Luke Littler begins his defence of the World Darts Championship against Darius Labanauskas on Thursday 11 December, live on Sky Sports. As tradition dictates, the reigning champion features on opening night; Michael Smith v Lisa Ashton also headlines the first session. Lithuania’s Labanauskas will be first to try to halt Littler — no defending champion has lost on opening night since John Part’s shock defeat to Bill Davis in 2009.
Beau Greaves opens her campaign on Friday 19 December against Daryl Gurney in the evening session. Last year’s finalist Michael van Gerwen is in action on Thursday 18 December, the same night as the eagerly anticipated Fallon Sherrock v Dave Chisnall tie. Luke Humphries, the 2024 world champion, begins his bid to reclaim the title against Ted Evetts in the evening session on Saturday 13 December; Gary Anderson plays in the afternoon that day.
Other early highlights: Gerwyn Price starts on Tuesday 16 December; Peter Wright faces Noa-Lynn van Leuven on Monday 15 December; and Stephen Bunting opens on Sunday 14 December.
A record £5 million prize fund is on offer at Alexandra Palace, with £1 million for the winner — the biggest payday in darts history. The expanded 2026 event features 128 players, with everyone entering from round one (seeded players no longer receive byes).
Full schedule at Alexandra Palace (all times GMT)
Thursday 11 December (1900)
Round One x4
Kim Huybrechts v Arno Merk
Michael Smith v Lisa Ashton
Luke Littler v Darius Labanauskas
Madars Razma v Jamai van den Herik
Friday 12 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round One x4
Niels Zonneveld v Haupai Puha
Ian White v Mervyn King
Ryan Searle v Chris Landman
Rob Cross v Cor Dekker
Evening Session (1900)
Round One x4
Ross Smith v Andreas Harrysson
Ricky Evans v Man Lok Leung
Gian van Veen v Cristo Reyes
Damon Heta v Steve Lennon
Saturday 13 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round One x4
Mario Vandenbogaerde v David Davies
Andrew Gilding v Cam Crabtree
Luke Woodhouse v Boris Krcmar
Gary Anderson v Adam Hunt
Evening Session (1900)
Round One x4
Jeffrey de Graaf v Paul Lim
Wessel Nijman v Karel Sedlacek
Luke Humphries v Ted Evetts
Gabriel Clemens v Alex Spellman
Sunday 14 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round One x4
Ritchie Edhouse v Jonny Tata
Dom Taylor v Oskar Lukasiak
Richard Veenstra v Nitin Kumar
Joe Cullen v Bradley Brooks
Evening Session (1900)
Round One x4
Lukas Wenig v Wesley Plaisier
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Darren Beveridge
Stephen Bunting v Sebastian Bialecki
James Hurrell v Stowe Buntz
Monday 15 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round One x4
Brendan Dolan v Tavis Dudeney
Cameron Menzies v Charlie Manby
Mensur Suljovic v David Cameron
Peter Wright v Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Evening Session (1900)
Round One x4
Martin Lukeman v Max Hopp
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Andy Baetens
Jonny Clayton v Adam Lipscombe
Connor Scutt v Simon Whitlock
Tuesday 16 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round One x4
Alan Soutar v Teemu Harju
Nick Kenny v Justin Hood
Scott Williams v Paolo Nebrida
Chris Dobey v Xiaochen Zong
Evening Session (1900)
Round One x4
Ricardo Pietreczko v Jose de Sousa
Danny Noppert v Jurjen van der Velde
Gerwyn Price v Adam Gawlas
Niko Springer v Joe Comito
Wednesday 17 December (1900)
Round One x4
Matt Campbell v Adam Sevada
Raymond van Barneveld v Stefan Bellmont
James Wade v Ryusei Azemoto
Martin Schindler v Stephen Burton
Thursday 18 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round One x4
Callan Rydz v Patrik Kovacs
Thibault Tricole v Motomu Sakai
Ryan Joyce v Owen Bates
Mike De Decker v David Munyua
Evening Session (1900)
Round One x4
Jermaine Wattimena v Dominik Gruellich
Dave Chisnall v Fallon Sherrock
Michael van Gerwen v Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
Krzysztof Ratajski v Alexis Toylo
Friday 19 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round One x4
Kevin Doets v Matthew Dennant
Ryan Meikle v Jesus Salate
Mickey Mansell v Leonard Gates
Josh Rock v Gemma Hayter
Evening Session (1900)
Round One x4
William O’Connor v Krzysztof Kciuk
Daryl Gurney v Beau Greaves
Nathan Aspinall v Lourence Ilagan
Keane Barry v Tim Pusey
Saturday 20 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round Two x4
Evening Session (1900)
Round Two x4
Sunday 21 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round Two x4
Evening Session (1900)
Round Two x4
Monday 22 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round Two x4
Evening Session (1900)
Round Two x4
Tuesday 23 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round Two x4
Evening Session (1900)
Round Two x4
Saturday 27 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round Three x3
Evening Session (1900)
Round Three x3
Sunday 28 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round Three x3
Evening Session (1900)
Round Three x3
Monday 29 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round Three x3
Evening Session (1900)
Round Three x1, Round Four x2
Tuesday 30 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
Round Four x3
Evening Session (1900)
Round Four x3
Thursday 1 January
Afternoon Session (1230)
Quarter-Finals x2
Evening Session (1900)
Quarter-Finals x2
Friday 2 January (1930)
Semi-Finals
Saturday 3 January (2000)
Final
Tournament format
For 2026 all players begin in round one; seeded players no longer receive byes. The event uses the sets format: each set is first to three legs. The deciding set requires a two-leg margin; if a final set reaches 2-2 play continues until a two-leg lead is achieved, and if it reaches 5-5 a sudden-death leg is played (throw order continues).
Prize money
Total fund: £5,000,000
Winner: £1,000,000
Runner-up: £400,000
Semi-finalists: £200,000
Quarter-finalists: £100,000
Round Four losers: £60,000
Round Three losers: £35,000
Round Two losers: £25,000
Round One losers: £15,000
Broadcast
Watch every match live from 11 December to 3 January on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407 from 10 December).