A 12 months on from lacking Ally Pally after his spouse’s tragic demise, WAYNE MARDLE reveals how excited he’s to be again on the World Darts Championship – and his suggestions for the title

A little under a year ago, Sky Sports Darts fan favourite Wayne Mardle was preparing for his latest World Championship as a beloved pundit, excited by the idea of teenage sensation Luke Littler becoming world champion before he was an adult.

Could Littler really do it? How would Luke Humphries go being the chased rather than the chaser? Could Michael van Gerwen strike back? There was so much talk in the build-up to the tournament, and fans, pundits and players alike were simply waiting for the talking to be done and the first arrow to be thrown.

That would happen on December 15, but, on the eve of the tournament, the gut-wrenching news came that Mardle’s wife of 22 years, Donna, had passed away after a short illness.

The darts world rallied around the man known as Hawaii 501, and he would sit out the World Darts Championship for the first time since 1997.

‘I am excited to be amongst it,’ Mardle tells Daily Mail Sport ahead of the 2026 edition, which gets underway on Thursday. ‘I have been part of every World Championship since 1998 apart from one. 

‘But it is an exciting time for the sport. The Worlds caps off the year and starts the new year. It is in a real great spot calendar wise – no other event does it really. It ends the year for those who have been playing well and starts the new one.’

Wayne Mardle will return to the World Darts Championship this winter after missing last year’s event following the death of his wife

Mardle is a fan favourite and a key part of Sky Sports’ coverage of the tournament

Mardle’s wife Donna passed away last year following a short illness

Fans missed his chirpiness, his energetic mood, and his thorough analysis. Anything Mardle doesn’t know about darts isn’t worth knowing – and he’s been a vital part of Sky’s coverage as the sport has continued to grow.

‘I don’t think anyone has perceived this growth or expected this to keep happening,’ he adds, grinning. ‘But it keeps happening and that is credit to the PDC, credit to the players and credit to everyone involved.

‘I cant play darts to this level anymore… so what’s the next best thing? Talking about it. And I like talking! I like my job, I am a lucky man.’

This year, £1million will be taken home by the winner for the first time ever. The largest prize pool in the history of the sport is on offer for the biggest player pool the tournament has ever had, with 128 players taking part for the first time.

The world’s best players will be there, as well as qualifiers from the likes of the Women’s Series, the Asian Tour and the CDC Tour. It’s a serious chance for players to earn what it life-changing money at one end of the ability ladder, while others at the other end are looking to etch their names into history.

‘It just gives so many more people a chance, an opportunity, to make their name,’ Mardle says. ‘The preparation I have been doing… there are people who have gone under the radar for so long that there is hardly any info on them. A lot of players are in top form now that we have never heard of, and that is exciting, because nothing is a given – not in sport.

‘The only thing you get judged on is World Championship performances. You can win anything and you can win everything – if you don’t win this… James Wade for instance is going to be judged on World Championships. He has never won it, yet he has won nine ranking major TV events – he will be judged on that forever. This is how it goes.

‘Phil Taylor – you don’t call him a 16-time Matchplay champion, you call him a 16-time world champion. The fact he has won 16 of each is ridiculous – but what I am getting at is this is how you are judged. Michael van Gerwen when he was world No 1 by a mile – he won 26 events out of 51 but didn’t win the Worlds. Broke down in tears, was inconsolable for weeks saying he would have given everything else up just to win this one. It’s all that matters, it’s all that counts.’

Mardle is big on the idea that players are judged on their World Championship efforts alone

Refusing to pick a dark horse, he expects the usual big names to deliver at Alexandra Palace

According to the bookies, Littler is odds-on to retain his title, with Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price and Josh Rock following. Mardle cites those five names, as well as Nathan Aspinall and van Gerwen, as contenders. ‘There are probably one or two I am missing.’

Last year, he told Daily Mail Sport that Jermaine Wattimena was his dark horse for success. The Dutchman upset Wade in round two before being knocked out in round three, and had a run to the semi-finals of the recent Players Championship Finals.

This time, though, he refuses to pick a dark horse. ‘A dark horse will not win this event,’ he says. ‘They might have a run, semis or final at a push, but no dark horse has ever won this event. John Part in 2008 was an outsider, but already a two-time world champion.

‘No dark horse will win this, there’s no doubt about it. I really believe the usual protagonists and winners will win.’

We will find out if that’s the case on January 3 at Alexandra Palace. Until then, strap in for the ride, because World Championship Darts is about to take over again.

Sky Sports and NOW will be exclusive home of the World Darts Championship, with 20 days of unmissable action starting on December 11.