How will Littler deal with the new headwind?

In wrestling, it is not unusual for a star to transform from a crowd favorite to a villain over the course of their career. In darts, such a metamorphosis is much rarer. Ironically, it was the superstar of the scene, Luke Littler, who recently fell victim to hostility on the most prestigious stage at Alexandra Palace. While the 18-year-old prodigy was cheered frenetically almost everywhere during his two years on the tour, he was now confronted with boos, which obviously surprised him but ultimately had no impact on his confident entry into the quarterfinals.

However, because the reigning world champion drew even more anger from the party-loving crowd in London with his mocking comments in an interview after the match against Rob Cross, I dare to predict before the duel between Littler and Ratajski that the world number one will once again have to overcome external resistance in order to advance to the semi-finals as expected.

The only problem is that while many professionals—even those at the very top of the world rankings—allow themselves to be unsettled by noise, Luke “The Nuke” Littler does not. It seems more likely that the headwind will motivate him even more to play his best darts. In any case, on a purely sporting level, there is no doubt that Littler is the clear favorite between Littler and Ratajski.

I even think it’s likely to be another relatively smooth victory. For the set handicap (-3.5), i.e., a 5-0 or 5-1 set victory for the superstar, NEO.bet is still offering a playable 1.50.

The ardent Manchester United fan has dominated the 2026 Darts World Championship at will so far, throwing by far the most 180s and also playing an average of over 100 points in three of four games. Most recently, he scored 107 points against Suljovic and 106 points per three darts against Cross. Added together, the exceptional player also achieved 26 (!) maximums in both matches.

In my thoughts on the Littler vs. Ratajski match, the odds for another high number of 180s for the Englishman play a correspondingly large role. If Littler throws 14 maximums or more, you will receive strong odds of up to 2.98 at NEO.bet.

I find the over 13.5 total for 180s quite attractive. After all, there is an extra set in the quarterfinals, and the Polish underdog can play freely. For him, reaching the quarterfinals is already a huge success, which he has earned with his strong scoring, among other things.

Luke Littler – Krzysztof Ratajski Head-to-head record

These two professionals have faced each other four times in the statistics. Luke Littler won all four matches. However, in their most recent encounter in the round of 16 at the UK Open, one of the most important majors on the tour calendar, the Pole kept up very well. Both players averaged 97, while Ratajski even checked out with a higher percentage. Even in terms of 180s, “The Nuke” was only narrowly ahead at 6:5. Nevertheless, he retained the upper hand with 10:8 in terms of legs. On New Year’s Day, there will be more like 20-25 legs to marvel at, which should push up the total number of 180s and at the same time increase the likelihood that the 18-year-old’s class will prevail.

Luke Littler – Krzysztof Ratajski Tip

More exciting than the question of who will advance to the semifinals is the question of whether Luke Littler will once again have to contend with boos from the audience. The 18-year-old’s laissez-faire attitude has not gone down well with German fans in particular. However, as we all know, success brings with it the worst kind of envy. This is also the case with the dominator of the darts scene, who is once again plowing through the tournament at the 2026 World Championship and seems almost unbeatable. The Englishman should have no problems at all against Ratajski in his quarterfinal.

On the one hand, it can be assumed that the defending champion, who has set his sights on becoming back-to-back champion at “Ally Pally,” will throw many 180s. In six sets in the round of 16, he threw 17 against Rob Cross. At least 14 should also be possible in at least five sets against his Polish opponent. Alternatively, between Littler and Ratajski, I recommend betting on the favorite to win the match 5-0 or 5-1 in sets.