The million-pound dart: PDC doubles prize money for world championship

The Guardian

31-03-2025

The Professional Darts Corporation will award the 2026 world champion a record £1m prize – double the amount Luke Littler received in January for claiming the 2025 title.
The biggest prize-money increase in the history of the PDC has been confirmed, with an expanded 128-player field at the 2026 World Darts Championship competing for a £5m prize fund at Alexandra Palace in London.
Confirming the sport's biggest pay day yet, the PDC chief executive Matt Porter said: 'The £1m prize for the world champion reflects darts' standing as one of the most exciting and in-demand sports in the world, and the historic total will rightly attract headlines as the biggest prize ever paid out in the sport.
'The increased prize funds announced today [also] demonstrate our commitment to growing earning potential for players at all levels within the PDC system,' Porter added. 'Expanding the player fields for the World Darts Championship and Grand Slam of Darts will provide more opportunities than ever before for players around the world to feature in televised PDC events.'
'The incredible growth of the PDC in recent years has seen darts elevated to levels never seen before both in terms of playing opportunities and global interest, Porter added. 'This is a huge moment for all players with the ambition to make it to the very pinnacle of the sport.'
The darts grapevine has been buzzing in recent weeks about talk of a record prize money boost, with interest in the sport fuelled by the impact of 18-year-old Littler, who reached the 2024 world final as a qualifier, losing to Luke Humphries before winning his first title in January, beating Michael van Gerwen in the final.
'It's been £500,000 for the past however many years, but I think that's the next big step for us players,' Littler said recently when asked about the possibility of the world championship winner receiving a £1m cheque.
The increased prize money will also increase the impact that the sport's flagship tournament has on darts' world ranking, the PDC Order of Merit, which is based on tournament winnings. 'Whoever wins it, they'll obviously go straight to number one,' added Littler, who has risen to No 2 in the world behind Humphries.
The first PDC world championship, formed as a breakaway from the British Darts Organisation (BDO), awarded a total of £64,000, with winner Dennis Priestley taking home £16,000. Phil Taylor was the first champion to win £100,000 in 2006, with Van Gerwen collecting £250,000 in 2014.
Since 2019, the tournament has featured 96 players with the first prize holding steady at £500,000, part of a total prize pot of £2.5m available at the Ally Pally.
In total, PDC prize money across next season will be up £7m on this year's figures. The Premier League prize pot will increase to £1.25m from 2026, with £350,000 for next season's champion.
A £1m prize fund will also be on offer at two televised 'majors': the World Matchplay and Grand Slam of Darts. The latter event will also expand to a 48-player field in 2026 to mark the 20th staging of the tournament.
Four other top-tier events – the World Grand Prix, Players Championship finals, European Championship and UK Open – will all increase to a £750,000 prize fund, with the World Series of Darts Finals and the World Cup of Darts (a team event) each adding a further £50,000 to their respective pots.
European Tour event prize funds will increase to £230,000 for the 14 tournaments to be held next year, while the top prize at all 34 Players Championship 'floor' events will rise to £150,000.
Beyond the Pro Tour there will also be a £5,000 per event increase for Challenge Tour, Development Tour and Women's Series events. The Women's World Matchplay will carry a £40,000 prize fund and there will be a 50% rise in funding for global affiliate tours and overseas development.