Luke Littler will begin his defence of the PDC World Darts Championship against Lithuania's Darius Labanauskas in the first round at Alexandra Palace next month. The draw for the 2025-26 tournament was made on Monday afternoon.
The 18-year-old, who became world champion by defeating Michael van Gerwen in January, is in formidable form. He recently won his eighth major TV title at the Players Championship Finals on Sunday and has also claimed the UK Open, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and Grand Slam this year. Last week, he overtook Luke Humphries to become world number one.
Labanauskas, a former BDO world finalist, will be the first challenger to try to halt Littler's momentum. The tournament runs from December to January at Alexandra Palace.
Other notable first-round ties include Luke Humphries against Ted Evetts, Michael van Gerwen facing Japan's Mitsohiko Tatsunami, and Beau Greaves taking on Daryl Gurney. The full draw features 64 matches.
