What does the perfect World Grand Prix player look like? Five darts stars deliver the answer

When Niko Springer opens the World Grand Prix 2026 against Danny Noppert on Monday evening, the most debated week of the darts year gets underway. The tournament’s unique double-in, double-out format in Leicester prompts fans worldwide to discuss potential surprise winners and dark horses.

Players who flew under the radar all year are suddenly touted as title contenders. Established stars are questioned because of the Grand Prix’s particular pitfalls. We join the debate and ask: What would the perfect double-in, double-out player look like? We nominate one player each in five categories: “Doubles prowess,” “Power scoring,” “Timing,” “Set play,” and “X-factor.”

In darts, a few players are synonymous with finishing on the outer ring – and Ryan Joyce belongs firmly in that group. His patchy form this season changes little. The stats back it up: Over the past 12 months Joyce has hit 43.1 percent of his doubles. That ranks the Englishman fifth worldwide. “Relentless” by name, relentless by nature.

The 41-year-old’s excellence on doubles stands out even more in context. Joyce has averaged 91.44 points over the past 12 months, only 57th overall. In the same span he hit 193 180s, good for just 141st, which in theory would not even secure a Tour Card slot. Reality tells a different story: “Relentless” sits 25th in the world rankings. Once again, it is clear how much his game thrives on ruthless finishing on the outer ring.

On paper that all makes sense. One of the best finishers on the circuit must be among the prime contenders at the event where doubles matter more than anywhere else. But can Joyce translate that edge from theory to the oche? The answer is: yes. At the World Grand Prix 2024 Joyce reached the semifinals, just the second Major semifinal of his PDC career. On the way he beat Josh Rock, Nathan Aspinall, and Rob Cross.

“Relentless” has already shown he can crash the title fight on the Grand Prix stage. With his world-class touch on the outer ring, Ryan Joyce takes the first and most fundamental category in our perfect double-in, double-out profile: doubles prowess. When the Englishman starts his campaign on Monday evening, Michael van Gerwen should be on alert.

Yes, we all love to rhapsodize about the importance of doubles before the World Grand Prix. But do not forget: even in a perfect nine-darter, more than 82 percent of the points come on the trebles. If the thought of double 16 brings up Ryan Joyce, a 180 stacked on a pinhead means Luke Littler.

Of course, you could name “The Nuke” in every section of this piece. Littler is so far ahead in every department that you could simply have picked the two-time world champion as the perfect Grand Prix player. But that would be far less fun.

If you have to single out one standout attribute, you land quickly on the world number one’s scoring. A 101.26 average over the past 12 months – first. 740 180s in the past 12 months – first. A 111.63 first-nine average in the past 12 months – first. Not much more needs saying.

As the defending champion, Littler also provides the almost redundant proof that he can do it on a cold, rainy night in Leicester. The world champion opens his title defense on Monday evening against the unfortunate Luke Woodhouse.

With Ryan Joyce as our finishing expert and Luke Littler as the scoring machine, we have covered the two most important technical pillars with world-class operators. Time to look at the soft factors. The things that happen between the ears. The things that defy spreadsheets and push analysts to their mathematical limits. Or, in short: James Wade.

If you look up the word “timing” in any dictionary, you’ll likely find “James Wade” or “The Machine” listed among the synonyms. Few players in darts are so closely tied to a single trait as Wade is to his almost indefinable sense of perfect timing. It’s the art of beating anyone in the world with a 95 average, regardless of what the opponent throws from the other side of the oche. The Englishman has refined this style over the past 25 years to such an extent that the sport now uses its own term for it: “Wadeing”.

And “The Machine” has left a clear mark on the 29-year history of the World Grand Prix. He lifted the title in 2007 and 2010, and reached another final in 2014. However, with three first-round exits in his last four appearances, the Englishman will be highly motivated when he heads to the East Midlands this week. The two-time champion opens his campaign on Tuesday night against Joe Cullen.

As if double-start weren’t enough, the World Grand Prix adds another quirk: it is the only PDC event outside the World Championship and World Masters to use the set format. A format that differs clearly from the traditional legs mode – and one that has its own specialists.

One such specialist is Gary Anderson. Although the Scot is undoubtedly among the greatest players of all time, even at his absolute peak he was never as relentlessly dominant as Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, or now Luke Littler. That’s largely because Anderson never possessed that near-mechanical ability to churn through legs for years on end. Three misses at double 10 or a painful miscount – followed by a sly grin to the camera. Despite his immense class, Anderson often felt a touch more human than those dominant names.

One format has repeatedly played to the Scot’s strengths: sets. When Anderson finds that unique touch, he can become simply unplayable for stretches. One of the most powerful scoring games the sport has seen, paired with cold-blooded finishing and a knack for high checkouts at the right moment. Purple patches that might not last over 25 legs – but in sets they have long made the Scot a true expert.

Anderson’s two world titles naturally back this up. Add to that three Major semi-finals and one final over the past five years – three of those four runs came at Ally Pally, in set play. Yet the legend still has to prove that this strength can carry him to the title in Leicester as well. The World Grand Prix remains one of the few big events missing from the “Flying Scotsman’s” collection. The 2016 final, which Anderson lost to Michael van Gerwen, is still his best result here. When he starts his campaign on Tuesday night against Damon Heta, he’ll look to improve that record.

Our perfect Grand Prix player is rounded off by a man forever linked to this tournament’s history – even if, as this year, he’s not qualified.

It was the evening of 08.10.2011 at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin. Brendan Dolan opened the fourth leg of the second set in his semi-final against James Wade with 160 and 180. He then completed the perfect leg with a 161 checkout – becoming the first player in World Grand Prix history to hit a nine-darter.

That moment has loomed over the Major ever since. Hardly a World Grand Prix passes without Dolan’s legendary nine-darter being pulled from the archive and dropped into the TV coverage. At the same time, the Northern Irishman built an entire identity around that perfect leg: his now-iconic nickname “The History Maker” harks back to that historic moment and has adorned every shirt of the ten-time PDC title winner ever since.

Fifteen years on, Dolan remains one of just three players to hit a nine-darter at the World Grand Prix. The other – and most recent – perfect legs date back twelve years. Back then, James Wade and Robert Thornton produced perfection against each other in the same match.

Ryan Joyce’s doubling, Luke Littler’s brutal scoring, James Wade’s inimitable timing, Gary Anderson’s set-play prowess, and Brendan Dolan’s special Grand Prix gene: that’s our perfect player for the sport’s most idiosyncratic tournament. Whether our five ingredients form the winning recipe for Leicester will become clear from Monday night. Then four of our five picks can prove it themselves at the World Grand Prix 2026. Only Brendan Dolan won’t be at the oche – but “The History Maker” is ever-present during Grand Prix week in Leicester.