The 2026 Darts World Grand Prix kicks off on Monday, 28 September, with Luke Littler aiming to defend the title he won in 2025. The tournament, one of the Professional Darts Corporation's major titles, features a unique 'double in, double out' format and a total prize fund of £750,000, with the winner taking home £150,000.
The 32-player field is comprised of the top 16 players from the PDC Order of Merit and the best 16 from the past 12 months via the Pro Tour who had not already qualified. The cut-off for rankings was Monday, 14 September. The PDC Order of Merit qualifiers are: Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, James Wade, Josh Rock, Danny Noppert, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Stephen Bunting, Wessel Nijman, Ross Smith, Ryan Searle, Chris Dobey, and Nathan Aspinall. The PDC Pro Tour qualifiers are: Luke Woodhouse, Kevin Doets, Jermaine Wattimena, Krzysztof Ratajski, Andrew Gilding, William O'Connor, Damon Heta, Rob Cross, Ryan Joyce, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Niels Zonneveld, Cameron Menzies, Niko Springer, Dave Chisnall, Sebastian Bialecki, and Joe Cullen.
The 'double in, double out' format requires players to start each leg on a double, rather than any scoring zone, and has been used since the tournament's inaugural year in 1998. Matches are set play, with each set being best of five legs. The first round is best-of-three sets, increasing to five sets in the second round. The quarter-finals remain best-of-five sets, before increasing to nine sets in the semi-finals. The final is a best-of-11 match, a race to six sets.
First-round action begins on Monday, 28 September at 18:00 BST, with matches including Danny Noppert (8) v Niko Springer, Ross Smith (13) v Cameron Menzies, Nathan Aspinall (16) v Kevin Doets, Jonny Clayton (5) v Krzysztof Ratajski, Gerwyn Price (4) v Sebastian Bialecki, Michael van Gerwen (9) v Ryan Joyce, Luke Littler (1) v Luke Woodhouse, and Wessel Nijman (12) v Rob Cross. The first round continues on Tuesday, 29 September at 18:00 BST with Chris Dobey (15) v Jermaine Wattimena, Ryan Searle (14) v William O'Connor, Josh Rock (7) v Niels Zonneveld, James Wade (6) v Joe Cullen, Gary Anderson (10) v Damon Heta, Gian van Veen (3) v Dirk van Duijvenbode, Luke Humphries (2) v Dave Chisnall, and Stephen Bunting (11) v Andrew Gilding.
The second round takes place on Wednesday, 30 September and Thursday, 1 October at 19:00 BST, with the order of play to be confirmed. Wednesday's matches include Littler/Woodhouse v Aspinall/Doets, Noppert/Springer v Van Gerwen/Joyce, Price/Bialecki v Smith/Menzies, and Clayton/Ratajski v Nijman/Cross. Thursday's matches include Humphries/Chisnall v Dobey/Wattimena, Rock/Zonneveld v Anderson/Heta, Van Veen/Van Duijvenbode v Searle/O'Connor, and Wade/Cullen v Bunting/Gilding. The quarter-finals are on Friday, 2 October at 19:00 BST (four matches), the semi-finals on Saturday, 3 October at 20:00 BST (two matches), and the final on Sunday, 4 October at 20:00 BST (one match).
The prize money has increased to £750,000 this year, a 25% rise from last year's £600,000. The winner will receive £150,000, up from £120,000. The runner-up earns £80,000, semi-final losers £50,000, quarter-final losers £35,000, second-round losers £20,000, and first-round losers £7,500. Barring the first-round loser prize, every other value has increased.
Phil Taylor is the most successful player in World Grand Prix history with 11 titles, followed by Michael van Gerwen with six. James Wade is the only other multiple winner, with two titles. The tournament has produced six different winners in the last six years: Luke Littler (2025), Mike De Decker (2024), Luke Humphries (2023), Michael van Gerwen (2022), Jonny Clayton (2021), and Gerwyn Price (2020).
