Winter is the most exciting time of the year on the darts calendar. A jam-packed schedule sees four PDC Premier Events take place between mid-October and December. That final competition is, of course, the biggest prize in the sport: the PDC World Darts Championship. Taking place every December and running through to the start of the new year, the 2025/26 edition will follow the traditional schedule at Alexandra Palace in London. The best darts players in the world all compete in over three weeks of festivities.
This year, the World Darts Championship starts on December 11th. Champion Luke Littler will begin the defence of his crown on opening night, taking on Darius Labanauskas. The World No. 1 has been incredible in 2025, winning an incredible six majors, including last year’s world title. He is understandably the favourite to lift the trophy at our online bookmaker and claim the winner’s share of £5,000,000.
When is the World Darts Championship Final?
The World Darts Championship final will take place on January 3rd 2026, closing out another electric edition of the sport’s premier event in front of a sell-out Ally Pally crowd. The final is traditionally one of the most-watched sporting events of the festive period. A global audience tunes in to see who will claim the Sid Waddell Trophy. A record 3.71 million people tuned in to watch Littler take on Luke Humphries in the 2024 World Championship Final. The atmosphere at Ally Pally reaches its peak on finals night, and with the stakes at their highest, it promises another dramatic showdown to kick off the new year.
How does qualification for the World Darts Championship work?
Qualification for the 2025/26 PDC World Darts Championship features a record-breaking 128 players, the largest field in the tournament’s history. This expanded lineup includes 40 players from the PDC Order of Merit, with the top 32 earning seeded status. A further 40 places are awarded to the highest-ranked players on the Pro Tour Order of Merit who have not already qualified.
Day one as world No 1 for Luke Littler ✅ How far up the list can he go? ⬆️🎯 pic.twitter.com/MRbL8zA1x3
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) November 17, 2025
The remaining 48 spots are filled through a global network of international qualifiers, including a guaranteed minimum of four women under the PDC’s updated structure. This new format ensures broader worldwide representation than ever before and opens the door for emerging talent to join the sport’s elite on the Alexandra Palace stage.
What is the World Darts Championship format?
The 2025/26 World Darts Championship uses a traditional set-based format, but with one major change: all 128 players now enter in the first round. This is a huge change from previous years, where the top 32-seeded players received byes into round two. This could mean we see even more shocks and giant-killings than we are already used to seeing in the World Darts Championship.
Matches are played in the classic set format, with each set contested as the best of five legs, and sets increase in length as the tournament progresses. Deciding sets must be won by two clear legs, and if the score reaches 5-5, the match is settled by a sudden-death leg.
Match lengths by round:
- Rounds 1 & 2: Best of 5 sets (first to 3)
- Rounds 3 & 4: Best of 7 sets (first to 4)
- Quarter-finals: Best of 9 sets (first to 5)
- Semi-finals: Best of 11 sets (first to 6)
- Final: Best of 13 sets (first to 7)
What is the World Darts Championship prize fund?
This year’s World Darts Championship is the year of the record-breakers. A bigger field is matched by an even bigger, record-breaking prize fund. With the field expanding to 128 players, the total purse has risen to £5,000,000, and the winner will now claim a massive £1,000,000, double the previous champion’s payout. It marks the first prize money boost since 2019 and underscores the Championship’s growing global stature.
Luke Littler gets his hands on the Sid Waddell trophy 🏆 pic.twitter.com/mCarHpobNn
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2025
The winner also lifts the prestigious Sid Waddell Trophy. The event sponsor, Paddy Power, continues its popular pledge to award £60,000 to every player for every nine-darter thrown. What makes this prize special is that a random lucky fan and Prostate Cancer UK will also receive the same cash prize.
Prize money breakdown:
- Winner: £1,000,000
- Runner-up: £400,000
- Semi-finalists: £200,000
- Quarter-finalists: £100,000
- Fourth round: £60,000
- Third round: £35,000
- Second round: £25,000
- First round: £15,000
- Nine-dart bonus: £60,000
Who are the favourites for the World Darts Championship?
While there has arguably never been as much talent in the PDC as there is in 2025, one man rises above them all. Defending champion Luke Littler has been electrifying on the tour this season. He has only got better as the year has gone on. We are now seeing him at his peak. He’s won the previous two PDC Premier Events and five of the seven since his World Championship win. The Nuke is worth 20/21 for anyone betting on the World Darts Championship.
But Littler is not bulletproof. While not quite reaching the heights he hit in the previous two years, World No. 2 Luke Humphries has still reached four major finals, winning one. He is a former world champion himself. We could be seeing an all-Luke final for the third year in a row.
Josh Rock leads the Irish contingent this year. The County Antrim man has won the World Cup and reached three semi-finals in 2025. Rocky has gone from strength to strength, making career-high earnings this season. Can the best Irish darts player finally get over the line, and can he do so in the richest competition in the sport? The World Cup winner is joint-fourth favourite at 14/1 in the darts betting.
Beyond the leading contenders, the expanded 128-player field guarantees that this year’s World Championship will showcase more emerging stars, international talent, and dark horses than ever before. The global qualification structure has created opportunities for new faces to take their place on the Alexandra Palace stage. History tells us that these competitors are often responsible for some of the most memorable upsets. With all players entering from the first round under the new format, even seasoned professionals will need to be sharp from the opening dart, as early slip-ups could prove fatal in a tournament of this magnitude.
Where can I watch the World Darts Championship?
Fans in Ireland and the UK can watch the World Darts Championship on Sky Sports Darts. Some sessions will also be shown on Sky Sports Main Event on the days with busier schedules. The tournament is broadcast in over 140 countries, attracting millions of viewers worldwide. From traditional sports channels to online streaming platforms, fans have multiple ways to follow every dart thrown. This global accessibility has played a major role in growing the sport internationally.
World Darts Championship Schedule
The 2025/26 PDC World Darts Championship runs from December 11th 2025, to January 3rd 2026, featuring 128 players across multiple rounds at Alexandra Palace. Here is an overview of the tournament schedule and format:
First Round (Best of 5 Sets): 11-19 December
All 128 players enter the first round, with top seeds facing international qualifiers or lower-ranked opponents. Notable first-round matches include:
- Luke Littler vs Darius Labanauskas
- Luke Humphries vs Ted Evetts
- Michael van Gerwen vs Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
- Stephen Bunting vs Sebastian Białecki
Second Round (Best of 5 Sets): 20-23 December
The winners from round one face seeded opponents and other advancing players. This round starts to separate the favourites from potential giant-killers.
Third Round (Best of 7 Sets): 27-29 December
The field narrows to the final 32. Match length increases to seven sets, intensifying the pressure as players aim for the fourth round.
Fourth Round (Best of 7 Sets): 29-30 December
Also known as the last 16, this round features high-stakes battles between the remaining top seeds and standout performers from earlier rounds.
Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 Sets): 1 January
The eight remaining competitors face off in longer matches, with stamina, focus, and experience becoming decisive factors.
Semi-Finals and Final: 2-3 January
Semi-finals (Best of 11 Sets) and Final (Best of 13 Sets) are played in early January, culminating on January 3rd, 2026, with the winner lifting the prestigious Sid Waddell Trophy.
This schedule ensures three weeks of continuous, high-stakes darts, blending early-round surprises with the climactic tension of the later stages, all set against the iconic atmosphere of Alexandra Palace.
