“I’m not so sure” – Raymond van Barneveld questions Luke Littler’s World Matchplay defence after skipping every Players Championship in 2026

Raymond van Barneveld has questioned whether Luke Littler can successfully defend his World Matchplay title after entering Blackpool without playing a single Players Championship event this season.

The world number one has also skipped every European Tour tournament staged in Germany since his 7-4 semi-final defeat to Gian van Veen at the German Darts Grand Prix in April 2025.

Littler returns to action on Saturday against German debutant Niko Springer at the Winter Gardens, where he will attempt to become only the third player to successfully retain the Phil Taylor Trophy.

Van Barneveld remains fully aware of the level required to stop Littler, but believes the defending champion’s lack of recent competitive action could leave him vulnerable at the start of the tournament.

“We spoke about him retaining his title again. I’m not so sure, because rhythm is also a thing and he’s skipping a lot,” the five-time world champion said on The Darts Show. “I don’t think he’s played one ProTour so far, not on the floor. European Tours, he’s skipping all the time, and that’s really important.”

Littler continued winning throughout the Premier League campaign, defeating Luke Humphries in a tight final, but has scarcely appeared since the competition concluded in May.

“He’s still winning anything. That’s maybe because of the Premier League, but once the Premier League stopped in the middle of May, we didn’t see him,” Van Barneveld continued. “We don’t know what his form is like at the moment. I’m very curious.”

Van Barneveld later contrasted Littler’s schedule with that of Humphries, who has continued to compete regularly in recent weeks. “It’s all about showing up, like I said before,” he explained. “Skipping tournaments, I don’t think that’s good, but he’s an amazing player, Littler, so he can do it. But I think form is important and I think Humphries is showing his face more often than Luke Littler.”

Any uncertainty over Littler’s preparation is balanced by the standard he has established on the biggest stages. Van Barneveld described the relentless scoring and unconventional finishing that can leave opponents under pressure from the opening visit.

“He’s such a power hitter,” he said. “If you look at him and you sit at home on the couch, you’re thinking, ‘180, 140, so easy.’ And then he goes for the strangest finishes, with the last dart on double 15. Who does that? And he keeps on hitting it. So it’s frustrating for an opponent.”

The Dutchman believes players attempting to break Littler’s throw must produce near-perfect legs merely to create an opportunity. “If you’re playing against the darts against a guy like Littler, you have to hit 12-darters or less because he’s always out in 15.”

PDC commentator Dan Dawson also felt Humphries had displayed the stronger form before the World Matchplay draw was conducted. “Prior to the draw, I’ll be honest, I didn’t think he was playing the best darts in the world,” Dawson said. “I think Luke Humphries had been playing better darts than him.”

“Humphries, I think he’s been going about 102, 103 level lately. Littler’s just below 100, which is still obviously a world-class level," added Dawson. “But I’ve just felt that Luke Humphries has looked more convincing in recent weeks.”

Humphries begins against Cameron Menzies in a quarter containing Gerwyn Price, Danny Noppert, Rob Cross, Martin Schindler and Ross Smith. Littler’s section also contains former champion Nathan Aspinall and in-form Luke Woodhouse, but Dawson considers the defending champion’s route more favourable.

“I think the draw has kind of made it a lot harder for Humphries than it has Littler,” he said. “I think maybe I favour Littler over Humphries because of the draw. But of course he can win it.”

Littler repeatedly recovered from slow starts during his 2025 title run. He trailed Jermaine Wattimena 7-2, Josh Rock 6-1 and James Wade 5-0, yet still lifted the Phil Taylor Trophy while maintaining an exceptional tournament average.

“If he does what he did last year, then he’s got a brilliant chance of doing it,” Dawson added. “The guy kept giving head starts away to his opponents and still turning things around because he was averaging about 104, 105 the entire event, which is utterly, utterly mad.”

Springer enters his World Matchplay debut with considerably less major-stage experience but has already shown that he can raise his level against leading opposition. “Springer, you don’t see him that often as well,” Van Barneveld said. “But I’m looking forward to that match because I’m really curious how that match goes.”

Dawson believes the German’s pace, scoring power and willingness to attack established names make him a particularly dangerous first-round opponent. “Niko Springer, we have seen numerous times when he goes up against a big-name player, he’s arguably better than if he takes on a smaller-name player,” he said. “He seems to relish being the underdog, and when he gets going, he is terrifying.”

The opening round is the shortest format used during the World Matchplay, with the first player to ten legs progressing. Dawson identified that as the most realistic moment to catch Littler before the defending champion settles into the longer matches.

“If the theory is that you want to get Littler early, particularly at the Matchplay where it’s leg play and not set play, get him early where it’s a shorter format,” he explained.

Littler’s ability to recover from slow starts defined his title run twelve months ago, but Springer will have the first opportunity to discover whether Van Barneveld’s concerns over rhythm carry any weight when the defending champion returns to the Winter Gardens on Saturday evening.