2026 WDC World Matchplay

2026 World Matchplay
Tournament information
Country	England
Organisation(s)	WillMan Darts Career (WDC)
Format	Legs Final - best of 35
Prize fund	£1,000,000
Winners share	£225,000
High checkout	TBC
Champion(s)
	Stephen Bunting
	2027»

🛑🚧🚧The content of this page has been deemed too low in quality to be indexed. Please rewrite the article in a neutral tone with at least 300 words, and then remove this template so the page can be indexed by search engines."

The 2026 WDC World Matchplay is a WillMan Darts Career darts tournament that takes place during the 2026 season in England and is the 1st edition of the World Matchplay by the WillMan Darts Career (WDC). The event's prize fund will be £1,000,000, with the winner receiving £225,000

The tournament will feature 32 players, consisting of the top 16 players in the world as well as 16 qualifiers. Everybody will be making their world matchplay debuts.

Overview

Format

The top 16 players were seeded, and were drawn to compete against the 16 qualifiers in the first round. All matches are 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 is to be decided by a sudden death leg.

The number of legs required to win increases as the tournament progresses:

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 total prize fund for the event is £1,000,000. The winner receives £225,000. The prize money breakdown is:


Stage (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

Qualifying round


Player	Score	Player	Player	Score	Player
Andrew Gilding	4-6	William Crossley	Daryl Gurney	6-4	Ryan Meikle
Martin Schindler	5-6	Mike de Decker	Dirk van Duijvenbode	6-2	Jermaine Wattimena
Ritchie Edhouse	2-6	Rob Cross	Madars Razma	5-6	Damon Heta
Peter Wright	6-3	Luke Woodhouse	Joe Cullen	6-3	William O'Connor
Keane Barry	6-4	Lukas Wenig	Kim Huybrechts	6-2	Kevin Doets
Dave Chisnall	3-6	Cameron Menzies	James Hurrell	3-6	Ryan Joyce
Krzysztof Ratajski	2-6	Ian White	Justin Hood	4-6	Scott Williams
Raymond van Barneveld	6-3	Mickey Mansell	Michael Smith	6-4	Connor Scutt

Participants

The top 16 players in the WDC are seeded for the tournament. The 16 qualifiers, getting through a one round qualifying event, are unseeded. All players are making their world matchplay debuts as this is the first ever edition of the event.

The following players qualified for the tournament:

Top 16 WDC Players:

Luke Littler (first round)
Luke Humphries (semi-finals)
Gian van Veen (second round)
Michael van Gerwen (semi-finals)
Jonny Clayton (second round)
James Wade (runner-up)
Gerwyn Price (first round)
Josh Rock (first round)
Stephen Bunting (champion)
Danny Noppert (second round)
Ryan Searle (second round)
Gary Anderson (quarter-finals)
Chris Dobey (second round)
Wessel Nijman (quarter-finals)
Ross Smith (second round)
Nathan Aspinall (second round)

16 Qualifiers:

William Crossley (first round)
Mike de Decker (first round)
Rob Cross (first round)
Peter Wright (second round)
Keane Barry (first round)
Cameron Menzies (quarter-finals)
Ian White (first round)
Raymond van Barneveld (first round)
Daryl Gurney (first round)
Dirk van Duijvenbode (first round)
Damon Heta (quarter-finals)
Joe Cullen (first round)
Kim Huybrechts (first round)
Ryan Joyce (first round)
Scott Williams (first round)
Michael Smith (first round)

Draw

Numbers the the left of players' names show the seedings for the top 16 in the tournament.

First round (best of 19 legs)			Second round (best of 21 legs)			Quarter-finals (best of 31 legs)			Semi-finals' (best of 33 legs)			Final (best of 35 legs)

1	Luke Littler	7

	Cameron Menzies	10
				Cameron Menzies	11

			16	Nathan Aspinall	7
16	Nathan Aspinall	10

	Scott Williams	3
							Cameron Menzies	12

						9	Stephen Bunting	16
8	Josh Rock	6

	Peter Wright	10
				Peter Wright	8

			9	Stephen Bunting	11
9	Stephen Bunting	10

	Michael Smith	4
									9	Stephen Bunting	17

									4	Michael van Gerwen	7
4	Michael van Gerwen	10

	Joe Cullen	3
			4	Michael van Gerwen	11

			13	Chris Dobey	7
13	Chris Dobey	10

	Kim Huybrechts	8
						4	Michael van Gerwen	18

						12	Gary Anderson	16
5	Jonny Clayton	11

	Daryl Gurney	9
			5	Jonny Clayton	7

			12	Gary Anderson	11
12	Gary Anderson	11

	Ryan Joyce	9
												9	Stephen Bunting	18

												6	James Wade	12
2	Luke Humphries	10

	William Crossley	4
			2	Luke Humphries	11

			15	Ross Smith	8
15	Ross Smith	10

	Raymond van Barneveld	6
						2	Luke Humphries	16

							Damon Heta	7
7	Gerwyn Price	8

	Damon Heta	10
				Damon Heta	13

			10	Danny Noppert	11
10	Danny Noppert	10

	Dirk van Duijvenbode	8
									2	Luke Humphries	15

									6	James Wade	17
3	Gian van Veen	10

	Ian White	8
			3	Gian van Veen	8

			14	Wessel Nijman	11
14	Wessel Nijman	10

	Keane Barry	8
						14	Wessel Nijman	8

						6	James Wade	16
6	James Wade	10

	Rob Cross	5
			6	James Wade	11

			11	Ryan Searle	5
11	Ryan Searle	10

	Mike de Decker	4