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.
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 No 1,” 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.
