Ryan Searle has been one of the most impressive players at the World Championships so far, only dropping two sets on his path to the semi-finals, with both of these being lost to Jonny Clayton in a 5-2 victory.

Searle did only average 91.32 in that clash, but that is not reflective of his overall performance at the tournament so far, with Searle covering this average line in three of his five matches. He’s averaged over 100 in two of his five matches, with these stellar performances coming against James Hurrell and Martin Schindler.

Searle will have to find that level of performance to deal with Littler, and I think he’s got the scoring power to cover this average pretty comfortably. Littler’s opponents' average nearly always benefits from the Nuke being so clinical at the back end of legs - all five of his opponents at the World Championships so far have exceeded their seasonal averages.

Searle’s seasonal average sits at 95.63, so we’re looking for ‘Heavy Metal’ to match his average performance across the season in this semi-final. He’s been playing well above that level throughout the competition so far, and should really benefit from Littler being incredibly clinical at the back end of legs - his checkout percentage across the tournament is in excess of 50%, making him near unbeatable when combined with his scoring power. 

These two faced off three times in 2025, with Littler winning all three meetings. Searle averaged in excess of 95.5 in two of these games, falling marginally short in the other clash (95.48). One of these games was a long-format clash at the World Matchplay, which Littler won 10-2 in a game that saw Searle average 98.63, having just six darts at double.

I was a bit disappointed with Krzysztof Ratajski in the quarter final, I thought he could have taken at least a set off the Nuke - and had the opportunities to do so with the Polish Eagle missing set darts on two occasions. Littler hasn’t really been challenged at the World Championships so far, aside from Rob Cross, who is the only player to take sets off Littler at the tournament.

Ryan Searle’s performances at the tournament so far have made him slightly less of an outsider than Littler’s other opponents have been at the tournament. He’s priced at 6.50 to win here, and while I do think Littler will find a way to reach the final, Searle is on an inspired run at these World Championships and can be backed to take a few sets from the Nuke.

The format has now extended to first to six sets; this gradual increase, which takes place at the World Championships, almost always benefits the better players as they have more time to settle in matches. Littler often doesn’t even need this settling-in period, though he has been in situations where he finds himself trailing in long-format games and has to produce an inspired run to win the game.

What’s really stood out to me at the tournament from Searle so far is how effective he has been on the doubles. Searle’s scoring has always been a strong part of his game; his first nine averages across the season sit at 104.67 - so he can match Littler for scoring visits at times where Luke isn’t at his best. 

Searle’s checkout percentage across the tournament as a whole sits at 53.26%, which is a marked improvement on his 48% on doubles across the season as a whole. These are the best checkout numbers that Littler has faced at the tournament so far, and should see Searle put away the chances he gets, where Littler’s previous opponents have failed to take advantage.