The darts are heading to the beach as the 2026 World Matchplay kicks off at Winter Gardens in Blackpool. 32-players will try to win the Phil Taylor Trophy and be a major winner for 2026.
Last year, Luke Littler won the tournament, and after being in imperious form this year, he is the favourite to win again.
Below, we look at all you need to know ahead of all tungsten-throwing action this weekend.
World Matchplay 2026: Key details
• Date: Saturday, July 18th - Sunday, July 26th
• Venue: Winter Gardens, Blackpool
• TV channels: DAZN (UK)
• Odds: Littler (1/1) - Humphries (4/1) - Nijman (10/1)
Tournament structure
The 32-players for the World Matchplay are chosen from the 16 highest-ranked players in the PDC's Order of Merit and the 16 best players from the ProTour Order of Merit who are not already qualified through the PDC’s Order.
The event is seeded so the best players are kept apart.
Full schedule and session timings
Round One
Saturday, July 18th (19:00 BST)
Josh Rock (8) 10-4 Luke Woodhouse
Stephen Bunting (9) 13-12 Niels Zonneveld
Luke Littler (1) 10-6 Niko Springer
Nathan Aspinall (16) 10-5 Joe Cullen
Sunday, July 19th (13:00 BST)
Chris Dobey (13) v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Gary Anderson (12) v Ryan Joyce
Michael van Gerwen (4) v Andrew Gilding
Jonny Clayton (5) v Damon Heta
Sunday, July 19th (19:00 BST)
Ryan Searle (11) v William O'Connor
James Wade (6) v Jermaine Wattimena
Gian van Veen (3) v Krzysztof Ratajski
Wessel Nijman (14) v Dave Chisnall
Monday, July 20th (19:00 BST)
Ross Smith (15) v Kevin Doets
Gerwyn Price (7) v Martin Schindler
Luke Humphries (2) v Cameron Menzies
Danny Noppert (10) v Rob Cross
Round Two
Tuesday, July 21st (19:00 BST)
Luke Littler v Nathan Aspinall
Josh Rock v Stephen Bunting
Van Gerwen/Gilding v Dobey/Van Duijvenbode
Clayton/Heta v Anderson/Joyce
Wednesday, July 22nd (19:00 BST)
Humphries/Menzies v Smith/Doets
Price/Schindler v Noppert/Cross
Van Veen/Ratajski v Nijman/Chisnall
Wade/Wattimena v Searle/O’Connor
* match order TBC
Quarter-finals
Thursday, July 23rd (20:05 BST)
Friday, July 24th (20:05 BST)
Semi-finals
Saturday, July 25th (20:05 BST)
Final
Sunday, July 26th (20:05 BST)
Draw and match format
The World Matchplay is played in a leg format, meaning it’s the first player to win a number of games that wins the match.
However, you need to win by two clear legs to win the match. If the players cannot be separated after additional legs, a sudden-death round is introduced to decide the winner.
Round One: Best of 19 legs (sudden death at 12-12)
Round Two: 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)
Contenders
Luke Little is the favourite to win. So far this year, Littler has won the first three majors and the Premier League of Darts. He is in incredible form, and if he retains the matchplay, he will be the first to do so since Michael van Gerwen in 2015 and 2016.
Luke Humphries is the second favourite and is still the PDC World No. 2. He has been lagging behind Littler this year, but has won the Matchplay previously in 2024. He went to the final of the World Masters and the Premier League, losing to Littler both times and will be out for revenge.
The final contender, and many pundits’ dark horse, is Wessel Nijman. The Dutchman has had a great 2026, winning six Players Championship titles and two on the European Tour as well. He will be one to watch over the week.
Prize money
Winner: £225,000
Runner-up: £125,000
Semi-finalists: £65,000
Quarter-finalists: £35,000
Second round: £22,500
First round: £12,000
Total Prize Pot: £800,000
Women's World Matchplay
On Sunday, July 26th, there is also a women's event being played with the best eight players from the Women's Series tour qualifying. Starting at the quarter-finals, these are best of nine legs, as are the semi-finals.
The final is best of 11, with the winner taking home £15,000.
Kicking off at 13:00 BST on July 26th, the quarter-finals are as follows:
Beau Greaves (1) v Kirsi Viinikainen (8)
Gemma Hayter (4) v Vicky Pruim (5)
Lisa Ashton (2) v Rhian O'Sullivan (7)
Fallon Sherrock (3) v Deta Hedman (6)
Where to watch
Sky Sports is your place to catch all the action from Winter Gardens in the UK. All nine days of the event will be shown across Sky Sports channels, starting on Saturday, July 18th at 19:00 BST.