World Darts Championship – Day 13: Preview, standings, how to watch and predictions as Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen take center stage

Main event

Luke Littler returns to the Alexandra Palace stage tonight with his chances of winning a first World Darts Championship boosted after Luke Humphries’ stunning exit.

Humphreys was thrashed 4-1 by Peter Wright last night, opening the door for Littler as the pair were due to meet in the semi-finals.

However, Littler will have to get past Ryan Joyce in their fourth-round clash before considering a path to the final on Friday.

The pictures say it all 🙌🏼 Feeling happy to get the win and be in the next round, see you on Monday❤️🎯 pic.twitter.com/hiOheEPlO6

– Luke Littler (@LukeTheNuke180) December 29, 2024

The 39-year-old from Newcastle beat Ryan Searle in the final deciding set in the third round but admitted he would be in trouble if Littler played to his full potential.

“I’ll go into the match thinking I can win the match, but I’ll also feel like I’m the underdog to win,” he said. “We’ve seen in sports many times that the favorite doesn’t always win, otherwise it would be boring to watch, wouldn’t it?”

“If Luke Littler plays at his highest level ever, he can beat anyone and he will beat me comfortably.”

Letlier was surprised by his opponent’s pessimistic assessment, saying: “I did not know he said that.

“If that’s what he’s thinking, he’s not really good at his game.”

Littler struggled during his opening win at Ally Pally before a stunning final set win over Ryan Meikle but looked more composed in the win over Ian White.

The 17-year-old will follow Michael van Gerwen onto the stage tonight as he takes on Dutchman Geoffrey De Graaf.

Van Gerwen beat Brendan Dolan last time out but was disappointed with his performance, especially in the closing stages.

“I thought the fifth set was absolutely bad,” he said. You may not do that. Especially against Brendan, he’s like a fighter who never gives up, you don’t want to get yourself in trouble but I almost did.

Another 𝐰𝐢𝐧 in the bag! 💚🎯 The journey continues – to the round of 16! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/pD0QDzYoJ4

– Michael van Gerwen (@MvG180) December 28, 2024

The evening session begins with an interesting clash between Stephen Ponting and Luke Woodhouse.

Two more Tynesiders head into the afternoon session as Chris Dobbie takes on Kevin Deutz and Callan Reeds takes on Rob Owen.

Order of play

Afternoon session (1230 GMT)

Kevin Deutz vs. Chris Dobie
Rob Owen vs Callan Reeds
Ricardo Petrichko in Nathan Aspinall

Evening session (1900 GMT)

Stephen Ponting vs Luke Woodhouse
Michael van Gerwen vs. Geoffrey de Graaf
Luke Littler vs. Ryan Joyce

How to watch

The PDC World Championship is shown on Sky Sports in the UK.
You can watch the afternoon session on Sky Sports Darts and Main Event from 1230 GMT. The evening session takes place on Sky Sports Darts from 1900.

Predictions

Joyce could be a difficult opponent for Littler. He has nothing to lose, as he himself admits, and a carefree approach could come in handy against the Championship favourites, whose expectations will rise after Humphreys’ exit.

It’s hard to imagine Littler losing, but expect Joyce to win in two sets and put the pressure on the teenager, who has struggled to find his best form so far in this tournament.

Van Gerwen is now Letellier’s biggest threat and he should get the better of De Graaf with the minimum of fuss.

In the event of close matches, there could be another first over in the evening session but we will go with Ponting to beat Woodhouse.

Predicting afternoon matches seems a little easier. We’ll get wins for Dobey and Rydz with Aspinall finding a way past Pietreczko.