Leicester's Mattioli Arena welcomes the best of the PDC for the week-long World Grand Prix.
The tournament is loved by some and feared by others due to its unique double-start format which can see legs won by players whose opponents are agonisingly marooned back on 501.
Luke Littler's defeat to Jonny Clayton in the quarterfinals of the World Series Finals may have seen him fall short in his bid to complete the clean sweep in 2026, but he will seek to reinforce his domination over the sport by defending his Grand Prix title.
- Why is Luke Littler being booed by darts fans?
World Grand Prix Darts 2026 schedule
The tournament runs from Sept. 28-Oct. 4.
Round One (best of three sets)
Monday, Sept. 28 (from 6 p.m. BST)
Danny Noppert vs. Niko Springer
Ross Smith vs. Cameron Menzies
Nathan Aspinall vs. Kevin Doets
Jonny Clayton vs. Krzysztof Ratajski
Gerwyn Price vs. Sebastian Bialecki
Michael van Gerwen vs. Ryan Joyce
Luke Littler vs. Luke Woodhouse
Wessel Nijman vs. Rob Cross
Tuesday, Sept. 29 (from 6 p.m. BST)
Chris Dobey vs. Jermaine Wattimena
Ryan Searle vs. William O'Connor
Josh Rock vs. Niels Zonneveld
James Wade vs. Joe Cullen
Gary Anderson vs. Damon Heta
Gian van Veen vs. Dirk van Duijvenbode
Luke Humphries vs. Dave Chisnall
Stephen Bunting vs. Andrew Gilding
Round Two (best of five sets)
Wednesday, Sept. 30 (from 7 p.m. BST)
Littler/Woodhouse vs. Aspinall/Doets
Noppert/Springer vs. Van Gerwen/Joyce
Price/Bialecki vs. Smith/Menzies
Clayton/Ratajski vs. Nijman/Cross
Order of play TBC
Thursday, Oct. 1 (from 7 p.m. BST)
Humphries/Chisnall vs. Dobey/Wattimena
Rock/Zonneveld vs. Anderson/Heta
Van Veen/Van Duijvenbode vs. Searle/O'Connor
Wade/Cullen vs. Bunting/Gilding
Order of play TBC
Quarterfinals (best of five sets)
Friday, Oct. 2 (from 7 p.m. BST)
TBC
Semifinals (best of seven sets)
Saturday, Oct. 3 (from 8 p.m. BST)
TBC
Final (best of 11 sets)
Sunday, Oct. 4 (From 8 p.m. BST)
TBC
What is the prize money?
Three quarters of a million pounds will be divvyed up in Leicester.
Round-by-round breakdown:
Winner: £150,000
Runner-up: £80,000
Semifinalists: £50,000
Quarterfinalists: £35,000
Second round: £20,000
First round: £7,500
Total: £750,000
How to watch
The World Grand Prix is shown live on Sky Sports and PDC TV in the UK.
What is the World Grand Prix format?
The 32-player field is made up of the top 16 players on the PDC's Order of Merit and the top 16 non-qualified players from the Pro Tour Order of Merit as of Sept. 14.
The World Grand Prix is unique on the PDC calendar in having a double-in, double-out format which requires players to begin on the outer ring before scoring 501 points while finishing with a double or the bullseye.
Matches are won by the player who wins a certain number of sets, the number of which depends on the round of the tournament being played.
The highest-score available in a single visit is 180 (three darts in the triple 20), while the fastest way to finish a game is with a nine-dart leg. Each successful finish counts as one leg, and the first player to win three legs secures a set (best of five).
The number of sets required to win varies by round. In the first round, matches are played in a best-of-three sets format, while in the second and third rounds that increases to a best-of-five contest. In the semifinals it is a best-of-nine sets match and the final is best of 11.
Who are the previous winners?
1998: Phil Taylor
1999: Phil Taylor
2000: Phil Taylor
2001: Alan Warriner
2002: Phil Taylor
2003: Phil Taylor
2004: Colin Lloyd
2005: Phil Taylor
2006: Phil Taylor
2007: James Wade
2008: Phil Taylor
2009: Phil Taylor
2010: James Wade
2011: Phil Taylor
2012: Michael van Gerwen
2013: Phil Taylor
2014: Michael van Gerwen
2015: Robert Thornton
2016: Michael van Gerwen
2017: Daryl Gurney
2018: Michael van Gerwen
2019: Michael van Gerwen
2020: Gerwyn Price
2021: Jonny Clayton
2022: Michael van Gerwen
2023: Luke Humphries
2024: Mike De Decker
2025: Luke Littler