Luke Littler

PDC World Darts Championship 2026: Semi-final predictions, betting tips, acca, order of play and TV time for Friday January 2

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Fri January 02, 2026 · 3h ago

The 2026 Paddy Power World Darts Championship semi-finals take place at Alexandra Palace on Friday night so check out Chris Hammer's match-by-match predictions, best bets and a suggested double.

PDC World Championship: Semi-final preview

TV coverage & start time: Sky Sports Main Event (1945 GMT)
Format: Best of 11 sets. All sets best of five legs except the 11th, when either player will need to win by two clear legs until it reaches a sudden-death leg at 5-5.

SL Double: 2pts Littler (-7.5 180s) to hit more 180s than Searle and Van Veen (-2.5 sets) to beat Anderson at 4/1 with Paddy Power

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Semi-Final 1: Luke Littler (1/12) v Ryan Searle (13/2)

Tournament Average: 102.84 - 99.75
100+ match averages: 4 - 2
Highest average: 107.09 (R3) - 102.29 (R3)
Lowest average: 97.15 (R2) - 91.32 (QF)
Tournament 180s: 47 - 18
180s per leg: 0.54 - 0.28
Checkout %: 53.57% (60/112) - 52.67% (59/112)
100+ checkouts: 12 - 7
Per leg won: 20% - 11.86%
Highest checkout: 170 - 151
Sets won/lost: 19/2 - 19/2
Legs won/lost: 60/16 - 59/21

SELECTION: 2pts Luke Littler (-7.5 180s) to hit more 180s than Ryan Searle at evens (Sky Bet)

Can anyone possibly stop Luke Littler?

Yes, but it's getting ridiculously hard to make any kind of case against him. Especially over this format and on this stage.

The defending champion has won 17 of his 18 matches at the Ally Pally since making his debut two years ago and has remarkably averaged over 100 in 14 of them.

To put that into some kind of perspective, that puts him seventh on the all-time list for 100+ averages despite having yet to complete his third World Championship and by the end of it, he could be level with Peter Wright's tally!

Luke Littler has now averaged over 100 in 14 of his 18 matches at the Ally Pally and he's still not finished his third World Championship. Here's how that compares to everyone else in history pic.twitter.com/ixQrRpquyE
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) January 1, 2026

If he wins the world title he'll almost certainly break Michael Smith's 180s record in a single campaign of 83 while he's still got time to finally bag that elusive World Championship nine-darter that he's so desperate to achieve.

The only time he's looked vaguely troubled so far was against Rob Cross which was partly down to crowd-gate, but having come through that 4-2, the crowd were back on his side during a rampant 5-0 victory over Krzyztof Ratajski.

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I'd expect the fans to give Ryan Searle a lot of support due to the likeable underdog factor but realistically, he'll need a lot more to go in his favour if he's to stand a fighting chance over best-of-11 sets.

To his immense credit, Heavy Metal has only dropped the same number of sets as Littler in this entire tournament while his average and ruthless finishing over the five games played isn't that much less than his opponent.

Ryan Searle talks about his fundraising efforts for the eyesight condition that affects him and his children, particularly his daughter.

But it hasn't stopped him becoming a World Championship semi-finalist and no. 7 in the world 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/cHisPEJ8Hn
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) January 1, 2026

The 180s count, however, is resoundingly one-sided in favour of Littler, who boasts a maximum per leg ratio of 0.54 compared to Searle's 0.28, and this kind of firepower will always be able to either see him surge clear or turn matches around in his favour.

Searle's performance against a below-par Jonny Clayton wouldn't be anywhere near good enough to take many - if any - sets off Littler and while I'd expect him to improve on that, I really can't see anything other than a resounding margin of victory.

Scoreline prediction: 6-1

Semi-Final 2: Gian van Veen (1/2) v Gary Anderson (13/2)

Tournament Average: 101.81 - 99.97
100+ match averages: 2 - 2
Highest average: 108.28 (R2) - 105.41 (R2)
Lowest average: 97.91 (R3) - 95.20 (R1)
Tournament 180s: 37 - 45
180s per leg: 0.39 - 0.37
Checkout %: 50% (61/122) - 39.13% (72/184)
100+ checkouts: 7 - 8
Per leg won: 11.47% - 11.11%
Highest checkout: 170 (x2) - 162
Sets won/lost: 19/5 - 19/9
Legs won/lost: 61/35 - 72/48

SELECTION: 1pt 30+ 180s & 6+ 100+ Checkouts in the Match at 5/2 (Sky Bet)

This has the potential to be an all-time World Championship classic as a true darting legend takes on one of the sport's fastest rising stars.

Gary Anderson, who won the second of his two Ally Pally titles at the age of 44 back in 2015, has rolled back the years in emphatic fashion to put himself in with a great chance of becoming the oldest ever PDC world champion.

As well as the Flying Scotsman had been performing on the circuit this season with an average of around 97, he hadn't seriously contended for a major title since the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts, where he was narrowly beaten by Luke Littler in the semi-finals, so it was a fair assumption that father time was finally catching up with him at the very highest level.

However, he's managed to combine his effortless ability with character and mental stamina to reach the semi-finals for the first time since he finished runner-up to Gerwyn Price in the 2021 edition and his competition average is just marginally under 100.

Gary Anderson wins but you've got to love the smiles of Justin Hood when the crowd willed him on to keep the match going 👏😃pic.twitter.com/TK6ioZQMQu
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) January 1, 2026

Wait for Gary Anderson's punchline when being asked about the Premier League again 😂 pic.twitter.com/wJ2LH2ju90
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) January 1, 2026

He's been prolific on the 180s and just two behind Littler in the race for the Ballon d'Art while his finishing has been pretty sharp at almost 40%.

However, although Michael van Gerwen was one of his victims, his next test against the new Dutch number one is by far his toughest assignment.

Gian van Veen was only nine when MVG usurped Raymond van Barneveld as the top dog in the Netherlands back in 2012 - which was just a year after he first started watching darts.

Anderson was one of the other players that captivated his attention on the sport back then when finishing runner-up to Adrian Lewis in the 2011 edition and all these years later he has the chance to face one of his heroes for a place in the World Championship final.

Imagine telling him that was going to happen when he was just starting out?

And Van Veen truly deserves this opportunity. Not just because of his immense talent but because of his wonderful attitude on and off the oche. He's taking everything so graciously in his stride and is already a fantastic role model for this sport.

"Is there a rule that the top four automatically qualifies for the Premier League?!"

Gian van Veen still can't quite believe he's going to be picked 😂 pic.twitter.com/ATwI45kLRW
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) January 1, 2026

As far as his performances go, he's proved why he headed into the World Championship as one of the favourites.

I sadly haven't been able to get many predictions right during this tournament (sorry everyone who regularly reads these previews and listends to what I say!), but one thing I did say at the start was that he was a good bet at 18/1 to reach the final, while I tipped him to beat Luke Humphries last night.

However, what I did get wrong badly was the scoreline prediction. I thought he'd edge a thriller but in the end he ran out a thumping 5-1 winner with an average in excess of 105, 11 180s, four 100+ checkouts including the Big Fish and 55% on his doubles.

Gian van Veen, that was pure class 👌

This 170 checkout helped him beat Luke Humphries 5-1 with a 105 average! Destined for greatnesspic.twitter.com/EHt5nqpNxv
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) January 1, 2026

It was the fifth time out of five this season he'd beaten Humphries, including the European Championship final, and only a world class operator can do this.

I really do think he'll take tonight's battle in his stride once again and resist pretty much everything Anderson will throw at him and run out a fairly convincing winner to set up a mouthwatering final with Littler.

Scoreline prediction: 6-3