2026 PDC WC Final Preview

Gian Van Veen landed our 11.00 outright bet on him and Littler to reach the final last night in an epic encounter vs Gary Anderson. We also had two points on Littler -3.5 sets to beat Searle. Hopefully we can finish what has been a brilliant three weeks on a high. James Punt’s 2026 PDC WC Final previews and tips are below.

Luke Littler vs Gian Van Veen

With Van Veen playing Littler in the final, my work is done. The ante-post selections have produced a healthy 11 point profit with 1 point still, optimistically, riding on over 1.5 nine darters.

Yesterday’s semi-final bets yielded a 1.10 point loss, meaning the tournament betting tally stands at -6.17 points. It is a bit of an ask to turn that into a profit, but I will have a look at the final and see if there is anything worth backing.

At least we got one brilliant semi-final last night. The first, Littler vs. Searle was the predictable, one-sided affair that was expected and we won our 2 point bet on the -3.5 set handicap for Littler, who won 6-1.

With Van Veen at 4-1 up in the second match, I was getting excited at the prospect of the 6-1 bet landing, but Anderson won back-to-back sets, and then the 6-4 bet was looming, but in the end, Van Veen was too good and closed out the match 6-3. Close but no cigar.

It was an epic match and a more accurate indication of how close it was is the fact that Van Veen won twenty two legs, Anderson twenty. It was all down to Van Veen being able to the right thing at the right time, more often.

Hard Night’s Work

It was very hard work for both players and I fear that it will have drained Van Veen’s batteries. Littler just had a gentle work out, winning six sets in a row having lost the first 2-3. The leg score was 20-8 to Littler. Littler was finished early, got his media duties done and will have been tucked up in bed before Van Veen had finished his match.

It may not be a particularly physical sport, but at this level, it is a game of mental strength. The ability to stay concentrated from start to finish is as much a part of the performance as being able to hit the targets. Van Veen is leaner and fitter, but he spent a lot of mental energy in beating Anderson and has less recovery time.

In terms of the two players vital statistics, Littler is averaging 102.96, Van Veen 102.00. Littler’s checkout rate is 56% with Van Veen on 51%, and their 180s per leg rate 0.49 for Littler and 0.37 for Van Veen. Not a lot in it but certainly advantage Littler.

Head-To-Head

Their H2H record is 4-4. That sounds encouraging for Van Veen but drilling down we can see that they have played twice in Major Championships, both in 2025 and Littler won 10-4 in the UK Open quarter final and 2-0 in the Grand Prix first round. They met in the final of the 2023 World Youth Championship and Littler won that 6-4.

Van Veen’s wins have come in a Development tour final, a Players Championship semi-final, a Euro Tour semi-final and another Euro Tour match in September. The bigger the match, the more often Littler wins.

Littler has the advantage of this being his third consecutive World Championship final, while Van Veen is making his first appearance in this final, but he has won a major championship in 2025. I doubt he will be affected by the occasion.

Another 7-3 on the Cards?

Looking at the last ten finals, the most common scoreline is 7-3, with 50% of the matches ending with that score. Two have finished 7-4 and two 7-5, and one ended 7-2. Littler’s two finals ended 4-7 and 7-3. Something similar looks very possible.

Looking at the 180s, the average number hit in the last ten finals is 31.5. Littler’s two finals have averaged out at 30.5 and he has not scored the most 180s in either final. In their previous matches, Littler has hit the most 180s four times, twice for Van Veen and two were ties, both on the Development Tour.

2026 PDC WC Final Tip: 1 point Luke Littler to win -2.5 sets @ 2.00. Generally available.

2026 PDC WC Final Tip: 0.5 point Luke Littler to win 7-3 @ 7.50. Betfred.

2026 PDC WC Final Tip: 1 point Gian van Veen to hit the most 180s +6.5 handicap @ 1.81. Livescorebet

The Darts coverage will resume with the Winmau World Masters preview on the 28th January, with play commencing on the 29th.

-JamesPunt