2026 World Matchplay

2026 Betfred World Matchplay
Tournament information
Dates18–26 July 2026
VenueWinter Gardens
LocationBlackpool, England
Organisation(s)Professional Darts Corporation (PDC)
FormatLegs
Prize fund£1,000,000
Winner's share£225,000
«2025 2027»

The 2026 World Matchplay (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2026 Betfred World Matchplay) is an upcoming professional darts tournament that is scheduled to take place from 18 to 26 July 2026 at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, England. It will be the 33rd staging of the World Matchplay by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). The event's prize fund will be an increased total of £1,000,000, with the winner receiving £225,000.

The tournament, sponsored by Betfred, will feature 32 players: the top 16 players in the two-year PDC World Rankings and the top 16 players from the one-year PDC Pro Tour rankings who have not yet qualified. Luke Littler will be the defending champion, having defeated James Wade 18–13 in the 2025 final.

Overview

Background

The 2026 World Matchplay will be the 33rd edition of the tournament to be staged by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) since the inaugural event in 1994.[1] Held annually at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, England, with the exception of the 2020 event held in Milton Keynes,[2] the inaugural champion was Larry Butler, who remains the only American to win a PDC major title; he defeated Dennis Priestley 16–12 in an upset victory in the final.[3][4] In 2018, the World Matchplay trophy was renamed to the Phil Taylor Trophy, in honour of the sixteen-time champion who retired from professional darts following the 2018 World Championship. Taylor won his sixteenth and final World Matchplay title at the 2017 event.[5] The Women's World Matchplay was introduced in 2022 as the PDC's first fully-televised women's tournament.[6][7]

The 2026 edition will take place from 18 to 26 July 2026 in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens. British bookmaker Betfred continued its sponsorship of the event, having extended its partnership with the PDC until 2030.[8] Luke Littler will enter the tournament as defending champion, having defeated James Wade 18–13 in the 2025 final to win his first World Matchplay title.[9][10]

Format

The top 16 players in the PDC World Rankings will be seeded, and will be drawn to compete against the 16 qualifiers from the PDC Pro Tour rankings in the first round.[11] All matches will be in leg play format. All matches have to be won by two clear legs; if the scores are tied and the players cannot be separated after an additional six legs, the match will be decided by a sudden death leg.[12]

The number of legs required to win will increase as the tournament progresses:[11][12]

  • First round: Best of 19 legs (sudden death at 12–12)
  • Second round: Best of 21 legs (sudden death at 13–13)
  • Quarter-finals: Best of 31 legs (sudden death at 18–18)
  • Semi-finals: Best of 33 legs (sudden death at 19–19)
  • Final: Best of 35 legs (sudden death at 20–20)

Prize money

The prize fund for the event increased to £1,000,000, up from the previous year's total of £800,000.[13][14] The winner will receive £225,000 and the Phil Taylor Trophy. The prize money breakdown is shown below:[1]

Position (no. of players) Prize money
(Total: £1,000,000)
Winner (1) £225,000
Runner-up (1) £125,000
Semi-finalists (2) £65,000
Quarter-finalists (4) £35,000
Second round (8) £22,500
First round (16) £12,500

Qualification

The top 16 players in the two-year PDC World Rankings at the cut-off point on 8 July will be seeded for the tournament. The top 16 players from the one-year PDC Pro Tour rankings, not to have already qualified through the main ranking, will be unseeded.[15]

Draw

First round (best of 19 legs)
18–20 July 		Second round (best of 21 legs)
21–22 July 		Quarter-finals (best of 31 legs)
23–24 July 		Semi-finals (best of 33 legs)
25 July 		Final (best of 35 legs)
26 July
               
1  Luke Littler
 
 
 
16  
 
 
 
8  
 
 
 
9  
 
 
 
4  
 
 
 
13  
 
 
 
5  
 
 
 
12  
 
 
 
2  Luke Humphries
 
 
 
15  
 
 
 
7  
 
 
 
10  
 
 
 
3  Gian van Veen
 
 
 
14  
 
 
 
6  
 
 
 
11  
 

References

  1. ^ a b "World Matchplay 2026". mastercaller.com. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  2. ^ Hammer, Chris (4 July 2020). "World Matchplay will take place behind closed doors in Milton Keynes instead of Blackpool's Winter Gardens". Sporting Life. Archived from the original on 10 July 2025. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  3. ^ Phipps, Toby; Austwicke, Jack; Caffry, Liam (17 October 2024). "Larry Butler, Scott Waites and the moments which have shocked darts". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  4. ^ Gorton, Josh (28 July 2019). "Who will join the World Matchplay roll of honour?". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  5. ^ "Phil Taylor trophy introduced for World Matchplay in Blackpool". Sky Sports. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  6. ^ "Women's World Matchplay: PDC to stage first televised women's event in Blackpool". BBC Sport. 1 February 2022. Archived from the original on 10 June 2025. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  7. ^ "Women's World Matchplay: PDC announces first televised women's darts tournament, to be shown live on Sky Sports". Sky Sports. 3 February 2022. Archived from the original on 10 June 2025. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  8. ^ Hardy, Matt (18 July 2025). "World Matchplay: Darts event extends deal with sponsor Betfred". City AM. Archived from the original on 20 July 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  9. ^ Cartwright, Phil (27 July 2025). "Littler beats Wade in superb World Matchplay final". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 27 July 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  10. ^ Blanche, Phil (27 July 2025). "Luke Littler beats James Wade to win first World Matchplay crown in Blackpool". The Independent. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  11. ^ a b Colman, Jonty (18 July 2025). "World Matchplay Darts schedule, draw and prize money". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  12. ^ a b "World Matchplay Darts 2025: Blackpool dates, draw, format, favourites and prize money for tournament at Winter Gardens". Sky Sports. 15 July 2025. Archived from the original on 19 July 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
  13. ^ Phillips, Josh (31 March 2025). "Biggest prize money increase in PDC history confirmed". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  14. ^ "World Matchplay 2025". mastercaller.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  15. ^ "World Matchplay Race 2026". dartsrankings.com. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.