The holiday season is here, which means the World Darts Championship is back at the Alexandra Palace.
Almost three weeks of darts action will take place in London, with 128 players looking to make a run at the coveted Sid Waddell Trophy.
What to know about the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship
Let's take a look at some of the specifics of the tournament.
MORE: Every darts player who's qualified for the 2026 PDC World Championship
Bracket/draw
Here is the bracket for the first round.
Quarter #1
| (1) Luke Littler vs. Darius Labanauskas |
| Mario Vandenbogaerde vs. David Davies |
| (32) Joe Cullen vs. Bradley Brooks |
| Mensur Suljovic vs. David Cameron |
| (16) Damon Heta vs. Steve Lennon |
| Raymond van Barneveld vs. Stefan Bellmont |
| (17) Rob Cross vs. Cor Dekker |
| Ian White vs. Mervyn King |
| (8) Chris Dobey vs. Xiaochen Zong |
| Andrew Gilding vs. Cam Crabtree |
| (25) Luke Woodhouse vs. Boris Krcmar |
| Martin Lukeman vs. Max Hopp |
| (9) Gerwyn Price vs. Adam Gawlas |
| Lukas Wenig vs. Wesley Plaisier |
| (24) Ryan Joyce vs. Owen Bates |
| Krzysztof Ratajski vs. Alexis Toylo |
Quarter #2
| (4) Stephen Bunting vs. Sebastian Bialecki |
| Richard Veenstra vs. Nitin Kumar |
| (29) Dirk van Duijvenbode vs. Andy Baetens |
| James Hurrell vs. Stowe Buntz |
| (13) Martin Schindler vs. Stephen Burton |
| Keane Barry vs. Tim Pusey |
| (20) Ryan Searle vs. Chris Landman |
| Brendan Dolan vs. Tavis Dudeney |
| (5) Jonny Clayton vs. Adam Lipscombe |
| Dom Taylor vs. Oskar Lukasiak |
| (28) Michael Smith vs. Lisa Ashton |
| Niels Zonneveld vs. Haupai Puha |
| (12) Ross Smith vs. Andreas Harrysson |
| Thibault Tricole vs. Motomu Sakai |
| (21) Dave Chisnall vs. Fallon Sherrock |
| Ricardo Pietreczko vs. Jose de Sousa |
Quarter #3
| (2) Luke Humphries vs. Ted Evetts |
| Jeffrey de Graaf vs. Paul Lim |
| (31) Wessel Nijman vs. Karel Sedlacek |
| Gabriel Clemens vs. Alex Spellman |
| (15) Nathan Aspinall vs. Lourence Illagan |
| Mickey Mansell vs. Leonard Gates |
| (18) Mike De Decker vs. David Munyua |
| Kevin Doets vs. Matthew Dennant |
| (7) James Wade vs. Ryusei Azemoto |
| Ricky Evans vs. Man Lok Leung |
| (26) Cameron Menzies vs. Charlie Manby |
| Matt Campbell vs. Adam Sevada |
| (10) Gian van Veen vs. Cristo Reyes |
| Alan Soutar vs. Teemu Harju |
| (23) Dimitri Van den Bergh vs. Darren Beveridge |
| Madars Razma vs. Jamai van den Herik |
Quarter #4
| (3) Michael van Gerwen vs. Mitsuhiko Tatsunami |
| William O'Connor vs. Krzysztof Kciuk |
| (30) Peter Wright vs. Noa-Lynn van Leuven |
| Kim Huybrechts vs. Arno Merk |
| (14) Gary Anderson vs. Adam Hunt |
| Connor Scutt vs. Simon Whitlock |
| (19) Jermaine Wattimena vs. Dominik Grullich |
| Scott Williams vs. Paolo Nebrida |
| (6) Danny Noppert vs. Jurjen van der Velde |
| Nick Kenny vs. Justin Hood |
| (27) Ritchie Edhouse vs. Jonny Tata |
| Ryan Meikle vs. Jesus Salate |
| (11) Josh Rock vs. Gemma Hayter |
| Niko Springer vs. Joe Comito |
| (22) Daryl Gurney vs. Beau Greaves |
| Callan Rydz vs. Patrik Kovacs |
Here is the bracket for the second round.
Quarter #1
| Littler vs. Davies |
| Cullen vs. Suljovic |
| Heta vs. Bellmont |
| Cross vs. White |
| Dobey vs. Gilding |
| Woodhouse vs. Hopp |
| Price vs. Plaisier |
| Joyce vs. Ratajski |
Quarter #2
| Bunting vs. Kumar |
| van Duijvenbode vs. Hurrell |
| Schindler vs. Barry |
| Searle vs. Dolan |
| Clayton vs. Taylor |
| M. Smith vs. Zonneveld |
| Harrysson vs. Sakai |
| Chisnall vs. Pietreczko |
Quarter #3
| Humphries vs. Lim |
| Nijman vs. Clemens |
| Aspinall vs. Gates |
| Munyua vs. Doets |
| Wade vs. Evans |
| Manby vs. Sevada |
| van Veen vs. Soutar |
| Beveridge vs. Razma |
Quarter #4
| van Gerwen vs. O'Connor |
| Wright vs. Merk |
| Anderson vs. Scutt |
| Wattimena vs. Williams |
| Noppert vs. Hood |
| Tata vs. Meikle |
| Rock vs. Comito |
| Gurney vs. Rydz |
Here is the bracket for the third round.
Quarter #1
| Littler vs. Suljovic |
| Heta vs. Cross |
| Gilding vs. Woodhouse |
| Plaisier vs. Ratajski |
Quarter #2
| Bunting vs. Hurrell |
| Schindler vs. Searle |
| Clayton vs. Zonneveld |
| Harrysson vs. Pietreczko |
Quarter #3
| Humphries/Lim vs. Clemens |
| Aspinall/Gates vs. Doets |
| Evans vs. Manby/Sevada |
| van Veen/Soutar vs. Razma |
Quarter #4
| van Gerwen/O'Connor vs. Wright/Merk |
| Anderson/Scutt vs. Wattimena/Williams |
| Noppert/Hood vs. Tata/Meikle |
| Rock/Comito vs. Gurney/Rydz |
2026 PDC WC schedule
Here is the schedule for the first round.
MORE: World Darts Championship 2025/26 prize money: How much winner will earn, total prize fund for PDC event
Day 1 (evening session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Kim Huybrechts vs. Arno Merk | Thurs., Dec. 11 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Michael Smith vs. Lisa Ashton | Thurs., Dec. 11 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Luke Littler vs. Darius Labanauskas | Thurs., Dec. 11 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Madars Razma vs. Jamai Van Den Herik | Thurs., Dec. 11 | 10:00 p.m. |
Day 2 (afternoon session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Niels Zonneveld vs. Haupai Puha | Fri., Dec. 12 | 12:30 p.m. |
| Ian White vs. Mervyn King | Fri., Dec. 12 | 1:30 p.m. |
| Ryan Searle vs. Chris Landman | Fri., Dec. 12 | 2:30 p.m. |
| Rob Cross vs. Cor Dekker | Fri., Dec. 12 | 3:30 p.m. |
Day 2 (evening session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Ross Smith vs. Andreas Harrysson | Fri., Dec. 12 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Ricky Evans vs. Man Lok Leung | Fri., Dec. 12 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Gian van Veen vs. Cristo Reyes | Fri., Dec. 12 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Damon Heta vs. Steve Lennon | Fri., Dec. 12 | 10:00 p.m. |
Day 3 (afternoon session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Mario Vandenbogaerde vs. David Davies | Sat., Dec. 13 | 12:30 p.m. |
| Andrew Gilding vs. Cam Crabtree | Sat., Dec. 13 | 1:30 p.m. |
| Luke Woodhouse vs. Boris Krcmar | Sat., Dec. 13 | 2:30 p.m. |
| Gary Anderson vs. Adam Hunt | Sat., Dec. 13 | 3:30 p.m. |
Day 3 (evening session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Jeffrey De Graaf vs. Paul Lim | Sat., Dec. 13 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Wessel Nijman vs. Karel Sedlacek | Sat., Dec. 13 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Luke Humphries vs. Ted Evetts | Sat., Dec. 13 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Gabriel Clemens vs. Alex Spellman | Sat., Dec. 13 | 10:00 p.m. |
Day 4 (afternoon session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Ritchie Edhouse vs. Jonny Tata | Sun., Dec. 14 | 12:30 p.m. |
| Dom Taylor vs. Oskar Lukasiak | Sun., Dec. 14 | 1:30 p.m. |
| Richard Veenstra vs. Nitin Kumar | Sun., Dec. 14 | 2:30 p.m. |
| Joe Cullen vs. Bradley Brooks | Sun., Dec. 14 | 3:30 p.m. |
Day 4 (evening session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Lukas Wenig vs. Wesley Plaiser | Sun., Dec. 14 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Dimitri van den Bergh vs. Darren Beveridge | Sun., Dec. 14 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Stephen Bunting vs. Sebastian Bialecki | Sun., Dec. 14 | 9:00 p.m. |
| James Hurrell vs. Stowe Buntz | Sun., Dec. 14 | 10:00 p.m. |
Day 5 (afternoon session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Brendan Dolan vs. Tavis Dudeney | Mon., Dec. 15 | 12:30 p.m. |
| Cameron Menzies vs. Charlie Manby | Mon., Dec. 15 | 1:30 p.m. |
| Mensur Suljovic vs. David Cameron | Mon., Dec. 15 | 2:30 p.m. |
| Peter Wright vs. Noa-Lynn van Leuven | Mon., Dec. 15 | 3:30 p.m. |
Day 5 (evening session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Martin Lukeman vs. Max Hopp | Mon., Dec. 15 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Dirk van Duijvenbode vs. Andy Baetens | Mon., Dec. 15 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Jonny Clayton vs. Adam Lipscombe | Mon., Dec. 15 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Connor Scutt vs. Simon Whitlock | Mon., Dec. 15 | 10:00 p.m. |
Day 6 (afternoon session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Alan Soutar vs. Teemu Harju | Tue., Dec. 16 | 12:30 p.m. |
| Nick Kenny vs. Justin Hood | Tue., Dec. 16 | 1:30 p.m. |
| Scott Williams vs. Paolo Nebrida | Tue., Dec. 16 | 2:30 p.m. |
| Chris Dobey vs. Xiaochen Zong | Tue., Dec. 16 | 3:30 p.m. |
Day 6 (evening session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Ricardo Pietreczko vs. Jose De Sousa | Tue., Dec. 16 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Danny Noppert vs. Jurjen van der Velde | Tue., Dec. 16 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Gerwyn Price vs. Adam Gawlas | Tue., Dec. 16 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Niko Springer vs. Joe Comito | Tue., Dec. 16 | 10:00 p.m. |
Day 7 (evening session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Matt Campbell vs. Adam Sevada | Wed., Dec. 17 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Raymond van Barneveld vs. Stefan Bellmont | Wed., Dec. 17 | 8:00 p.m. |
| James Wade vs. Ryusei Azemoto | Wed., Dec. 17 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Martin Schindler vs. Stephen Burton | Wed., Dec. 17 | 10:00 p.m. |
Day 8 (afternoon session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Callan Rydz vs. Patrik Kovacs | Thurs., Dec. 18 | 12:30 p.m. |
| Thibault Tricole vs. Motomu Sakai | Thurs., Dec. 18 | 1:30 p.m. |
| Ryan Joyce vs. Owen Bates | Thurs., Dec. 18 | 2:30 p.m. |
| Mike De Decker vs. David Munyua | Thurs., Dec. 18 | 3:30 p.m. |
Day 8 (evening session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Jermaine Wattimena vs. Dominik Gruellich | Thurs., Dec. 18 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Dave Chisnall vs. Fallon Sherrock | Thurs., Dec. 18 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Michael van Gerwen vs. Mitsuhiko Tatsunami | Thurs., Dec. 18 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Krzysztof Ratajski vs. Alexis Toylo | Thurs., Dec. 18 | 10:00 p.m. |
Day 9 (afternoon session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Kevin Doets vs. Matthew Dennant | Fri., Dec. 19 | 12:30 p.m. |
| Ryan Meikle vs. Jesus Salate | Fri., Dec. 19 | 1:30 p.m. |
| Mickey Mansell vs. Leonard Gates | Fri., Dec. 19 | 2:30 p.m. |
| Josh Rock vs. Gemma Hayter | Fri., Dec. 19 | 3:30 p.m. |
Day 9 (evening session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| William O'Connor vs. Krzysztof Kciuk | Fri., Dec. 19 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Daryl Gurney vs. Beau Greaves | Fri., Dec. 19 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Nathan Aspinall vs. Lourence Ilagan | Fri., Dec. 19 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Keane Barry vs. Tim Pusey | Fri., Dec. 19 | 10:00 p.m. |
Here is the schedule for the second round.
Day 10 (afternoon session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Ryan Searle vs. Brendan Dolan | Sat., Dec. 20 | 12:45 p.m. |
| Andreas Harrysson vs. Motomu Sakai | Sat., Dec. 20 | 1:30 p.m. |
| Dirk van Duijvenbode vs. James Hurrell | Sat., Dec. 20 | 2:30 p.m. |
| Dave Chisnall vs. Ricardo Pietreczko | Sat., Dec. 20 | 3:30 p.m. |
Day 10 (evening session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Michael Smith vs. Niels Zonneveld | Sat., Dec. 20 | 7:15 p.m. |
| Chris Dobey vs. Andrew Gilding | Sat., Dec. 20 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Stephen Bunting vs. Nitin Kumar | Sat., Dec. 20 | 9:00 p.m. |
Jonny Clayton vs. Dom Taylor (Clayton advances after Taylor fails drug test)
| Sat., Dec. 20 | 10:00 p.m. |
Day 11 (afternoon session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Ryan Joyce vs. Krzysztof Ratajski | Sun., Dec. 21 | 12:45 p.m. |
| Joe Cullen vs. Mensur Suljovic | Sun., Dec. 21 | 1:30 p.m. |
| Luke Woodhouse vs. Max Hopp | Sun., Dec. 21 | 2:30 p.m. |
| Rob Cross vs. Ian White | Sun., Dec. 21 | 3:30 p.m. |
Day 11 (evening session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Martin Schindler vs. Keane Barry | Sun., Dec. 21 | 7:15 p.m. |
| Gerwyn Price vs. Wesley Plaisier | Sun., Dec. 21 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Luke Littler vs. David Davies | Sun., Dec. 21 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Damon Heta vs. Stefan Bellmont | Sun., Dec. 21 | 10:00 p.m. |
Day 12 (afternoon session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Darren Beveridge vs. Madars Razma | Mon., Dec. 22 | 12:45 p.m. |
| Wessel Nijman vs. Gabriel Clemens | Mon., Dec. 22 | 1:30 p.m. |
| David Munyua vs. Kevin Doets | Mon., Dec. 22 | 2:30 p.m. |
| James Wade vs. Ricky Evans | Mon., Dec. 22 | 3:30 p.m. |
Day 12 (evening session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Gian van Veen vs. Alan Soutar | Mon., Dec. 22 | 7:15 p.m. |
| Nathan Aspinall vs. Leonard Gates | Mon., Dec. 22 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Luke Humphries vs. Paul Lim | Mon., Dec. 22 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Charlie Manby vs. Adam Sevada | Mon., Dec. 22 | 10:00 p.m. |
Day 13 (afternoon session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Jonny Tata vs. Ryan Meikle | Tues., Dec. 23 | 12:45 p.m. |
| Daryl Gurney vs. Callan Rydz | Tues., Dec. 23 | 1:30 p.m. |
| Jermaine Wattimena vs. Scott Williams | Tues., Dec. 23 | 2:30 p.m. |
| Peter Wright vs. Arno Merk | Tues., Dec. 23 | 3:30 p.m. |
Day 13 (evening session)
| Matchup | Date | Time (local) |
| Danny Noppert vs. Justin Hood | Tues., Dec. 23 | 7:15 p.m. |
| Gary Anderson vs. Connor Scutt | Tues., Dec. 23 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Michael van Gerwen vs. William O'Connor | Tues., Dec. 23 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Josh Rock vs. Joe Comito | Tues., Dec. 23 | 10:00 p.m. |
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Prize Money
*Data via Wikipedia
Position (no. of players)Prize money
(Total: £5,000,000)
| Winner | (1) | £1,000,000 |
| Runner-up | (1) | £400,000 |
| Semi-finalists | (2) | £200,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | £100,000 |
| Fourth round losers | (8) | £60,000 |
| Third round losers | (16) | £35,000 |
| Second round losers | (32) | £25,000 |
| First round losers | (64) | £15,000 |
Format
This year's tournament will feature 128 players, 32 more than the 2025 field.
Seeded players will no longer receive a bye into the second round, with all 128 players in the draw for round #1.
The bracket is divided into four quarters, with eight seeded players per quarter in a traditional bracket format where if the seeds won, they'd start playing each other in the third round (ex: 1 v 32, 2 v 31, 3 v 30, etc).
The tournament begins on December 11 and will end on January 3 (there are some days off in between for holidays).
The World Championship is one of a handful of darts tournaments that feature a set format, with the number of sets a player has to win increasing as the tournament progresses:
- First and second round: best-of-5 sets
- Third and fourth round: best-of-7 sets
- Quarterfinals: best-of-9 sets
- Semifinals: best-of-11 sets
- Final: best-of-13 sets
Each set is played to best-of-5 legs. If a match went to a last-set decider, a player must win the final set by at least two legs, or win a sudden-death leg if the players were even through 10 legs in the final set.
Here are the following dates that each round will be played:
- First round: December 11 - 19
- Second round: December 20 - 23
- Third round: December 27 - 29
- Fourth round: December 29 - 30
- Quarterfinals: January 1
- Semifinals: January 2
- Final: January 3
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