World Darts Championship 2025/26 Thursday schedule, prize money, odds, when does Luke Littler play his first round match
The winner of the tournament will receive a cheque for a jaw-dropping one million pounds.
The New Year-spanning PDC World Championships is the most sought after trophy in world darts - and the darting action gets underway this evening (Thursday, December 11).
This year’s tournament is the 33rd organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the now-defunct British Darts Organisation and is once again taking place at London’s Alexandra Palace, better known to fans as the Ally Pally.
Darts prodigy Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler is the defending champion but he'll have to beat the world's best darters to retain his crown.
And there’s more darts that ever to enjoy, with an expanded 128-player field.
Here's what you need to know about the tournament.
When is the PDC World Darts Championship?
The tournament takes place from Thursday, December 11, 2025, to Saturday, January 3, 2026
What is the prize money?
There is a record £5million prize pot up for grabs, allocated as follows:
- Winner: £1,000,000
- Runner-up: £400,000
- Semi-finalists: £200,000
- Quarter-finalists: £100,000
- Fourth round losers: £60,000
- Third round losers: £35,000
- Second round losers: £25,000
- First round losers: £15,000
- Nine-dart finish: £60,000
Who is playing in the PDC World Darts Championship today?
There’s a single session taking place this evening, Thursday, December 11, starting at 7pm. Here’s who is in action.
- Kim Huybrechts v Arno Merk
- Michael Smith (28) v Lisa Ashton
- Luke Littler (1) v Darius Labanauskas
- Madars Razma v Jamai van den Herik
When will Luke Littler be playing his first round match in the PDC World Darts Championship?
Luke the Nuke is third up on the oche this evening. When he plays depends on how long the first two matches take, but it’s likely he’ll be taking centre stage at around 8pm.
What is the format of the matches?
Darts matches are made up of legs and sets, with each set being the best of five legs (the first to three legs taking the set).
The first two rounds are the best of five sets (first to three), while the third and fourth rounds are the best of seven sets (first to four).
The quarter-finals are the best of nine sets (first to five), the semi-finals the best of 11 sets (first to six) and the final a marathon best of 13 sets (first to seven).
For all rounds except the first, the deciding set has to be won by two clear legs, up until 5–5, when a sudden-death leg will be played.
What is the format of the competition?
Unlike previous years, where the top players skipped the first round, it’s a straight knockout competition, with the top 32 players on the PDC Order of Merit seeded.
What’s the tournament schedule?
In the early stages of the tournament there are eight matches each day, split into two sessions. As the length of the games increase, and the number of players remaining in the competition decrease, fewer games are played in each session.
First round matches start on the the evening of Thursday, December 11, and continue until Friday, December 9.
The first of the second round matches takes place on Saturday, December 10, with round 2 concluding on Tuesday, December 24.
The third round takes place between December 27-29, and the fourth from December 29-30.
The eight quarter-finalists will clash over two session on Thursday, January 1, swiftly followed by the semi-finals the next day.
The winner will be crowned after the final on Saturday, January 3, starting at 8pm.
When are the rest of the first round matches being played?
Here’s the full first round schedule and when every match will be played - from tomorrow on.
Friday, 12 December
Afternoon session (12:30)
- Niels Zonneveld v Haupai Puha
- Ian White v Mervyn King
- Ryan Searle (20) v Chris Landman
- Rob Cross (17) v Cor Dekker
Evening session (19:00)
- Ross Smith (12) v Andreas Harrysson
- Ricky Evans v Man Lok Leung
- Gian van Veen (10) v Cristo Reyes
- Damon Heta (16) v Steve Lennon
Saturday, 13 December
Afternoon session (12:30)
- Mario Vandenbogaerde v David Davies
- Andrew Gilding v Cam Crabtree
- Luke Woodhouse (25) v Boris Krcmar
- Gary Anderson (14) v Adam Hunt
Evening session (19:00)
- Jeffrey de Graaf v Paul Lim
- Wessel Nijman (31) v Karel Sedlacek
- Luke Humphries (2) v Ted Evetts
- Gabriel Clemens v Alex Spellman
Sunday, 14 December
Afternoon session (12:30)
- Ritchie Edhouse (27) v Jonny Tata
- Dom Taylor v Oskar Lukasiak
- Richard Veenstra v Nitin Kumar
- Joe Cullen (32) v Bradley Brooks
Evening session (19:00)
- Lukas Wenig v Wesley Plaisier
- Dimitri van den Bergh (23) v Darren Beveridge
- Stephen Bunting (4) v Sebastian Bialecki
- James Hurrell v Stowe Buntz
Monday, 15 December
Afternoon session (12:30)
- Brendan Dolan v Tavis Dudeney
- Cameron Menzies (26) v Charlie Manby
- Mensur Suljovic v David Cameron
- Peter Wright (30) v Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Evening session (19:00)
- Martin Lukeman v Max Hopp
- Dirk van Duijvenbode (29) v Andy Baetens
- Jonny Clayton (5) v Adam Lipscombe
- Connor Scutt v Simon Whitlock
Tuesday, 16 December
Afternoon session (12:30)
- Alan Soutar v Teemu Harju
- Nick Kenny v Justin Hood
- Scott Williams v Paolo Nebrida
- Chris Dobey (8) v Xiaochen Zong
Evening session (19:00)
- Ricardo Pietreczko v Jose de Sousa
- Danny Noppert (6) v Jurjen van der Velde
- Gerwyn Price (9) v Adam Gawlas
- Niko Springer v Joe Comito
Wednesday, 17 December
Evening session (19:00)
- Matt Campbell v Adam Sevada
- Raymond van Barneveld v Stefan Bellmont
- James Wade (7) v Ryusei Azemoto
- Martin Schindler (13) v Stephen Burton
Thursday, 18 December
Afternoon session (12:30)
- Callan Rydz v Patrik Kovacs
- Thibault Tricole v Motomu Sakai
- Ryan Joyce v Owen Bates
- Mike de Decker (18) v David Munyua
Evening session (19:00)
- Jermaine Wattimena (19) v Dominik Gruellich
- Dave Chisnall (21) v Fallon Sherrock
- Michael van Gerwen (3) v Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
- Krzysztof Ratajski v Alexis Toylo
Friday, 19 December
Afternoon session (12:30)
- Kevin Doets v Matthew Dennant
- Ryan Meikle v Jesus Salate
- Mickey Mansell v Leonard Gates
- Josh Rock (11) v Gemma Hayter
Evening session (19:00)
- William O'Connor v Krzysztof Kciuk
- Daryl Gurney (22) v Beau Greaves
- Nathan Aspinall (15) v Lourence Ilagan
- Keane Barry v Tim Pusey
How can I watch the PDC Darts World Championship?
Live coverage of every day of the World Darts Championship will be broadcast exclusively live on the dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel.
You don't have to be a subscriber to watch – daily, weekly and monthly Sky Sports passes are available on the NOW TV platform from £14.99.
Who is favourite to win?
Defending champion Luke Littler is favourite take the title, with odds of 10/11, followed by Luke Humphries (9/2), Michael van Gerwen (14/1), Gerwyn Price (16/1) and Josh Rock (16/1).
Scotland’s Gary Anderson is priced at 50/1 while his fellow countryman Peter Wright is a 200/1 outsider.
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