Luke Littler is looking to go one better than his World Darts Championship debut by capturing the most illustrious trophy in darts.
The teenager announced himself on the world stage in some style during the 2024 tournament by reaching the final as a 16-year-old.
The surprise factor will be gone from Luke Littler this time around, but he’s added a whole host of major tournament success and experience in his debut year as he looks to become the youngest World Champion in darts history.
Last year The Nuke toppled Christian Kist, Andrew Gilding, Matt Campbell, Raymond van Barneveld, Brendan Dolan, and Rob Cross on his dream run to the final, but this year’s looks a whole lot harder on paper.
Here is Littler’s likely run should he make it to back-to-back World Darts Championship finals, which could feature four former major winners.
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Second round: Ryan Meikle
Although audiences and the Sky cameras would prefer the Hollywood tie of Fallon Sherrock vs Littler, it’s unlikely the Queen of the Palace will defeat Ryan Meikle.
This will be The Barber’s fifth World Darts Championship appearance and Meikle has reached the second round on two occasions and he should come through against Sherrock.
Meikle will provide a tough opening test for The Nuke, but he should come through that in a fairly straightforward fashion.
Third round: Ritchie Edhouse
Ritchie Edhouse should be Littler’s next opponent, but he’ll face a tough test from the usually very consistent Ian White.
Meeting a recent major winner in the third round will be tough going for Littler and he’ll be in for a very tricky match should Edhouse find the form that won him the European Championship.
Edhouse has previously failed to make it past the second round, so he should go one better at Ally Pally but Littler should get the better of Mad House.
Fourth round: Danny Noppert
Another former major winner should be waiting for Littler in the fourth round as 2022 UK Open winner Danny Noppert should find his way through either Ryan Joyce or Ryan Searle.
Littler has won all three of his clashes with Noppert on the PDC Tour, including recently a 10-3 win over the Dutchman at the Players Championship Finals.
Their head-to-head record suggests there should be no issue for Littler as he looks to make his way into the final eight.
Quarter-final: Rob Cross
The deeper in the competition becomes more difficult to predict as Cross, Gian Van Veen, and Nathan Aspinall could be in line to face The Nuke.
History would suggest former World Champion Cross could be Littler’s opponent in a rematch of their 2024 World Darts Championship clash in the semi-finals.
The Nuke prevailed 6-2 to make his first World Championship final and he’ll take that confidence into the clash of the big guns.
Semi-final: Luke Humphries
As soon as the draw was made all eyes turned toward the potential semi-final between the two most dominant players on the tour this year.
The semi-final will likely consist of Littler vs Luke Humphries, a re-run of last year’s epic final.
The pair have shared the majority of the major tournaments this year, including the Premier League, World Darts Championship, and World Matchplay.
This one could go either way, but the winner will most likely go on to lift the trophy.