2026 WM Darts Semi-Finals Preview & Tips – JP
2026 WM Darts Semi-Finals Preview & Tips
Now, it is time for James Punt’s 2026 WM Darts Semi-Finals preview and tips.
Friday Reflections
Last night was harsh. James Wade didn’t turn up and lost a match that should have been meat and drink for him. It was just a very poor match which only came to life in the latter stages.
Van Veen won 16-13 and while Wade got it back to 12-12, he never got his nose in front even when Van Veen was playing rubbish. At least Wade got the most 180s to land that bet, unlike Smith and Price who came up one 180 short of landing the overs bets. Frustrating.
We now have two semi-finals tonight, best of 33 legs (sudden death at 19–19).
Gerwyn Price vs. Gian van Veen
Van Veen’s doubling has kept him in the competition but he has to be vulnerable to a heavy hitter like Price. The Welshman has improved round by round, in parallel with his self-belief. It is all a bit of a pleasant surprise for him, and all a bit of a struggle for Van Veen. Their tournament averages are 98.17 for Price and 94.51 for van Veen.
Their H2H record is 13-3 to Price. He gave Van Veen some real thrashings in their early matches and won the first seven in a row. They played seven times in this year’s PL with Price winning five, but Van Veen was not fully fit for the last few.
Price is the 1.62 favourite, Van Veen 2.63 and it is Price who is attracting the money. He has only ever played one semi-final which he won 17-11 vs. Danny Noppert in 2022. Van Veen has played in four TV major semi-finals and won two, so he knows the ropes.
If Price can keep his upward trajectory of performances, he wins. Van Veen is not at his best and he should get found out eventually. He continues to struggle on the 180s, only hitting four from the twenty-nine legs last night.
2026 WM Darts Semi-Finals Tip: 1 point Gerwyn Price to win and hit the most 180s @ 2.00 with Skybet, Betfair
Luke Littler vs. Dirk van Duijvenbode
Littler is the 1.05 favourite with Dirk dismissed as the 15.00 outsider. It is hard to argue with the odds. Littler’s tournament average is 110.93. He has actually lost some legs, despite this massive fire power. His cumulative leg score is 37-21.
Littler has not lost to anyone other than Luke Humphries in his last twenty-four matches, winning twenty.
Littler’s record against Dirk van Duijvenbode is 4-1. All matches were best of eleven legs and none on TV. Dirks only win came on the Euro Tour and we know how much Littler loves those (not very much). The big TV stage is Littler’s natural environment
Dirk’s tournament average is 96.73, but he has improved round by round and averaged 101.49 against Anderson in the quarter final. That sort of level will win him legs, but not the match.
Max Hitters
These two are both big 180 hitters and Littler has been especially potent in that department, hitting at 0.65 per leg, Dirk at 0.34, which is bang on his 12-month rate. If Dirk is to win legs he is going to have to hit the maximums. Hopefully they can bounce off each other and have a bit of 180 cock fight.
The length of the match will have a big bearing. The market is pitching the line at 25-26 legs. I can’t argue with that. Littler can be a slow starter. He was 5-5 with Rock at the second break in the quarters and then reeled off 11 legs to Rocks 2. Aspinall hung in to get to 7-7 in round two, and it was 5-5 at the second break against Niko Springer. The problem is that he kicks on when the finish line comes into view.
