Wayne Mardle names 8 players who can challenge Littler and Humphries | Other | Sport
Wayne Mardle suspects the Lukes won’t have everything their own way at Ally Pally (Image: Getty)
He has seen it, done it and lost his voice calling it. There is no one else better to assess the big talking points ahead of the World Darts Championship than five-time semi-finalist Wayne Mardle.
Ahead of the opening night of action, which features defending champion Luke Littler, the Sky Sports darts expert answers key questions about the main contenders, his dark horses for the tournament, leading female player Beau Greaves and the incredible £1million top prize that has made the 2025/26 edition the biggest World Championship in history…
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Can anyone get close to the two Lukes?
This year’s been a bit different. They were the big two last year too but you also had other major winners, like Ritchie Edhouse [European Championship] and Mike De Decker [World Grand Prix], while Martin Lukeman got to a final [at the Grand Slam].
This year, they’ve had it pretty much sewn up. For one of those two not to prevail at the Worlds… it won’t be a shock because there are loads of others in there. But they’ve had a great year between them.
Every single day, they are slightly better than the rest. Gerwyn Price is right up there, we know that, Van Gerwen is still very capable and so are many others. But Luke and Luke are the dominant forces, which is why they are number one and number two in the world.
Luke Humphries and Luke Littler are on course to meet in the final (Image: Getty)
Does Luke Humphries get enough credit for staying with Littler?
Personally, I think he does. I know Luke pretty well and he’s quite happy to sit back and let someone take all the pressure. Not everyone is a showman, not everyone is loud, now everyone wants to be at the forefront. He’s an amazing ambassador. He’s been an amazing world number one and has been an amazing world champion.
I’ve spoke to him about this. I play golf with him. He says, ‘Look, I get a load of credit, especially from the players.’ It doesn’t bother him that other people feel like he doesn’t.
Whenever Phil Taylor was playing, everyone else thought they didn’t get enough air time, but how can you compete with Phil Taylor? John Lowe played second fiddle to Eric Bristow, even though, for a period, John was world number one. Bristow was the biggest draw.
Luke Humphries is a big draw in his own right. If he’s not offended, I’m not offended on his behalf! For me, he does get the plaudits, he just goes about his work more quietly.
Beyond the Lukes, who are you expecting big things from?
The one who doesn’t get credit is Danny Noppert because he doesn’t say a word! And he’s a potential winner of every event he plays in.
And with Van Gerwen, the way he beat Gary Anderson at the Grand Slam [both players needed a win to progress from their group] could be a catalyst to play good darts in the coming weeks and months.
He needed to perform and did. So Van Gerwen, Price, Noppert, Josh Rock, Nathan Aspinall. If he [Aspinall], can tighten up his doubling, his scoring is right up there.
Jonny Clayton might be there or thereabouts, Gian van Veen, Wessel Nijman. There are a few who’ve never had a charge at the World Championship, but there’s no reason why they can’t win it.
Mardle believes Danny Noppert will be a threat (Image: Getty)
How far can Beau Greaves go at the tournament?
The biggest compliment I can pay Beau is – male, female, I couldn’t care less – she’s world-class and no doubt the best female I’ve ever seen.
I’ve watched darts since the early 1980s when you had Linda Batten, now Duffy, Maureen Flowers, then Trina Gulliver, Deta Hedman, Lisa Ashton, Anastasia Dobromyslova, Fallon Sherrock. No one can match Beau’s ability and form.
Day in, day out, she’s world-class. Against Niko Springer [at the Grand Slam], she didn’t play very well but still beat the man who beat Gary [Anderson] and Michael [van Gerwen in the group phase]. That’s how good she is.
I’m not saying she can go on and win the Worlds, that’s just pushing the boat out. But I think she can win two, three, four games and maybe reach a quarter-final. That wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
Did you ever think you’d see the day when the world champion would be picking up £1million?
No. I’ve been around longer than most and have seen the changes. With how good these players are, they deserve it.
Darts is an industry now, and a huge industry at that. The punters who pay to watch it on TV and live are seeing sport played at the highest level. Some of it is unimaginable. I’ve played the sport to a level and some of it now is mesmerising. It’s wonderful to see.
Sky Sports will be the exclusive home of the World Darts Championship, with 20 days of unmissable action starting on December 11.
