The upcoming World Darts Championship 2025/2026 will feature a record-breaking field of 128 players, all vying for the prestigious Sid Waddell Trophy and the winner’s cheque of £1 million – with a total prize fund of £5 million up for grabs.
The top 40 players on the PDC Order of Merit following the Players Championship Finals in November will automatically qualify – including reigning World Champion Luke Littler and current World No. 1 Luke Humphries. In addition, the top 40 unqualified players on the ProTour Order of Merit will also earn automatic spots. Previously, only the top 32 from each ranking list were granted direct entry.
The remaining 48 places will be filled via international qualifiers. This expansion offers players from the PDC’s global affiliates and associated tours even greater opportunities to take to the sport’s biggest stage.
Among the field will be a minimum of four female players, along with three qualifiers each from the Winmau Development Tour and the Challenge Tour. The Championship Darts Corporation (CDC) will contribute five players, while five more will qualify via the PDC Asian Tour Order of Merit, joined by the two finalists from the PDC Asian Championship.
The line-up will also include three players from the PDC Nordic & Baltic region – the top two on the PDCNB ProTour Order of Merit and the winner of the inaugural PDC Nordic & Baltic Championship, where 24 players will compete for the Jann Hoffmann Trophy.
Also joining the field will be the winner of the first-ever PDC ANZ Premier League, as well as the top players on the DartPlayers Australia ProTour Order of Merit, the DartPlayers New Zealand ProTour Order of Merit, and the newly formed ADA Australian Tour.
Germany’s twelve Tour Card holders will be able to secure a place through the 80 qualification spots awarded via the Main Order of Merit and the ProTour Order of Merit.
For German players without a Tour Card, the PDC Europe Super League, alongside the Challenge and Development Tours, provides a qualification route to Ally Pally. The only route for youth and amateur players to reach the Super League is through the PDC Europe Next Gen series.
“With the expansion of the World Championship to 128 players, we’re introducing new qualification pathways that give emerging darting talents a genuine chance to reach the sport’s biggest stage. We’re looking ahead to the upcoming World Championship with huge excitement and anticipation,” said Philip Brzezinski, Head of Sports at PDC Europe.
New for this year: All players will enter at the first round stage. The top 32 seeds, along with players ranked 33 to 64, will be randomly drawn into the left half of the bracket, where they’ll face one of the remaining 64 international qualifiers.
The 2025/26 World Darts Championship will begin in December and conclude in January, with further information to be announced in due course.
