Preview Thursday evening PDC World Darts Championship: Luke Littler opens title defence in opening night tradition and Michael Smith faces Lisa Ashton

On Thursday evening, December 11, the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship finally gets underway. As is customary, the opening night immediately features the reigning world champion—this time Luke Littler—taking to the stage.

Littler, who became world champion for the first time in January by defeating Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in the final, will face Lithuanian Darius Labanauskas in this opening session. Michael Smith also stars against Lisa Ashton at the PDC World Darts Championship.

The very first match at the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship is between Belgian Kim Huybrechts and German Arno Merk. Huybrechts is gearing up for his fifteenth appearance at the iconic Alexandra Palace. The Hurricane has been ever-present at the PDC Worlds since 2012, with his best result coming in his debut year, when he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Andy Hamilton. In recent years, the Belgian has slowly been slipping down the PDC Order of Merit, where he currently sits in 53rd place.

His opponent is Germany’s Arno Merk. The 33-year-old qualified by winning the HYLO PDC Europe Super League, beating Daniel Klose 8-6 in the final. This marks Merk’s debut on the Ally Pally stage. Given Huybrechts’ experience, he should be the pre-match favorite to progress to the second round. However, it will entirely depend on how Merk handles the stage. If nerves get the better of him, the Belgian will very likely walk away with a comfortable victory. But if Merk can play with freedom, we could be in for a real contest.

Next up, it’s a clash between two world champions: Michael Smith, who won the world title in 2023, faces four-time women’s world champion Lisa Ashton. Smith is currently in the toughest spell of his career. The 15-year-old Englishman has been dealing with physical issues for some time and has now slid all the way down to 28th in the world rankings. Should he be eliminated early at this Worlds, there’s a good chance he will drop out of the top 32 afterward.

Ashton qualified by surprisingly winning the Women’s World Matchplay earlier this year. Why was it a surprise? Because Beau Greaves was also in the field, and the 21-year-old was virtually unbeatable in the women’s game this year. Ashton, however, defeated Greaves in the semifinals, then edged Fallon Sherrock 6-5 in the final. That victory secured her an automatic spot at the World Championship. Although Smith and Ashton haven’t often had the chance to play each other, this will already be their sixth meeting. They’ve met twice on TV in the Grand Slam of Darts group stage, with Bully Boy winning on both occasions. Ashton has won one of their five meetings, but that came at a non-televised Players Championship event.

Traditionally, the reigning world champion also plays on the opening night of the World Championship. This means we’ll see Luke Littler take to the stage right away, as he faces Lithuanian Darius Labanauskas. Although it’s rare for the reigning world champion to successfully defend his title—only Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis, and Gary Anderson have done so—The Nuke once again enters the tournament as the towering favorite. The 18-year-old has won virtually everything there is to win this year. After his world title in January, he also captured the UK Open, World Grand Prix, World Matchplay, Players Championship Finals, and the Grand Slam of Darts. He also won two World Series events and two Euro Tours.

In the first round he faces Darius Labanauskas, who will be making his seventh appearance on the Alexandra Palace stage. Lucky D qualified as number 35 on the Pro Tour Order of Merit. Had he not qualified via that route, he would still have been assured of a spot, as he also finished second on the Challenge Tour, a position that also grants entry to the Worlds. On paper, Littler is of course the overwhelming favorite, and the chances of Labanauskas pulling off an upset are slim. Still, it’s the first round, and if there’s any time to catch Littler cold, it’s early in the tournament when the format hasn’t stretched out yet.

Finally, Jamai van den Herik takes on the experienced Latvian Madars Razma. Van den Herik enjoyed a stellar season on the Development Tour, where he ultimately finished fifth. That performance earned him his World Championship ticket, and with it his debut at Alexandra Palace.

In his first round he’ll face the 37-year-old Razma. The Latvian Razzmatazz is gearing up for his seventh Worlds appearance. In each of the past two editions, the Latvian reached the last 32. If he wants to do so again this year, he’ll first have to get past the talented Dutchman. On paper, it promises to be a tight contest with both players well matched. Much, however, will depend on how Van den Herik handles the stage on debut and whether he can keep his nerves in check.