2026 World Grand Prix Outright Betting Preview – JP
2026 World Grand Prix Betting Preview
We are entering prime darts’ season and James Punt is hoping to finish the year off strongly. Check out his 2026 World Grand Prix outright betting preview and tips below.
2026 World Grand Prix
This will be the 29th staging of the World Grand Prix. The Mattioli Arena in Leicester is once again the venue. The format is ‘double in, double out’, and the field comprises of 32 players. The top 16 players in the PDC World Rankings and the top 16 players from the one-year PDC Pro Tour rankings who had not yet qualified. Luke Littler is the defending champion, having defeated Luke Humphries 6–1 in the 2025 final.
The top 16 players in the PDC World Rankings are seeded and will be drawn against the 16 qualifiers from the PDC Pro Tour rankings in the first round. All matches will be in set play format, with each set being played to the best of five legs (first to three).
Double In
As per the “double in, double out” format, players must begin a leg by hitting a double or the bullseye, and do the same to win a leg. The amount of sets required to win a match increases as the tournament progresses. The first round is best of 3 sets, round two and quarter finals are best of 5, semi-final best of 9, and the final best of 11.
Phil Taylor dominated the tournament in his pomp, winning eleven tittles. Since his last win in 2013, there have been eight different winners, MVG, who has won six titles, Robert Thornton, Daryl Gurney, Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, Luke Humphries, Mike de Decker and Luke Littler all have one apiece.
Surprise Winners
So, there has been a few ‘surprise winners’ such as Thornton, Gurney, and De Decker, but the number 1 seeded player has won four of the last twelve and been runner up in four. Unseeded players have won three of the last nine Grand Prix, Gurney, Clayton and De Decker, and four unseeded players have reached the final.
So, the unseeded players have made a decent impact, but in the last twelve Grand Prix, nine have been won by a player seeded 1st – 7th, and seven by one of the top 3 seeds.
The double in, double out format is seen as a bit of a leveller, especially in the first round, best of three set matches. Even a great player can have a bad day on the doubles, and in such a short format, it can be over very quickly.
2026 World Grand Prix: The Seeds
Tournament Form (most recent on the right)
1 Luke Littler – 1/W
His target of winning all of the televised tournaments in 2026 came to an end at the hands of Jonny Clayton, in the quarter finals of the World Series of Darts Finals. He was not happy with the Dutch crowd and The Netherlands joins Germany on his countries to boycott list.
The Nuke may be putting a big target on his back by just writing off entire countries because the crowds don’t worship the ground he walks on. He will still have to play in Dusseldorf at the European Championship finals and the PL in Berlin and so on. What he has done is say, ‘boo me and I’m off’. So those that don’t like him, will boo that bit more now. He should be OK in Leicester, but ….
Odds On
Littler is the 1.83 tournament favourite. He has won eight of the last twelve ranking Majors and his recent form sees eight wins from his last ten matches. He is not without threats, not least in round one.
He has drawn the other, other Luke. Not Humphries, but Woodhouse. Woody is one of the most improved players of the last couple of years. A very good player who has won on the Euro Tour and Players Championship in 2026. He isn’t in the same the class as Littler…but who is? However, he is ranked first on the list of Pro Tour qualifiers for a reason.
Littler is 2-0 vs. Woodhouse, 6-3 and 6-2 in 2024 and 2025. Littler is 1.18 to beat Woodhouse, but in a very short format match, with a double in format, those odds look very short. He was a first-round casualty on his Grand Prix debut in 2024, losing 1-2 to Rob Cross, despite playing well. He made amends in 2025, averaging 105.58 to beat Gian van Veen (106.47) 2-0 in last year’s first round, on the way to winning the title.
2 Luke Humphries – 2/1/W/RU/RU
One of the players who knows he can beat Littler but knows he needs to play his A game to do so. Humphries is playing well, but not his best. He has won seven of his last ten matches, losing twice to Dirk van Duijvenbode, and once to Luke Littler. His consistency isn’t what it needs to be, and if he is to go all the way, he will need is A game more often than he has been showing it lately.
Humphries has made three consecutive finals in the event, so the format suits him. His draw in the third quarter looks as good as he could hope for and another good run has to be expected for the 8.50 second favourite.
3 Gian van Veen – 1/1
The dictionary definition of frustration right now. Had a large part of his season ruined by injury and recovery. His game is very close to being back to its best, but he is getting very frustrated with playing well, but not getting much return on his efforts.
In 2026 he has lost the World Championship final, the semi-final of both the World Masters and the World Matchplay. He has lost a Euro Tour final and most recently lost a semi-final at the Flanders Darts Trophy. Gian was also runner up in PC29 on Tuesday, before withdrawing from PC30. He probably went home to kick the cat.
Inconsistent
Much like Luke Humphries, Van Veen is lacking consistency. He is also getting frustrated by his lack of titles. His record here sees two first round exits, but he did average 106 vs. Littler last year, which is insane in a double in format.
Van Veen is in a tricky quarter of the draw and will face a number of players with whom he has a losing H2H record, but he is likely to start as favourite in whatever match he plays, until he faces you know who. He is a 23.00 shot and that’s not bad value.
4 Gerwyn Price – 1/1/2/QF/1/W/RU/SF/RU/2/QF
Another player who looks to be getting frustrated by a lack of titles in 2026, and before. His last Major was in the non-ranking World Series finals in 2022. He was runner up in the same event last weekend and looked hacked off.
Afterwards, he said he didn’t care if he never won another Major, which was a bit strange, and not healthy. I guess it was just borne out of frustration.
Price is playing some great stuff but keeps on finding someone that bit better on the night. He is in the same side of the draw as Littler, and Price needs to him beat early doors. Littler has beaten Price in their last ten matches, all this year.
Price is a two-time finalist and a one-time winner, but are his Major winning days behind him?
5 Jonny Clayton – 1/1/2/W/2/1/QF/SF
In the same boat as Price. The Ferret hasn’t won a Major of any kind since 2021, indeed this was his last ranking title in that year. Was a semi-finalist in the World Series finals last weekend but has lost four of his last ten matches due to a lack of consistency. Clayton has had plenty of good runs in 2026, but his only title was on the World Series tour, winning in New Zealand.
Clayton won this in 2021, was a quarter finalist in 2024 and a semi-finalist last year. Another good run would be no surprise, but he has quarter final exit vibes.
6 James Wade – 1/QF/W/1/1/W/SF/1/SF/RU/1/1/1/1/2/1/2/1/1/QF/1
Very much a player of interest. A winner of eleven of his last twelve matches. A run ended by Price in the quarter final of the World Series finals. Wade won the final World Series event of the year in Australia and played really well. He backed that up by winning his first Euro Tour title in ten years, at the Flanders Darts Trophy two weeks ago.
Wade is a two-time winner of this event, but the last time was back in 2010. He has only won four matches in the last ten years, but as one of the best double hitters in the game, the format should be right up his street.
His draw is good, with a decent path to the quarter finals. He is the opposite half of the draw to Littler, who he met in the final of this year’s UK Open. Wade has reached the final in three of the last ten ranking Majors. He hasn’t won one since 2021, but he did end that ten-year hoodoo on the Euro Tour just a couple of weeks ago. He is running hot.
7 Josh Rock – 1/1/2
With a seasonal win rate of just 52% and having lost five of his last ten matches, Rock is not in good form. Add to that a poor tournament record and Rock is easy to pass over.
8 Danny Noppert – 1/2/2/SF/2/1/1/SF
Noppert has won six of his last ten matches and is playing better than he was earlier in the year. His problem is getting it done at the business end and for that reason he makes little appeal in the outright market.
9 Michael van Gerwen – 1/W/W/RU/QF/W/1/W/W/QF/1/W/2/1/1
A very impressive tournament record, but the fact that he is now just the ninth seed, and the third highest ranked Dutch player tells its own story. He can still play, but his confidence is shot to pieces and he is much easier to beat these days.
MVG’s doubling is not great and this might not be the format he needs right now. He plays one of the best double hitters in the world, Ryan Joyce, in round one, and that has early exit written all over it.
10 Gary Anderson – 2/QF/1/1/QF/SF/2/RU/WD/QF/2/QF/1/1/2/2/QF
Anderson has still got the game, but has he got the stamina? His run to the final of ET11 last month was very impressive, until he had to play four stage matches in a day. His game went down the drain and he should have lost the semi-final but Aspinall failed to take his chances. Ross Smith then had a very easy win in the final.
This format isn’t as punishing, but he is better suited to the World Championship when there is much more time to recover between games. His draw is not bad and I can see a quarter final in him, but maybe that will be that.
11 Stephen Bunting – SF/1/2/1/1/2/WD/SF/2/2/1/2
Has only won four of his last fourteen matches and he is just finding it very hard to win. His scoring is decent most of the time, but his confidence is low. His tournament record shows a couple of semi-finals, but he has failed to get past round two in his nine other appearances. He will play Andrew Gilding in the first round and they are 3-3 in their last six matches.
12 Wessel Nijman – 1
Nijman was running very hot in the first half of the season, winning eight titles in the first six months of the year. He has failed to add to that since, but it is not like he has lost his form, he’s just lost the X factor.
What is more of a worry for him is that his, albeit limited, Major record is poor. He has won a couple of Euro Tour titles in 2026, which should help with his confidence on stage, but so far, he looks a weaker player in the big events.
13 Ross Smith – 2/2/2/2/1
Things are coming together for Ross Smith in 2026. He has won two Euro Tour titles and been runner up in two more. He won last weekend’s World Series of Darts Finals and also won two Players Championship titles in 2026. There won’t be a player feeling more confident than Ross Smith right now.
Smudger has been around for a while now and is has having his best ever season. His Major record has some highlights, such as winning the 2022 European Championship, the semi-final of the 2024 Players Championships Finals and two World Matchplay quarter finals.
He has won sixteen of his last eighteen matches. Smith will face Cameron Menzies in round one, and Menzies has just won his second Players Championship title of the year. However, Smith is 3-0 vs the Scotsman in 2026, the last a 7-0 win on the Euro Tour.
14 Ryan Searle – 1/QF/1/2/1/1
A player who isn’t at his best on the big stage. He has won three matches in his six appearances at the Grand Prix. He was a semi-finalist at this year’s World Championship and runner up in the 2021 Players Championship finals, but he is a far more successful player on the floor.
His recent form sees three wins from his last seven matches, all stage matches. He is not playing with much consistency but will be favourite to beat William O’Connor in round one. He then faces either Van Veen or Dirk van Duijvenbode and that might be that.
15 Chris Dobey – SF/1/QF/QF/1/1
Dobey has a reasonable record in the Grand Prix and that may stem from the fact that the local leagues in the North East of England still play some double in format tournaments. It is not an alien, once a year event for him.
However, it is on a big stage and a good run for him is a quarter final, a really good one, a semi. Dobey was in very good form in the recent Players Championships, reaching back-to-back quarter finals and hitting six ton plus averages. He has won eight of his last ten matches, but on a stage, he has lost six of his last ten. That sums up the two sides to Dobey.
16 Nathan Aspinall – QF/1/1/RU/1/2/1
The Asp has reached at least the semi-final of every ranking Major in his career, winning two. He was runner up here in 2022, but it has been slim pickings since. His recent form sees seven wins from his last ten matches and he is playing some good stuff, but his consistency is not quite there.
He has a horrible draw, facing Doets in round 1, with whom he is 2-7. If he were to win that, it is Littler or Woodhouse. Ouch.
2026 World Grand Prix: Pro Tour O.O.M. Qualifiers
1 Luke Woodhouse – 2/1/2
A win rate of 67% in 2026 and Woody has picked up a Euro Tour title and a Players Championship title. He has come of age. This will be his fourth Grand Prix and he has won two first round matches, but this year he has drawn the world number 1, Luke Littler.
An early exit is on the cards, but Littler may need to be ready to go hard from the very start. Woodhouse is playing well, scoring well and in a short format, Littler is not a shoo in.
2 Kevin Doets – Debut
Doets has picked up a Players Championship title in 2026 and maybe should have won more. He reached another final and four semi-finals. On the Euro Tour, he made one final and a semi-final. On his day, his A game beats anyone.
Much like Wessel Nijman, he hasn’t been able to bring his A game to the big stages yet, but he is an improving player and a dangerous opponent. Doets reached the semi-final of PC29 on Tuesday, hitting a 113 average in one match. He has won eight of his last ten matches and is in good form, but a lack of big stage experience is a concern.
3 Jermaine Wattimena – 2/QF/1/1
Has been playing some good stuff on the floor recently, winning PC27, and reaching a quarter final and semi-final earlier this week. He was runner up in the 2024 European Championship and he went into that in decent form, but he is now a three-time PDC title winner, all on the floor.
That European Championship final apart, Wattimena has shown very little on the big stages. He reached the semi-final in last year’s Players Championship finals, and that format might suit him better. With eight wins from his last ten matches, Wattimena is in good form and should give Dobey a hard time in round one.
4 Krzysztof Ratajski – 1/1/QF/2/2/2
Ratajski has reached two Major quarter finals already in 2026 and won a Euro Tour title. Stoic and steady, he is tough to beat but ultimately, he isn’t an elite standard player. He has lost six of his last ten matches, but two of those were against Littler. Ratajski plays Clayton in round one and he has lost his last three in a row against The Ferret, but on TV it is 3-3.
5 Andrew Gilding – 2/1/1/QF/1
A Major winner in 2023 and he has reached a semi-final and three quarter finals, including one in this back in 2023. Gilding is a form player. He is backable when he is playing well, but he has lost five of his last ten matches and he isn’t near his best. Goldfinger faces Bunting in round one and while Bunting can struggle with the slower players, he is 8-3 vs. Gilding. A probable early exit beckons.
6 William O’Connor – 1/1/1/1
O’Connor hasn’t qualified for this since 2015, and the days when it was ‘Double in, in Dublin’. Even home advantage didn’t help him win a single match. O’Connor is a journeyman pro who has had a decent season but won nothing. He has won six of his last ten matches and is playing quite well, but he isn’t good enough to make much progress. He faces Ryan Searle in round one, who beat him 10-6 in the Matchplay in the summer. A similar fate may await.
7 Damon Heta – 1/1/1/1/1
The Aussie has reached eight Major quarter finals and a semi-final, but his record in this is dire. He has won six of his last ten matches but is lacking any great consistency.
Heta faces Gary Anderson in round one, so his quest to finally win a Grand Prix match is not going to be easy, but he has a close H2H record vs. the Scotsman at 3-4. They have only met once in the last three years and I would say that Heta is not the player he was a few years ago. His prospects look bleak.
8 Rob Cross – 1/1/2/1/2/1/1/QF/2
A surprisingly poor record for a player of his calibre. It is his weakest Major as he has made the final of all the other ranking Majors at some stage and won four of them. Clearly it is a format with which he isn’t comfortable with.
Cross has won a Players Championship in 2026 and his form has picked up after falling off a cliff, thanks to his troubles with the Inland Revenue. His recent form sees five wins from his last ten, and he is a bit inconsistent.
Voltage faces Wessel Nijman in round one and Cross is 1-4 vs the young Dutchman. However, his sole win was at the same stage of this event last year, Cross winning 2-1. Cross has the potential for a decent run, but his tournament record is off putting.
9 Ryan Joyce – 2/SF/1
Joyce has reached two Major semi-finals and this was one of them. That shouldn’t be a surprise for a player who is so good on the doubles. Like Dobey, he is used to playing the format in the North East of England.
His recent form sees six wins from his last ten matches. He doesn’t have the firepower to go all the way in tournaments, but he does have his hot streaks. I won’t say he looks at his best right now, but nobody will want to play him in this format.
He faces MVG in round one, and I know who my money is going on in that one. If he does beat MVG he faces Noppert or Springer and he has winning H2H record against both. A quarter finalist? He could meet Littler at that stage, and he took him to a deciding set in the 2025 World Championship.
10 Dirk van Duijvenbode – RU/1/1/1/QF
Had his best result in a Major in this on debut. That was behind closed doors in 2020. Dirk reached the semi-final of the Matchplay in the summer but he is hard to fancy for a deep run in this as his game is all over the place. He has hit five sub 90 averages in his last ten and he will get found out sooner rather than later, probably in round one where he faces Gian van Veen, who beat him in the World Series last weekend.
11 Niels Zonneveld – Debut
Was in great form in the spring, reaching two Euro Tour semi-finals, but the rest of the season has been slim pickings, until he reached the semi-final of PC30 on Wednesday. He has won seven of his last ten matches and he faces Josh Rock in round one. He has won his last three matches against the Northern Irish player and so long as he takes to the format, he could well win that.
12 Cameron Menzies – 1/QF
Picked up his second Players Championship of the season on Tuesday, winning PC29. He beat Nijman, Doets and Van Veen, amongst others, along the way and has won seven of his last ten matches.
His quarter final run here last year was his joint best result in a Major. He will be feeling confident after last week’s win, but he is a hard player to back outright. His form swings dramatically from great to poor, and he is not quite officer material.
Menzies is working hard on his health and fitness, and it is paying dividends. He will face the in-form Ross Smith in round one and that is a tough match for both. Their H2H record is 9-4 to Smith and he has beaten Menzies three times in 2026, winning them all, and the last was a 7-0 win.
13 Niko Springer – 1
Springer lost 0-2 to Bunting on his debut last year. The German is light on Major appearances. He has only played in ten Majors and made very little impression in any of them.
His recent form is poor, losing six of his last ten matches and there is little consistency in his game. He does like playing as an underdog, and two of his last three wins were against Anderson and MVG. He even gave Littler a bit of a game in the World Matchplay.
Springer plays Noppert in round one. Noppert is 2-1 vs Springer, but they have all been very close matches.
14 Dave Chisnall – 1/2/RU/1/2/SF/2/QF/RU/SF/QF1/1/2
Desperately trying to hang on to his top 32 ranking (currently 31st) and his best days are behind him. Chizzy has won seven of his last ten matches, hitting five sub 90 averages, but also three ton plus. Mr. Consistency he is not.
He will face Luke Humphries in round one and with a H2H record that shows Humphries winning their last four matches and both matches in 2026, both on TV. Chizzy used to be a real thorn in Humphries’ side, beating him in four of five finals in 2023. But since then, Chisnall’s form has slumped.
15 Sebastian Bialecki – Debut
Another player with very little in terms of Major experience, but he is an interesting contender. He is still very young at 22 years old, but he was a UK Open quarter finalist back in 2022. In 2026 he has won a Players Championship, his second PDC title.
He has won six of his last ten matches and while there is nothing flashy about his game, he is unflappable and very good on the doubles, with a checkout rate of 43.18%, bettered only by Littler and Nijman in the last 12 months.
If he can start as well as he finishes, he will be a dangerous opponent. Bialecki has drawn Gerwyn Price in round one, and any Boo-yaaaas from the Welshman will fall on deaf ears. He has played Price four times in the last two years and lost the lot. Maybe this format might give him a better chance.
16 Joe Cullen – 1/2/1/1/QF/1/2/SF/QF/2
Cullen has had a few good runs in this event, but that means he is defending quarter final prize money from 2024. He is another player fliting with losing his top 32 ranking.
Cullen’s recent form sees just three wins from his last seven matches. He will face the in-form James Wade in round one. Their H2H record is 12-9 to Wade, but Cullen won this very same fixture 12 months ago.
However, given their relative recent form, Cullen will be a big outsider this time round.
2026 World Grand Prix Summary
Previewing these big tournaments these days is a question of, if not Littler, who else could? Between the two Lukes, they have won 18 of the last 24 ranking Majors. In the last twelve it is ten for Littler, one for Humphries and one for Van Veen.
In the same period the 12 runners up have been Humphries (four), Wade (3), and one each for MVG, Aspinall, Van Veen, Wattimena and Price. Outright betting in Majors is becoming rather boring.
The recent history of this even tells us to concentrate on the top seeds, and the top three in particular. The top three are Littler, Humphries and Van Veen. Of the top 7 seeds, Wade is in particularly good form and Price is playing well. Jonny Clayton has claims for a good run but his form isn’t quite that of Wade or Price. Josh Rock isn’t in good enough form to be seriously considered.
Tricky Opener
Littler is in the top half of the draw and he has a tricky opening match against Woodhouse, but if he gets out of the blocks, he will be hard to stop. He is the 1.83 favourite and given his record in the Majors, those have to be considered reasonable odds.
If not Littler, who? Luke Humphries has made the last three finals here and he clearly loves the format. His recent form isn’t his best consistency wise and at 8.50, he doesn’t look any great value.
The two players who are getting my support are both in great form and are at decent odds.
Machine In Working Order
James Wade is in top form, is winning titles and is a big tournament player, making three of the last ten Major finals. The question is, how to back him. Like everyone else, if he were to meet Littler, he would be a massive underdog, but he cannot meet Littler until the final. You can get 9.00 for Wade to reach the final, fair odds, but I will live in hope that Littler trips up and the rest of the field get a crack at the 2026 World Grand Prix title.
2026 World Grand Prix Tip: 0.5 point each way James Wade to win @ 26.00 with Betfair, Livescorebet, Skybet
Ross Smith is the other player whose recent form is making him easy to back. He is in the same half as Littler, so he would need to beat him in the semi-finals, or hope that somebody else does it before then. Smith is not in the same quarter as Littler and he can be backed at 5.00 to win his quarter. That might be the smart way to back him.
