The 24 pre-qualified players for the 2026 Winmau World Masters have been confirmed, as world number two Luke Humphries sets his sights on back-to-back titles in Milton Keynes.
Following last year's tournament rebrand, the 2026 edition will feature the top 24 players on the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder following the 2025/26 World Darts Championship, headlined by World Champion Luke Littler and reigning champion Humphries.
World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen will make his Winmau World Masters debut following a terrific campaign which featured a European Championship triumph, as he overhauled Michael van Gerwen to become the Dutch number one.
Van Gerwen will also be amongst the stellar names in action at Arena MK from January 29-February 1, as last year's runner-up Jonny Clayton competes 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 be streamed live on PDCTV and 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.
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