The biggest World Darts Championship in history has been and gone, with Luke Littler coming out on top once again after 24 days of drama-filled action.
An expanded 128-player field competed for a share of the £5 million prize fund which contained an eye-popping £1 million cheque for the winner.
Seeded players need to play an extra match to reach the final -- they joined from the first round -- and five women stood behind the oche at Alexandra Palace for the first time.
- Best fancy dress at this year's World Darts Championship
- Luke Littler darts titles, prize money, career history, more
- How players got nicknames and walk-on songs
- Who is Beau Greaves? Darts titles, prize money, career history
World Darts Championship 2026 schedule, scores, results
Round One (best of 5 sets)
Thursday Dec. 11 (Evening session)
Kim Huybrechts 1-3 Arno Merk
(28) Michael Smith 3-0 Lisa Ashton
(1) Luke Littler 3-0 Darius Labanauskas
Madars Razma 3-1 Jamai van den Herik
Luke Littler describes how it felt in his first game of the World Darts Championships in which he beat Darius Labanauskas 3-0.
Friday Dec. 12 (Afternoon session)
Niels Zonneveld 3 - 0 Haupai Puha
Ian White 3-2 Mervyn King
(20) Ryan Searle 3-0 Chris Landman
(17) Rob Cross 3-0 Cor Dekker
Friday Dec. 12 (Evening session)
(12) Ross Smith 2-3 Andreas Harrysson
Ricky Evans 3-0 Man Lok Leung
(10) Gian van Veen 3-1 Cristo Reyes
(16) Damon Heta 3-1 Steve Lennon
Saturday Dec. 13 (Afternoon session)
Mario Vandenbogaerde 0-3 David Davies
Andrew Gilding 3-1 Cam Crabtree
(25) Luke Woodhouse 3-1 Boris Krcmar
(14) Gary Anderson 3-2 Adam Hunt
Saturday Dec. 13 (Evening session)
Jeffrey de Graaf 1-3 Paul Lim
(31) Wessel Nijman 3-0 Karel Sedlacek
(2) Luke Humphries 3-1 Ted Evetts
Gabriel Clemens 3-0 Alex Spellman
Sunday Dec. 14 (Afternoon session)
(27) Ritchie Edhouse 0-3 Jonny Tata
Dom Taylor 3-0 Oskar Lukasiak
Richard Veenstra 2-3 Nitin Kumar
(32) Joe Cullen 3-0 Bradley Brooks
Nitin Kumar speaks after becoming the first Indian player to win at the Darts World Championship.
Sunday Dec. 14 (Evening session)
Monday Dec. 15 (Afternoon session)
Monday Dec. 15 (Evening session)
Tuesday Dec. 16 (Afternoon session)
Tuesday Dec. 16 (Evening session)
Wednesday Dec. 17 (Evening session)
Thursday Dec. 18 (Afternoon session)
David Munyua reflects on his win against 18th seeded Mike De Decker at the Alexandra Palace, making him the first Kenyan to do so.
Thursday Dec. 18 (Evening session)
Friday Dec. 19 (Afternoon session)
Friday Dec. 19 (Evening session)
Daryl Gurney speaks after his 3-2 win over Beau Greaves at the PDC World Championship.
Round Two (best of 5 sets)
Saturday Dec. 20 (Afternoon session)
Saturday Dec. 20 (Evening session)
Luke Littler speaks about his plans for Christmas Day after reaching the third round of the World Darts Championship.
Sunday Dec. 21 (Afternoon session)
(24) Ryan Joyce 1-3 Krzysztof Ratajski
(32) Joe Cullen 1-3 Mensur Suljovic
(25) Luke Woodhouse 3-0 Max Hopp
(17) Rob Cross 3-1 Ian White
Sunday Dec. 21 (Evening session)
(13) Martin Schindler 3-0 Keane Barry
(9) Gerwyn Price 3-0 Wesley Plaisier
(1) Luke Littler 3-0 David Davies
(16) Damon Heta 3-2 Stefan Bellmont
Luke Littler has revealed that he hopes to achieve a nine-darter in the next round of the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship
Monday Dec. 22 (Afternoon session)
Monday Dec. 22 (Evening session)
Tuesday Dec. 23 (Afternoon session)
Tuesday Dec. 23 (Evening session)
Round Three (best of 7 sets)
Saturday Dec. 27 (Afternoon session)
Saturday Dec. 27 (Evening session)
Former World Champion Luke Humphries reacts to surviving a massive scare from Gabriel Clemens.
Sunday Dec. 28 (Afternoon session)
Sunday Dec. 28 (Evening session)
Luke Littler reflects on giving some back to a hostile Ally Pally crowd after beating Rob Cross.
Monday Dec. 29 (Afternoon session)
Justin Hood 4-1 Ryan Meikle
Ricky Evans 2-4 Charlie Manby
(15) Nathan Apsinall 3-4 Kevin Doets
Monday Dec. 29 from 7.15 p.m. GMT
(11) Josh Rock 4-1 Callan Rydz
Round Four (best of 7 sets)
Monday Dec. 29 from 8.30 p.m. GMT
James Hurrell 0-4 (20) Ryan Searle
(1) Luke Littler 4-2 (17) Rob Cross
Gary Anderson speaks after his win over Michael van Gerwen at the World Darts Championship.
Tuesday Dec. 30 (Afternoon session)
Tuesday Dec. 30 (Evening session)
Luke Littler speaks after his 5-0 win against Krzysztof Ratajski at the World Darts Championship.
Quarterfinals (best of 9 sets)
Thursday Jan. 1 (Afternoon session)
(20) Ryan Searle 5-2 (5) Jonny Clayton
(14) Gary Anderson 5-2 Justin Hood
Thursday Jan. 1 (Evening session)
(1) Luke Littler 5-0 Krzysztof Ratajski
(2) Luke Humphries 1-5 (10) Gian van Veen
Gian van Veen speaks after his win over Luke Humphries in quarterfinals of the World Darts Championship.
Luke Littler reacts to his win over Ryan Searle to reach his third consecutive World Darts Championship final.
Semifinals (best of 11 sets)
Friday Jan. 2
(1) Luke Littler 6-1 (20) Ryan Searle
(10) Gian van Veen 6-3 (14) Gary Anderson
Luke Littler speaks after winning his second consecutive World Darts Championship.
Final (best of 13 sets)
Saturday Jan. 3
(1) Luke Littler 7-1 (10) Gian van Veen
What is the prize money?
The 128-player field competed for a share of the £5 million total prize fund, with the winner taking home a staggering £1 million -- double the amount won by Littler in 2025.
Round-by-round breakdown:
Winner: £1,000,000
Runner-up: £400,000
Semifinalists: £200,000
Quarterfinalists: £100,000
Fourth round: £60,000
Third round: £35,000
Second round: £25,000
First round: £15,000
Total: £5,000,000
Bonus prize money available:
Nine-darter: £60,000
- World Darts Championship prize money: All-time stats
How to watch?
The World Darts Championship was shown exclusively live on Sky Sports in the UK.
What is the format?
Matches at the World Darts Championship are decided by legs and sets. As with all PDC tournaments, the games are played in the 501 format, where players look to reduce their score from 501 to zero as efficiently as possible, finishing with a double.
The highest-score available in a single visit is 180 (three darts in the triple 20), while the fastest way to finish a game is with a nine-dart leg. Each successful finish counts as one leg, and the first player to win three legs secures a set.
The number of sets required to win varies by round. In the first and second rounds, matches are played in a best-of-five sets format. In the third round and the Round of 16, matches are played to the best of seven sets.
In the quarterfinals, the winner is determined in a best-of-nine-sets format, while the semifinals are played in a best-of-11-sets match. The final follows a best-of-13-sets format, where the first player to win seven sets is crowned the world champion. -- Keith Jenkins
Has there been a nine-darter?
Unfortunately, nobody managed to throw nine perfect darts at this year's tournament.
Christian Kist threw one in the opening set of his first-round match 12 months ago. In doing so, the Dutchman picked up a £60,000 bonus.
His feat was matched by Damon Heta in the third round. The nine-darters weren't enough to take either player through, though, with Kist losing to Madars Razma and Heta succumbing to Luke Woodhouse.
- World Darts Championship nine-darter: The magic behind the perfect leg
Who are the previous winners?
Luke Littler won the world championship last year, beating three-time champion Michael van Gerwen (2014, 2017, 2019) to do so.
Littler has a long road ahead to even get close to the 16 managed by the legendary Phil Taylor before his retirement from PDC events in 2018.
John Part (2003, 2008), Adrian Lewis (2011, 2012), Gary Anderson (2015, 2016) and Peter Wright (2020, 2022) have won two world championships each.
Dennis Priestley (1994), Raymond van Barneveld (2007), Rob Cross (2018), Gerwyn Price (2021), Michael Smith (2023) and Luke Humphries (2024) have each won one title.
News from the World Darts Championship
Fan to throw nine darts at World Championship for £180,000 prize. Read
World Championship draw: Littler, Humphries learn Round 1 opponents. Read
Will World Championship leave Ally Pally? PDC CEO says decision soon. Read
World Championship to stay at Alexandra Palace until 2031. Read
Luke Humphries unfazed by £1 million prize: 'won't change my life'. Read
Luke Humphries ready for 'war' with Luke Littler. Read
Wasp struck by dart after causing havoc at World Championship. Read
Darts player brings wasp spray to combat Ally Pally pest. Read
Gerwyn Price joins Luke Humphries in vowing to win World Championship. Read
Van Gerwen: Littler lying if he says he wants to face me at World Championship. Read
Dom Taylor withdrawn from World Championship after failing drugs test. Read
Josh Cullen accuses Mensure Sulvojic of 'cheating'. Read
Munyua wants 'life-changing' World Championship run to transform African darts. Read
Luke Littler says he still has work to do on his mentality. Read
Luke Littler credits childhood operation which 'sorted' his eyesight. Read
Bunting reveals his son received online abuse in wake of World Championship exit. Read
Luke Littler: I 'lost' my head due to booing in Rob Cross win. Read
Justin Hood closes in on Chinese restaurant dream. Read
Ryan Searle opens up on rare eye condition after quarterfinal victory. Read
Luke Littler hails 'absolutely unbelievable' crowd after cruising into last four. Read
Gian van Veen wary of 'better scorer' Luke Littler in World Championship final. Read
Luke Littler: Might take me '15, 16 years' to match Phil Taylor's World Darts Championship titles. Read
Gian van Veen admits pain of being 'smashed' by Luke Littler. Read
The Luke Littler effect: How 'The Nuke' changed darts like Tiger Woods changed golf
How much has Luke Littler changed darts? ESPN speaks to Littler and his rivals Luke Humphies and Michael van Gerwen to find out. Read
Beau Greaves takes centre stage as historic new era for women begins
Darts' next sensation, Beau Greaves, leads a five-woman field looking to make history at the world championship. Read
Alexandra Palace's wild history: Fire, wartime prison... and the World Darts Championship
From a ruinous fire and wartime requisition to ski jumps and Madonna, Alexandra Palace has been through a lot on its way to becoming the home of darts. Read
The best walk-on songs ranked... but Luke Littler only at No. 9
With the World Darts Championship under way, we rank the walk-on songs picked by Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, more. Read
How the Ally Pally wasp caused a buzz at the World Darts Championship
For all the obstacles players face at Alexandra Palace, it's the Ally Pally wasp that has once again stolen the spotlight at this year's World Darts Championship. Read
Beau Greaves has beaten Luke Littler - but can she live up to the hype?
As Beau Greaves prepares for her World Darts Championship return, she discusses glass ceilings, cleaning windows and proving herself wrong. Read
Stephen Bunting brings the heart, then plays the hits at Alexandra Palace
Stephen Bunting lived up to his reputation as the People's Champion' by overcoming the also-popular Nitin Kumar at the World Darts Championship. Read
World Darts Championship nine-darter: The magic behind the perfect leg
What does it feel like to hit a nine-darter and what makes them so great? ESPN spoke to the sport's biggest stars to find out. Read
Darts in 2026: Luke Littler vs. Beau Greaves in Saudi Arabia? Can PDC break America?
After the World Championship, what's next for darts in 2026? Saudi Arabia is on the list, but will Luke Littler share the spotlight with Beau Greaves? Read
Battle-hardened Gian van Veen prepares to weather the Luke Littler storm
After coming through a very different semifinal to that won by Luke Littler, can Gian van Veen prevent The Nuke cruising to back-to-back World Darts Championship titles? Read
Luke Littler double-stamps his greatness with back-to-back titles
Luke Littler dismantled Gian van Veen in the World Darts Championship final to secure his second straight title and enhance his legend. Read
World Darts Championship 2026: Best pictures from wild three weeks at Ally Pally
The biggest World Darts Championship in history did not disappoint, and neither did the phalanx of photographers who captured all the drama. Read