Phil Haigh
Published December 11, 2025 6:30pm
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Luke Littler will be looking to defend his trophy (Picture: Getty)
The World Darts Championship is back for another year with the finest darts players on the planet converging on Alexandra Palace over the next three weeks.
Luke Littler is the defending champion in north London having claimed the title for the first time in his career at last year’s tournament.
The Nuke wrote his name into the history books courtesy of a 7-3 victory over Dutch superstar Michael van Gerwen.
And whilst the players taking part in the 2026 edition will be competing for the Sid Waddell Trophy, and for the chance to call themselves world champion, it also true that the stars of the show will be motivated by the record-breaking prize money on offer.
How much prize money does the World Darts Championship winner get?
A £5m prize pool is on offer for 2026, with £1m of that to be handed out to the winner.
This makes this year’s championship the most lucrative in the competition’s history, with the the prize pot double the amount it was for the 2025 tournament.
Michael van Gerwen will be keen to avenge last year’s final defeat (Picture: Getty)
The runner-up will have to settle for £400,000, whilst the losing semi-finalists will be comforted by winning £200,000 for their runs to the last four.
A run to the quarter-finals at Alexandra Palace earns players £100,000, while falling at the last 16 stage will see players bank £60,000.
Reaching the last 32 earns a player £35,000 while the last 64 is worth £25,000.
First round losers at Alexandra Palace pick up £15,000 for their efforts.
PDC World Darts Championship prize money 2026
- Winner: £1,000,000
- Runner-up: £400,000
- Semi-final losers: £200,000
- Quarter-final losers: £100,000
- Fourth-round losers: £60,000
- Third-round losers: £35,000
- Second-round losers: £25,000
- First-round losers: £15,000
An additional £60,000 is also on offer for anyone landing a 9-darter. Prostate Cancer UK will also receive £60,000 from tournament sponsor Paddy Power, whilst one lucky person in the crowd will also walk away with the same prize.
How the prize money has grown over the years
After the split in darts, the first PDC World Darts Championship was won in 1994 by Dennis Priestley, who claimed a £16,000 top prize for beating Phil Taylor at the iconic Circus Tavern.
Phil Taylor has 16 world titles to his name (Picture: Getty)
The top prize dropped the following year to just £12,000, won by Taylor, and fluctuated in years to come, but eventually grew to £100,000 in 2006.
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There have been substantial leaps since then, jumping to £200,000 in 2010, £300,000 in 2016 and growing to £500,000 in 2019.
That figure remained in place until this year’s tournament, with the winner of the current edition set to earn double the amount Littler scooped for his victory 12 months ago.
Before the PDC (formerly WDC) came into existence, the BDO World Championship crowned the undisputed world champion, starting in 1978 when Leighton Rees won £3,000 for his triumph.
The 1993 BDO World Championship, the last before the split, saw John Lowe win £30,000 thanks to beating Alan Warriner in the final at Lakeside.
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