HUMPHRIES LOOKS TO RETAIN WORLD MASTERS TITLE

LUKE HUMPHRIES has set his sights on becoming a back-to-back World Masters champion in Milton Keynes.

The major ranking event will feature the top 24 players on the PDC Order of Merit, headlined by reigning world champion Luke Littler and ‘Cool Hand’, as they compete for the £100,000 top prize.

World No3 Van Veen will make his debut in the competition following a superb season that saw him reach the final at Ally Pally and claim the European Championship title.

47-time major winner Michael van Gerwen will also feature in the competition from January 29-February 1, as last year’s runner-up Jonny Clayton battles alongside his fellow Premier League stars Stephen Bunting, Josh Rock and Gerwyn Price.

Gary Anderson and Ryan Searle – semi-finalists at the World Darts Championship – also feature, with Dutch number three Danny Noppert and former Masters winners James Wade and Chris Dobey amongst the seeded representatives.

Ryan Joyce claimed the final automatic place in this year’s event, and the world’s top 24 will be joined in the 32-player field by eight further players who progress from the Preliminary Rounds, which will take place on Wednesday January 28.

The Preliminary Rounds will be open to all non-qualified PDC Tour Card Holders, the top eight players from each of the PDC’s 2025 Secondary Tours and Global Affiliate Tours, plus four players from the Junior Darts Corporation.

Former World Champions Peter Wright, Michael Smith and Raymond van Barneveld are set to be amongst the high-profile names battling it out for spots in the £500,000 event, alongside Belgian star Dimitri Van den Bergh and Joe Cullen – the 2022 Masters champion.

The Preliminary Rounds will initially be played in a round-robin phase of 32 groups followed by a knockout phase from the last 32 onwards to find the eight players who will progress to the main event.

All matches at the 2026 Winmau World Masters will be played in a sets format over the best of three legs per set, in keeping with the tournament’s traditional structure.

Image by Taylor Lanning.

2026 Winmau World Masters

Pre-Qualified Players (Top 16 seeded for Round One draw)

1. Luke Littler

2. Luke Humphries

3. Gian van Veen

4. Michael van Gerwen

5. Jonny Clayton

6. Gary Anderson

7. Stephen Bunting

8. Ryan Searle

9. Josh Rock

10. Danny Noppert

11. James Wade

12. Gerwyn Price

13. Chris Dobey

14. Nathan Aspinall

15. Martin Schindler

16. Ross Smith

17. Damon Heta

18. Jermaine Wattimena

19. Mike De Decker

20. Rob Cross

21. Luke Woodhouse

22. Dave Chisnall

23. Daryl Gurney

24. Ryan Joyce

Plus eight players from Preliminary Rounds on Wednesday January 28.

2026 Winmau World Masters

Schedule of Play

Wednesday January 28 (1200 GMT)

Preliminary Rounds

Thursday January 29 (1900 GMT)

Round One x8

Friday January 30 (1900 GMT)

Round One x8

Saturday January 31

Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)

Round Two x4

Evening Session (1900 GMT)

Round Two x4

Sunday February 1

Afternoon Session (1300)

Quarter-Finals

Evening Session (1900)

Semi-Finals

Final

Format

Round One – Best of five sets, best of three legs per set

Round Two – Best of seven sets, best of three legs per set

Quarter-Finals – Best of seven sets, best of three legs per set

Semi-Finals – Best of nine sets, best of three legs per set

Final – Best of 11 sets, best of three legs per set

There are no tie-breaks in any set

Prize Fund

Winner – £100,000

Runner-Up – £50,000

Semi-Finalists – £30,000

Quarter-Finalists – £17,500

Round Two Losers – £10,000

Round One Losers – £5,000

Preliminary Round L16 – £2,500

Preliminary Round L32 – £1,000

Preliminary Round L64 – £750

Total £500,000