Luke Littler will begin his defence of the 2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship title against former quarter-finalist Darius Labanauskas, after the draw for the sport’s flagship event was made in London on Monday.
Littler made history by becoming the youngest ever PDC World Champion at Alexandra Palace 12 months ago, and the teenage sensation will open his title challenge against Lithuanian trailblazer Labanauskas.
The world number one is bidding to emulate Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson by becoming only the fourth player to retain the Sid Waddell Trophy, with either Mario Vandenbogaerde or David Davies awaiting the winner in Round Two.
The 2025/2026 World Darts Championship will see a record-breaking 128-player field vying to lift the sport's biggest crown, with a total prize fund of £5m on offer - including an incredible £1m prize to the winner.
In a change from recent years, all players will enter the tournament in Round One, with 32 seeded players in the standard seed pattern joined by the players ranked 33-64 in the left hand side of the draw, who were pitted against the remaining 64 qualifiers.
2023/24 World Champion Luke Humphries will be aiming to reclaim the coveted title on his return to the capital, although he faces a tough assignment against former World Youth Champion Ted Evetts.
Three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen plays Japanese debutant Mitsuhiko Tatsunami, with world number four Stephen Bunting set to face Poland’s number two Sebastian Bialecki in his opener.
Fifth seed Jonny Clayton will take on newcomer Adam Lipscombe, while Dutch number two Danny Noppert kicks off his challenge against his fellow countryman Jurjen van der Velde, a World Youth Championship runner-up in 2024.
Four-time semi-finalist James Wade begins his 22nd consecutive World Championship campaign against Asian Tour Qualifier Ryusei Azemoto, as last year’s semi-finalist Chris Dobey sets his sights on a showdown against China’s premier player Xiaochen Zong.
2020/21 World Champion Gerwyn Price - eyeing a second Alexandra Palace triumph - faces Czech qualifier Adam Gawlas, while European Champion Gian van Veen goes head-to-head with the returning Cristo Reyes.
Two-time World Champion Gary Anderson takes on his former protege Adam Hunt for a place in Round Two, with Anderson’s compatriot Peter Wright up against Women’s Series qualifier Noa-Lynn van Leuven.
Women’s Series champion Beau Greaves marks her highly-anticipated World Championship return against two-time quarter-finalist Daryl Gurney, while Gurney’s World Cup partner Josh Rock also faces a Women’s Series qualifier in the shape of debutant Gemma Hayter.
Elsewhere, 2022/23 World Champion Michael Smith plays Women's World Matchplay winner Lisa Ashton, as St Helens star Dave Chisnall meets Fallon Sherrock, who is currently the only female player to triumph on the sport’s biggest stage.
Norwegian debutant Cor Dekker awaits 2017/18 winner Rob Cross in Round One, as five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld gets his record-equalling 33rd World Championship campaign underway against Challenge Tour winner Stefan Bellmont.
Former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding locks horns with Winmau Development Tour winner Cam Crabtree, as Joe Cullen plays former World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks in his opener.
Simon Whitlock booked his big stage return courtesy of his ANZ Premier League success last weekend, and the Australian icon has been pitted against Connor Scutt in another eye-catching tussle.
Emerging Dutchman Wessel Nijman plays Czechia’s premier player Karel Sedlacek, while two-time semi-finalist Nathan Aspinall and PDC Asian Championship winner Lourence Ilagan collide for a place in Round Two.
Kenya's David Munyua and Argentina's Jesus Salate will become the first players from their homeland to compete in darts’ biggest event, and Munyua will take on Belgian number one Mike De Decker, before Salate makes his bow against Suffolk star Ryan Meikle.
Portugal's Jose de Sousa - a Grand Slam champion in 2020 - secured his last-gasp qualification via Monday's Tour Card Holder Qualifier, and his reward is an encounter against Germany's Ricardo Pietreczko.
The 2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship will take place at London's Alexandra Palace from December 15-January 3, and the schedule of play will be confirmed in due course.
The tournament will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship
Draw Bracket
(1) Luke Littler v Darius Labanauskas
Mario Vandenbogaerde v David Davies
(32) Joe Cullen v Bradley Brooks
Mensur Suljovic v David Cameron
(16) Damon Heta v Steve Lennon
Raymond van Barneveld v Stefan Bellmont
(17) Rob Cross v Cor Dekker
Ian White v Mervyn King
(8) Chris Dobey v Xiaochen Zong
Andrew Gilding v Cam Crabtree
(25) Luke Woodhouse v Boris Krcmar
Martin Lukeman v Max Hopp
(9) Gerwyn Price v Adam Gawlas
Lukas Wenig v Wesley Plaisier
(24) Ryan Joyce v Owen Bates
Krzysztof Ratajski v Alexis Toylo
(4) Stephen Bunting v Sebastian Bialecki
Richard Veenstra v Nitin Kumar
(29) Dirk van Duijvenbode v Andy Baetens
James Hurrell v Stowe Buntz
(13) Martin Schindler v Stephen Burton
Keane Barry v Tim Pusey
(20) Ryan Searle v Chris Landman
Brendan Dolan v Tavis Dudeney
(5) Jonny Clayton v Adam Lipscombe
Dom Taylor v Oskar Lukasiak
(28) Michael Smith v Lisa Ashton
Niels Zonneveld v Haupai Puha
(12) Ross Smith v Andreas Harrysson
Thibault Tricole v Motomu Sakai
(21) Dave Chisnall v Fallon Sherrock
Ricardo Pietreczko v Jose de Sousa
(2) Luke Humphries v Ted Evetts
Jeffrey de Graaf v Paul Lim
(31) Wessel Nijman v Karel Sedlacek
Gabriel Clemens v Alex Spellman
(15) Nathan Aspinall v Lourence Ilagan
Mickey Mansell v Leonard Gates
(18) Mike De Decker v David Munyua
Kevin Doets v Matthew Dennant
(7) James Wade v Ryusei Azemoto
Ricky Evans v Man Lok Leung
(26) Cameron Menzies v Charlie Manby
Matt Campbell v Adam Sevada
(10) Gian van Veen v Cristo Reyes
Alan Soutar v Teemu Harju
(23) Dimitri Van den Bergh v Darren Beveridge
Madars Razma v Jamai van den Herik
(3) Michael van Gerwen v Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
William O'Connor v Krzysztof Kciuk
(30) Peter Wright v Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Kim Huybrechts v Arno Merk
(14) Gary Anderson v Adam Hunt
Connor Scutt v Simon Whitlock
(19) Jermaine Wattimena v Dominik Gruellich
Scott Williams v Paolo Nebrida
(6) Danny Noppert v Jurjen van der Velde
Nick Kenny v Justin Hood
(27) Ritchie Edhouse v Jonny Tata
Ryan Meikle v Jesus Salate
(11) Josh Rock v Gemma Hayter
Niko Springer v Joe Comito
(22) Daryl Gurney v Beau Greaves
Callan Rydz v Patrik Kovacs