"I think you haven't seen the best in him yet" - Chris Dobey makes harrowing Luke Littler prediction while remaining adamant he is not 'unbeatable'

Chris Dobey is preparing himself for a huge end to the 2026 campaign. He has not set the world alight so far, but there is seemingly a lot of confidence flowing through him that will prove to be useful when on the major stage. In an interview with Oche180, he was put forward the question if Luke Littler was unbeatable, to which he gave a resounding answer.

'Hollywood' seemed in good spirits with him happy to get back onto the oche. "All good, mate. It's nice to be back and into the swing of things again. So, yeah, looking forward to it."

As we get into the back end of 2026, the major tournaments are coming thick and fast. The World Series of Darts, World Grand Prix, European Championship and Players Championship will all be on Dobey's radar with the Grand Slam of Darts also something he will be hopeful in returning to.

"I'm always confident as ever," he stated. "You know, I'm playing well still off the back of the last time I played. So, yeah, I still feel good and ready to go this week."

In truth, 2026 has not been Dobey's best year. Out of the Premier League Darts, he has secured two ProTour titles from three finals with the most recent one coming in Players Championship nine. He has made the final session of three European Tour events from a possible 10 competed in, with the most recent coming at the Hungarian Darts Open where Nathan Aspinall edged him in a thriller.

Still not having clinched a European Tour title, there is still room for improvement. "To be honest, I still feel I'm playing well in the Matchplay," he said, looking back at 2026. "I played all right in these four match starts. I still felt I was the better player and lost that match. But, yeah, you move on, you forget that. And, like I said, I'm in good form coming into these European Tours and Players Championships."

His TV form has not bee at the level expected. The former Masters champion has reached just one quarter-final this year coming at that same event in Milton Keynes that he triumphed in three years ago. Aside from that, it has been really disappointing with early exits at the PDC World Darts Championship and World Matchplay being bitter blows.

He has put it down to facing world class opposition. "I think it's down to good performances against us. I've played some good stuff and I've been beaten by better performances. It's the same at the World Championships against Andrew Gilding. I felt I played well, I think, against him. He had a 101 average and it's just little performances like that."

He had faith that his fortunes would turn for the better. "I will get some luck and I know that. I've just got to keep playing the way I've been playing and, yeah, the luck will turn."

A lot of the talk as of late has centred around Luke Littler. Following that incredible World Matchplay showing where he ripped everyone apart and set the bar at an all-time high, he is seen by many as virtually untouchable and unbeatable, even to the rest of the elite.

Dobey was not fazed with a possible clash against the world number one and admitted that to win the biggest tournaments, you need to defeat the best. "Well, it's not Luke in Luke now, it's Luke in Jan. It's going to be tough whoever you play," he acknowledged.

"Obviously, nobody wants to play Luke early doors, but if you're going to win it, you've got to beat the best and, yeah, Luke's going to be in there, whether it's first game, second game or later on. So, it doesn't matter who I play. I think if I'm confident going in and get off to a good start, I think that I can beat anybody."

The 36-year-old adamantly admitted that Littler was not unbeatable, stating that week in Blackpool was incredible but not always going to be the case on the oche. However, he did also say that the two-time world champion can get better. "I wouldn't say he's unbeatable because that was his week, he was unbelievable. He was almost untouchable, but he's still got more gears to go as well. That's a scary thing," he said.

"I think you haven't seen the best in him yet. But, like I say, he's not unbeatable, but that patch that he had then, he was fantastic and it is good to watch as well. It's not good to be on the receiving end of it, but it's good to watch and what he's brought to the sport is magnificent and, yeah, he deserves to be where he is."

Dobey, along with many other players, has defeated Littler before on the floor and the big stage, and on 'The Nuke's' return to Players Championship action was relishing the chance to get into his head. "I've beaten him on the floor before and you've just got to be confident. He knows it's going to be tough for him because he hasn't played in any of these this year.

"He's played in many of these events and he hasn't won a lot of them, but, yeah, he's going to be confident. I still think he'll be a bit shaky at the start, but the first thing I'm going to do, I'm going to wind him up about Man United at the weekend and, yeah, who knows? He might win one or two of them, he might not."

Away from darts, Dobey had a chance to talk football and specifically the team he supports, Newcastle United. It has been a torrid time for the Geordie contingent as of late. A number of their best players have left, including their manager, with the spine of the team ripped to shreds.

Despite this, four points from a possible six against Liverpool and Tottenham has seen Newcastle get off to a good start, and Dobey was in good spirits. "I think everybody ruled us out. Everybody had us getting relegated, but I think fresh squad, it's a young squad as well, so you've got to give them time. But I'm excited to see the manager as well. I think he's brought a whole different impact to the game. I was at the match yesterday and what I liked to see, he had a coaching staff working with us to do the warm-ups as well, so we've not had that before as well. So that's different."

He even touted the tantalising return of European nights at St James Park. "I'm looking forward to seeing how we get on. We need a couple more players, two or three more players, and then we'll be good to go and Champions League nights, they'll be back."

He was then asked about the Saudi ownership, and even though they have been scrutinised as of late, he is still confident they are the right people to be in charge. "I think they've said they're going to be committed," he said. "They came with a plan, they wanted to win the Premier League within five, ten years, but they're still there, they're still turning up. As far as I know, everything's good and I'm hopeful that we can get the job done."

Dobey concluded by using the darts and football crowds as comparisons to how important they are to get the player or team over the line, touching on the sad passing of Kevin Keegan and how that brought the supporters together. "Massive. Darts-wise, it's a lonely place when things aren't going well on stage and all it takes is for that one or two people in the crowd to get behind you, then the whole crowd goes with it. It's just an amazing feeling. St James' Park is massive, it's unbelievable. The atmosphere there at the weekend, obviously due to Kevin Keegan as well, was something special and both teams reacted well. St James' Park will be forever a massive part of me."