The international darts elite will descend on Leicester from Monday, September 28 to Sunday, October 4 for the World Grand Prix. The Mattioli Arena will provide the setting for seven days of the unique major, which stands apart from the other major PDC tournaments due to its famous double-in format.
A total of 32 players will compete in the tournament. The 16 highest-ranked players on the world rankings have secured automatic qualification. The field is completed by the 16 best-ranked unseeded players from the Pro Tour. The 16 seeded players will have protected status during the draw, meaning they cannot face each other in the opening round. Each seeded player will be drawn against one of the 16 players who qualified through the Pro Tour. Alongside Littler, the seeded names include Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen. They too will begin their campaigns against a qualifier from the Pro Tour rankings, before clashes between seeded players become possible from the second round onwards.
Defending champion Luke Littler is paired with Luke Woodhouse in the first round. The world number one won the World Grand Prix for the first time twelve months ago and can join an elite group in Leicester. Only Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen have previously won the unique double-in, double-out event in back-to-back years. Littler is also chasing a clean sweep of the major TV titles in 2026. With Woodhouse, winner of the Baltic Sea Darts Open, the teenager faces a stern first hurdle right away. Luke Humphries also knows his opening opponent. The 2023 champion meets Dave Chisnall, a two-time World Grand Prix finalist.
James Wade, a two-time World Grand Prix winner, opens against Joe Cullen. The Englishman reached the semi-finals as recently as 2023. Gary Anderson is paired with Australia’s number one, Damon Heta. Ross Smith and Cameron Menzies face off for a last-16 spot, while Stephen Bunting meets Andrew Gilding. Ryan Searle draws William O’Connor.
The World Grand Prix occupies a unique place on the PDC calendar. It is the only major tournament to use the so-called double-in, double-out format. Players therefore not only need to finish each leg on a double, but must also hit a double before they can begin scoring. The World Grand Prix is also played in sets rather than legs. There is particularly little room for error in the opening round, where matches are played over a short best of three sets. As the tournament progresses, the format becomes increasingly longer. In the final, six sets are ultimately required to win the match, with the title decider played over a best of 11 sets. The first round is best of 3 sets, the second round and quarter-finals are best of 5 sets, the semi-finals are best of 9 sets, and the final is best of 11 sets.
Schedule World Grand Prix 2026
Monday 28 September (from 19:00)
Danny Noppert v Niko Springer (R1)
Ross Smith v Cameron Menzies (R1)
Nathan Aspinall v Kevin Doets (R1)
Jonny Clayton v Krzysztof Ratajski (R1)
Gerwyn Price v Sebastian Bialecki (R1)
Michael van Gerwen v Ryan Joyce (R1)
Luke Littler v Luke Woodhouse (R1)
Wessel Nijman v Rob Cross (R1)
Tuesday 29 September (from 19:00)
Chris Dobey v Jermaine Wattimena (R1)
Ryan Searle v William O'Connor (R1)
Josh Rock v Niels Zonneveld (R1)
James Wade v Joe Cullen (R1)
Gary Anderson v Damon Heta (R1)
Gian van Veen v Dirk van Duijvenbode (R1)
Luke Humphries v Dave Chisnall (R1)
Stephen Bunting v Andrew Gilding (R1)
Wednesday 30 September (from 19:00)
TBC v TBC (R2)
TBC v TBC (R2)
TBC v TBC (R2)
TBC v TBC (R2)
Thursday 1 October (from 19:00)
TBC v TBC (R2)
TBC v TBC (R2)
TBC v TBC (R2)
TBC v TBC (R2)
Friday 2 October (from 19:00)
TBC v TBC (QF)
TBC v TBC (QF)
TBC v TBC (QF)
TBC v TBC (QF)
Saturday 3 October (from 19:00)
TBC v TBC (SF)
TBC v TBC (SF)
Sunday 4 October (from 21:00)
TBC v TBC (FINAL)
World Grand Prix 2026 draw
(1) Luke Littler v Luke Woodhouse
(16) Nathan Aspinall v Kevin Doets
(8) Danny Noppert v Niko Springer
(9) Michael van Gerwen v Ryan Joyce
(4) Gerwyn Price v Sebastian Bialecki
(13) Ross Smith v Cameron Menzies
(5) Jonny Clayton v Krzysztof Ratajski
(12) Wessel Nijman v Rob Cross
(2) Luke Humphries v Dave Chisnall
(15) Chris Dobey v Jermaine Wattimena
(7) Josh Rock v Niels Zonneveld
(10) Gary Anderson v Damon Heta
(3) Gian van Veen v Dirk van Duijvenbode
(14) Ryan Searle v William O'Connor
(6) James Wade v Joe Cullen
(11) Stephen Bunting v Andrew Gilding
History
1998: Phil Taylor 13-8 Rod Harrington
1999: Phil Taylor 6-1 Shayne Burgess
2000: Phil Taylor 6-1 Shayne Burgess
2001: Alan Warriner 8-2 Roland Scholten
2002: Phil Taylor 7-3 John Part
2003: Phil Taylor 7-2 John Part
2004: Colin Lloyd 7-3 Alan Warriner
2005: Phil Taylor 7-1 Colin Lloyd
2006: Phil Taylor 7-4 Terry Jenkins
2007: James Wade 6-3 Terry Jenkins
2008: Phil Taylor 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld
2009: Phil Taylor 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
2010: James Wade 6-3 Adrian Lewis
2011: Phil Taylor 6-3 Brendan Dolan
2012: Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Mervyn King
2013: Phil Taylor 7-0 Dave Chisnall
2014: Michael van Gerwen 5-3 James Wade
2015: Robert Thornton 5-4 Michael van Gerwen
2016: Michael van Gerwen 5-2 Gary Anderson
2017: Daryl Gurney 5-4 Simon Whitlock
2018: Michael van Gerwen 5-2 Peter Wright
2019: Michael van Gerwen 5-2 Dave Chisnall
2020: Gerwyn Price 5-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode
2021: Jonny Clayton 5-1 Gerwyn Price
2022: Michael van Gerwen 5-3 Nathan Aspinall
2023: Luke Humphries 5-2 Gerwyn Price
2024: Mike De Decker 6-4 Luke Humphries
2025: Luke Littler 6-1 Luke Humphries
