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. As a result, 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.
The World Grand Prix gets underway on Monday evening with a clash between Danny Noppert and Niko Springer. For Noppert, this will be his ninth appearance in the double-in, double-out tournament, having reached the semi-finals in both 2021 and 2025. Springer makes his second appearance and, following disappointing results from his compatriots, is Germany's sole representative. Ross Smith and Cameron Menzies meet in the second match of the evening, with both players arriving in strong form. Smith has already won two Players Championship events and two European Tour titles this season, while earlier this month he also lifted the World Series Finals title. Menzies, meanwhile, won a Players Championship event in Den Bosch just last week.
Nathan Aspinall and Kevin Doets face each other for a place in the second round. The pair also met at last year's World Darts Championship in a dramatic contest, where Doets came out on top 4-3 in sets. This will be the Dutchman's World Grand Prix debut, while Aspinall is making his eighth appearance. The Englishman reached the final in Leicester in 2022. Midway through the evening, Jonny Clayton and Krzysztof Ratajski go head-to-head. Five years ago, Clayton won what remains his only ranking major at the World Grand Prix. 'The Ferret' has also performed well in the past two editions, reaching a quarter-final and a semi-final. Ratajski has qualified for the event for the seventh time. Only in his first two appearances did 'The Polish Eagle' fail to make it beyond the opening round. Ratajski is not the only Polish player in Leicester this year, with Sebastian Bialecki also securing qualification at the last moment. Bialecki has made significant progress over the past 18 months and now has two ranking titles to his name. Against Gerwyn Price, however, he faces one of the world's leading players and one who has been consistently deep into the majors this season. Price has reached the semi-finals of the World Masters, UK Open and Premier League, as well as the finals of the World Matchplay and World Series Finals. He has, though, been waiting since 2022 for another individual major title.
Michael van Gerwen has also gone some time without winning a ranking major. The World Grand Prix is a tournament he has won six times, although the most recent of those titles came in 2022. Since then, his results in Leicester have been disappointing, with one second-round appearance followed by two first-round exits. In Ryan Joyce, Van Gerwen has drawn an opponent who certainly cannot be underestimated. 'Relentless' is particularly strong on the doubles, an even more important weapon than usual in the World Grand Prix format. That strength helped Joyce reach the semi-finals here in 2024. Luke Littler begins his title defence against Luke Woodhouse. 'The Nuke' suffered a costly defeat to Jonny Clayton earlier this month, bringing an end to his historic bid to win every televised tournament in a single calendar year. Woodhouse has continued to progress this season, winning his first Players Championship title before also claiming a European Tour crown. Aside from a semi-final appearance at the 2024 European Championship and a quarter-final at the 2023 Players Championship Finals, however, 'The Shed' is still searching for a major breakthrough on the televised stage. The opening night concludes with Wessel Nijman against Rob Cross. It is a meeting between the best ProTour performer of the season and a former world champion who has begun to rediscover some of his best form. Nijman has already won eight ProTour tournaments this year, but is still waiting for his first major quarter-final. He therefore faces a difficult opening test against Cross, who has enjoyed a much-improved season of his own. 'Voltage' has won a Players Championship event and reached a European Tour final, halting his slide down the world rankings and giving himself the chance to start climbing again.
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.
In the history of the tournament, Phil Taylor holds the record with 11 titles, followed by Michael van Gerwen with six. Other multiple winners include James Wade (2), and one-time winners Alan Warriner, Colin Lloyd, Robert Thornton, Daryl Gurney, Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, Luke Humphries, Mike De Decker, and Luke Littler. The 2025 final saw Luke Littler defeat Luke Humphries 6-1, while the 2024 final was won by Mike De Decker, who beat Humphries 6-4.
Predictions for the title are varied. Samuel Gill, Head Editor for DartsNews.com, sees James Wade winning the title, with Luke Littler and Ross Smith as strong contenders, and Gian van Veen and Luke Humphries as outsiders. Lucas Michael, Editor for DartsNews.com, picks Jonny Clayton to win, with Luke Littler and James Wade as his main challengers, and Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, and Ross Smith as dark horses. Mats Leering, Editor for DartsNieuws.com, has picked Luke Littler to continue his title-winning form, with James Wade and Gian van Veen as his closest rivals, and Jonny Clayton, Ross Smith, and Gerwyn Price as outside bets. Bram Coenen, Editor for DartsNieuws.com, also picks Luke Littler, with Ross Smith as his second choice, and Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, James Wade, and Gerwyn Price as contenders. Pieter Verbeek, Editor for DartsNieuws.com, sees Luke Humphries as Luke Littler's biggest challenger, with James Wade also in the mix, and Ross Smith, Gerwyn Price, and Jonny Clayton as dark horses. Nicolas Gayer, Editor for DartsNews.DE, sees Van Veen and Ross Smith as nearest challengers to Luke Littler, with James Wade, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price as other picks.
