World Grand Prix
The odd one out. You have to hit a double to open a leg as well as to close it, which turns the whole sport upside down for a week.
The most recent World Grand Prix, 28 September to 4 October 2026, was won by Luke Humphries.
28 September to 4 October 2026
The next edition is not on the calendar we hold yet. It will appear on the schedule once the PDC confirms the dates.
Double start is the entire identity of this tournament. In every other event a player can begin a leg with a 180 and be away. Here they have to find a double first, and a player who cannot can lose a leg without ever scoring.
The result is lower averages, longer legs and more upsets than any other major. It rewards players who are calm on a double rather than players who score heavily, and the roll of honour reflects that.
The format
- Double in, double out. Your first scoring dart of a leg must land in a double or the bullseye, and nothing counts until it does.
- Played in sets, with each set a best of five legs.
- Expect averages ten to twenty points below what the same players post elsewhere. Comparing a Grand Prix average to a Matchplay average is comparing two different sports.
How players qualify
- A field of 32. The top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit are seeded.
- The other 16 places go to the highest non-qualified players on the ProTour Order of Merit, counted as at 23 September.
Prize money
The 2026 prize fund rises to £750,000, with £150,000 to the winner. Every match is played double start, so it is the hardest £150,000 on the calendar to win.
Fixtures and sessions
How the week is laid out. Sessions are published well ahead and rarely move.
- One session a day across the week, building from the first round to the final on the closing night.
- The first round is the one to watch. Double start claims seeds most years, and it usually happens in the opening two days.
The draw. The field is confirmed on 23 September and the draw follows. The 32 players are the top 16 on the Order of Merit, who are seeded, plus the top 16 non-qualified players from the ProTour Order of Merit.
The 2026 result and full bracket
Best of 3 sets
Best of 5 sets
Best of 5 sets
Best of 9 sets
Best of 11 sets
Click any match for the result and how it was won.
Daily darts game · Dartle #31 Guess today's mystery darts player Eight guesses. Country, ranking, majors and prize money as clues. A new one every day. Play today'sWho is favourite to win the World Grand Prix 2026?
The run to the final, 2025
How the most recent edition finished. Scores are in sets.
Littler came through five deciding sets on the way to his first Grand Prix title.
Past winners
The last 11 champions, most recent first. Click a name for their ranking and everything else they have won.
Mike De Decker winning in 2024 as a relative unknown is the format doing exactly what it is famous for.
How to watch
Shown live in the UK on Sky Sports. That means a Sky Sports subscription, or NOW. The schedule page lists which broadcaster has each event.
Is there a free live stream of the World Grand Prix?
Not a free one, no. In the UK it is live on Sky Sports, so you need a Sky Sports subscription, or a NOW Sports membership (which you can buy by the day) to stream it without Sky. Sites offering a free stream of Sky's coverage are not legal and are a common source of scams and malware.
- On TV: Sky Sports.
- Streaming: the Sky Go app with Sky Sports, or a NOW Sports day or month membership.
- Outside the UK and Ireland: PDCTV streams it, on subscription.
Tickets
Sold through the PDC ticket shop and the venue box office in Leicester. There is more on outlets, the ballot and what to avoid on the darts tickets page.
The other majors
Also here: the world rankings, the full schedule, and a free darts scorer for your own game.
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