The Dart Side of Life — The Adrian Geiler Column#4: 3 Trends Shaping the Future of Darts

The Darts World Championship will break records as the sport grows globally. Learn which 3 factors will decide future success: precise board management, smart calendar planning, and mindset.

Hello dear darts friends, 

You can feel it not only in the supermarkets: Christmas is coming soon. And in darts, it’s becoming increasingly noticeable, too — the darts year 2025 is coming to an end. The European Darts Championship in Dortmund, with an incredible 33,000 spectators — and a well-deserved winner in Gian van Veen — was the last darts highlight in Germany. The focus is now slowly but surely shifting toward the “big one”: the Darts World Championship at Ally Pally. A World Championship that will break records. 

Never has a World Championship been this big, with 128 male and female players. Never has it been this valuable, with five million pounds in prize money — one million of which will go to the world champion alone. And that, combined with the sport’s poster boy, world champion Luke Littler, will ensure that this World Championship attracts more attention than ever before. It’s going to be gigantic. 

It feels like the next step — the next level — a turning point. Even though we’re already in the middle of it. The sport is changing before our eyes. Eternal constants (callers like Russ Bray and George Noble, master of ceremonies John McDonald, players like Steve Beaton) are stepping away. A woman (Beau Greaves) is in the final of the Junior World Championship. And a teenager (Luke Littler) dominates both the sporting and non-sporting headlines of the sport. 

The future of darts is now. And we can already see certain trends that indicate what will lead to success. What are players doing to break into the world’s elite and stay there? In general terms: what will be important to keep up in darts? My guess: mainly three aspects. 

First: Board management. 
The sport is becoming more competitive. The overall level may not be quite as high as during the peaks of Phil Taylor or Michael van Gerwen, but the field is much tighter. More than ever, anyone can beat anyone. We’ve seen it in the Players Championship tournaments this year: who would have thought that 15 tournaments wouldn’t be enough for Michael van Gerwen to qualify for the Finals? He even played more events than last year — and still didn’t make it! Small details will decide success. And that’s where clean board management can help. Calculations must start earlier. We all know the “bogey numbers” — the numbers in the finishing range (below 170) that can’t be checked out with three darts. But these also exist in the setup shots. From 349, 348, 346, 345, 343, 342, 339 — no player in the world can set up a finish from these. That means the player needs one more turn to check out — and that opens the door for the opponent. These “bogey setup numbers” must be avoided. 

Second aspect: Calendar management. 
The darts calendar is brutal and unforgiving. You can play darts at the highest level almost every day. In 2026, there will again be 34 Players Championship tournaments, 15 instead of 14 European Tour events across more countries (8 — the most international the ET has ever been!) — and the major tournaments are also getting bigger (Grand Slam) and longer (World Series Finals) rather than smaller. And that doesn’t even include sponsor events, travel days, galas, practice, possibly work, and of course private life (yes, that still exists). Being a professional darts player also means making sacrifices. Sometimes, it might help to skip a tournament or two, take a break, or just say no more often. Martin Schindler, for example, had to learn that this year and will make some changes in 2026. That will help his game — but more importantly, it will help him as a person. 

Which brings us to the third point: mental and physical condition. 
Darts reflects life. When you feel good, the darts fly better. When you don’t, they don’t. There are countless examples of this. Getting into the right mindset will be essential for success. How you get there is up to you. The most important step will be self-reflection. Those who don’t understand who they are or who they want to be will fall behind. Because the measures they take to feel good won’t lead them to their goal. Sport can certainly help here. So, so many players have realized this in recent years. Luke Humphries, the world number one, and Ross Smith were among the first. Peter Wright lost a lot of weight. Nathan Aspinall has started running more. Michael van Gerwen has taken up padel tennis. Even the chronically laid-back Ricky Evans has realized this and (at least for a while) started logging some miles. I believe that players like Jermaine Wattimena (who admitted that losing weight worsened his game) will be the exceptions that prove the rule: fitness and a healthy mind will be crucial to performing at the top level consistently over a long period. 

Darts is heading into a golden era. The hype that Luke Littler has triggered will also pay off financially for many players. Next year, there will be more money to be earned on tour than ever before — from the Development Tour to the Pro Tour to the big majors. Darts is stepping out of its niche and onto the big stage. This will bring with it greater professionalism. And the smallest details can make the difference between success and failure. 

Game on! 
Yours, 
Adrian