DartsNews Podcast | Our winners and losers of the 2026 darts season so far: Littler, Greaves and a controversial Noppert call

The opening weeks of a new darts season often produce a mix of confirmation and surprise, and on the latest episode of the DartsNews Podcast, co-hosts Kieran Wood and Nicolas Gayer selected their winners and losers of the 2026 season so far.

On the latest episode of The DartsNews Podcast for co-hosts Kieran Wood and Nicolas Gayer, some picks were obvious. Others were more surprising. And in one case, the choice sparked a debate about expectations and context in the early months of the campaign.

The conversation ranged from dominant headline acts to quieter success stories, and also highlighted several big names who may already be feeling pressure after difficult starts to the year.

Some selections required little debate. For Wood, the standout winner of the season’s opening stretch was clear. “My three winners of 2026 so far are Luke Littler, for obvious reasons,” he said. “World Championship, World Masters, World Series events, European Tour titles. He might not have done it in the Premier League as of yet, but you can’t argue with what he’s won so far.”

Littler’s trophy haul has already shaped the early narrative of the year. Even in a sport accustomed to fast rises and sudden form swings, the teenager’s ability to convert deep runs into titles continues to set him apart.

Another name Wood highlighted was Beau Greaves, whose early 2026 form has continued the dominance she established last season. “Dominant on the Women’s Series continues, strong start to life on the ProTour, history-making nine-darter. It looks like the world is her oyster at the moment.”

Greaves has not just maintained her level. She has expanded her profile. The nine-darter on the ProTour earlier this season was another milestone in a career that continues to push the boundaries of what is expected from players transitioning between the women’s circuit and the wider PDC field.

While Littler and Greaves dominate headlines, the podcast discussion also turned toward names slightly further down the rankings who have quietly built impressive early-season momentum.

One of those, according to Wood, is Tom Bissell. “Obviously, he’s going into his second year on the tour and retaining that Tour Card was no certainty at the start of the year. But he’s already up to 19th on the ProTour Order of Merit. If he carries on like this, top 64 will be no issue at all for him.” For a player who began the season simply aiming to hold onto his Tour Card, that kind of rise represents a major shift in expectations.

Gayer also focused on players outside the immediate spotlight, beginning with Czech talent Adam Gawlas “When he won his Tour Card back at Q-School I thought he was one of the names you already know, but I didn’t expect him to crack the top 64 in his career,” Gayer admitted. “But he’s visibly worked on his game. The throwing action, the arm position, even the physical conditioning. The hard work is paying off.”

Results have supported that assessment. Gawlas reached the semi-finals of Players Championship 1, added a board final the following day and qualified for multiple European Tour events in the opening weeks of the campaign.

Another return story that caught Gayer’s attention was Cristo Reyes. “He disappeared around 2020 and then suddenly came back through Q-School,” he explained. “And now he’s back on tour and it feels like he’s never been away.”

Reyes’ reappearance after several years outside the circuit has been one of the quieter but more fascinating developments of the early season. The Spaniard has already qualified for several European Tour events and produced solid runs on the ProTour, suggesting his comeback could have real staying power.

The discussion also highlighted a cluster of German players who have begun 2026 strongly.

Max Hopp was one of the most notable examples. After years spent fighting to regain his footing on tour, the former World Youth Champion has started the season with a series of consistent performances. “He hasn’t lost a first-round match on the Players Championship circuit yet,” Gayer noted.

Joining him in that category is Lukas Wenig, a player Gayer described as someone who “doesn’t look for the spotlight but lets his darts do the talking.” Gabriel Clemens also featured prominently. After difficult seasons in 2024 and 2025, the German appears to have rediscovered some rhythm following a switch back to his former equipment during the last World Championship. Since then he has already hit a nine-darter and reached a ProTour quarter-final, hinting that a more stable phase of his career may be returning.

Not every storyline from the season’s opening weeks has been positive. When turning to their early “losers” of 2026, Wood and Gayer highlighted several high-profile struggles.

Wood grouped two of the sport’s most recognisable names together when discussing the early losers of the campaign. “My first two are Peter Wright and Raymond van Barneveld,” he said. “Two of the biggest names the sport has ever had, but in 2026 they’ve just been really bad so far.” Both veterans have endured difficult runs of form across the ProTour in the early months of the season. Wright’s struggles have already been examined in greater detail elsewhere, while Van Barneveld’s situation also raised questions during the podcast discussion.

“I think the issue with Barney is that he doesn’t look like he wants to be there anymore,” Gayer said. “He has said himself he’s only playing because of the money. If you combine the pressure of needing the money with not enjoying the game anymore, that’s a dangerous mix.”

One of the more surprising names in Wood’s list of early-season “losers” was Danny Noppert. The Dutchman has not endured a disastrous start to the year statistically, but the expectation surrounding him heading into 2026 shaped the reasoning behind the pick.

“My final loser might be a slightly controversial one: Danny Noppert,” Wood said. “He went out early in the World Championship, obviously he would have expected a lot more. Missed out on Premier League selection, which was a big blow.”

The former UK Open champion was later handed a World Series opportunity, but Wood argued that the moment ultimately passed without a defining performance. “And then he got his World Series call-up but didn’t really make the most of it in Bahrain and Saudi with a couple of early exits.”

On the ProTour, the results have been steady rather than spectacular. “He’s not had the greatest start to the Pro Tour. I know he’s around the top ten overall, but it’s not like he’s picked up a title or got to a final or anything like that. It’s just kind of been going about his business without being spectacular.”

Gayer acknowledged that the choice might raise eyebrows, but agreed the reasoning had merit when placed in context. “Interesting, but good point,” he replied. “I would have never thought of him when thinking about losers, but you are right… I think in that specific context, as you said, 100 percent a candidate for this.”

It is worth noting that the podcast discussion took place before the 2026 UK Open, where Noppert would go on to reach the quarter-finals, offering an immediate response to the early-season concerns raised during the debate.

Two further names completed Gayer’s list of early-season concerns. The first was Dimitri Van den Bergh, whose form on the ProTour has fallen sharply after an encouraging opening match of the year. “He won his first match averaging 103,” Gayer said. “But after that he won one more match and lost ten.”

Those defeats have often come with averages in the mid-70s, numbers that simply do not compete at the highest level of the PDC circuit. Wood suggested the Belgian’s issues may lie more in mindset than mechanics. “He’s always been someone who overthinks the game. If you’re losing a lot and overthinking every dart, that’s only going to make things worse.”

The final name raised was Germany’s Martin Schindler. After a strong end to 2025, expectations were high heading into the new campaign. But an opening Players Championship defeat with a 66 average immediately raised concerns.

Schindler has shown signs of recovery since then, including a 104 average in a later ProTour run, yet the contrast with the momentum he carried into the season was enough for Gayer to label him one of the early setbacks of 2026.

The early weeks of a darts season rarely tell the full story. Form can change quickly, and many of the players mentioned will have opportunities in the months ahead to reshape their campaigns.

But for now, these were the selections made on the DartsNews Podcast when Kieran Wood and Nicolas Gayer weighed up their winners and losers of the 2026 season so far.

Do you agree with the picks? Let us know in the comments below who your winners and losers of 2026 have been so far.