2026 PDC WC R1 Thursday Preview

James Punt has already posted his in-depth outright preview, read that by clicking here. He’ll also be covering every session of this year’s tournament, his 2026 PDC WC R1 Thursday preview is below.

Day 1

The wait is finally over. The well refreshed, fancy dress clad masses, will be ascending the Ally Pally hill (regretting having that last pint in The Starting Gate), for the 33rd PDC World Championship. The Ally Pally wasp will be coming out of hibernation to make his usual guest appearance, and the price of a pint will be taking the punters’ breath away. Merry Dartsmas!

The tradition of the defending World Champion featuring in the opening night’s line up is still there, despite the change in format. The defending champion used to play the winner of the opening match, as their second-round match, and then had a big break before they came back after Christmas. Now, as everyone has to play in the first round, the defending champion has to play two matches before the Christmas break. A better arrangement in my opinion.

Tonight, we have four first round matches and we have not one, but two PDC World Champions on the bill. Defending Champion Luke Littler and the 2023 World Champion, Michael Smith.

Kim Huybrechts vs. Arno Merk

Arno ‘The Berk’ Merk qualified by winning the European Super League, a PDC qualifier for the German speaking nations. It is not a top-flight event but he won plenty of matches to win it and hit a couple of 95+ averages along the way. He has played a few Players Championship matches, but this is his first event on TV. His seasonal average is 83.30.

Huybrechts has played in fourteen consecutive PDC World Championships and only lost four of his opening matches. He has lost six of his last ten matches overall, but he hasn’t played competitively since the end of October.

Huybrechts is the 1.40 favourite to win, Merk 3.10. Last year’s European Super League winner, Kai Gotthardt, beat Alan Soutar 3-1 in last year’s first round, before losing 1-3 to Bunting in the second round, so it is not a Mickey Mouse qualifier.

Maybe Merk can get a set on the board.

2026 PDC WC R1 Thursday Tip: 0.5 point Kim Huybrechts to win 3-1 @ 3.50 with SpreadEx

Michael Smith vs. Lisa Ashton

Michael Smith is battling on, trying to overcome his health issues. The last time we saw him he was having difficulty walking, but he has won six of his last ten matches and made the quarter final of the Grand Slam. He is a shadow of the man that won this three years ago, he can still throw but he just can’t practice enough to be as good as he used to be. He says he is well prepared, but we shall have to wait and see.

Lisa Ashton is making her fifth PDC World Championship appearance, but she has lost all four previous first round matches. Her only 0-3 loss was to Ron The Bomb Meulenkamp in the 2022 Championship. She has taken two matches to a deciding set, and lost the other 1-3. We last saw Lisa at the Grand Slam where she lost all three matches, two of them 0-5, but she did take four legs off Gian van Veen, who, it must be said, was very poor that evening.

Against The Crowd

Smith will not have the crowd on his side and he is under pressure just to pick up the £25k for making round two. These two have met on five previous occasions, with Smith winning four. Ashton was playing a better version of Smith then as their last match which was back in 2022. She has only lost to nil once vs. Smith.

Michael Smith is the 1.06 favourite, Lisa Ashton 11.00. I would be surprised if Ashton won, but not if she wins a set, maybe even two. You can get 2.50 Ashton getting a +2.5 set handicap, or 7.00 getting +1.5.

Could we get an early shock, or at least one to get the Xmas party crowd staggering to their feet, cheering on the big outsider? The sensible bet is Ashton +2.50, but it’s Christmas and I will have a small stakes bet at the bigger odds, and probably regret it.

2026 PDC WC R1 Thursday Tip: 0.5 point Lisa Ashton to win +1.5 sets @ 7.00 with Ladbrokes

Luke Littler vs. Darius Labanauskas

It wasn’t such a lucky draw for Lucky D. Getting matched up with the virtually unstoppable force that is Luke Littler.

Labanauskas is a former World Championship quarter finalist, back in 2020. This will be his seventh World Championship and he has won four first round matches, but this will be his toughest…by some way.

Littler hasn’t lost a first round match in a major for the last ten events, he has only lost one match in his two World Championship appearances in total, and that was the 2025 final. He is the 1.03 favourite, Labanauskas 26.00.

Labanauskas has won eight matches on the Ally Pally stage, and he has never been beaten to nil. The defending Champions have not always found it a breeze coming out on night one. They’re expected to walk it, but of the last five defenders only two have won 3-0. Lucky D took two sets off MVG when he was nearer his best. Labanauskas will not give Littler the pace he likes, which might piss him off a bit.

At the odds, there is only one choice, a small stake bet on Darius to win a set.

2026 PDC WC R1 Thursday Tip: 0.5 point Luke Littler to win 3-1 @ 8.00 with Betvictor

Madars Razma vs. Jamai van den Herik

The young Dutchman qualified as the fifth ranked player on the PDC Development Tour. He is averaging a respectable 88.11 in 2025, which is handy enough in these shorter matches. He won two titles on that tour and two more titles on the Challenge tour, so he is worthy of his place. Van Den Herik also reached a Players Championship quarter final. He has lost six of his last ten matches, but his last match saw him take Luke Littler to a deciding leg in PC34 at the end of October.

Razma hasn’t had a good season, winning just 48% of his matches. His last five saw sub 90 averages and he is struggling. Razmatazz has played in six previous World Championships and won four first round matches. His most recent form saw him win six of his last ten matches, but his last five saw sub 90 averages.

Razma has played six first round matches here and won four, the last three 3-1. He is the 1.62 favourite with Van den Herik 2.40. Under 4.5 sets is 1.50, but I will have a small stake correct score bet on another 3-1 win for the Latvian.

2026 PDC WC R1 Thursday Tip: 0.5 point Madars Razma to win 3-1 @ 4.00 Betvictor, Bresbet, BET365

-JamesPunt