2026 World Darts Championship winner set for landmark £1 million pay day

The biggest prize money increase in the history of the Professional Darts Corporation has been confirmed, with an unprecedented £1 million prize to be introduced for the 2026 World Darts Championship winner, whilst a bumper £25 million will be on offer throughout the season.

In a landmark announcement for the sport, the PDC will boost prize funds at all levels on the professional circuit in 2026, introducing a historic increase of £7 million from 2025 figures.  

The World Darts Championship will become bigger than ever before from the 2025/26 event, with an expanded 128-player field competing for a £5 million prize fund - including a huge £1 million for the winner, a rise of £500,000!

PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter said: "The £1 million 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.  

"However, the increased prize funds demonstrate our commitment to growing earning potential for players at all levels within the PDC system.  

"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 and this is a huge moment for all players with the ambition to make it to the very pinnacle of the sport."

The Premier League prize pot will increase to £1.25 million from 2026, with £350,000 for next season’s champion, whilst a £1 million prize fund will be on offer at the World Matchplay and Grand Slam of Darts, with the latter also expanding to a 48-player field next year to mark the 20th staging of the unique tournament.  

Four other Premier events - the World Grand Prix, Players Championship Finals, European Championship and UK Open - will all increase to a £750,000 prize fund next year, with the World Cup of Darts and World Series of Darts Finals each adding a further £50,000 to their respective prize funds.  

European Tour event prize funds will increase to £230,000 for the 14 tournaments to be held next year, while the 34 Players Championship events will rise to £150,000 each.  

Meanwhile, the PDC’s commitment beyond the ProTour will also see a £5,000 per event increase for Challenge Tour, Development Tour and Women’s Series events, the Women’s World Matchplay being boosted to a £40,000 prize fund and a 50% increase in funding for global affiliate tours and overseas development.  

PDC Prize Money Increase - The Luke Littler Effect

There's no doubt that Luke Littler's arrival in the sport has played a significant role in the PDC's significant increase in prize funds.

The PDC and Sky Sports recently announced a five-year extension to their TV rights agreement, through until 2030, with the television broadcaster reportedly doubling the value of their previous deal in-line with the growth of the sport over the past few years.

"Life is about timing,” Matchroom Sport president Barry Hearn said at the time.

"We had the impetus of Luke Littler the year before, everyone going crazy, and the numbers were far beyond anything we’d hit before.

"And now he’s gone again, he’s even bigger, so my job was easier doing a deal. They’re paying more than double what they were paying each year. That’s because we’re worth it."

Former PDC referee Russ Bray, famed for his iconic 180 announcement, has also seen first hand the remarkable impact that current World Darts Champion Littler has had on the sport, with downloads of his darts scoring app continuing to soar on the back of the Warrington's star's rise to prominence.

"Last year what I would normally make in one month, it was suddenly 13 times that for two or three months," he said. "The Luke Littler has been incredible."

A full list of PDC prize funds, starting from the 2025/26 World Darts Championship, is listed below:

2026 World Darts Championship - Prize Money

How much will the winner of the World Darts Championship get?

• Winner: £1,000,000
• Runner-Up: £400,000
• Semi-Finalists: £200,000
• Quarter-Finalists: £100,000
• Last 16 losers: £60,000
• Last 32 losers: £35,000
• Last 64 losers: £25,000
• Last 128 losers: £15,000
• Total: £5,000,000

2026 Premier League Darts - Prize Money

• Winner: £350,000
• Runner-Up: £170,000
• Semi-Finalists: £110,000
• Fifth in Table: £95,000
• Sixth in Table: £90,000
• Seventh in Table: £85,000
• Eighth in Table: £80,000
• Nightly winner bonus: £10,000
• Total: £1,250,000