2026 IDF World Matchplay
| 2026 IDF World Matchplay | |||
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| Tournament information | |||
| Dates | 18–26 July 2026 | ||
| Venue | Winter Gardens | ||
| Location | Blackpool, England | ||
| Organisation(s) | International Darts Federation (IDF) | ||
| Format | Legs | ||
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The 2026 IDF World Matchplay is a professional darts tournament organised by the International Darts Federation (IDF), scheduled to take place from 18 to 26 July 2026 at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, England. It is the latest staging of the IDF World Matchplay, one of the IDF's premier leg-play events.
The tournament features 32 players. The top 16 players on the IDF Order of Merit qualified as seeded players, while a further 16 players qualified through the IDF Tour rankings. Logan White entered the event as the number one seed, ahead of Alex Brow, Max Mad and Elias Storm. The draw placed each seeded player against an unseeded qualifier in the first round.
Overview
Background
The IDF World Matchplay is a leg-format tournament staged as one of the leading summer events on the IDF calendar. Unlike set-play majors, the event is played entirely over legs, with longer match distances introduced as the tournament progresses. The format has often been associated with high scoring, pressure doubling and extended late-stage matches, as players are required to win by two clear legs unless a sudden-death limit is reached.
The 2026 edition continued the 32-player structure used for the event, with the top 16 players from the IDF Order of Merit seeded into the draw. The remaining places were awarded to players from the IDF Tour rankings who had not already qualified through the main ranking list.
Format
The top 16 players in the IDF Order of Merit were seeded and drawn against 16 unseeded qualifiers. All matches are played in leg format. Matches must be won by two clear legs, with a sudden-death leg used if a match reaches the tournament's extended-leg limit.
The number of legs required to win increases as the tournament progresses:
- First round: Best of 19 legs
- Second round: Best of 21 legs
- Quarter-finals: Best of 31 legs
- Semi-finals: Best of 33 legs
- Final: Best of 35 legs
Qualification
The top 16 players on the IDF Order of Merit qualified as seeded players. A further 16 players were selected from the IDF Tour rankings.
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IDF Order of Merit seeds
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IDF Tour qualifiers
Draw
References |
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