Luke Littler goes searching for a maiden title when the 2026 PDC season kicks off with the World Masters in Milton Keynes.
The match, which runs from January 29 to February 1, is one in all two main televised occasions the back-to-back world champion must win to finish a clear sweep of darts honours.
Defending champion Luke Humphries and World Darts Championship runner-up Gian van Veen, who makes his match debut, lead the cost to disclaim Littler extra glory.
Final 12 months’s runner-up Jonny Clayton, who defeated Littler within the quarter-finals, options alongside fellow Premier League stars Stephen Bunting, Josh Rock and Gerwyn Value.
World Darts Championship semi-finalist Gary Anderson and Ryan Searle have been named among the many 24 pre-qualified gamers.
Eight extra gamers who qualify from the Preliminary Rounds, which happen on January 28, will be part of the world’s high 24 to finish the 32-player area vying for a chunk of the £500,000 prize pot at Area MK.
2026 World Masters – Pre-qualified gamers
- 1. Luke Littler
- 2. Luke Humphries
- 3. Gian van Veen
- 4. Michael van Gerwen
- 5. Jonny Clayton
- 6. Gary Anderson
- 7. Stephen Bunting
- 8. Ryan Searle
- 9. Josh Rock
- 10. Danny Noppert
- 11. James Wade
- 12. Gerwyn Value
- 13. Chris Dobey
- 14. Nathan Aspinall
- 15. Martin Schindler
- 16. Ross Smith
- 17. Damon Heta
- 18. Jermaine Wattimena
- 19. Mike De Decker
- 20. Rob Cross
- 21. Luke Woodhouse
- 22. Dave Chisnall
- 23. Daryl Gurney
- 24. Ryan Joyce
2026 World Masters – Schedule
Wednesday January 28 (12pm)
Preliminary Rounds
Thursday January 29 (7pm)
Spherical One x8
Friday January 30 (7pm)
Spherical One x8
Saturday January 31
Afternoon Session (1pm)
Spherical Two x4
Night Session (7pm)
Spherical Two x4
Sunday February 1
Afternoon Session (1pm)
Quarter-Finals
Night Session (7pm)
Semi-Finals
Ultimate
Format
All matches on the 2026 World Masters will likely be performed utilizing the best-of-three-legs set format synonymous with the match. Tiebreaks are usually not utilized in any set.
Spherical One
Greatest of 5 units, better of three legs per set
Spherical Two
Better of seven units, better of three legs per set
Quarter-finals
Better of seven units, better of three legs per set
Semi-finals
Better of 9 units, better of three legs per set
Ultimate
Better of 11 units, better of three legs per set
Prize cash
- Winner – £100,000
- Runner-up – £50,000
- Semi-finalists – £30,000
- Quarter-finalists – £17,500
- Spherical Two losers – £10,000
- Spherical One losers – £5,000
- Preliminary Spherical L16 – £2,500
- Preliminary Spherical L32 – £1,000
- Preliminary Spherical L64 – £750
Who will win this 12 months’s Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries will likely be defending his title and you may watch the motion each single Thursday from February till Might on Sky Sports activities. Stream darts and extra high sport with NOW.
