2026 World Darts Championship: When and where?

As the field of participants has been massively expanded, the World Championship starts earlier than usual this year. Start: Thursday, 11 December 2025 Final: Saturday, 3 January 2026 Venue: Alexandra Palace, London

The revolution: 128 players & new format

This is the biggest change in years: Instead of 96 players as before, 128 players will compete for the first time at the 2026 World Championship. This means: Even the top stars no longer have byes and start directly in Round One!

Black-Red-Gold record: 8 Germans at the Ally Pally

The German darts scene is booming like never before. A total of eight German players have qualified – more than ever before! Particularly pleasing: The "Maximiser" is back on the world's biggest stage. 

The German Round 1 duels at a glance: 

• Martin Schindler (“The Wall”) faces Stephen Burton.
• Gabriel Clemens ("The German Giant") plays against Alex Spellman.
• Ricardo Pietreczko ("Pikachu") has a tough draw: He is up against the former Grand Slam champion José de Sousa.
• Max Hopp ("The Maximiser") celebrates his World Championship comeback against Martin Lukeman.
• Niko Springer (“Meenzer Bub”) meets Joe Comito.
• Lukas Wenig (“Luu”) plays against Wesley Plaisier.
• Dominik Grüllich is up against the strong Jermaine Wattimena.
• Arno Merk takes on the veteran Kim Huybrechts. 

By the way: The “German Giant” is the only German so far to have reached a World Championship semi-final. In 2022/23, the eventual World Champion Michael Smith ended Clemens' incredible run.

The man to beat: Luke Littler

All eyes are once again on the "wonderkid". Luke Littler enters the tournament as the defending champion. After he outclassed Michael van Gerwen (7-3) in the final last year and became the youngest World Champion of all time, he is also the absolute top favourite for 2026. His opening opponent: Darius Labanauskas.

Prize money explosion: The hunt for £1 million

Financially, too, the PDC is entering new dimensions. The total prize money has been doubled to 5 million pounds! The 2026 World Champion will receive £1,000,000 (approx. 1.2 million euros) for the first time. For the runner-up, there is at least a consolation prize of 400,000 (approx. 455,000 euros). Just for participating in the 1st Round, there is already guaranteed prize money of £15,000 (approx. 17,000 euros). The cheque increases with every further round!

Where to watch?

As usual, the providers are sharing the rights, with darts remaining one of the few top sports on free-to-air TV. Sport1: The channel is once again broadcasting extensively on free-to-air TV and offers live streams on Sport1.de. DAZN: As always, shows every single session live in full.

Your own look for the board

With so much inspiration from the Ally Pally, you are surely itching to have a go yourself. Whether you throw for a club or play with friends – the right outfit makes the difference. At spized, you can easily design your own darts shirt. Choose your design, add your nickname and order your unique shirt starting from just one item. Get ready for the season! 

Click here for the 3D configurator for darts shirts