2026 IDF World Darts Championship

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2026 IDF World Darts Championship
Tournament information
DatesDecember 10, 2025 – January 7, 2026
VenueWinter Gardens
LocationBlackpool, England
Organisation(s)International Darts Federation (IDF)
FormatSets
Prize fund$5,000,000
Winner's share$1,000,000
«2025

The 2026 IDF World Darts Championship is an upcoming professional darts tournament that will be held from 10 December 2025 to 7 January 2026 at Alexandra Palace in London, England. It will be the 4th World Darts Championship to be organised by the International Darts Federation and the 4th to be held at Alexandra Palace. The winner will receive $1,000,000 from a total prize fund of $5,000,000.

The tournament will feature a 128 player field, with the top 32 players on the IDF Order of Merit being seeded in the first round. Alex Brow is the defending champion, having defeated Logan White 7–4 in the 2025 final to win his first world title.

Overview

Alex Brow will enter the tournament as the defending champion after winning the 2025 event.

The International Darts Federation (IDF) was founded in 2022 to provide greater opportunities for players outside the established Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) system, particularly in Australia, where many competitors identified as casual or semi-professional sought access to major events with comparable prize funds. The federation staged its inaugural IDF World Darts Championship in 2023, with Alexandra Palace in London serving as the host venue since the beginning.

The upcoming 2026 IDF World Darts Championship will be the fourth edition of the tournament and the fourth consecutive to be held at Alexandra Palace, running from 10 December 2025 to 7 January 2026. A record field of 128 players, including 32 seeds, will compete following the IDF’s March 2025 decision to expand the draw from 96 to 128 entrants. Alex Brow will return as defending champion after defeating Logan White 7–4 in the 2025 final to claim his first world title.

Format

Under the new format, all players – including the 32 seeds – will enter the tournament in the first round, a change from previous years where seeds entered in the second round. The 32 seeds will be the top 32 players on the IDF Order of Merit heading into the tournament. The seeded players, plus players ranked 33–64 drawn at random, will be placed on the left hand side of the draw, and will be matched up against the remaining 64 qualifiers drawn at random.

All matches will consist of games of 501, where players are required to reduce their score from 501 to zero in order to win a leg, finishing on a double or the bullseye. The matches are played in set format, with the amount of sets required to win a match increasing as the tournament progresses. All sets will be played to the best of five legs in the first round, and also in non-deciding sets of subsequent rounds. In the deciding set of all but the first round, the first player to win at least three legs and be leading by two or more will win the set and the match. If the set reaches a 5–5 tie without a winner, it will be decided by a sudden death leg.

Round Best of (sets) First to (sets)
First & second 5 3
Third & fourth 7 4
Quarter-finals 9 5
Semi-finals 11 6
Final 13 7

Ranking

The IDF's main world ranking system, the IDF Order of Merit, is calculated on a two-year cycle. Prize money won by players in ranking tournaments are removed from their ranking after 104 weeks, meaning players who participated in the 2024 World Championship, who did not lose their IDF Tour Card during the two-year period, will be 'defending' their prize money from that event. At the end of the tournament, the prize money won at the 2026 tournament will be added and the prize money won at the 2024 tournament will be removed. After the tournament, the top 64 players in the IDF Order of Merit will receive a one-year extension on their Tour Card, joined by the players who earned two-year Tour Cards in 2025 who will enter their second year in 2026. Players with two or more years on their Tour Card, who finish outside of the top 64, will lose their Tour Card and see their ranking reset to $0, along with all other players who earned prize money in ranking tournaments without holding a Tour Card.

Prize money

On 31 March 2025, the IDF announced the biggest prize money increase in the organisation's history, starting from the 2026 season onward. Coinciding with the expansion of the field to 128 players, the World Championship's total prize money and winner's share doubled from $2,500,000 to $5,000,000 and from $500,000 to $1,000,000 respectively; this was the first time the tournament's prize money increased. The winner will also receive the IDF World Trophy. The prize money breakdown is shown below:

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

Qualification

The 128-player field will comprise three sets of qualification routes. The top 40 players on the two-year IDF Order of Merit after the 2025 Players Championship Finals will qualify automatically, followed by the next 40 highest-ranked players on the one-year IDF Pro Tour Order of Merit. The remaining 48 places will go to various international qualifiers.

List of confirmed international qualifiers

Seeded (1–32):

Qualified (33–48):

International Qualifiers (49–96):

Regional Qualifiers (97–128):

Schedule

The event will consist of 36 sessions held across 20 days from 10 December 2025 until the date of the final on Saturday, 7 January 2026.

December 10, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
01 1 Max Mad Leuan Davies
02 Jordan Knight Gareth Evans
03 Xander Young Rhys Morgan
04 Damon Edwards Dylan Hughes
December 11, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
05 1 Alistair Gordon Rory Campbell
06 Angus McLeod Callum Fraser
07 Cian Murphy Patrick O’Neill
08 Sean Doyle Jack O’Connor
09 Aiden Brooks Tariq Mahmoud
10 Felix Grant Omar Khaled
11 Nathan Reeves Youssef Ibrahim
12 Alex Brow Alex Brow
December 13, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
13 1 Alex Brow Alex Brow
14 Alex Brow Alex Brow
15 Alex Brow Alex Brow
16 Alex Brow Alex Brow
17 Alex Brow Alex Brow
18 Alex Brow Alex Brow
19 Alex Brow Alex Brow
20 Alex Brow Alex Brow
December 15, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
21 1 Alex Brow Alex Brow
22 Alex Brow Alex Brow
23 Alex Brow Alex Brow
24 Alex Brow Alex Brow
25 Alex Brow Alex Brow
26 Alex Brow Alex Brow
27 Alex Brow Alex Brow
28 Alex Brow Alex Brow
December 17, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
29 1 Alex Brow Alex Brow
30 Alex Brow Alex Brow
31 Alex Brow Alex Brow
32 Alex Brow Alex Brow
33 Alex Brow Alex Brow
34 Alex Brow Alex Brow
35 Alex Brow Alex Brow
36 Alex Brow Alex Brow
December 19, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
37 1 Alex Brow Alex Brow
38 Alex Brow Alex Brow
39 Alex Brow Alex Brow
40 Alex Brow Alex Brow
41 Alex Brow Alex Brow
42 Alex Brow Alex Brow
43 Alex Brow Alex Brow
44 Alex Brow Alex Brow
December 22, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
45 1 Alex Brow Alex Brow
46 Alex Brow Alex Brow
47 Alex Brow Alex Brow
48 Alex Brow Alex Brow
49 Alex Brow Alex Brow
50 Alex Brow Alex Brow
51 Alex Brow Alex Brow
52 Alex Brow Alex Brow
December 23, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
53 1 Alex Brow Alex Brow
54 Alex Brow Alex Brow
55 Alex Brow Alex Brow
56 Alex Brow Alex Brow
57 Alex Brow Alex Brow
58 Alex Brow Alex Brow
59 Alex Brow Alex Brow
60 Alex Brow Alex Brow
December 24, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
61 1 Alex Brow Alex Brow
62 Alex Brow Alex Brow
63 Alex Brow Alex Brow
64 Alex Brow Alex Brow
December 26, 2025
65 2
66
67
68
December 27, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
69 2
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
December 28, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
77 2
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
December 29, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
85 2
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
December 30, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
93 2
94
95
96
January 2, 2026
97 3
98
99
100
January 3, 2026
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
101 3
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
January 4, 2026
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
109 3
110
111
112
January 5, 2026
113 QF
114
115
116
January 6, 2026
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
117 SF
118
January 7, 2026
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
119 F

Draw

Finals

Fourth round
(best of 7 sets)
12–13 November
Quarter-finals
(best of 9 sets)
1 January
Semi-finals
(best of 11 sets)
2 January
Final
(best of 13 sets)
3 January
            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Top half

Section 1

First round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Second round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Third round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
Fourth round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
            
1 Max Mad
Ieuan Davies
 
 
32 Jordan Knight
Gareth Evans
 
 
17 Xander Young
Rhys Morgan
 
 
16 Damon Edwards
Dylan Hughes
 
 
Alistair Gordon
Rory Campbell
 
 
Angus McLeod
Callum Fraser
 
 
Cian Murphy
Patrick O’Neill
 
 
Sean Doyle
Jack O’Connor

Section 2

First round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Second round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Third round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
Fourth round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
            
8 Aiden Brooks
Tariq Mahmoud
 
 
25 Felix Grant
Omar Khaled
 
 
24 Nathan Reeves
Youssef Ibrahim
 
 
9 Nate Parker
Ahmed Hassan
 
 
Arjun Mehta
Rohan Patel
 
 
Sameer Sharma
Amir Khan
 
 
Wei Zhang
Hao Li
 
 
Junjie Wang
Chen Liu

Section 3

First round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Second round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Third round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
Fourth round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
            
5 Mason Owens
Haruto Mori
 
 
28 Wesley Adams
Min-Jae Park
 
 
21 Brody Clarke
Ji-Hoon Kim
 
 
12 Owen Quinn
Dae-Hyun Lee
 
 
Daniel Chen
Hiroshi Takeda
 
 
Kenji Sato
Yuji Tanaka
 
 
Tomas Alvarez
Carlos Mendes
 
 
Paulo Ferreira
André Santos

Section 4

First round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Second round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Third round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
Fourth round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
            
4 Blake Carter
Leonardo Vargas
 
 
13 Quinn Sanders
Hugo Romero
 
 
20 Zane Adams
Javier Rojas
 
 
29 Grant Hayes
Marco Castillo
 
 
Ashton Rivera
Colby Anderson
 
 
Sean McBride
Tyler Freeman
 
 
Zach Marshall
Gabriel Torres
 
 
Adrian Silva
Jorge Mendoza

Bottom half

Section 5

First round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Second round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Third round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
Fourth round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
            
3 Lukas Parker
Hunter Clark
 
 
30 Hayden Ingram
Riley Morgan
 
 
19 Alec Baker
Luke Hamilton
 
 
14 Victor Vaughn
Carter Ellis
 
 
Alex Harris
Nolan Price
 
 
Elias Carter
Brandon Fox
 
 
Damian Frost
Eric Lawson
 
 
Jett Pearson
Connor Black

Section 6

First round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Second round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Third round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
Fourth round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
            
6 Ryan Thomas
Cole Bennett
 
 
11 Kai Mitchell
Shane Douglas
 
 
22 Caleb Daniels
Trevor Kane
 
 
27 Parker Reeves
Bryan Matthews
 
 
Colton Rivers
Tristan Cole
 
 
Jaxon Reed
Cameron Doyle
 
 
Corey Allen
Dominic Flynn
 
 
Reed Hamilton
Oliver Scott

Section 7

First round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Second round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Third round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
Fourth round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
            
7 Logan White
Chase Wallace
 
 
26 Toby Underwood
Jayden Cross
 
 
23 Eli Fletcher
Marcus Reed
 
 
10 Zion Carte
Landon Ward
 
 
Tyler McCoy
Declan Ross
 
 
Brady Simmons
Ashton Cole
 
 
Dylan Hayes
Carter Mills
 
 
Ethan Wright
Liam Cooper

Section 8

First round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Second round
(best of 5 sets)
10–14 December
Third round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
Fourth round
(best of 7 sets)
12–16 December
            
2 Alex Brow
Vince Young
 
 
31 Isaac Johnson
Tanner Vaughn
 
 
18 Spencer Taylor
Andy Dawson
 
 
15 Wyatt Walker
Xavier Baker
 
 
Uriah Walker
Patrick Richards
 
 
Noah O'Brien
Harrison Lewis
 
 
Miles Nash
Logan Morgan
 
 
Hunter James
Kevin Lee

Final

References