Keane Barry Tipped For World Darts Championship Success At Ally Pally By PDC Major Winner

Keane Barry is primed for a successful World Darts Championship this year, according to Paul Nicholson.

The former major winner believes the Irishman is ready for a strong run at Ally Pally this Christmas.

Keane Barry Tipped For World Darts Championship Success

The 2026 World Darts Championship is well underway, with reigning champion Luke Littler already safely through to Round 2 and several other big names already having won on the Alexandra Palace stage.

Of the 128 players who qualified for the Worlds, three were Irish. One has already fallen with Steve Lennon losing 3-1 to seeded player Damon Heta in Round 1.

The other two Irish darts stars are yet to begin their campaign, both kickstarting their tournament on Friday, December 19 with winnable first round encounters in the evening session.

Keane Barry and William O’Connor are Ireland’s World Cup of Darts pairing now, with many darts fans labelling Barry Ireland’s strongest hope at the 2026 World Darts Championship.

That is something former PDC major winner turned darts pundit Paul Nicholson agrees with.

🎯 World Darts Championship 2026

🇮🇪 Keane Barry

Age: 23
PDC Ranking: 55
qualified via: ProTour OoM
Round 1: vs. 🇦🇺 Pusey

2025 Average: 89.45
2025 Checkout-Pcnt: 36.41%
2025 W/L Record: 50 Wins / 54 Losses
Best Result: Round 2 (2022, 2024, 2025)#DartsWM pic.twitter.com/ra99yRLnCM

— Lukas Meitinger (@dartsergebnisse) December 8, 2025

‘The Asset’ feels that Barry is primed for a successful tournament this time around at Ally Pally in what will be his seventh time competing at the Worlds.

The 23-year-old has never gone further than Round 2, but Nicholson believes that could change this time around. The Englishman feels that Barry’s mental toughest could prove to be crucial, not to mention his workmanlike approach to darts:

“Keane is an interesting case because he wasn’t necessarily guaranteed to be in the tournament… Keane was under a monstrous amount of pressure.

“One thing I admire about Keane is what he does is not social media,” Nicholson told Betway.

“What he does is he gets on the practise board, he does what he does and he leaves. He’s like a ghost… He doesn’t give great celebrations.”

The World Championship schedule is out and I can’t wait to be back at Ally Pally🎯
I play Tim Pusey in the last game of the first round on Friday 19th December. It leaves me plenty of time to practice and I look forward to hopefully put on a good display on a stage I love! pic.twitter.com/VnjTeYMQ96

— Keane Barry (@KBarry180) November 27, 2025

Paul Nicholson: Keane Barry Can Lean On ‘Ally Pally Experience’ To Fuel World Championship Success

Tim Pusey awaits Keane Barry in Round 1 of the 2026 World Darts Championship, with ‘Dynamite’ hoping to sweep ‘The Magnet’ aside to reach the last 64 before Christmas.

This is Pusey’s first taste of the Alexandra Palace stage, with Barry set for his seventh appearance at the World Darts Championship.

Despite being just 23-years-old, Paul Nicholson believes the young Irish darting star can lean on his previous experiences from the Worlds, despite never fully performing to his maximum potential.

Nicholson feels that if the two-time world youth champion can deal with ‘live wire’ Pusey, he has a real chance of a strong run at Ally Pally this year.

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

Although nobody is expecting Barry to win the Sid Waddell Trophy come the New Year, Nicholson believes the Irishman is primed for his best run at the Worlds this time around:

“He’s got a lot of Ally Pally experience now for such a young man. I think it’s about time he used that to his advantage,” Nicholson told Betway.

“He’s gone back to what he knows is best… we could be in for a good first-round win for Keane, at least.”

The former major winner is a fan of Barry going back to basics and tinkering with his throw slightly. Barry’s darts always sat down parallel to the ground, but the Irishman has rediscovered the simplicity his game needed with a minor alteration.

All of these things point towards a strong run at the 2026 World Darts Championship for Keane Barry, who is Ireland’s best hope of success at Alexandra Palace this festive period.