​The 2026 World Matchplay Darts starts on Saturday, 18 July at Winter Gardens in Blackpool.The 32-player event is one of the Professional Darts Corporation’s (PDC) eight major events of the darting calendar.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLuke Littler is the defending men’s champion after winning the Phil Taylor Trophy 12 months ago. The teenage world number one has also won the first three majors in 2026.There is also a women’s event played on the final day of the tournament on Sunday, 26 July. Lisa Ashton is the reigning champion following a win over Fallon Sherrock in last year’s final.Ahead of the tournament, here is all you need to know on the format, draw, prize money and how the schedule was nearly affected by football’s World Cup final.In 2025, Luke Littler became the ninth different player in as many years to win the men’s World Matchplay [Getty Images]The men’s tournament consists of 32 players. They are made up of the 16 highest-ranked players from the PDC’s Order of Merit and the 16 best players from this year’s ProTour Order of Merit who had not yet qualified.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe draw has been seeded, with the top 16-ranked players all kept apart in the opening round.In the women’s tournament, the best eight players from the Women’s Series tour qualify.Both the men’s and women’s competitions are straight knockout events, meaning winners progress and losers are eliminated.The tournament is played in legs rather than sets. The number of required to win a match increases after every round in the men’s competition and increases after the semi-finals for the women’s competition.Victories in the men’s tournament are by two clear legs, with a sudden death leg to be used in the event that the two players cannot be separated after a certain number of legs.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMen’s World Matchplay formatFirst round: Best of 19 legs (sudden death at 12-12)Second round: Best of 21 legs (sudden death at 13-13)Quarter-finals: Best of 31 legs (sudden death at 18-18)Semi-finals: Best of 33 legs (sudden death at 19-19)Final: Best of 35 legs (sudden death at 20-20)Women’s World Matchplay formatQuarter-finals: Best of 9 legsSemi-finals: Best of 9 legsFinal: Best of 11 legsThe men’s trophy is named after Phil Taylor, who is the World Matchplay’s most successful player ever with 16 title wins [Getty Images]For the men’s competition, the prize money has increased by £200,000 in total to £1m. In 2025, the total prize pot was at £800,000.The winner will win £225,000 in prize money, an increase of £25,000 from 12 months ago.Men’s World Matchplay prize moneyWinner – £225,000Runner-up – £125,000Semi-final losers – £65,000Quarter-final losers – £35,000Second round losers – £22,500First round losers – £12,000The prize pool for the women’s competition has significantly increased from £25,000 to £40,000, with the winner taking £15,000.The winner of the women’s competition will also qualify for the 2026 G