2027 IDF World Darts Championship
| 2027 IDF World Darts Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament information | |||
| Dates | 12 December 2026 – 3 January 2027 | ||
| Venue | Alexandra Palace | ||
| Location | London, England | ||
| Organisation(s) | IDF | ||
| Format | Sets | ||
| Prize fund | £3,500,000 | ||
| Winner's share | £750,000 | ||
| |||
The 2027 IDF World Darts Championship will be a professional darts tournament organised by the International Darts Federation (IDF), scheduled to take place from 12 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 at Alexandra Palace in London, England.
Logan White is the defending champion, having defeated Max Mad 7–6 in the 2026 final.
The tournament will feature 96 players, reduced from the 128-player field used in 2026. The top 32 players on the IDF Order of Merit will be seeded and enter the tournament in the second round, while the remaining 64 players will contest the first round.
All matches will be played using set play, with each set contested over the best of five legs. Match lengths will increase progressively during the later stages of the tournament, with the final being played over the best of 15 sets.
Background
Format
The 2027 championship will feature 96 players, a reduction of 32 from the 128-player field used at the 2026 tournament.
The top 32 players on the IDF Order of Merit following the 2026 IDF Players Championship Finals will be seeded. All 32 seeds will receive a first-round bye and enter the tournament in the second round.
The remaining 64 players will begin in the first round, producing 32 winners who will each face one of the seeded players in the second round.
From the second round onwards, the tournament will operate as a conventional 64-player knockout bracket.
All matches will be played in sets. Every set will be played over the best of five legs, with the first player to win three legs winning the set.
Unlike the short-set format introduced at the 2026 Players Championship Finals, sets at the World Championship therefore retain the traditional best-of-five-leg structure.
The match lengths are:
- First round: best of 5 sets – first to 3
- Second round: best of 5 sets – first to 3
- Third round: best of 7 sets – first to 4
- Fourth round: 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 15 sets – first to 8
The increased length of the latter stages represents a change from the 2026 championship, whose final was played over the best of 13 sets. The 2027 final can therefore run to a maximum of 15 sets and 75 legs.
The player throwing first in the opening set will be determined by the pre-match bull. The right to throw first will alternate at the beginning of each subsequent set.
There will be no tie-break extension within an individual set. If a set reaches two legs apiece, the fifth leg will decide the set.
Player count
The championship will feature 96 players.
| Entry route | Players |
|---|---|
| Seeded – IDF Order of Merit top 32 | 32 |
| Unseeded IDF Order of Merit qualifiers | 32 |
| IDF ProTour qualifiers | 16 |
| International qualifiers | 8 |
| World Championship final qualifiers | 8 |
| Total | 96 |
The reduction from 128 to 96 players was accompanied by the return of first-round byes for the 32 seeded players. Unseeded players must therefore win a first-round match before facing a seed.
Prize money
The total prize fund will be £3,500,000, the largest prize fund of the 2026–27 IDF season.
The champion will receive £750,000.
| Stage | Prize money | Players | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | £750,000 | 1 | £750,000 |
| Runner-up | £350,000 | 1 | £350,000 |
| Semi-finalists | £200,000 | 2 | £400,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | £100,000 | 4 | £400,000 |
| Fourth round | £50,000 | 8 | £400,000 |
| Third round | £25,000 | 16 | £400,000 |
| Second round | £15,000 | 32 | £480,000 |
| First round | £10,000 | 32 | £320,000 |
| Total | £3,500,000 | ||
All prize money earned at the championship will count towards the IDF Order of Merit.
Players seeded directly into the second round will be guaranteed at least £15,000, while unseeded players eliminated in the first round will receive £10,000.
Qualification
Qualification was divided between the IDF Order of Merit, the IDF ProTour, international qualification routes and the final World Championship qualifier.
The top 32 players on the IDF Order of Merit qualified as seeded players and will enter in the second round.
The next 32 highest-ranked eligible players on the Order of Merit qualified as unseeded players.
A further 16 places were awarded through the 2026 IDF ProTour rankings to players who had not already qualified through the main Order of Merit.
Eight international places were awarded through designated regional qualifying events.
The remaining eight places were decided at the IDF World Championship Final Qualifier.
Seeds
The top 32 players on the IDF Order of Merit following the Players Championship Finals were seeded.
All seeded players will enter in the second round.
| Seed | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Logan White |
| 2 | Alex Brow |
| 3 | Max Mad |
| 4 | Parker Reeves |
| 5 | Quinn Sanders |
| 6 | Elias Storm |
| 7 | Duncan MacLeod |
| 8 | Wyatt Walker |
| 9 | Jeroen van Dijk |
| 10 | Hunter Jackson |
| 11 | Jack Mercer |
| 12 | Rhys Morgan |
| 13 | Nathan Owens |
| 14 | Harry Lewis |
| 15 | Benjamin Carter |
| 16 | Ryan Thomas |
| 17 | Niklas Hofer |
| 18 | Kai Mitchell |
| 19 | Callum Pike |
| 20 | Bram De Waal |
| 21 | Ethan Mitchell |
| 22 | Blake Carter |
| 23 | Cole Hamilton |
| 24 | Noah Parker |
| 25 | Jamie Fletcher |
| 26 | Sean Donovan |
| 27 | Oliver Bartlett |
| 28 | Lewis Moorcroft |
| 29 | Lukas Weber |
| 30 | Matteo Vermeulen |
| 31 | Connor Hayes |
| 32 | Daniel McKenna |
Qualified players
Seeded players
| Seed | Player | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Logan White | IDF Order of Merit |
| 2 | Alex Brow | IDF Order of Merit |
| 3 | Max Mad | IDF Order of Merit |
| 4 | Parker Reeves | IDF Order of Merit |
| 5 | Quinn Sanders | IDF Order of Merit |
| 6 | Elias Storm | IDF Order of Merit |
| 7 | Duncan MacLeod | IDF Order of Merit |
| 8 | Wyatt Walker | IDF Order of Merit |
| 9 | Jeroen van Dijk | IDF Order of Merit |
| 10 | Hunter Jackson | IDF Order of Merit |
| 11 | Jack Mercer | IDF Order of Merit |
| 12 | Rhys Morgan | IDF Order of Merit |
| 13 | Nathan Owens | IDF Order of Merit |
| 14 | Harry Lewis | IDF Order of Merit |
| 15 | Benjamin Carter | IDF Order of Merit |
| 16 | Ryan Thomas | IDF Order of Merit |
| 17 | Niklas Hofer | IDF Order of Merit |
| 18 | Kai Mitchell | IDF Order of Merit |
| 19 | Callum Pike | IDF Order of Merit |
| 20 | Bram De Waal | IDF Order of Merit |
| 21 | Ethan Mitchell | IDF Order of Merit |
| 22 | Blake Carter | IDF Order of Merit |
| 23 | Cole Hamilton | IDF Order of Merit |
| 24 | Noah Parker | IDF Order of Merit |
| 25 | Jamie Fletcher | IDF Order of Merit |
| 26 | Sean Donovan | IDF Order of Merit |
| 27 | Oliver Bartlett | IDF Order of Merit |
| 28 | Lewis Moorcroft | IDF Order of Merit |
| 29 | Lukas Weber | IDF Order of Merit |
| 30 | Matteo Vermeulen | IDF Order of Merit |
| 31 | Connor Hayes | IDF Order of Merit |
| 32 | Daniel McKenna | IDF Order of Merit |
Unseeded Order of Merit qualifiers
| OOM position | Player |
|---|---|
| 33 | Mason Kelly |
| 34 | Cameron Reid |
| 35 | Adrian Smit |
| 36 | Tyler Grant |
| 37 | Scott Brennan |
| 38 | Marcus Cole |
| 39 | Owen Griffiths |
| 40 | Dylan Brooks |
| 41 | Theo Walsh |
| 42 | Mitchell Kerr |
| 43 | Leon Price |
| 44 | Reece Palmer |
| 45 | Patrick Byrne |
| 46 | Kevin Van Leeuwen |
| 47 | Stefan Müller |
| 48 | Marco Bellini |
| 49 | Finn O'Connor |
| 50 | Jan Verbeek |
| 51 | Toby Richards |
| 52 | Aaron Doyle |
| 53 | Luke Harrington |
| 54 | Niels Bakker |
| 55 | George Chambers |
| 56 | Kieran Walsh |
| 57 | Ruben Meijer |
| 58 | Isaac Bennett |
| 59 | Charlie Sutton |
| 60 | Jordan Ellis |
| 61 | Simon Ward |
| 62 | Harvey Nolan |
| 63 | Adam Fletcher |
| 64 | Tomás Varga |
ProTour qualifiers
| Player | Qualification |
|---|---|
| Theo Richardson | IDF ProTour |
| Cameron Price | IDF ProTour |
| Jordan Matthews | IDF ProTour |
| Stefan de Boer | IDF ProTour |
| Owen Carter | IDF ProTour |
| Kyle Brennan | IDF ProTour |
| Matthew Haines | IDF ProTour |
| Jamie van der Meer | IDF ProTour |
| Liam Davidson | IDF ProTour |
| Dylan Ward | IDF ProTour |
| Oliver Grant | IDF ProTour |
| Marcus Reed | IDF ProTour |
| Finn Jacobs | IDF ProTour |
| Aaron Campbell | IDF ProTour |
| Connor Price | IDF ProTour |
| Nathan Kerr | IDF ProTour |
International qualifiers
| Player | Region |
|---|---|
| Hiroto Tanaka | Japan |
| Min-jae Park | South Korea |
| Liam O'Connell | Australia |
| Caleb Thompson | New Zealand |
| Daniel Morales | United States |
| Javier Ortega | Spain |
| Lars Jørgensen | Denmark |
| Petr Novák | Czech Republic |
Final qualifiers
| Player | Qualification |
|---|---|
| Michael Reeves | Final Qualifier |
| Bradley Stone | Final Qualifier |
| Zachary Hughes | Final Qualifier |
| Ruben van den Berg | Final Qualifier |
| Samuel Price | Final Qualifier |
| Thomas Gallagher | Final Qualifier |
| Andrew Collins | Final Qualifier |
| Martin Vos | Final Qualifier |
Schedule
The tournament will be held across 23 calendar days, including a three-day Christmas break and several rest days during the latter stages.
| Date | Session | Round | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 December | Afternoon | First round | 8 |
| 12 December | Evening | First round | 8 |
| 13 December | Afternoon | First round | 8 |
| 13 December | Evening | First round | 8 |
| 14 December | Afternoon | First round | 8 |
| 14 December | Evening | First round | 8 |
| 15 December | Afternoon | First round | 8 |
| 15 December | Evening | First round | 8 |
| 16 December | Afternoon | Second round | 4 |
| 16 December | Evening | Second round | 4 |
| 17 December | Afternoon | Second round | 4 |
| 17 December | Evening | Second round | 4 |
| 18 December | Afternoon | Second round | 4 |
| 18 December | Evening | Second round | 4 |
| 19 December | Afternoon | Second round | 4 |
| 19 December | Evening | Second round | 4 |
| 20 December | Afternoon | Third round | 4 |
| 20 December | Evening | Third round | 4 |
| 21 December | Afternoon | Third round | 4 |
| 21 December | Evening | Third round | 4 |
| 22 December | Evening | Fourth round | 4 |
| 23 December | Evening | Fourth round | 4 |
| 24–26 December | — | Christmas break | — |
| 27 December | Evening | Quarter-finals | 2 |
| 28 December | Evening | Quarter-finals | 2 |
| 29–30 December | — | Rest days | — |
| 31 December | Evening | Semi-finals | 2 |
| 1–2 January | — | Rest days | — |
| 3 January | Evening | Final | 1 |
Round structure
| Round | Players | Matches | Format | Sets required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 64 | 32 | Best of 5 sets | 3 |
| Second round | 64 | 32 | Best of 5 sets | 3 |
| Third round | 32 | 16 | Best of 7 sets | 4 |
| Fourth round | 16 | 8 | Best of 7 sets | 4 |
| Quarter-finals | 8 | 4 | Best of 9 sets | 5 |
| Semi-finals | 4 | 2 | Best of 11 sets | 6 |
| Final | 2 | 1 | Best of 15 sets | 8 |
Defending champion
White enters the tournament as the defending world champion after defeating Mad 7–6 in the 2026 final.
The 2026 final went to the 13th and deciding set, with White securing his first IDF World Darts Championship title.
As the number one seed, White will receive a first-round bye and enter the tournament in the second round.
White enters the championship following another successful season in which he retained the number-one position on the IDF Order of Merit and won the 2026 IDF European Championship. He also reached the final of the 2026 IDF Players Championship Finals, losing 7–6 to Brow in the deciding set.
Notable entrants
Brow enters as the second seed following victories at both the 2026 IDF Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals. He defeated White during both events, including a 7–6 victory in the Players Championship Finals final.
Mad, the third seed, returns after finishing runner-up to White in the 2026 World Championship final. Mad also reached the semi-finals of the 2026 Grand Slam and Players Championship Finals.
Storm is seeded sixth. He won the 2026 IDF World Grand Prix before suffering a wrist injury following the tournament and later returned to reach the Grand Slam semi-finals and Players Championship Finals quarter-finals.
Van Dijk is seeded ninth after finishing runner-up at the Grand Slam, while Sanders enters as the fifth seed after reaching the semi-finals of the Players Championship Finals.
2025 Players Championship Finals runner-up Mitchell is seeded 18th.
Changes from 2026
The number of players was reduced from 128 to 96.
The top 32 seeds will enter in the second round rather than competing from the opening round.
The first and second rounds will both be played over the best of five sets.
The third and fourth rounds will be played over the best of seven sets.
The quarter-finals remain best of nine sets, while the semi-finals will be played over the best of 11.
The final has been increased from the best of 13 sets to the best of 15 sets, with the champion required to win eight sets.
Each set remains the best of five legs throughout the tournament.
The total prize fund has been increased to £3.5 million, with £750,000 awarded to the champion.
Draw
The first-round draw and seeded second-round placement will be made following confirmation of all 96 qualified players.
The 64 unseeded players will be drawn into 32 first-round matches.
Each first-round winner will then advance into a predetermined second-round position against one of the 32 seeded players.
References
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