The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) has increased the prize money for the winner of the World Darts Championship to £1m.
Announcing its new prize money payout structure for the 2026 calendar year, PDC will payout darts players over £25m next season for all its competition.
Of the £25m total payout, £5m will be awarded to players competing in the World Darts Championship; £1m to the winner, £400,000 to the runner-up, £200,000 for semi-finalists, £100,000 to quarter-finalists, and more to players who make it to the last 16 and beyond.
The winning payout increases by £500,000 and the total payout, doubling from £2.5m to £5m. This may also be due to the increased field of players able to compete at the 2026 World Darts Championship, growing to 128 players.
The Premier League prize pot will also increase to £1.25m from 2026, with £350,000 for next season’s champion. A £1m prize fund will be on offer at the World Matchplay and Grand Slam of Darts, with the latter also expanding to a 48-player field next year to mark the 20th staging of the tournament.
Four other PDC events – the World Grand Prix, Players Championship Finals, European Championship and UK Open – will all increase to a £750,000 prize fund next year, with the World Cup of Darts and World Series of Darts Finals each adding a further £50,000 to their respective prize funds.
European Tour event prize funds will increase to £230,000 for the 14 tournaments to be held next year, while the 34 Players Championship events will rise to £150,000 each.
PDC Chief Executive, Matt Porter, commented: “The £1m prize for the World Champion reflects darts’ standing as one of the most exciting and in-demand sports in the world and the historic total will rightly attract headlines as the biggest prize ever paid out in the sport.
“However, the increased prize funds announced today demonstrate our commitment to growing earning potential for players at all levels within the PDC system.
“Expanding the player fields for the World Darts Championship and Grand Slam of Darts will provide more opportunities than ever before for players around the world to feature in televised PDC events.
“The incredible growth of the PDC in recent years has seen darts elevated to levels never seen before both in terms of playing opportunities and global interest and this is a huge moment for all players with the ambition to make it to the very pinnacle of the sport.”
Darts is riding a huge wave of newfound popularity, exemplified by the 2025 World Darts Championship Final between winner Luke Littler and Michael Van Gerwen, which became the second-most watched non-football event in Sky Sports history.
