littler won this event for the first time 12 months ago, fighting back from 5-0 down in the final to beat James Wade 18-13 with a three-dart average of 107.24.

As is usually the case, Luke Humphries is the second favourite. The 2024 champion is 9/2. There is a Dutchman third in the betting, but it’s not Michael van Gerwen or Gian van Veen, the surprise name is Wessel Nijman, who currently tops the Players Championship Order of Merit.

• Luke Littler Evens
• Luke Humphries 9/2
• Wessel Nijman 10/1
• Gerwyn Price 12/1
• Gian van Veen 16/1
• Michael van Gerwen 16/1
• Jonny Clayton 28/1
• Gary Anderson 33/1
• Kevin Doets 33/1
• James Wade 40/1
• Josh Rock 40/1
• Stephen Bunting 40/1

Odds supplied by bet365

Who is the favourite to win the 2026 World Matchplay Darts?

Luke Littler is the betting favourite to win the 2026 World Matchplay. The teenager has been the standout performer across the PDC over the past 18 months and if he turns up and performs to his usual standard, it’s hard to see him not adding another major TV title to his growing collection. 

Below we look at all the leading candidates in more detail, with odds from the leading UK darts bookmakers:

Luke Littler

Littler’s World Matchplay win in 2025 saw him become only the fifth player in darts to complete the career Triple Crown. A win in the 2026 edition will see him become only the second player after Phil Taylor to complete the Triple Crown in a calendar year

Littler began his calendar Triple Crown quest by winning the PDC World Championship in January. He bagged the second leg with an 11-10 win over Luke Humphries in the final of the 2026 Premier League in May. Littler averaged a ridiculous 111.67 winning what many believe to be one of the greatest finals ever.

If he wins this year at the Winter Gardens, he will match Taylor’s feat of completing the Triple Crown in a calendar year, although The Power has completed this twice, first in 2006 and again in 2010.

Littler has also won the World Masters and UK Open ranking events this year, along with the Darts World Cup alongside Luke Humphries. He is in just the sort of form to win again and his odds of even money are perfectly justified.

Bet on Luke Littler to win the 2026 World Matchplay at evens with bet365

Luke Humphries

Former world No.1 Luke Humphries is having a good go at clinging to the coattails of the other Luke. Cool Hand recently got the better of his rival when he defeated Littler 8-7 in the final of the US Masters in early June.

However, outside of his World Cup win alongside Littler last month, Humphries’ last major TV title came in the 2025 Premier League. He has since finished runner-up in the 2025 World Grand Prix, 2025 European Championship, 2025 Grand Slam, 2026 World Masters and 2026 Premier League. All but one of those final defeats were against Littler. 

Humphries won this event in 2024. He has the talent and the pedigree to lift the World Matchplay for a second time, but Littler seems to have his number in major finals at the moment.

Bet on Luke Littler to win the 2026 World Matchplay at 9/2 with bet365

Wessel Nijman

The surprise name in the list of favourites is Wessel Nijman. However, his odds are a fair reflection of how well he has been performing recently.

Those who follow darts closely will already be aware of the Dutchman’s improved form over recent months. He has won two European Tour titles in 2026, along with six Players Championship events, giving him a clear lead at the top of the Order of Merit after 24 tournaments.

Nijman is yet to make the breakthrough at a major televised event. He has never progressed beyond the Round of 16. 

That was the stage he reached at the Winter Gardens 12 months ago. Unseeded, Nijman defeated the No.8 seed Nathan Aspinall 10-6 in the first round with an average of 101.72. He then lost 11-5 to eventual runner-up James Wade in the second round.  

If Nijman can replicate his tour form this week this could be the event that sees him finally crack a live TV event.

Bet on Wessel Nijman to win the 2026 World Matchplay at 10/1 with bet365

Gerwyn Price

Iceman Gerwyn Price is having a consistent season that has seen him reach the semi-finals of the World Masters, UK Open and the Premier League. He was one of the few players who didn’t look beaten by Luke Littler before he started when he took on The Nuke over the course of this season’s Premier League. 

Price has had a win on the European Tour and in the Players Championship Series this year, but his last individual win in a TV event was at the World Series Finals in 2022. 

The Welshman is a consistent performer with the game to beat anybody. He’s been knocking on the door again with semi-final appearances in big events and he may be getting closer to finally winning a major tournament again.

Bet on Gerwyn Price to win the 2026 World Matchplay at 12/1 with bet365

Gian van Veen

Dutchman Gian van Veen is up to No.3 in the PDC world rankings. His breakthrough win came in the European Championship late in 2025 and he followed that with a sensational run to the final of the World Championship, where he was beaten 7-1 by Luke Littler. 

He struggled towards the end of the Premier League and hasn’t quite recreated the sort of form that saw him reach the final of the World Championship. 

However, there have been signs of improvement in recent weeks. Van Veen reached the final of the World Cup with MVG in early June and later in the month he made it to the semi-final of the US Darts Masters.

If he rediscovers his best form, a run to the final isn’t out of the question.

Bet on Gian van Veen to win the 2026 World Matchplay at 16/1 with bet365

Michael van Gerwen

MVG is a three-time winner of this event, picking up the titles in 2015, 2016 and 2022. He again reached the final in 2024, losing 18-15 to Luke Humphries.

Van Gerwen had an inconsistent 2025, but he has rediscovered some rhythm this year and a strong second half to the season could be on the cards if he can continue to improve. Seemingly more relaxed these days, MVG has been selective in the events he is playing and this seems to be paying off. 

There have been no major televised wins in 2026, but MVG has won two of the three World Series of Darts tournaments he entered. It’s never wise to write him off as his A-game can trouble anyone, including Littler. 

However, recent history tells us he can’t be guaranteed to remain focussed enough to get to the latter stages and give himself a chance.

Bet on Michael van Gerwen to win the 2026 World Matchplay at 16/1 with bet365

Format and prize money

The World Matchplay has a starting pool of 32 players. The top 16 in the world qualify automatically and are all seeded. They take on the top 16 qualifiers from the one-year ProTour Rankings.

All matches are played in leg format as opposed to the sets format used in the PDC World Championship. Each match has to be won by two clear legs, with a sudden death leg played if that can’t separate the players. 

The number of legs per match increases with each round, making shock results less likely when the tournament reaches its latter stages:  

• 1st round: First to 10 legs (sudden death at 12-12)
• 2nd round: First to 11 legs (sudden death at 13-13)
• Quarter-finals: First to 16 legs (sudden death at 18-18)
• Semi-finals: First to 17 legs (sudden death at 19-19)
• Final: First to 18 legs (sudden death at 20-20)

This year’s prize fund has been raised to £1 million, with the winner walking away with a cheque for £225,000. The breakdown is:

• Winner: £225,000
• Runner-up: £125,000
• Semi-finalists: £65,000
• Quarter-finalists: £35,000
• 2nd round: £22,500
• 1st round: £12,500

World Matchplay darts betting tips and predictions

With Luke Littler a short-priced favourite and not really offering much value, we’ve named three alternative 2026 World Matchplay betting predictions: 

Gian van Veen to reach the final

The Giant made it to the quarter-final here last year, a few months before his breakthrough win at the European Championship. In his three televised ranking events in 2026, the world No.3 made it to the final of the World Championship, the semi-final of the World Masters and he was knocked out in the fourth round of the UK Open.

In early June van Veen reached the final of the World Cup and at the end of the month he reached the semi-final of the US Darts Masters, losing 7-6 to eventual winner Luke Humphries. On his way to the last four van Veen recorded an impressive 6-3 win over Jonny Clayton with an average of 106.45. 

On the opposite side of the draw to Littler, if van Veen can repeat that form he has every chance of reaching the final.  

Bet on Gian van Veen to reach the final at 13/2 with Betfred

Nine-dart finish (Yes)

There have only been ten nine-darters thrown in the history of the World Matchplay. This includes what is probably the most famous of all, Phil Taylor’s against Chris Mason in 2002, the first time a nine-dart finish was ever completed at a live TV event.

Closer inspection of the statistics shows there has been nine-dart finishes in three of the last four editions. 

Gerwyn Price did it in 2022, Dimitri Van den Bergh in 2024, and Luke Littler in 2025 against Josh Rock. Littler’s was astonishing, as Rock himself was sitting on nine-dart finish after his first six darts, leaving The Nuke with no room for error.

The relentless scoring produced by the leg format increases the chances of another in 2026.

Back a nine-dart finish at the 2026 World Matchplay at 8/11 with Sky Bet

Over 4.5 170 Checkouts

Big Fish finishes are becoming more frequent in televised darts. In the 2026 World Darts Championship there were 17, with Luke Littler accounting for two and Gian van Veen three.

Littler played 128 legs on his way to winning the World Matchplay last year. He played 130 legs on his way to winning the World Championship, where he hit two Big Fish checkouts. In the Premier League this year, Littler hit five 170s in his 247 legs.

Based on this average, Littler is likely to hit two or three 170s in Blackpool. That leaves two or three required from the rest of the field to cover this bet. Given the level of quality on show, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Bet on over 4.5 170 ‘Big Fish’ checkouts at 10/11 with Betway

About the author

Dean Etheridge

Dean Etheridge is an experienced freelance sports betting writer who specialises in football, cricket, and darts, with a keen focus on the Premier League and Champions League, as well as in-depth coverage of Premier League Darts and major tournaments. He can turn his hand to all aspects of the beautiful game and beyond, delivering expert analysis across a range of sports. He predominantly covers the Premier League and Champions League but can turn his hand to all aspects of the beautiful game. You can follow Dean on LinkedIn (@deanetheridge)

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