The 2026 PDC World Darts Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship)[1] is an ongoing professional darts tournament that is being held from 11 December 2025 to 3 January 2026 in Alexandra Palace in London, England. It is the 33rd World Darts Championship to be organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and the 19th to be held in Alexandra Palace. The event is being hosted in Alexandra Palace's West Hall for the final time before moving to the venue's Great Hall for subsequent editions. The winner will receive £1,000,000 from a total prize fund of £5,000,000, as part of the PDC's biggest prize money increase in its history.
The tournament features a 128-player field for the first time, expanded from 96. The top 32 players on the PDC Order of Merit were seeded for the first round. A total of 28 players made their PDC World Championship debut. By defeating Jeffrey de Graaf in the first round, 71-year-old Paul Lim became the oldest player to win a match at the event. Nitin Kumar, Stefan Bellmont and David Munyua achieved the first PDC World Championship wins for India, Switzerland and Kenya, respectively.
Master of ceremonies John McDonald(left) and referee George Noble (right) are set to retire from darts following the tournament.
The 2026 tournament is being held from 11 December 2025 to 3 January 2026 in London, England.[8] It is the 33rd edition of the event and the 19th to be held at Alexandra Palace, which first served as host venue at the 2008 World Championship.[9] The event is being hosted in Alexandra Palace's West Hall for the final time as it will move to the venue's larger Great Hall for subsequent editions, staying there until at least 2031.[10][11] Irish gambling company Paddy Power continued its sponsorship of the event, having agreed a three-year contract with the PDC ahead of the 2024 edition;[12] in December 2025, it was announced that Paddy Power renewed their sponsorship until 2031.[13] It is the final PDC event for master of ceremoniesJohn McDonald and referee George Noble, who are set to retire from darts following the tournament.[14]
A record-breaking total of 128 players are competing at the event, expanded from the previous total of 96; the expanded field was announced by the PDC in March 2025.[15] A new qualification structure was also introduced.[16]Luke Littler entered the tournament as defending champion, having defeated three-time champion Michael van Gerwen 7–3 in the 2025 final to win his first world title and become the youngest darts world champion in history at 17 years and 347 days old.[17][18] He aims to be the first player to defend the title since Gary Anderson at the 2016 World Championship,[19] and is the bookmakers' pre-tournament favourite to win the championship.[20][21]
Format
Under the new format, all players, including the 32 seeds, entered the tournament in the first round, a change from previous years where seeds entered in the second round.[22] All matches consist of games of 501, where players are required to reduce their score from 501 to zero in order to win a leg, finishing on a double or the bullseye. The matches are played in set format, with the amount of sets required to win a match increasing as the tournament progresses.[23] All non-deciding sets are played to the best of five legs. In the deciding set, a tie-break rule is applied if the set score is 2–2, where the first player to lead by two legs wins the set and the match; if the deciding set reaches 5–5, the winner is decided by a sudden death leg.[24]
Round
Best of (sets)
First to (sets)
First & second
5
3
Third & fourth
7
4
Quarter-finals
9
5
Semi-finals
11
6
Final
13
7
Ranking
The PDC's main world ranking system, the PDC Order of Merit (known for sponsorship reasons as the Werner Rankings Ladder),[25] is calculated on a two-year cycle. Prize money won by players in ranking tournaments are removed from their ranking after 104 weeks, meaning players who participated in the 2024 World Championship, who did not lose their PDC Tour Card during the two-year period, will be 'defending' their prize money from that event.[26] At the end of the tournament, the prize money won at the 2026 tournament will be added and the prize money won at the 2024 tournament will be removed.[27][28] After the tournament, the top 64 players in the PDC Order of Merit will receive a one-year extension on their Tour Card, joined by the players who earned two-year Tour Cards in 2025 who will enter their second year in 2026.[29] Players with two or more years on their Tour Card, who finish outside of the top 64, will lose their Tour Card and see their ranking reset to £0, along with all other players who earned prize money in ranking tournaments without holding a Tour Card.[27][28]
Prize money
On 31 March 2025, the PDC announced the biggest prize money increase in the organisation's history, starting from the 2026 season onward. Coinciding with the expansion of the field to 128 players, the World Championship's total prize money increased to £5,000,000, with the winner's share doubling from £500,000 to £1,000,000; this was the first time the tournament's prize money increased since the 2019 edition.[15][30] The winner will also receive the Sid Waddell Trophy, named in honour of the darts commentator who died in 2012.[31] Like the previous year, tournament sponsor Paddy Power pledged to award £60,000 to the player, a random fan and Prostate Cancer UK for every nine-dart finish hit during the tournament.[32]
The tournament is also available on the PDC's streaming service, PDCTV, for subscribers outside of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.[36]Talksport is providing live commentary for the event, which features former professional players Paul Nicholson and Chris Mason.[37]
Qualification
The 128-player field comprised three sets of qualification routes. The top 40 players on the two-year PDC Order of Merit after the 2025 Players Championship Finals qualified automatically, followed by the next 40 highest-ranked players on the one-year PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit. The remaining 48 places went to various international qualifiers.[38][39] A record total of 28 players made their PDC World Championship debut.[40]
There were 40 players who qualified for the tournament by virtue of being ranked in the top 40 of the PDC Order of Merit.[41] Defending champion Luke Littler is the number one seed for the tournament, having achieved world number one status on his way to winning the 2025 Grand Slam.[42] He entered the World Championship off the back of claiming his sixth major title of 2025 at the Players Championship Finals;[43] his other titles included the last World Championship, the World Matchplay and his second Grand Slam.[44]Luke Humphries, the 2024 world champion and previous world number one, is the second seed. He won two major titles during the season—the World Masters and the Premier League—and finished as runner-up at a further three major tournaments.[42][45] The third seed is three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen, who ended a two-year major title drought by winning the World Series Finals in September.[46] Two-time World Championship semi-finalist and former BDO world champion Stephen Bunting is the fourth seed. Welsh number one Jonny Clayton and 2022 UK Open champion Danny Noppert are the fifth and sixth seeds, while four-time World Championship semi-finalist James Wade is seeded seventh in his 22nd appearance at the tournament. Chris Dobey, a 2025 semi-finalist, and 2021 world champion Gerwyn Price completed the top ten alongside tenth seed Gian van Veen, who achieved his first major title at the European Championship and retained his World Youth Championship during the year.[47][41]
There were 48 players who qualified for the tournament through international qualifiers.[41] Three-time women's world champion Beau Greaves made her second appearance at the PDC World Championship after her debut at the 2023 event, having declined to participate in the last two editions in favour of competing in the WDF World Championship.[57] A minimum of four women were guaranteed to participate in the tournament as part of the new World Championship qualification structure.[39] Along with Greaves, Women's World Matchplay champion Lisa Ashton and Women's Series players Fallon Sherrock, Noa-Lynn van Leuven and Gemma Hayter qualified.[58] Sherrock entered as the only woman to have won matches at the tournament, while Van Leuven remained the only transgender player in the event's history.[59]
Paul Lim, who finished fifth on the 2025 PDC Asian Tour, qualified for his first PDC World Championship since the 2022 edition; at age 71, he extended his record as the oldest player to compete at the event.[60][61]Simon Whitlock, who finished as runner-up at the 2010 World Championship, confirmed his comeback by winning the newly-established ANZ Premier League, having missed the last World Championship to end a 15-year participation streak. Whitlock, Tim Pusey and Joe Comito comprised the Australian contingent to qualify, alongside seeded player Damon Heta.[62] Spain's Cristo Reyes secured his return to the World Championship by winning the Mediterranean qualifier, having last competed at the 2020 edition.[63]
Kenya and Argentina were represented for the first time after David Munyua and Jesús Salate earned their places in the tournament.[64][65] The final five places at the World Championship went to the successful players from the Tour Card holder qualifier: 2020 Grand Slam champion José de Sousa, Tavis Dudeney, Adam Hunt, Stephen Burton and Haupai Puha.[66]
The international qualifiers were invited in the following order:[22][67]
Originally a qualification route
List of international qualifiers for the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship
The first round (best of five sets) began on 11 December.[74]Luke Littler opened his title defence with a 3–0 victory over Darius Labanauskas. The first two sets of the match were played to deciding legs, which Littler won, before also claiming the third set. Littler admitted being nervous for his opening match, which he called "the hardest game" of the tournament to play.[75]Michael Smith, the 2023 world champion, defeated Lisa Ashton 3–0 in what he deemed "not a great game".[76] After a year of dealing with injuries, Smith said: "That is the first time I felt 100 per cent this year, but I didn't play 100 per cent. It's hard coming the first night, I am glad to be through."[76] German debutant Arno Merk won the opening match of the tournament by beating Kim Huybrechts 3–1, while Madars Razma closed the opening day by defeating Dutch debutant Jamai van den Herik by the same scoreline.[77]Rob Cross, the 2018 world champion, hit a 170 checkout in the final leg of his 3–0 win against Cor Dekker.[78] In his third World Championship appearance, Gian van Veen earned his first win at the tournament by defeating Cristo Reyes 3–1.[79] Twelfth seed Ross Smith was the first seeded player to be eliminated, losing 3–2 to Swedish debutant Andreas Harrysson; Smith missed six match darts in the fourth set to win 3–1, allowing Harrysson to level the score and win the deciding set.[78][80]
Luke Humphries, the 2024 world champion, won his opening match 3–1 against Ted Evetts.[81] Already the oldest player to compete at the event, 71-year-old Paul Lim became the oldest player to win a PDC World Championship match by defeating Jeffrey de Graaf 3–1; he beat the previous record held by John MaGowan, who was 67 when he won a match at the 2009 World Championship.[82][83] Humphries and Lim's wins set up a match between the pair in the second round—a rematch of their 2021 World Championship meeting, which Lim won 3–2. Lim praised Humphries's ability in his post-match interview but claimed that he "can be beaten",[82] while Humphries recounted his friendly interactions with Lim since their match, adding: "The crowd will be against me and if I don't play well, he will fancy his chances."[84] World number 84 Adam Hunt took a 2–1 lead against two-time world champion Gary Anderson, but Anderson claimed the next two sets to win 3–2. "That's probably the best Adam [Hunt] has played all season" said Anderson.[83]Gabriel Clemens converted a 170 checkout in the second leg of his match against Alex Spellman and went on to win 3–0, only conceding one leg throughout the contest.[81]
Fourth seed Stephen Bunting established a two-set lead over Sebastian Białecki, who then won six of the next seven legs to bring the score to 2–2. With the deciding set level at 2–2 in legs, Bunting and Białecki were the first pair of the tournament to enter a tie-break, where Bunting earned the two clear legs required to win the set 4–2 and the match 3–2.[85][86]Dimitri Van den Bergh, a semi-finalist at the 2023 World Championship, missed 16 out of 17 attempts at double as he lost 3–0 to Scottish debutant Darren Beveridge.[85] Competing in his fifth PDC World Championship, Nitin Kumar became the first Indian player to win a match at the event, beating Richard Veenstra 3–2. Kumar, who hit 75 per cent of his darts at double, said he was "willing to be the puppet" for inspired Indian players,[87] while Sky Sports commentator Glen Durrant called the match "one of the greatest games [he had] ever commentated on".[88] The 2024 European Championship winner Ritchie Edhouse lost 3–0 to Jonny Tata, who was the first player from New Zealand to win at the event since the 2019 World Championship.[86]
Fifth seed Jonny Clayton progressed to the second round by beating Adam Lipscombe 3–1.[89] Number 26 seed Cameron Menzies led 2–1 against 20-year-old English debutant Charlie Manby, but Manby came back to claim a 3–2 victory.[90] As Manby celebrated, Menzies began punching the underside of a drinks table on stage out of frustration, cutting his right hand open in the process.[91][90] He was subsequently taken to hospital.[92][93] Menzies later apologised for his behaviour, revealing that his uncle had recently died but that it was "no excuse for what [he] did on the stage".[94] In a statement, PDC chief executive Matt Porter said: "Any incident of this nature is reported to the Darts Regulation Authority for review, but our main priority is the player's health and wellbeing."[91] Two-time world champion Peter Wright defeated Noa-Lynn van Leuven 3–0 but admitted he was unhappy with how he played, believing he was "not transferring [his practice] on the big stage".[89] The 2010 World Championship runner-up Simon Whitlock forced a deciding set against Connor Scutt after initially going 2–0 down; Whitlock took the first leg of the set before Scutt took the next three for a 3–2 win.[95]Dirk van Duijvenbode and Andy Baetens also went to a deciding set, where Van Duijvenbode hit a 170 checkout in the first leg and went on to win the set and the match.[95]Max Hopp marked his return to the World Championship after five years by defeating Martin Lukeman 3–1.[89]Brendan Dolan won the second set of his match against Tavis Dudeney with a 170 checkout before clinching a 3–1 victory.[96]
Four-time semi-finalist James Wade(pictured in 2022) achieved his first win at the tournament since the 2022 World Championship by defeating Ryusei Azemoto 3–0.
Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen lost the opening set of his match against Japanese debutant Mitsuhiko Tatsunami, but won the next three to claim a 3–1 victory.[106] "It was really difficult, I don't know what happened" commented Van Gerwen, who remarked that Tatsunami made him "work really hard" for the win.[107] African qualifier David Munyua, the first Kenyan representative in PDC World Championship history, earned a shock victory against the 2024 World Grand Prix champion and 18th seed Mike De Decker.[108] After winning the first two sets, De Decker missed three match darts to win 3–1 and Munyua capitalised by levelling the score at 2–2. In the deciding set, Munyua landed a 135 checkout before completing a 3–2 comeback win.[109][110] Japanese debutant Motomu Sakai defeated Thibault Tricole 3–0 in another upset win.[111] Sky Sports pundit Mark Webster said that the debuting players had "done themselves more than justice" with their performances, stating that Munyua's victory was "what the World Championship is about".[112]Fallon Sherrock, the first woman to win a PDC World Championship match, lost 3–0 to Dave Chisnall.[106]Dominik Grüllich led 2–1 against the 19th seed Jermaine Wattimena, but Wattimena overturned the deficit to win 3–2.[110]Krzysztof Ratajski converted a 170 checkout on his way to beating Alexis Toylo 3–0.[106]
Making her second PDC World Championship appearance, Beau Greaves went to a deciding set with 22nd seed Daryl Gurney.[113] Gurney converted a 144 checkout in the third leg of the set before winning the next leg to seal a 3–2 victory, despite Greaves winning more legs throughout the match.[114] Gurney praised Greaves after the match and called her "the best woman darts player on the planet".[114] He also predicted that she was "going to be a force to be reckoned with" and that she would "win some PDC tournaments" in 2026.[115]Nathan Aspinall won 3–1 against Lourence Ilagan after losing the opening set, completing the victory with a 170 checkout.[113]Gemma Hayter clinched a set against 11th seed Josh Rock before losing 3–1. Rock admitted to underestimating Hayter, later declaring: "When it comes to round two against Joe Comito, I will not perform like that, I assure you."[116]William O'Connor produced the highest three-dart average of the first round as he averaged 102.36 to defeat Krzysztof Kciuk 3–0.[114]Keane Barry was the last player to advance, beating Tim Pusey 3–0 in the final match of the round.[116][117]
The second round (best of five sets) began on 20 December.[118] Before the start of the second round, Dom Taylor was suspended by the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) after failing a drug test, which was conducted on the same day he won his first-round match 3–0 against Oskar Lukasiak. He was removed from the tournament and his scheduled opponent, Jonny Clayton, received a bye to the third round.[119][120] Four of the six seeded players that competed on 20 December were eliminated.[121] The 28th seed Michael Smith was beaten 3–1 by Niels Zonneveld, who said "I think this is the biggest victory of my life" in response to defeating the former world champion.[118]Andrew Gilding won 3–1 against eighth seed Chris Dobey, marking the first time Dobey had failed to reach the third round since 2018.[121] The 21st seed Dave Chisnall hit 11 maximums as he recovered from 2–0 down against Ricardo Pietreczko, but missed a match dart before Pietreczko secured victory in a tie-break.[122][123]James Hurrell also won in a deciding set, earning a 3–2 upset win over 29th seed Dirk van Duijvenbode.[124] Seeded players Stephen Bunting and Ryan Searle were 3–0 winners over Nitin Kumar and Brendan Dolan, respectively.[123] Andreas Harrysson continued his debut campaign by defeating Motomu Sakai 3–0.[118]
Welsh debutant David Davies missed darts at double to win the opening set of his match with Luke Littler; Littler later claimed a 3–0 victory. On his opponent's missed doubles, Littler said: "If he hit them, it was a complete different game, but I'm glad he missed."[125] Ninth seed Gerwyn Price suffered a shock 3–0 loss to world number 92 Wesley Plaisier.[126] Plaisier stated that it was "by far [his] biggest win ever" and that he "couldn't imagine beating" Price.[127]Mensur Suljović went 1–0 down against 32nd seed Joe Cullen, who hit a 170 checkout,[128] but Suljović won the next three sets for a 3–1 victory.[127] Cullen was visibly unhappy with his opponent's slow style of play during the match and believed it was intentional, posting on social media: "The old guard will say it's part of the game but word it how you will – it's cheating. That's not darts."[129][130] Suljović denied accusations of cheating, claiming he "never, ever [plays slowly] as a provocation".[130] His win set up a third-round tie against Littler, who revealed that Suljović sent him a message when the tournament draw was conducted that said "See you in round three".[129]Martin Schindler defeated Keane Barry 3–0 in a match where all sets went to a deciding leg.[131] Stefan Bellmont led 1–0 and 2–1 against Damon Heta but Heta ultimately won 3–2.[127] Rob Cross defeated Ian White 3–1, Luke Woodhouse beat Max Hopp 3–0, and Krzysztof Ratajski eliminated 24th seed Ryan Joyce with a 3–1 win.[127]
Schedule
The event consists of 36 sessions held across 20 days from 11 December 2025 until the date of the final on Saturday, 3 January 2026.[1][8] The schedule of play for round one was confirmed on 26 November 2025.[132] The figures to the right of a player's name show their three-dart average in a match. Players in bold denote match winners.[133][134]
The draw for the tournament was held on 24 November 2025, conducted live on Sky Sports News and YouTube by former semi-finalists Wayne Mardle and Mark Webster.[67][135][136] Of the 128 qualifiers, the top 32 players on the PDC Order of Merit were seeded in standard seeding positions in the first round. The next qualifiers, ranked 33 to 64, were randomly drawn into the left hand side of the draw. These 64 players were matched up against the remaining 64 qualifiers, who were also drawn at random.[22]
Numbers to the left of a player's name show the 32 seeded players for the tournament. The 48 international qualifiers are indicated by 'Q'. The figures to the right of a player's name show their three-dart average in a match. Players in bold denote match winners.[133][137]
This table shows all three-dart averages over 100 achieved by players throughout the tournament.[133] For players with multiple high averages, this is indicated by the number in brackets.
The three-dart average is the most cited statistic in darts matches as it gives a rough estimate of a player's form.[138][139] For comparison with previous years, see the highest ever recorded averages in the World Darts Championship.
12As PDC World Youth Championship winner Gian van Veen qualified via the PDC Order of Merit, an extra place was awarded to the sixth-place finisher on the Development Tour.[68]
12As Development Tour winner Cam Crabtree and third-place finisher Owen Bates both qualified via the PDC Pro Tour, extra places were awarded to the fourth and fifth-place finishers.[68]
↑As Challenge Tour runner-up Darius Labanauskas qualified via the PDC Pro Tour, an extra place was awarded to the fourth-place finisher.[69]
12As series winner Beau Greaves and third-place finisher Lisa Ashton qualified via the PDC Development Tour and the Women's World Matchplay respectively, extra places were awarded to the fourth and fifth-place finishers.[70]
12As tour winner Alexis Toylo and third-place finisher Lourence Ilagan qualified by virtue of reaching the final of the Asian Championship, two places below the original top five qualified for the World Championship.[71]
12Campbell was ineligible to take the World Championship spot via the North American Championship due to PDC Rule 3.9, which states that players who have held a Tour Card for more than two years, or are inside the top 64 in the world, cannot use affiliate qualifiers to qualify for PDC events.[27] The spot was awarded to the top-ranked non-qualified player from the CDC Pro Tour, Stowe Buntz.[72]
↑As runner-up Teemu Harju qualified by virtue of winning the Nordic & Baltic Championship, Lukasiak qualified after finishing third.[73]
↑Clayton won on walkover after Taylor was ejected from the competition for failing a drug test.[119]
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