2026 World Matchplay of Darts: Draw, schedule, prize money and format explained

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Outside of the World Championship, the World Matchplay is one of the most entertaining majors on the darts calendar each year.

It never fails to entertain, and we often see the best players in the world clash in intense, long-format matches.

32 players will head to Blackpool looking to make it all the way to Sunday evening, but only one will come away from that night with a trophy and £225,000 to their name.

What to know about the 2026 World Matchplay of Darts

Let's take a look at some of the specifics of the tournament.

MORE: 2026 World Matchplay Darts qualifiers

2026 World Matchplay draw/bracket

*This section will be updated once the draw and schedule are released on Thursday

Here is the bracket for the tournament.

First round

(1) Luke Littler vs. Niko Springer

(16) Nathan Aspinall vs. Joe Cullen

(8) Josh Rock vs. Luke Woodhouse

(9) Stephen Bunting vs. Niels Zonneveld

(4) Michael van Gerwen vs. Andrew Gilding

(13) Chris Dobey vs. Dirk van Duijvenbode

(5) Jonny Clayton vs. Damon Heta

(12) Gary Anderson vs. Ryan Joyce

(2) Luke Humphries vs. Cameron Menzies

(15) Ross Smith vs. Kevin Doets

(7) Gerwyn Price vs. Martin Schindler

(10) Danny Noppert vs. Rob Cross

(3) Gian van Veen vs. Krzysztof Ratajski

(14) Wessel Nijman vs. Dave Chisnall

(6) James Wade vs. Jermaine Wattimena

(11) Ryan Searle vs. William O'Connor

Second round

Luke Littler/Niko Springer vs. Nathan Aspinall/Joe Cullen

Josh Rock/Luke Woodhouse vs. Stephen Bunting/Niels Zonneveld

Michael van Gerwen/Andrew Gilding vs. Chris Dobey/Dirk van Duijvenbode

Jonny Clayton/Damon Heta vs. Gary Anderson/Ryan Joyce

Luke Humphries/Cameron Menzies vs. Ross Smith/Kevin Doets

Gerwyn Price/Martin Schindler vs. Danny Noppert/Rob Cross

Gian van Veen/Krzysztof Ratajski vs. Wessel Nijman/Dave Chisnall

James Wade/Jermaine Wattimena vs. Ryan Searle/William O'Connor

MORE: Big names set to miss the 2026 World Matchplay of Darts

2026 World Matchplay schedule

*This section will be updated once the draw and schedule are released on Thursday

First round (Day 1 evening session)

Match	Date	Time (local)
TBD	Sat., Jul. 18	7:15 p.m.
TBD	Sat., Jul. 18	8:15 p.m.
TBD	Sat., Jul. 18	9:15 p.m.
TBD	Sat., Jul. 18	10:15 p.m.

First round (Day 2 afternoon session)

Match	Date	Time (local)
TBD	Sun., Jul. 19	1:15 p.m.
TBD	Sun., Jul. 19	2:15 p.m.
TBD	Sun., Jul. 19	3:15 p.m.
TBD	Sun., Jul. 19	4:15 p.m.

First round (Day 2 evening session)

Match	Date	Time (local)
TBD	Sun., Jul. 19	7:15 p.m.
TBD	Sun., Jul. 19	8:15 p.m.
TBD	Sun., Jul. 19	9:15 p.m.
TBD	Sun., Jul. 19	10:15 p.m.

First round (Day 3 evening session)

Match	Date	Time (local)
TBD	Mon., Jul. 20	7:15 p.m.
TBD	Mon., Jul. 20	8:15 p.m.
TBD	Mon., Jul. 20	9:15 p.m.
TBD	Mon., Jul. 20	10:15 p.m.

Second round (Day 4 evening session)

Match	Date	Time (local)
TBD	Tue., Jul. 21	7:15 p.m.
TBD	Tue., Jul. 21	8:15 p.m.
TBD	Tue., Jul. 21	9:15 p.m.
TBD	Tue., Jul. 21	10:15 p.m.

Second round (Day 5 evening session)

Match	Date	Time (local)
TBD	Wed., Jul. 22	7:15 p.m.
TBD	Wed., Jul. 22	8:15 p.m.
TBD	Wed., Jul. 22	9:15 p.m.
TBD	Wed., Jul. 22	10:15 p.m.

Quarterfinals (Day 6 evening session)

Match	Date	Time (local)
TBD	Thurs., Jul. 23	8:15 p.m.
TBD	Thurs., Jul. 23	9:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals (Day 7 evening session)

Match	Date	Time (local)
TBD	Fri., Jul. 24	8:15 p.m.
TBD	Fri., Jul. 24	9:30 p.m.

Semifinals (Day 8 evening session)

Match	Date	Time (local)
TBD	Sat., Jul. 25	8:15 p.m.
TBD	Sat., Jul. 25	9:40 p.m.

Semifinals (Day 9 evening session)

Match	Date	Time (local)
TBD	Sun., Jul. 26	8:15 p.m.

Prize Money

*Data via Wikipedia

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

MORE: Watch: Luke Littler hits nine-darter in one of the greatest legs of all time against Josh Rock

Format

16 players qualified for the tournament through the Main OoM and 16 qualified through the ProTour OoM.

The Main OoM players were all seeded and matched up with a ProTour qualifier for the round of 32 (first round).

First-round games are played best-of-19 legs, with the games getting longer as the tournament progresses.

In the round of 16 (second round), games are played best-of-21 legs.

It jumps up quite a bit once the quarterfinals arrive, as the format increases to best-of-31 legs.

Lastly, the semifinal round is best-of-33 legs and the final is best-of-35 legs.

It's important to note that "All matches have to be won by two clear legs; if the scores are tied after the full distance and six extra legs, the match will be decided by a sudden death leg"(Wikipedia).

This has gone into effect before, including in the 2018 final when Gary Anderson defeated Mensur Suljovic 21-19.