Luke Littler has his sights on retaining the World Darts Championship title and continues his campaign with a quarter-final clash against Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski this evening.
Littler admitted to ‘losing it’ on stage due to the boos of the crowd in his previous victory over Rob Cross but reaffirmed his desire to focus on the darts and let the crowd provide the atmosphere on what is set to be a fascinating evening.
Though he is the headline act, Littler and Ratajski will step up to the oche first before former world champion Luke Humphries takes on rising star Gian van Veen in the final quarter-final of the tournament.
Earlier in the day Jonny Clayton was blown away 5-2 by 20th seed Ryan Searle and Gary Anderson ended the fairytale debut run of Justin Hood 5-2 in the first two quarter-finals.
Follow all the latest action from the Ally Pally with our live blog below:
World Darts Championship live
- World No.1 Luke Littler takes on 49-year-old Krzysztof Ratajski in quarter-finals
- Luke Humphries faces off with Gian van Veen in last quarter-final of tournament
- Ryan Searle defeated Jonny Clayton and Gary Anderson beat Justin Hood to book their places in final four
- Luke Littler apologises for on-stage rant
Luke Littler 1 (0) - 0 (0) Krzysztof Ratajski
19:33 , Mike JonesIncredible!
Littler starts off with a 180 maximum in the decider and leaves himself with a 170 checkout as Ratajski asserts a bit of pressure.
Treble 20, treble 20, bullseye!
All hit but the reigning champion who wins the first set against the darts and gets the crowd cheering his name.
What a start!
Luke Littler 0 (2) - 0(2) Krzysztof Ratajski
19:30 , Mike JonesMissed! With 40 remaining Littler hits 20 and then misses two darts at his favourite double.
Ratajski makes him pay and lands double nine to force a deciding leg in the opening set.
Luke Littler 0 (2) - 0(1) Krzysztof Ratajski
19:29 , Mike JonesWow! Littler throws a wild first dart which lands in the treble one.
He follows up with a treble 19 and double 10 to check out 80 and nick the darts off Ratajski to set up the first set.
Littler needs one leg to take the first set.
Luke Littler v Krzysztof Ratajski
19:24 , Mike JonesRatajski will get this match underway. Littler has only dropped two sets so far in the tournament but how will he fare tonight?
Luke Littler v Krzysztof Ratajski
19:20 , Mike JonesBoth players make their way to the stage walking out to music and fanfare.
A few practice throws follow and we’re almost ready for this quarter-final to get started...
Luke Littler v Krzysztof Ratajski
19:17 , Mike JonesRatajski has been throwing some incredible darts during his run through this tournament.
At 49-years-old he’s an experienced customer but how will he handle the increased pressure of playing against Luke Littler?
Littler is the world champion and the poster boy for darts. He brings more interest than any other competitor and that could be a factor into how Ratajski plays.
Luke Littler v Krzysztof Ratajski
19:10 , Mike JonesThe reigning world champion takes to the stage first up after a tough period in which he’s been challenged by the fans during his match with Rob Cross.
Can he show some mental fortitude and impress again this evening?
World Darts Championship tonight
19:05 , Lawrence OstlereThe action will be starting very soon. A reminder of tonight’s line-up:
- Luke Littler v Krzysztof Ratajski
- Luke Humphries v Gian van Veen
Record prize money
18:50 , Lawrence OstlereThe winner of the 2026 World Darts Championship will scoop a record £1m prize – double the money Luke Littler won 12 months ago.
This year’s 128 players were playing for a £5m prize pool in total, with everyone guaranteed to take home at least £15,000.
The eight quarter-finalists are all set to win at least £100,000, with the beaten semi-finallists earning £200,000 and the runner-up taking home £400,000.
First round: £15,000
Second round: £25,000
Third round: £35,000
Fourth round: £60,000
Quarter-finals: £100,000
Semi-final: £200,000
Runner-up: £400,000
Winner: £1,000,000
Hidden mics, hi-tech cameras and ‘the spotter’: How the darts is beamed onto our TV screens
18:39 , Lawrence OstlereBehind the scenes at Alexandra Palace this Christmas is an intricate, high-paced operation to capture every dart of the tournament, as Lawrence Ostlere discovers:
Hidden mics and ‘the spotter’: How the darts is beamed onto our TV screens
Anderson and Searle already through
18:30 , Mike JonesIn the afternoon’s quarter-finals Gary Anderson and Ryan Searle became the first two players to reach the semi-finals.
Anderson defeated Justin Hood 5-2 and Searle swept past Jonny Clayton by the same scoreline.
Anger fuelled me, says Littler
18:26 , Lawrence OstlereLittler's reaction may have set the alarm bells ringing in the rest of the field as he averaged 106.5 and threw 17 180s in a champion-like performance.
"It definitely fuelled me up and it made me play better," he added.
"I am only a few games away from lifting the trophy once again but the performance really doesn't feel like a 106.5, because there was that much adrenaline going through me, that much emotion, the anger.
"I am glad I won."
Littler apologises for on-stage rant
18:13 , Lawrence Ostlere"That's the first time I've been at the World Championships and the crowd have not wanted me to win. I will expect the worst on New Year's Day and whatever happens will happen.
"The fans did what they did, I reacted like any other player would, I think I might have reacted a bit too early on after the first set and when I came on for the second set I said to myself, 'Yeah, you've reacted too early here'.
"I just had to get on with the job. It wasn't really at the front of the mind because they want the underdog to win or they want the game to go on even longer."
Littler apologises for on-stage rant
17:59 , Lawrence OstlereBeing booed was certainly an unusual experience for Littler, who has been the darling of the sport since his emergence two years ago.
"I think I lost (my head), it's still on there," the defending champion said. "Two years ago I think I would have started throwing my darts left-handed, but that is how much I have grown, how much I have matured.
"People might say I have not matured, but try and be in my position.
"I can still learn a lot. I can learn how to deal with the crowd, not let as much emotion out, just keep it all in me until that final dart.”
Littler apologises for on-stage rant
17:55 , Lawrence OstlereAt the time, Littler doubled down during his on-stage interview, saying: "You guys pay for tickets and you pay for my prize money, so thank you for my money, thank you for booing me."
Littler's mother Lisa later hit out at the spectators who booed her son.
Replying to a post on X saying Littler had "financially ridiculed a whole audience who've paid their hard earned money to go and watch him", she said: "So they buy tickets with there [sic] hard earned money to sit there like t**** and boo."
Littler apologises for on-stage rant
17:47 , Lawrence OstlereLuke Littler admits he "lost" his head when reacting to the hostile crowd during his fourth-round World Championship win over Rob Cross and still has some learning to do.
The 18-year-old was booed and jeered as he beat Cross 4-2 to book his place in the quarter-finals at Alexandra Palace.
Littler let the emotion out after throwing the winning darts, running around the stage gesturing to the crowd, who had wanted Cross to win.
Humphries: I must be better to win world title
17:35 , Lawrence OstlereLuke Humphries admitted he needed to improve despite storming into the quarter-finals of the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace with a 4-1 win over Dutchman Kevin Doets.
Humphries, the 2024 champion, hit back after losing the first set to cruise through the next four and book a last-eight clash with rising star Gian van Veen tonight.
Humphries said in his on-stage interview: "It was a decent performance - it kind of dropped off towards the end, but when you're 3-1 up, you want a good set to prove yourself and not create any unnecessary drama.
"I feel like I've played well but I feel like there's another level in me, which is important. If you're going to win this tournament, you have to have another level in you because that won't win you the World Championship."
World Darts Championship 2026
14:48 , Lawrence OstlereHello and welcome along to live coverage of the World Darts Championship, and what a line up we’ve got tonight. Stick with us because this could be a fun one.
- Luke Littler v Krzysztof Ratajski
- Luke Humphries v Gian van Veen
