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 ongoing professional darts tournament that began on 10 December 2025 and will end on 7 January 2026 at Alexandra Palace in London, England. It is 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

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

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.

Background

Order of Merit qualifiers

32 players qualified for the tournament by virtue of being ranked in the top 32 of the IDF Order of Merit. Defending champion Alex Brow is the number two seed, retaining

Order of Merit qualifiers

40 players qualified for the tournament by virtue of being ranked in the top 40 of the PDC Order of Merit. Defending champion Luke Littler is the number one seed going into the tournament, having achieved world number one status on his way to winning the 2025 Grand Slam. He enters the World Championship off the back of claiming his sixth major title of 2025 at the Players Championship Finals; his other titles included the last World Championship, the World Matchplay and his second Grand Slam. Luke Humphries, the 2024 world champion and previous world number one, is the second seed. He won two major titles during the season—the World Masters and the Premier League—and finished as runner-up at a further three major tournaments. The third seed is three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen, who ended a two-year major title drought by winning the World Series Finals in September. Two-time World Championship semi-finalist and former BDO world champion Stephen Bunting is the fourth seed. Welsh number one Jonny Clayton and 2022 UK Open champion Danny Noppert are the fifth and sixth seeds, while four-time World Championship semi-finalist James Wade is seeded seventh in his 22nd appearance at the tournament. 2025 semi-finalist Chris Dobey and 2021 world champion Gerwyn Price completed the top ten alongside tenth seed Gian van Veen, who achieved his first major title at the European Championship and retained his World Youth Championship during the year.

Former world champions Gary Anderson, Rob Cross, Michael Smith and Peter Wright are all amongst the seeded players. Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney, who won the World Cup for Northern Ireland, are the 11th and 22nd seeds. 13th seed Martin Schindler is one of eight German players taking part—a tournament record. Nathan Aspinall, the most prolific player on the 2025 European Tour with three titles, is the 15th seed after finishing as runner-up to Littler at the Players Championship Finals. 19th seed Jermaine Wattimena claimed his first two PDC ranking titles in 2025 Players Championship events. Former major champions who are also seeded include 2022 European champion Ross Smith, 2024 World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker, 2020 World Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh, 2024 European champion Ritchie Edhouse and 2022 Masters champion Joe Cullen; Cullen secured the 32nd and final seeded position. Outside of the top 32 seeds, eight more players qualified through the PDC Order of Merit and are unseeded in the tournament draw, including five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld who will make his 33rd World Championship appearance across both the PDC and BDO tournaments, as well as 2023 UK Open champion Andrew Gilding.

List of confirmed international qualifiers

Seeded (1–32):

Qualified (33–48):

International Qualifiers (49–96):

Regional Qualifiers (97–128):

Summary

First round

World number one Max Mad opened his campaign with a controlled 3–1 victory over debutant Leuan Davies. Mad dominated the opening two sets with heavy scoring and sharp finishing. Davies briefly capitalised on a rare lapse to take the third set, but the response was immediate as Mad raised his level in the fourth, producing multiple maximums to close out the match. Davies showed promise by taking a set on debut, but Mad was never under sustained pressure.

Jordan Knight edged past fellow qualifier Gareth Evans in a tense five-set contest, winning 3–2. Momentum shifted throughout, with Evans repeatedly forcing a response, but Knight delivered his strongest scoring in the decisive moments and showed better composure in the final set to progress. Seventeenth seed Xander Young recovered from dropping the second set to defeat Rhys Morgan 3–1. Morgan competed well and briefly disrupted Young’s rhythm, but the higher seed responded with improved scoring and more reliable finishing, regaining control in the third set before seeing out the match.

Qualifier Dylan Hughes produced one of the results of the round, defeating 16th seed Damon Edwards 3–2. Hughes was the more consistent performer across the match and punished missed opportunities, particularly in the deciding set. Edwards forced a fifth set with a strong fourth but failed to maintain that level, as Hughes held his nerve to complete the upset.

Rory Campbell edged out Alistair Gordon in a hard-fought five-set encounter, producing stronger scoring bursts and handling the decisive moments with greater composure. Gordon twice hauled himself back into the match after falling behind, but Campbell consistently responded when pressure peaked, particularly in the third and deciding sets. While Gordon showed resilience, missed doubles at key stages proved costly, allowing Campbell to close out a closely contested contest that was decided more by execution under pressure than sustained dominance.

The December 11 first-round matches delivered a mix of routine wins and tightly fought five-set contests. Rory Campbell continued the strong showing from qualifiers, edging past Alistair Gordon in a tense decider after producing better scoring at key moments. Angus McLeod advanced in four sets after recovering from an early setback, while Cian Murphy held his nerve to defeat Patrick O’Neill in a full-distance match. Jack O’Connor produced one of the day’s more assured performances, taking control early to dispatch Sean Doyle in four sets.

Elsewhere, Tariq Mahmoud overturned Aiden Brooks in a dramatic five-set encounter marked by repeated momentum swings, with Mahmoud’s finishing proving decisive late on. Felix Grant recorded the most emphatic win of the session, sweeping aside Omar Khaled without dropping a set while posting the highest average of the day. Nathan Reeves also went the distance to overcome Youssef Ibrahim, showing resilience after being pulled back twice. The session concluded with Ahmed Hassan defeating Nate Parker in four sets, underlining a round shaped more by unpredictability than ranking.

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 106.1 3–1 Leuan Davies 91.2 3–1 3–0 2–3 3–0
02 Jordan Knight 96.2 3–2 Gareth Evans 94.7 3–2 1–3 3–0 2–3 3–1
03 Xander Young 99.0 3–1 Rhys Morgan 93.0 3–1 2–3 3–0 3–1
04 Damon Edwards 95.4 2–3 Dylan Hughes 97.4 3–2 1–3 2–3 3–0 1–3
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 93.9 2–3 Rory Campbell 98.5 1–3 3–2 0–3 3–2 1–3
06 Angus McLeod 94.1 3–1 Callum Fraser 91.8 3–1 2–3 3–0 3–2
07 Cian Murphy 96.7 3–2 Patrick O’Neill 95.3 2–3 3–1 3–2 1–3 3–1
08 Sean Doyle 90.6 1–3 Jack O’Connor 97.9 0–3 3–1 1–3 0–3
09 Aiden Brooks 92.4 2–3 Tariq Mahmoud 96.1 3–2 1–3 3–1 1–3 2–3
10 Felix Grant 99.4 3–0 Omar Khaled 90.2 3–1 3–0 3–2
11 Nathan Reeves 95.8 3–2 Youssef Ibrahim 94.9 2–3 3–1 3–2 1–3 3–2
12 Nate Parker 91.7 1–3 Ahmed Hassan 97.2 1–3 2–3 3–2


December 13, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
13 1 Arjun Mehta Rohan Patel
14 Sameer Sharma Amir Khan
15 Wei Zhang Hao Li
16 Junjie Wang Chen Liu
17 Haruto Mori Mason Owens
18 Wesley Adams Min-Jae Park
19 Brody Clarke Ji-Hoon Kim
20 Owen Quinn Dae-Hyun Lee


December 15, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
21 1 Daniel Chen Hiroshi Takeda
22 Kenji Sato Yuji Tanaka
23 Tomas Alvarez Carlos Mendes
24 Paulo Ferreira André Santos
25 Blake Carter Leonardo Vargas
26 Quinn Sanders Hugo Romero
27 Zane Adams Javier Rojas
28 Grant Hayes Marco Castillo


December 17, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
29 1 Lukas Parker Hunter Clark
30 Hayden Ingram Riley Morgan
31 Alec Baker Luke Hamilton
32 Victor Vaughn Carter Ellis
33 Alex Harris Nolan Price
34 Elias Carter Brandon Fox
35 Damian Frost Eric Lawson
36 Jett Pearson Connor Black


December 19, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
37 1 Ryan Thomas Cole Bennett
38 Kai Mitchell Shane Douglas
39 Caleb Daniels Trevor Kane
40 Parker Reeves Bryan Matthews
41 Colton Rivers Tristan Cole
42 Jaxon Reed Cameron Doyle
43 Corey Allen Dominic Flynn
44 Reed Hamilton Oliver Scott


December 22, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
45 1 Logan White Chase Wallace
46 Toby Underwood Jayden Cross
47 Eli Fletcher Marcus Reed
48 Zion Carte Landon Ward
49 Tyler McCoy Declan Ross
50 Brady Simmons Ashton Cole
51 Dylan Hayes Carter Mills
52 Ethan Wright Liam Cooper
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 Vince Young
54 Isaac Johnson Tanner Vaughn
55 Spencer Taylor Andy Dawson
56 Wyatt Walker Xavier Baker
57 Uriah Walker Patrick Richards
58 Noah O’Brien Harrison Lewis
59 Miles Nash Logan Morgan
60 Hunter James Kevin Lee


December 26, 2025
Match no. Round Player 1 Score Player 2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
65 2 Max Mad Jordan Knight
66 Xander Young Dylan Hughes
67 Rory Campbell Angus McLeod
68 Cian Murphy Jack O’Connor
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 106.1 3
Leuan Davies 91.2 1
1 Max Mad
32 Jordan Knight
32 Jordan Knight 96.2 3
Gareth Evans 94.7 2
 
 
17 Xander Young 99.0 3
Rhys Morgan 93.0 1
17 Xander Young
Dylan Hughes
16 Damon Edwards 95.4 2
Dylan Hughes 97.4 3
 
 
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