World Matchplay 2026: Field, When will the draw be announced, History and Format

PDC
Tuesday, 07 July 2026 at 18:00
WMP TC
The 2026 World Matchplay will be played from Saturday, 18 July to Sunday, 26 July at the iconic Winter Gardens in Blackpool. One of the most prestigious ranking tournaments on the PDC calendar, the World Matchplay once again brings together the world's top 32 players for a week of elite darts.
ADVERTISEMENT
The field consists of the top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit, joined by the top 16 players from the ProTour Order of Merit who have not already qualified via the main world rankings. As always, this guarantees a world-class lineup.
The defending champion is Luke Littler. He won the 2025 title by defeating James Wade 18–13 in the final and returns this year looking to win back-to-back World Matchplay titles at the Winter Gardens.

Field World Matchplay 2026

Top 16 – PDC Order of Merit

RankPlayer
1Luke Littler
2Luke Humphries
3Gian van Veen
4Michael van Gerwen
5Jonny Clayton
6James Wade
7Gerwyn Price
8Josh Rock
9Stephen Bunting
10Danny Noppert
11Ryan Searle
12Gary Anderson
13Chris Dobey
14Wessel Nijman
15Ross Smith
16Nathan Aspinall

Top 16 – PDC ProTour Order of Merit

ADVERTISEMENT
RankPlayer
1Luke Woodhouse
2Jermaine Wattimena
3Kevin Doets
4Andrew Gilding
5Rob Cross
6Krzysztof Ratajski
7William O'Connor
8Niko Springer
9Niels Zonneveld
10Martin Schindler
11Ryan Joyce
12Dirk van Duijvenbode
13Cameron Menzies
14Joe Cullen
15Damon Heta
16Dave Chisnall

When will the World Matchplay draw take place?

The draw for the 2026 World Matchplay is expected to take place on Thursday, 9 July, or Friday, 10 July.
The top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit are seeded, meaning they cannot face one another in the opening round. Instead, each seeded player will be drawn against one of the 16 qualifiers from the ProTour Order of Merit.

When will the World Matchplay schedule be confirmed?

ADVERTISEMENT
The full match schedule is usually announced a few days after the draw has been completed.
But will follow this same schedule for when the big names play and when the final will be. There will also be the Women's World Matchplay in between on Sunday afternoon.
  • First Round: Saturday 18 July – Monday 20 July
  • Second Round: Tuesday 21 July – Wednesday 22 July
  • Quarter-finals: Thursday 23 July – Friday 24 July
  • Semi-finals: Saturday 25 July
  • Final: Sunday evening, 26 July

Format

ADVERTISEMENT
The World Matchplay is played as the title suggests using a legs format, with match distances increasing as the tournament progresses. The top 16 players from the PDC Order of Merit are seeded and face the 16 ProTour qualifiers in the opening round.
One of the tournament's unique features is its two-clear-leg rule. Players must normally win by a margin of two legs. If neither player has achieved that margin at the end of the scheduled match distance, play continues for a maximum of six additional legs. Should the scores still be level after those extra legs, the match is decided by a sudden-death leg.
RoundFormat
First RoundBest of 19 legs
Second RoundBest of 21 legs
Quarter-finalsBest of 31 legs
Semi-finalsBest of 33 legs
FinalBest of 35 legs

History

The World Matchplay boasts a rich history, yet its list of champions remains remarkably exclusive. Across the 32 editions held so far, only 14 different players have lifted the prestigious trophy at the Winter Gardens. Even more impressively, only three players have won the tournament on multiple occasions.
ADVERTISEMENT
Far ahead of everyone else stands Phil Taylor. The English legend dominated the World Matchplay for many years, winning the title an incredible 16 times. In recognition of his extraordinary achievements, the tournament trophy was renamed in his honour. Since 2018, players have competed for the Phil Taylor Trophy.
Behind Taylor is Michael van Gerwen, who has won the title three times. Rod Harrington completes the list of multiple champions, having won the second and third editions of the tournament. He remains the only player besides Taylor and Van Gerwen to have lifted the trophy more than once.
Phil Taylor kisses the World Matchplay trophy.
Phil Taylor eventually had the trophy named after him.
Every other champion has won the World Matchplay once, earning a place on the honour roll of one of the sport's most prestigious major tournaments. That list includes Larry Butler, Peter Evison, Colin Lloyd, James Wade, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Nathan Aspinall, Luke Humphries, and reigning champion Luke Littler.
ADVERTISEMENT

World Matchplay Roll of Honour

YearWinner (Average)ScoreRunner-up (Average)
1994Larry Butler (92.70)16–12Dennis Priestley (91.59)
1995Phil Taylor (90.72)16–11Dennis Priestley (87.63)
1996Peter Evison (100.51)16–14Dennis Priestley (96.67)
1997Phil Taylor (106.32)16–11Alan Warriner (98.42)
1998Rod Harrington (95.03)19–17Ronnie Baxter (94.07)
1999Rod Harrington (85.95)19–17Peter Manley (86.91)
2000Phil Taylor (100.32)18–12Alan Warriner (97.14)
2001Phil Taylor (99.57)18–10Richie Burnett (90.99)
2002Phil Taylor (98.76)18–16John Part (94.14)
2003Phil Taylor (94.38)18–12Wayne Mardle (97.44)
2004Phil Taylor (100.20)18–8Mark Dudbridge (89.24)
2005Colin Lloyd (97.89)18–12John Part (94.53)
2006Phil Taylor (100.08)18–11James Wade (90.01)
2007James Wade (96.83)18–7Terry Jenkins (91.62)
2008Phil Taylor (109.47)18–9James Wade (102.58)
2009Phil Taylor (106.05)18–4Terry Jenkins (92.32)
2010Phil Taylor (105.16)18–12Raymond van Barneveld (100.11)
2011Phil Taylor (103.84)18–8James Wade (98.84)
2012Phil Taylor (98.97)18–15James Wade (95.92)
2013Phil Taylor (111.23)18–13Adrian Lewis (105.92)
2014Phil Taylor (107.19)18–9Michael van Gerwen (101.49)
2015Michael van Gerwen (99.91)18–12James Wade (90.37)
2016Michael van Gerwen (103.93)18–10Phil Taylor (101.13)
2017Phil Taylor (104.24)18–8Peter Wright (99.74)
2018Gary Anderson (101.12)21–19Mensur Suljović (104.43)
2019Rob Cross (95.16)18–13Michael Smith (95.91)
2020Dimitri Van den Bergh (98.31)18–10Gary Anderson (92.81)
2021Peter Wright (105.90)18–9Dimitri Van den Bergh (100.88)
2022Michael van Gerwen (101.19)18–14Gerwyn Price (96.92)
2023Nathan Aspinall (96.21)18–6Jonny Clayton (93.56)
2024Luke Humphries (100.94)18–15Michael van Gerwen (98.74)
2025Luke Littler (107.24)18–13James Wade (101.54)
claps 0visitors 0
loading

Just in

Popular news

Latest comments

Loading