UK Open 2026 Prize Money Explained: How much can Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen earn
PDCThursday, 26 February 2026 at 14:00
The UK Open Darts 2026 once again promises a spectacle for darts fans around the globe. This tournament, renowned for its open format and surprise twists, takes place from Friday, 03/06/2026 to Sunday, 03/08/2026 at the Butlin’s Resort in Minehead.
With a total prize fund of no less than £750,000, the UK Open is a lucrative tournament for the participating players. That is significantly more than last year, when £600,000 was shared out.
Follow the UK Open Darts 2026 via our live scores!
Follow the UK Open Darts 2026 via our live scores!
Players who have to start from the first round receive nothing. Prize money is only paid from the second round, although that immediately stands at £1,250. A spot in the last 96 earns £2,000, while the top 32 on the world ranking are already guaranteed £3,000 in prize money. They only enter from the fourth round.
The amount then rises to £7,500 for players who reach the fifth round, and a place in the last 16 pays £12,500. Quarter-finalists go home with at least £20,000, and semi-finalists with £35,000. The runner-up receives £60,000. The top prize is a hefty £120,000.
For many players, reaching the quarter-finals at the UK Open is an achievement in itself, as the tournament is known for its open draw and the fact that established names often struggle against lesser-known talents. This element makes the UK Open so unpredictable and popular among fans.
The UK Open is being staged for the 24th time this year. The tournament began in 2003 with a much more modest prize fund of £124,000, of which the winner received £30,000. Since then, the event has grown considerably, both in prize money and popularity. Over the years, the UK Open has produced some memorable champions and surprise winners.
In 2025, Luke Littler managed to add his name to the UK Open roll of honour. ‘The Nuke’ was far too strong in the final, beating three-time tournament winner James Wade 11-2. Other former champions competing this year are Raymond van Barneveld (2006 & 2007), Michael van Gerwen (2015, 2016 & 2020), Peter Wright (2017), Gary Anderson (2018), Nathan Aspinall (2019), Danny Noppert (2022), Andrew Gilding (2023) and Dimitri Van den Bergh (2024).
Since 2014, the Butlin's Resort in Minehead has been the home of the FA Cup of Darts. Players and fans flock to this holiday park, where they not only enjoy the matches but also the unique atmosphere the tournament brings. Fans often buy a ticket for the entire weekend and stay overnight on the site, creating a special festival vibe. As a result, players face not only the pressure of competition but also an enthusiastic crowd that keeps cheering all day and evening.
Prize money breakdown at UK Open Darts 2026
| Result | Prize money |
| Winner | £120,000 |
| Runner-up | £60,000 |
| Semi-finalists | £35,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | £20,000 |
| Last 16 | £12,500 |
| Fifth round | £7,500 |
| Fourth round | £3,000 |
| Third round | £2,000 |
| Second round | £1,250 |
| First round | £0 |
| Total | £750,000 |
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- i can't answer this definitively, but i can make some suggestions. firstly, these are essentially just glorified qualifiers for TV events which double as helping the lesser players on tour make a living, but they aren't really considered that significant. they weren't even streamed until the past decade or so. most casual fans don't even know they exist and getting an audience in might be difficult. i'm assuming they're currently quite cheap to run and they would need to sell a lot of tickets to justify opening them up into more of a spectacle. they're held on weekdays when most people are at work anyway and there's no room on the calendar to put most of them on weekends. the logistics of presenting it to an audience would also be tricky given that they have to get through 7 rounds containing 128 players in a single day, using loads of stages simultaneously. maybe the uk open could be used as a template but it'd need to be even more condensed into a short time period, and even with the uk open it's hard to follow most of the games. the venues they're currently held at wouldn't cater for turning this into a public event as they're pretty small, so they'd need to hire much bigger venues 30 times in places around the country. it just probably isn't feasible. i also suspect the players don't really want to play in front of drunk audiences in every single domestic tournament, they already have the euro tour, world series and majors for that. the players championship is basically a way for players to demonstrate they're ready to make the step up to those levels of competition.colt26-02-2026
- Hi, can someone explain why the Players Championship takes place behind closed doors? I've been watching the big championships on and off for decades, but only just started taking a keener interest in the game, and this strange looking competition is a bit of a head scratcher to me at the moment.MrMarkWatsonnonotthatone25-02-2026
- Not Noppy. Get Beau in.medinabello25-02-2026
- If I was noppert,I'd say,sod you lot. You don't think I'm good enough,but suddenly,I can be a replacement? What a load of rubbish. Either you're in,or not. I keep saying,it's a pointless league,just to get people on seats,and beer down their necks. Scrap the whole thingrick6724-02-2026
- Exactly! Did the Glasgow punters get a partial refund for missing out on a potentially explosive match up? I don't know but I doubt it. Given the existing set up, how about this? Four reserves, one European based player to cover the four overseas rounds (including Dublin) and three UK based players to cover four UK rounds each (including Belfast). If the number of continental rounds changed to four for instance then Dublin could be transferred to the UK players allocation for convenience. All reserves should have their travel and accommodation costs covered and to make it worth their while, if they are not used, the reserve could play a match with a LOCAL non tour card holding player between the semi finals and final. This local player would be chosen by a prior qualifying tournament. The prize for this game could be £/euros 1000 or 2000 as the reserve could be spending his time and effort doing an exhibition instead not that I know what the commercial rate for an exhibition is! If the reserve is used in the main competition then the winner and the runner up of the qualifier can play. This could generate additional local interest and publicity. Obviously this doesn't cover every "what if" scenario i.e. What if two main players pull out? Maybe a second of the four reserves could be chosen at random? What do you think?OldShakey23-02-2026
- what a load of crocmedinabello19-02-2026
- So,it's a rubbish league,waste of time. Just put 8000 people in a building every Thursday,get them all drunk,and wonder why it's a complete joke. And forget every other player apart from 8. It's a ridiculous,inane,and needless so called competition.rick6718-02-2026
- Sorry,I've never been a professional darts player,but obviously from your comment,you have. So, going to your reply, you're blaming the management,not the player? So in that respect,he should get a different manager? That's basically all your comment is saying. Don't let him do money makers,which Barney said is easy money, instead of tournaments? Shake hands instead of trophies? Well I guess the manager knows best,as he has a big cut!rick6716-02-2026
- Sorry Mr rick67, erm what punditry credentials do you have to comment on a pundit? There's a reason why many top professionals have management teams. They know how to manage schedules etc so the players can just play. And how is Edgar wrong? Last year MVG failed to qualify by missing too many tournaments and underperforming. He's repeating the error this year so Edgar is right In calling this out.BandB15-02-2026
- Just get of Mardle,I didn't pay to watch him,and I don't want him for free! Let's see,how many world champions,either code,did you win? None! Now mason does it more as a player who was a floor player than you were putting pineapple on your shirt. Mardle,just go,you over inflated ego may follow. Tell you what,get on the seniors tour,and show everyone how good you weren'trick6715-02-2026
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