By:
Paul Kelly
With tough draws for all three Irish darts players, Keane Barry is Ireland’s strongest hope for success at the World Darts Championship.
The 23-year-old has the weakest quarter of the draw on paper, but is still firmly up against it at Ally Pally.
Keane Barry Ireland’s Strongest World Darts Championship Hope
With the 2026 World Darts Championship officially underway as of December 11, 128 darts players will take to the Alexandra Palace stage in a bid to win the Sid Waddell Trophy.
Of the 128 players in the World Darts Championship line-up, three are Irish.
Keane Barry, William O’Connor and Steve Lennon have all qualified for the Worlds this year and will take to the Ally Pally stage with hopes of putting together a strong run.
The first Irish player in action is ‘Scuba Steve’, who gets his campaign underway on December 12 against Damon heta. Heta is one of the seeds for the Worlds with Lennon firmly up against it. Their match is the fourth game of the evening session on Friday.
O’Connor and Lennon reached the final of the World Cup of Darts in 2019, with ‘The Magpie’ the next Irishman in action on the Ally Pally stage a week after his former partner.
https://twitter.com/SkySportsDarts/status/1870226618653786175
The Limerick native faces Poland’s Krzysztof Kciuk in Round 1 in a match he is favourite to win. However, O’Connor is on a collision course with Michael van Gerwen should he win his opening match.
O’Connor takes on Kciuk in the opening game of the evening session on December 19, with fellow Irishman and World Cup teammate Keane Barry the third and final player hailing from Ireland also in action on the same night.
‘Dynamite’ is favourite to win his opening match, with Tim Pusey awaiting Barry in Round 1. It’s fair to say that O’Connor or Barry have the most favourable opening match on paper, with Lennon undoubtedly facing the toughest task.
In terms of the draw bracket as a whole, it’s Barry who has the weakest quarter on paper. Of course this might not prove to be the case when the players actually take to the oche, but the 23-year-old certainly has the most favourable quarter on paper.
Keane Barry has completely changed his throwing style, now has the darts standing up to attention instead of stacking pic.twitter.com/TKeUasiDvv
— Phill Barrs (@phillbarrs) February 10, 2025
All Three Irish Players Face Tough Draws At World Darts Championship
Although Keane Barry’s quarter of the draw seems the weakest on paper, he will still need to get past number 13 seed Martin Schindler in the second round if he is to progress into the last 32 or beyond.
Similarly, William O’Connor will fancy his chances of making the second round, but is likely set to face three-time world champion and former dominant star Michael van Gerwen in Round 2.
Steve Lennon faces the toughest first round draw against Damon Heta, but does have a more favourable draw in Round 2 if he gets that far. That being said, it is still going to be against a former five-time world champion.
https://twitter.com/dartsergebnisse/status/1998007006746062938
Lennon is on a collision course with Raymond van Barneveld, who mightn’t be as good as he used to be, but can still turn it on on his day.
With that in mind, Barry’s potential route to the later stages of the World Darts Championship seems the most favourable on paper.
It’s fair to say that none of the three Irishmen in action got easy draws. However, if you want to win the Worlds, you’re going to have to beat some top class players along the way.
Irish Players’ Most Likely Routes To World Darts Championship Final
Keane Barry
| Round | Possible Opponent |
|---|---|
| Round 2 | Martin Schindler |
| Round 3 | Searle/Dolan |
| Round 4 | Bunting/van Duijvenbode |
| Quarter-Final | Clayton/Smith |
| Semi-Final | Littler/Dobey/Price |
| Final | Humphries/van Gerwen/van Veen |
William O’Connor
| Round | Possible Opponent |
|---|---|
| Round 2 | Michael van Gerwen |
| Round 3 | Wright/Huybrechts |
| Round 4 | Anderson/Wattimena |
| Quarter-Final | Noppert/Rock |
| Semi-Final | Humphries/van Veen/Aspinall/Wade |
| Final | Littler/Price/Bunting/Clayton |
Steve Lennon
| Round | Possible Opponent |
|---|---|
| Round 2 | Raymond van Barneveld |
| Round 3 | Cross/White/King |
| Round 4 | Littler/Cullen |
| Quarter-Final | Price/Dobey/Joyce |
| Semi-Final | Smith/Bunting/Clayton |
| Final | Humphries/van Veen/Rock |
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