London in December: As every year, the focus is on Alexandra Palace in the north of the city. Every day, with the exception of a short break in play around Christmas, up to 15,000 darts fans will put on a spectacle – costumes and lots of alcohol included.
Let’s start with that one PDC Darts World Championship am December 11th with defending champions Luke Littler. The now 18-year-old is the youngest number 1 in the world, the tournament favorite and can throw his arrows against Darius Labanauskas on the first day. The final will take place on 3 January 2026 instead of.
:Ever bigger, ever further
The World Darts Association is planning the next change: the World Cup should last longer and the number of players and spectators should increase. The question is whether the capacity at Alexandra Palace will be expanded – or whether there will even be a move to Saudi Arabia.
Germans at the Darts World Cup 2026
Eight Germans are taking part in London – this has never happened before at a World Cup. In addition to well-known names such as Martin Schindler, Ricardo Pietreczko, Gabriel Clemens and Max Hopp, Niko Springer, Lukas Wenig, Dominik Grüllich and Arno Merk are also represented at the World Cup. Merk can open the World Cup against Kim Huybrechts on December 11th.
Little, Hopp, Grülich and Merk have big chunks waiting for them in the first round; it will be difficult for them to progress. Clemens – a former semi-finalist in 2023 – is currently not in the form he was two years ago, he will face the American Alex Spellman in the first round. For Springer, Schindler and Pietreczko, not only their form on the day but also the name of their opponent decides how far they can go in the tournament. They have proven throughout the year that all three top players can beat.
When are the Germans playing?
What’s new this year is that 128 participants are taking part. The top seeded players also have to go to the oche in the first round. An overview of who and when the German representatives are competing against.
1. Round
- 11.12.: Arno Merk vs. Kim Huybrechts (BEL) 3:1
- December 13th, around 11 p.m.: Gabriel Clemens vs. Alex Spellman (USA)
- December 14th, 8 p.m.: Lukas Wenig vs. Wesley Plaisier (NED)
- December 15, 8 p.m.: Max Hopp vs. Martin Lukeman (ENG)
- 16. December, 20 Uhr: Ricardo Pietreczko vs. João de Sousa (POR)
- December 16th, around 11 p.m.: Niko Springer vs. Joe Comito (AUS)
- December 17th, around 11 p.m.: Martin Schindler vs. Stephen Burton (ENG)
- December 18th, 8 p.m.: Dominik Grüllich vs. Jermaine Wattimena (NED)
2. Round
- 23. Destroy, 14.30 Uhr: Mark Mark vs. Peter Wright.
When do the top players play?
The top 10 players will compete in the first round of the World Cup in the 10 p.m. slot, with only Chris Dobey and Danny Noppert starting at other times:
- 11.12.: Luke Littler (1) vs. Darius Labanauskas 3:0
- 12. Dezember, 22 Uhr: Gian van Veen (10) vs. Cristo Reyes
- December 13th, 10 p.m.: Luke Humphries (2) vs. Ted Evetts
- December 14th, 10 p.m.: Stephen Bunting (4) vs. Sebastian Bialecki
- December 15th, 10 p.m.: Jonny Clayton (5) vs. Adam Lipscombe
- December 16th, 4:30 p.m.: Chris Dobey (8) vs. Xiaochen Zong
- December 16, 9 p.m.: Danny Noppert (6) vs. J. van der Velde
- December 16th, 10 p.m.: Gerwyn Price (9) vs. Adam Gawlas
- December 17th, 10 p.m.: James Wade (7) vs. Ryusei Azemoto
- December 18th, 10 p.m.: Michael van Gerwen (3) vs. Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
Darts World Cup on television and stream
As transmitted every year Sport1 the darts world championship Free-TV and in the free live stream on the Sport1 website. The sports channel shows all games, and every game is also broadcast by the paid streaming service Dazn.
Schedule for the Darts World Cup 2026
In the first two rounds, the winner must win three sets to win the match. A set consists of three legs, in each leg the players have to throw from 501 to 0 points. The last arrow must land in a double square for the leg to be won.
From the third round onwards, the “best-of-seven” mode applies, which means that the first player to win four sets advances to the next round. In the quarter-finals you have to win five sets to advance, in the semi-finals it is played best-of-eleven. In the final, the first player to win seven sets wins.
:Success factor: drunk fans
Even more than in previous years, the players are trying to get the spectators at London’s Alexandra Palace on their side. The mood in the hall influences the matches – but the audience’s sympathy can change quickly.
Friday, December 12th
- 4 x 1st round, 1.30 p.m
- 4 x 1st round, 8 p.m
Saturday December 13th
- 4 x 1st round, 1.30 p.m
- 4 x 1st round, 8 p.m
Sunday December 14th
- 4 x 1st round, 1.30 p.m
- 4 x 1st round, 8 p.m
Monday, December 15th
- 4 x 1st round, 1.30 p.m
- 4 x 1st round, 8 p.m
Tuesday, December 16th
- 4 x 1st round, 1.30 p.m
- 4 x 1st round, 8 p.m
Wednesday December 17th
- 4 x 1st round, 1.30 p.m
- 4 x 1st round, 8 p.m
Thursday, December 18th
- 4 x 1st round, 1.30 p.m
- 4 x 1st round, 8 p.m
Friday, December 19th
- 4 x 1st round, 1.30 p.m
- 4 x 1st round, 8 p.m
Saturday December 20th
- 4 x 2nd round, 1.30 p.m
- 4 x 2nd round, 8 p.m
Sunday, December 21st
- 4 x 2nd round, 1.30 p.m
- 4 x 2nd round, 8 p.m
Monday, December 22nd
- 4 x 2nd round, 1.30 p.m
- 4 x 2nd round, 8 p.m
Tuesday, December 23rd
- 4 x 2nd round, 1.30 p.m
- 4 x 2nd round, 8 p.m
Saturday December 27th
- 3 x 3rd round, 1.30 p.m
- 3 x 3rd round, 8 p.m
Sunday December 28th
- 3 x 3rd round, 1.30 p.m
- 3 x 3rd round, 8 p.m
Monday, December 29th
- 3 x 3rd round, 1.30 p.m
- 1 x 3rd round, 8 p.m
- 2 x round of 16, 8 p.m
Tuesday, December 30th
- 3 x round of 16, 1.30 p.m
- 3 x round of 16, 8 p.m
Thursday, January 1st
- 2 x quarter-finals, 1.30 p.m
- 2 x quarter-finals, 8 p.m
Friday, January 2nd
- 2 x semi-finals, 8.30 p.m
Saturday, January 3rd
Prize money at the Darts World Cup
A total of five million pounds (almost 5.7 million euros) will be paid out at the tournament. This means that the prize money will increase twice compared to last year. How this affects the individual rounds.
- Winner: 1,000,000 British pounds (around 1.1 million euros)
- Finalist: 400,000 British pounds (around 455,000 euros)
- Semi-final 200,000 British pounds (around 227,000 euros)
- Quarterfinals: 100,000 British pounds (around 113,000 euros)
- Round of 16: 60,000 British pounds (around 68,000 euros)
- 3rd round: 35,000 British pounds (around 40,000 euros)
- 2nd round: 25,000 British pounds (around 28,000 euros)
- 1st round: 15,000 British pounds (around 17,000 euros)
- Nine-darter finish: 60,000 British pounds (around 68,000 euros) each
