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Luke Littler will begin his World Darts Championship defence against Darius Labanauskas on Thursday December 11, live on Sky Sports.
As is customary, the defending champion will play on the opening night with the intriguing clash between 2023 world champion Michael Smith and Lisa Ashton also on the billing for what is set to be a huge Thursday of action.
Lithuania’s Labanauskas will be the first to try and derail Littler’s defence – something no player has achieved on opening night since 2009 when champion John Part fell to Bill Davis.
Beau Greaves gets her campaign under way on Friday December 19 against Daryl Gurney in the evening session from 7pm, while last year’s finalist Michael van Gerwen gets going on December 18 alongside the mouthwatering clash between Fallon Sherrock and Dave Chisnall.
The 2024 world champion Luke Humphries begins his quest to regain the crown against Ted Evetts in the evening session on Saturday December 13, with Gary Anderson playing in the afternoon session.
Gerwyn Price starts his campaign on Tuesday December 16, with Peter Wright against Noa-Lynn van Leuven on Monday December 15, and Stephen Bunting aiming for glory from Sunday December 14.
A bumper £5m prize pot is on offer at Alexandra Palace, with £1m going to the winner – the biggest payday in darts history.
The expanded 2026 tournament sees everyone enter the competition from the first round as 128 players vie to get to the top of the darting world.
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Luke Humphries says his arch-rival Luke Littler is in his own league as the world number one and two players in darts prepare for the World Championships in December.
Full schedule at Alexandra Palace from December 11 – January 3
Thursday December 11 (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Kim Huybrechts v Arno Merk
Michael Smith v Lisa Ashton
Luke Littler v Darius Labanauskas
Madars Razma v Jamai van den Herik
Friday December 12
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Niels Zonneveld v Haupai Puha
Ian White v Mervyn King
Ryan Searle v Chris Landman
Rob Cross v Cor Dekker
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Ross Smith v Andreas Harrysson
Ricky Evans v Man Lok Leung
Gian van Veen v Cristo Reyes
Damon Heta v Steve Lennon
Saturday December 13
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Mario Vandenbogaerde v David Davies
Andrew Gilding v Cam Crabtree
Luke Woodhouse v Boris Krcmar
Gary Anderson v Adam Hunt
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Jeffrey de Graaf v Paul Lim
Wessel Nijman v Karel Sedlacek
Luke Humphries v Ted Evetts
Gabriel Clemens v Alex Spellman
Sunday December 14
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Ritchie Edhouse v Jonny Tata
Dom Taylor v Oskar Lukasiak
Richard Veenstra v Nitin Kumar
Joe Cullen v Bradley Brooks
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Lukas Wenig v Wesley Plaisier
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Darren Beveridge
Stephen Bunting v Sebastian Bialecki
James Hurrell v Stowe Buntz
Monday December 15
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Brendan Dolan v Tavis Dudeney
Cameron Menzies v Charlie Manby
Mensur Suljovic v David Cameron
Peter Wright v Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Martin Lukeman v Max Hopp
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Andy Baetens
Jonny Clayton v Adam Lipscombe
Connor Scutt v Simon Whitlock
Tuesday December 16
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Alan Soutar v Teemu Harju
Nick Kenny v Justin Hood
Scott Williams v Paolo Nebrida
Chris Dobey v Xiaochen Zong
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Ricardo Pietreczko v Jose de Sousa
Danny Noppert v Jurjen van der Velde
Gerwyn Price v Adam Gawlas
Niko Springer v Joe Comito
Wednesday December 17 (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Matt Campbell v Adam Sevada
Raymond van Barneveld v Stefan Bellmont
James Wade v Ryusei Azemoto
Martin Schindler v Stephen Burton
Thursday December 18
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Callan Rydz v Patrik Kovacs
Thibault Tricole v Motomu Sakai
Ryan Joyce v Owen Bates
Mike De Decker v David Munyua
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Jermaine Wattimena v Dominik Gruellich
Dave Chisnall v Fallon Sherrock
Michael van Gerwen v Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
Krzysztof Ratajski v Alexis Toylo
Friday December 19
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Kevin Doets v Matthew Dennant
Ryan Meikle v Jesus Salate
Mickey Mansell v Leonard Gates
Josh Rock v Gemma Hayter
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
William O’Connor v Krzysztof Kciuk
Daryl Gurney v Beau Greaves
Nathan Aspinall v Lourence Ilagan
Keane Barry v Tim Pusey
Saturday December 20
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Two x4
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Two x4
Sunday December 21
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Two x4
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Two x4
Monday December 22
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Two x4
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Two x4
Tuesday December 23
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Two x4
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Two x4
Saturday December 27
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Three x3
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Three x3
Sunday December 28
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Three x3
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Three x3
Monday December 29
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Three x3
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Three x1, Round Four x2
Tuesday December 30
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Four x3
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Four x3
Thursday January 1
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Quarter-Finals x2
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Quarter-Finals x2
Friday January 2 (1930 GMT)
Semi-Finals
Saturday January 3 (2000 GMT)
Final
World Darts Championship format
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Speaking on Love The Darts, Abigail Davies and Chris Murphy discuss Luke Litter’s rise to world number one and who can challenge him at the World Championship.
A format change ahead of this year’s contest sees all players entering the tournament at the first-round stage, whereas seeded players have previously been given a bye through to the next round.
The World Championship uses the sets format, with each set being the first to three legs. The deciding set must be won by at least two legs, so if it’s 2-2 in the final set, a player must win 4-2 or 5-3. If it’s 5-5, a sudden-death leg will take place with no throw for the bull, so the alteration of whoever throws first simply continues.
What is the prize money?
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Luke Humphries declared that he’s going to war with Luke Littler at the World Darts Championship as the two shared some friendly words after Littler’s Grand Slam of Darts win.
Well, you must have heard by now that there is an almighty prize pot on offer for the World Darts Championship this time around, with the winner taking home a stonking £1m.
The runner-up takes home £400,000, with the semi-finalists earning £200,000 and quarter-finalists £100,000.
If you go out in round four, then it is a £60,000 payday, with round three bringing you £35,000, round two £25,000, and round one £15,000.
That is a total of £5m.
Prize Fund
Winner: £1,000,000
Runner-Up: £400,000
Semi-Finalists: £200,000
Quarter-Finalists: £100,000
Round Four Losers: £60,000
Round Three Losers: £35,000
Round Two Losers: £25,000
Round One Losers: £15,000
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live from December 11 to January 3 on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407 from December 10). Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
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