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Luke Littler is the player to beat in darts right now and we have taken a closer look at his record against some of the world’s best.
Luke Littler will defend the World Darts Championship title for the very first time at Alexandra Palace in London over Christmas, as the teenage sensation bids to retain the Sid Waddell Trophy.
The world’s number one player is fresh from winning the Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship Finals in November, dethroning Luke Humphries atop the rankings in doing so.
He is, by any measurement, the form player heading to Ally Pally and will be the man they all have to try and stop.
Here we are taking a look at some of Littler’s stats & records against the players that help him make up the world’s top 10.
Luke Humphries
November’s Grand Slam of Darts win saw Littler toppling Humphries from the summit of the world rankings. The Nuke now leads their overall head-to-head 16-10.
Though Humphries halted Littler in the World final of 2024, stopping the dream Ally Pally debut, and won three of their first four televised finals, Littler has redressed the balance with wins in the World Grand Prix and Grand Slam deciders.
The ‘two Luke’s’ power-balance has perhaps shifted ahead of the journey back to London.
Michael van Gerwen
A year ago, Littler and Michael van Gerwen had met 12 times, splitting six wins each. That all changed on the biggest stage of all, as Littler was crowned champion of the world for the first time with a dominant 7-3 win over the Dutchman in the final.
That momentous win was avenged by MVG at the Dutch Masters and they traded blows in the Premier League through the spring – Littler edging it 4-2.
At the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam in September, MVG prevailed 11-7 in the final. He trails Littler 11-10 in their head-to-head.
Stephen Bunting
Stephen Bunting’s most famous showdown with Littler came in the 2025 PDC World Championship semi-final as the Bullet was fired out of Alexandra Palace in a 6-1 mauling, with the Liverpudlian accused by some pundits of being too friendly on stage.
Bunting went on to lose four of their five Premier League meetings in 2025, while also losing against Littler at the Australian Darts Masters, though he did prevail 7-3 at the Poland Darts Masters in July. Bunting trails 8-4 in the head-to-head.
Jonny Clayton
Jonny Clayton has only faced Littler five times, with just one win for the Welsh thrower. That came in the quarter-finals of the PDC’s World Masters in February of this year.
The Nuke has powered clear in this rivalry since, winning at the UK Open in March, the World Series Finals in September and the Grand Prix in October.
Danny Noppert
Dutch ace Danny Noppert is ranked sixth in the world and has faced the challenge of Littler on five occasions, emerging best just once. That came via a 7-4 European Tour win in September this year.
They’ve had some good battles on the Players Championship and ProTour but Littler was dominant when running out a 16-9 winner in the Grand Slam semi-final meeting in November.
James Wade
James Wade has faced Littler on seven occasions and come up with a pair of wins. They included the European Championship meeting in October this year, where Wade got the verdict 10-7, but earlier in the year Littler dished out an 11-2 hammering in the UK Open final in Minehead.
The Nuke also left the 2007 champion Wade on the wrong side of his sixth World Matchplay final in Blackpool as he won 18-13 at the Winter Gardens in July.
Chris Dobey
Chris Dobey shared three wins each over his first six meetings with Littler, including successive Premier League wins in Berlin and Aberdeen in 2025. Their most recent clash was in the Players Championship Finals last month, with Littler coming out a 10-5 winner to move ahead 4-3 in their head-to-head.
Gerwyn Price
Gerwyne Price has given Littler lots of food for thought in their 18 meetings. The Iceman won six successive battles in late 2024/early 2025 – either side of Littler’s first world title – and appeared to have a hold over the teenage sensation.
It was well documented at the time and The Nuke has redressed the balance since, winning seven on the trot including the Players Championship semi-final last month and September’s World Series semi-final. The youngster now leads their rivalry 11-7.
Gian van Veen
Rising Dutch star Gian van Veen has held his own in six meetings with Littler, the pair currently level on three wins each.
Van Veen’s wins have come in Players Championship and ProTour tussles, while Littler came out best at the UK Open in March 2025 and again at the Grand Prix in October – the only two clashes in major televised events so far.
With one of van Veen’s losses coming in the World Youth Championship in 2023, the 23-year-old Netherlands dartist is the only member of the world’s top 10 that doesn’t have a negative head-to-head against Littler.
