Luke Littler hopes his world title defence won't open with a clash against Beau Greaves.
The reigning champion begins his bid for back-to-back crowns at Alexandra Palace from December 11 to January 3, live on SportNews Darts.
Littler tops the list of 40 automatic qualifiers via the PDC Order of Merit. In a format change for 2025/26, every player enters at the first-round stage, with the top 32 seeds guaranteed to face opponents ranked 65-128 in the world.
That could pit Littler against Women's Series winner Greaves, who edged him 6-5 in the PDC World Youth Championship semi-finals in October, but it's a reunion he's keen to avoid.
"We'll have to see who I draw," said Littler.
"There are loads of huge names. Us seeds start in round one, so it's two matches before Christmas. I wouldn't fancy Beau Greaves first up - I don't think many people would want me to win."
Fresh from his maiden Players Championship triumph, an 11-8 win over Nathan Aspinall, Littler said he is allowing himself to feel more emotion as his career progresses.
"It wasn't easy to reach this final, but I'm proud to tick this one off the list. Now there are only two more [the European Championship and World Masters] to go [for the clean sweep]," Littler told ITV Sport.
"I know I played brilliantly throughout the tournament and I'm glad I got the job done. Early on in my career I was just being myself, but now I'm starting to let out a bit more emotion and it's paying off.
"I'm very proud to lift this trophy, and now it's all eyes on the big one at the World Championship."
Prior to the Players Championship final, .
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