Luke Littler will be out to defend his Betfred World Matchplay title later this month as the world champion headlines a star-studded field heading to the Winter Gardens in Blackpool for this year’s tournament, live on Sky Sports.
The Englishman clinched the coveted Phil Taylor Trophy after beating James Wade 18-13 in the final of last year’s event, recovering from going 5-0 down to seal an enthralling comeback victory and become the fifth player in history to complete the ‘Triple Crown’.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Littler headlines a star-studded field of players at this year’s event
The 19-year-old will be seeded No 1 for the 32-player event, which is due to feature the top 16 players from the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder as well as the best 16 players from the one-year ProTour rankings.
Prize purses for the 2026 event have been boosted to £1m, with the winner set to pocket £225,000.
Littler will be looking to bounce back after he suffered a deciding-leg defeat to Luke Humphries in the final of the US Darts Masters last month.
Luke Humphries (left) beat Littler (right) in the final of the US Darts Masters last month
Humphries has been ranked as the No 2 seed for the World Matchplay and will be out to win his second title at this event.
Elsewhere, Stephen Bunting and Gerwen Price are both out to win their first World Matchplay titles, with Price hoping to bounce back from his first-round defeat by Harry Ward at Players Championship 24.
Stephen Bunting is one of multiple big names in the draw this year
The field was confirmed on Tuesday evening after Gabriel Clemens sealed victory in the final of the Players Championship 24 in Leicester against England’s Luke Woodhouse.
However, it wasn’t all heartbreak for Woodhouse, who will enter the World Matchplay as the top-ranked ProTour qualifier.
Jermaine Wattimena, Kevin Doets and Rob Cross join him as other players to have qualified from the ProTour Rankings.
The draw for the Betfred World Matchplay is scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 9.
Top 16 qualifiers from the Werner Ladder
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Littler will be out to defend his World Matchplay crown this week after beating James Wade at the 2025 event
1. Luke Littler
2. Luke Humphries
3. Gian van Veen
4. Michael van Gerwen
5. Jonny Clayton
6. James Wade
7. Gerwyn Price
8. Josh Rock
9. Stephen Bunting
10. Danny Noppert
11. Ryan Searle
12. Gary Anderson
13. Chris Dobey
14. Wessel Nijman
15. Ross Smith
16. Nathan Aspinall
Top 16 Qualifiers from ProTour Rankings
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Littler completed the ‘Triple Crown’ when he won in 2025
Luke Woodhouse
Jermaine Wattimena
Kevin Doets
Andrew Gilding
Rob Cross
Krzysztof Ratajski
William O’Connor
Niko Springer
Niels Zonneveld
Martin Schindler
Ryan Joyce
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Cameron Menzies
Joe Cullen
Damon Heta
Dave Chisnall
When is the World Matchplay live on Sky Sports?
The World Matchplay commences on Saturday, July 18 and ends on Sunday, July 26.
All nine days of the event will be shown live on Sky Sports, with coverage of the opening day commencing on Sky Sports+ at 7pm Not got Sky? Get instant access with NOW
Leave a Reply