World Matchplay
Nine days at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, in a room with no air conditioning, in July. The players call it the toughest week of the year and they are not being polite about it.
The most recent World Matchplay, 18 to 26 July 2026, was won by Luke Littler.
18 to 26 July 2026
The next edition is not on the calendar we hold yet. It will appear on the schedule once the PDC confirms the dates.
The Matchplay is the purest test on the calendar. No sets to hide behind, no double start, just a long race in legs against one opponent in front of a crowd close enough to touch.
The Winter Gardens is a Victorian ballroom rather than an arena, which is exactly why it works. It is hot, loud and cramped, and a player who is struggling has nowhere to go.
The format
- Played in legs, and you must win by two clear legs.
- First round is first to 11 legs, second round first to 13, quarter-finals first to 16, semi-finals first to 17 and the final first to 18.
- If nobody has established a two-leg lead after six extra legs, it goes to a sudden-death leg. That rule has been in place since 2013 and it is why the Matchplay produces finishes people still talk about years later.
How players qualify
- The top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit are seeded.
- The remaining places go to the highest-ranked players on the one-year ProTour Order of Merit who have not already qualified.
Fixtures and sessions
How the week is laid out. Sessions are published well ahead and rarely move.
- Afternoon and evening sessions across the middle weekend, one session a day either side of it.
- The final is a single Sunday evening session.
The draw. The draw is made shortly before the tournament, once the ProTour qualifying places are settled.
The run to the final, 2026
How the most recent edition finished. Scores are in legs.
Littler averaged 111.53 in the final.
Past winners
The last 10 champions, most recent first. Click a name for their ranking and everything else they have won.
Luke Littler beat Gerwyn Price 18-9 in the 2026 final, averaging 111.53. That is a brutal number over a match of that length.
How to watch
Shown live in the UK on Sky Sports. That means a Sky Sports subscription, or NOW. The schedule page lists which broadcaster has each event.
Is there a free live stream of the World Matchplay?
Not a free one, no. In the UK it is live on Sky Sports, so you need a Sky Sports subscription, or a NOW Sports membership (which you can buy by the day) to stream it without Sky. Sites offering a free stream of Sky's coverage are not legal and are a common source of scams and malware.
- On TV: Sky Sports.
- Streaming: the Sky Go app with Sky Sports, or a NOW Sports day or month membership.
- Outside the UK and Ireland: PDCTV streams it, on subscription.
Tickets
The Winter Gardens is small, so sessions sell fast. Tickets go through the PDC ticket shop and the venue box office. There is more on outlets, the ballot and what to avoid on the darts tickets page.
The other majors
Also here: the world rankings, the full schedule, and a free darts scorer for your own game.
Read next
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