Luke Littler is gearing up for his initial defense of the PDC World Darts Championship, where he will face off against Darius Labanauskas at Alexandra Palace in the upcoming month following the draw conducted on Monday.
The 18-year-old secured the 2025 world champion title by defeating Michael van Gerwen at Ally Pally in January. Since his notable victory, Littler has claimed victories at the UK Open, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts, and Players Championship, among other accolades.
Having recently climbed to the top spot in the world rankings, surpassing Luke Humphries, Littler is in stellar form as he prepares to defend his World Championship crown next month.
Littler, also known as ‘The Nuke,’ has now learned that he will be facing Lithuanian No.1 Labanauskas in the opening round of the restructured 128-player tournament.
In other opening matchups, Luke Humphries will take on Ted Evetts, Michael van Gerwen will go up against Mitsohiko Tatsunami, and Beau Greaves is scheduled to compete against Daryl Gurney.
The complete list of the 64 first-round ties for the 2026 PDC World Championship includes matchups such as Mario Vandenbogaerde vs David Davies, Joe Cullen vs Bradley Brooks, and Mensur Suljovic vs David Cameron, among others.
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