Everything you need to know ahead of the World Darts Championship 2026 including the key dates, format, prize money, and who can challenge Luke Littler...
The 33rd PDC World Darts Championship takes place from Thursday December 11 to Saturday January 3, live on SportsNews.
There is action every day from Alexandra Palace apart from Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve.
The World Darts Championship is held at Alexandra Palace in London, which has been the case since 2008.
Previously, Circus Tavern in Essex hosted the biggest darts event of the year from 1994 to 2007.
You won't miss an arrow in the World Championship on the dedicated SportsNews Darts channel, with SportsNews F1 changing to SportsNews Darts on channel 407 from December 10 to January 5, with the best of the action also on SportsNews Main Event.
Coverage begins on Thursday December 11 at 7pm, with afternoon sessions at 12.30pm and evening sessions at 7pm taking place for the rest of the tournament up to the quarter-finals on Thursday January 1.
The semi-finals are on Friday January 2 from 7.30pm and the final is on Saturday January 3 at 8pm.
Thursday December 11 (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Kim Huybrechts vs Arno Merk
Michael Smith vs Lisa Ashton
Luke Littler vs Darius Labanauskas
Madars Razma vs Jamai van den Herik
Friday December 12
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Niels Zonneveld vs Haupai Puha
Ian White vs Mervyn King
Ryan Searle vs Chris Landman
Rob Cross vs Cor Dekker
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Ross Smith vs Andreas Harrysson
Ricky Evans vs Man Lok Leung
Gian van Veen vs Cristo Reyes
Damon Heta vs Steve Lennon
Saturday December 13
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Mario Vandenbogaerde vs David Davies
Andrew Gilding vs Cam Crabtree
Luke Woodhouse vs Boris Krcmar
Gary Anderson vs Adam Hunt
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Jeffrey de Graaf vs Paul Lim
Wessel Nijman vs Karel Sedlacek
Luke Humphries vs Ted Evetts
Gabriel Clemens vs Alex Spellman
Sunday December 14
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Ritchie Edhouse vs Jonny Tata
Dom Taylor vs Oskar Lukasiak
Richard Veenstra vs Nitin Kumar
Joe Cullen vs Bradley Brooks
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Lukas Wenig vs Wesley Plaisier
Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Darren Beveridge
Stephen Bunting vs Sebastian Bialecki
James Hurrell vs Stowe Buntz
Monday December 15
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Brendan Dolan vs Tavis Dudeney
Cameron Menzies vs Charlie Manby
Mensur Suljovic vs David Cameron
Peter Wright vs Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Martin Lukeman vs Max Hopp
Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Andy Baetens
Jonny Clayton vs Adam Lipscombe
Connor Scutt vs Simon Whitlock
Tuesday December 16
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Alan Soutar vs Teemu Harju
Nick Kenny vs Justin Hood
Scott Williams vs Paolo Nebrida
Chris Dobey vs Xiaochen Zong
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Ricardo Pietreczko vs Jose de Sousa
Danny Noppert vs Jurjen van der Velde
Gerwyn Price vs Adam Gawlas
Niko Springer vs Joe Comito
Wednesday December 17 (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Matt Campbell vs Adam Sevada
Raymond van Barneveld vs Stefan Bellmont
James Wade vs Ryusei Azemoto
Martin Schindler vs Stephen Burton
Thursday December 18
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Callan Rydz vs Patrik Kovacs
Thibault Tricole vs Motomu Sakai
Ryan Joyce vs Owen Bates
Mike De Decker vs David Munyua
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Jermaine Wattimena vs Dominik Gruellich
Dave Chisnall vs Fallon Sherrock
Michael van Gerwen vs Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
Krzysztof Ratajski vs Alexis Toylo
Friday December 19
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Kevin Doets vs Matthew Dennant
Ryan Meikle vs Jesus Salate
Mickey Mansell vs Leonard Gates
Josh Rock vs Gemma Hayter
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
William O'Connor vs Krzysztof Kciuk
Daryl Gurney vs Beau Greaves
Nathan Aspinall vs Lourence Ilagan
Keane Barry vs Tim Pusey
Saturday December 20
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT) and Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Two x4
Dobey/Zong vs Gilding/Crabtree
Bunting/Bialecki vs Veenstra/Kumar
Van Duijvenbode/Baetens vs Hurrell/Buntz
Searle/Landman vs Dolan/Dudeney
Clayton/Lipscombe v Taylor/Lukasiak
M Smith/Ashton vs Zonneveld/Puha
R Smith/Harrysson vs Tricole/Sakai
Chisnall/Sherrock vs Pietreczko/De Sousa
Sunday December 21
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT) and Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Two x4 for each seasion
Littler/Labanauskas vs Vandenbogaerde/Davies
Cullen/Brooks vs Suljovic/Cameron
Heta/Lennon vs Van Barneveld/Bellmont
Cross/Dekker vs White/King
Woodhouse/Krcmar vs Lukeman/Hopp
Price/Gawlas vs Wenig/Plaisier
Joyce/Bates vs Ratajski/Toylo
Schindler/Burton vs Barry/Pusey
Monday December 22
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT) and Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Two x4 for each session
Humphries/Evetts vs De Graaf/Lim
Nijman/Sedlacek vs Clemens/Spellman
Aspinall/Ilagan vs Mansell/Gates
De Decker/Munyua vs Doets/Dennant
Wade/Azemoto vs Evans/Leung
Menzies/Manby vs Campbell/Sevada
Van Veen/Reyes vs Soutar/Harju
Van den Bergh/Beveridge vs Razma/Van den Herik
Tuesday December 23
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT) and Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Two x4 for each session
Van Gerwen/Tatsunami vs O'Connor/Kciuk
Wright/Van Leuven vs Huybrechts/Merk
Anderson/Hunt vs Scutt/Whitlock
Wattimena/Gruellich vs Williams/Nebrida
Noppert/Van der Velde vs Kenny/Hood
Edhouse/Tata vs Meikle/Salate
Rock/Hayter vs Springer/Comito
Gurney/Greaves vs Rydz/Kovacs
Saturday December 27
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Three x3
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Three x3
Sunday December 28
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Three x3
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Three x3
Monday December 29
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Three x3
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Three x1, Round Four x2
Tuesday December 30
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Four x3
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Four x3
Thursday January 1
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Quarter-Finals x2
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Quarter-Finals x2
Friday January 2 (1930 GMT)
Semi-Finals
Saturday January 3 (2000 GMT)
Final
A format change ahead of this year's contest sees all players entering the tournament at the first-round stage, whereas seeded players have previously been given a bye through to the next round.
The World Championship uses the sets format, with each set being the first to three legs. The deciding set must be won by at least two legs, so if it's 2-2 in the final set, a player must win 4-2 or 5-3. If it's 5-5, a sudden-death leg will take place with no throw for the bull, so the alteration of whoever throws first simply continues.
Luke Littler enters the Worlds as the defending champion after his 7-3 victory over Michael van Gerwen in 2025.
'The Nuke' enters darts' biggest competition on a remarkable run of form and as the top seed, having won World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam and Players Championship Finals.
The newly-crowned world No 1 enters as the pre-tournament favourite as he looks to become the first back-to-back winner since Gary Anderson, with many unable to see past the 18-year-old - especially as the format gets longer.
That is the big question on everyone's lips! The first place to look is those around him in the rankings and that starts with his rival Luke Humphries.
2024 Humphries can return to world No 1 by winning the worlds for a second time in three years, with 'Cool Hand' looking to avenge runner-up defeats to Littler in their last three TV finals.
Three-time champion Van Gerwen comes in as No 3 seed and beat Littler at the World Series Finals in September, while Gian van Veen will chase another TV title after winning the European Championship in October.
Nathan Aspinall, James Wade and Jonny Clayton have all reached TV major finals this year, while fourth seed Stephen Bunting and former world champion Gerwyn Price are among the others looking to impress.
Beau Greaves headlines the strong women's contingent in the line-up, having secured her PDC ProTour card for the next two years and also beating Littler on her way to the World Youth Championship final. Could she be the first woman since Fallon Sherrock to win on the Alexandra Palace stage?
There is an extended 128-player field at the Worlds this year, showcasing a whole new breadth of darting talent from across the world.
The players qualify as follows:
The top 32 in the world will be the seeds for the World Darts Championship 2026. Players 33-64 will then be drawn at random to left-hand side of the draw, with players 65-128 to be drawn at random to the right-hand side of the draw.
Luke Littler (1) vs Darius Labanauskas
Mario Vandenbogaerde vs David Davies
Joe Cullen (32) vs Bradley Brooks
Mensur Suljovic vs David Cameron
Damon Heta (16) vs Steve Lennon
Raymond van Berneveld vs Stefan Bellmont
Rob Cross (17) vs Cor Dekker
Ian White vs Mervyn King
Chris Dobey (8) vs Xiaochen Zong
Andrew Gilding vs Cam Crabtree
Luke Woodhouse (25) vs Boris Krcmar
Martin Lukeman vs Max Hopp
Gerwyn Price (9) vs Adam Gawlas
Lukas Wenig vs Wesley Plaisier
Ryan Joyce (24) vs Owen Bates
Krzysztof Ratajski vs Alexis Toylo
Stephen Bunting (4) vs Sebastian Bialecki
Richard Veenstra vs Nitin Kumar
Dirk van Duijvenbode (29) vs Andy Baetens
James Hurrell vs Stowe Buntz
Martin Schindler (13) vs Stephen Burton
Keane Barry vs Tim Pusey
Ryan Searle (20) vs Chris Landman
Brendan Dolan vs Travis Dudeney
Jonny Clayton (5) vs Adam Lipscombe
Dom Taylor vs Oskar Lukasiak
Michael Smith (28) vs Lisa Ashton
Niels Zonneveld vs Haupai Puha
Ross Smith (12) vs Andreas Harrysson
Thibault Tricole vs Motomu Sakai
Dave Chisnall (21) vs Fallon Sherrock
Ricardo Pietreczko vs Jose De Sousa
Bottom half
Luke Humphries (2) vs Ted Evetts
Jeffrey de Graaf vs Paul Lim
Wessel Nijman (31) vs Karel Sedlacek
Gabriel Clemens vs Alex Spellman
Nathan Aspinall (15) vs Lourence Ilagan
Mickey Mansell vs Leonard Gates
Mike De Decker (18) vs David Munyua
Kevin Doets vs Matthew Dennant
James Wade (7) vs Ryusei Azemoto
Rickey Evans vs Man Lok Leung
Cameron Menzies (26) vs Charlie Manby
Matt Campbell vs Adam Sevada
Gian van Veen (10) vs Cristo Reyes
Alan Soutar vs Teemu Harju
Dimitri Van den Bergh (23) vs Darren Beveridge
Madars Razma vs Jamai van den Herik
Michael van Gerwen (3) vs Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
William O'Connor vs Krzysztof Kciuk
Peter Wright (30) vs Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Kim Huybrechts vs Arno Merk
Gary Anderson (14) vs Adam Hunt
Connor Scutt vs Simon Whitlock
Jermaine Wattimena (19) vs Dominik Gruellich
Scott Williams vs Paolo Nebrida
Danny Noppert (6) vs Jurjen van der Velde
Nick Kenny vs Justin Hood
Ritchie Edhouse (27) vs Jonny Tata
Ryan Meikle vs Jesus Salate
Josh Rock (11) vs Gemma Hayter
Niko Springer vs Joe Comito
Daryl Gurney (22) vs Beau Greaves
Callan Rydz vs Patrik Kovacs
Well, you must have heard by now that there is an almighty prize pot on offer for the World Darts Championship this time around, with the winner taking home a stonking £1m.
The runner-up takes home £400,000, with the semi-finalists earning £200,000 and quarter-finalists £100,000.
If you go out in round four, then it is a £60,000 payday, with round three bringing you £35,000, round two £25,000, and round one £15,000.
That is a total of £5m.
Prize Fund
Winner: £1,000,000
Runner-Up: £400,000
Semi-Finalists: £200,000
Quarter-Finalists: £100,000
Round Four Losers: £60,000
Round Three Losers: £35,000
Round Two Losers: £25,000
Round One Losers: £15,000
The Ballon d'Art trophy will also once again be up for grabs for the player who throws the most 180s in the tournament.
World champion Littler is the current holder after landing 76 last year, with Luke Humphries out to regain the unique prize after his win with 73 in the inaugural 2024 version.
There were an a record 914 maximums registered during 2023/24 - beating the previous record of 901 in 2022/23, while last year's contest saw 907 made. That record is likely to be beaten in this year's contest, with more matches than ever before.
It's fair to say nine-darters have become more common in the sport but there have only been 16 in the history of the PDC World Championship.
The first only came in 2009 when Raymond van Barneveld nailed the perfect leg. Barney did it again a year later, then Adrian Lewis made the first nine-darter in a final in 2011.
Two nines were done in 2013 thanks to Dean Winstanley and Van Gerwen. Terry Jenkins and Kyle Anderson joined the illustrious nine-dart list in 2014, with Lewis making a second nine in 2015.
In 2016, Gary Anderson made a nine in the semi-finals and there was a five-year gap until the next perfect leg.
The player who has faced so many nine-darters against him, James Wade, became the eighth player to do a nine, then there were three in 2022 from William Borland, Darius Labanauskas and Gerwyn Price.
And, of course, Michael Smith's nine-darter in the 2023 final against Van Gerwen has been etched in darting folklore in what has to be the best leg of darts ever.
We saw two more during the 2025 contest, as Christian Kist hit one against Madars Razma in round one and Damon Heta found perfection against Luke Woodhouse in round three.
Ever had that annoying feeling when you know how a song goes but don't know what it's called? You may think that about the song which is played during breaks in the match at the end of a set during the World Championship.
It's called Chase the Sun by Planet Funk and you just have to join in when it comes on.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live from December 11 to January 3 on SportsNews' dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407 from December 10). .
