The Masters - Preview
The 2026 Winmau World Masters gets underway on Thursday evening, as a 32-player field compete for the coveted title across four days of action from January 29 to February 1 in Milton Keynes.
The top 24 players from the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder automatically qualified for the 32-player main event, with the remaining eight players sealing their spots in Wednesday's Preliminary Rounds. Round one will be contested across the opening two nights on Thursday and Friday, as world number two Luke Humphries sets his sights on back-to-back titles at Arena MK.
Humphries edged out Jonny Clayton in a captivating deciding-set affair to triumph 12 months ago, and the reigning champion will open his defence of the title on Friday evening against Dave Chisnall, a two-time Masters runner-up.
However, Clayton will headline Thursday's opening night, with the Welshman pitted against Dutch star Wessel Nijman in arguably the tie of the opening round.
"This is a great tournament, because it's completely different. It's a new challenge," claimed Clayton, who won the Masters in its previous format back in 2021. "I really enjoyed playing here last year, and I'm looking forward to the start of the new season. Hopefully it will be something special. "I would love to pick a few more trophies up. I'm back, I'm hungry and I'm playing well, so I'm excited for this year."
World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen will also take centre stage on Day One, with Ryan Joyce awaiting the Dutch number one in another intriguing tussle. Van Veen overcame Joyce on his way to European Championship glory last October, and the world number three is expecting another tough assignment on his World Masters debut.
"I'm feeling good. I'm looking forward to getting back on the big stage after a successful 2025, and I can't wait to get started again," insisted the 23-year-old.
"Especially in such a short format, it's always going to be difficult against Ryan. I think we are probably two of the best finishers in the game.
"When you are number three in the world, people are always going to expect you to do more, but I'm just going to keep trying to play my own game and hopefully the results will come."
Three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen faces Australian number one Damon Heta in another high-profile contest, while world number six Gary Anderson kicks off his campaign against Niels Zonneveld. 2014 Masters winner James Wade and Latvian trailblazer Madars Razma also go head-to-head, as 2020/21 World Champion Gerwyn Price plays James Hurrell in another eye-catching clash.
Former World Matchplay winner Nathan Aspinall will play debutant Shane McGuirk for a place in round two, whilst 2023 champion Chris Dobey takes on European Championship runner-up Jermaine Wattimena in his opener.
Humphries and World Champion Luke Littler will enter the fray at Arena MK on Friday, with the world number one facing Belgian number one Mike De Decker in the sixth game of the night. 2024 Masters winner Stephen Bunting marks his Milton Keynes return with a clash against Swedish number one Jeffrey de Graaf, as Ryan Searle sets his sights on a tussle against 2017/18 World Champion Rob Cross.
Searle stormed into the world's top eight following his run to the World Championship semi-finals at Alexandra Palace, and he's hoping to build on that momentum in the first ranking event of 2026.
"This format is built for comebacks. There were some great games last year, and it's a really exciting tournament for the viewers," declared Searle, a winner of seven PDC ranking titles. "It's cut-throat for sure. Rob played some decent stuff at the World Championship so I'm expecting a really tough game. "Last time I played Rob on TV was at the World Matchplay in 2024 and he averaged 107 against me, so he can cut that out!"
Northern Ireland's number one Josh Rock begins his challenge against qualifier Connor Scutt, while Rock's World Cup partner Daryl Gurney has been handed a tough test against Dutch star Danny Noppert. Elsewhere, former European Champion Ross Smith tackles emerging Dutchman Jimmy van Schie, as German number one Martin Schindler opens Friday's action against former European Championship semi-finalist Luke Woodhouse.
Following the conclusion of round one, round two will be held across two sessions on Saturday January 31, before the tournament concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final on a bumper Finals Day at Arena MK on Sunday February 1.
The 2026 Winmau World Masters champion will take home a 100,000 prize pound, with 50,000 pound on offer to the runner-up.
The 2026 Winmau World Masters will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, and through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, with coverage also available on PDCTV (excluding subscribers in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland).
The top 24 players from the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder automatically qualified for the 32-player main event, with the remaining eight players sealing their spots in Wednesday's Preliminary Rounds. Round one will be contested across the opening two nights on Thursday and Friday, as world number two Luke Humphries sets his sights on back-to-back titles at Arena MK.
Humphries edged out Jonny Clayton in a captivating deciding-set affair to triumph 12 months ago, and the reigning champion will open his defence of the title on Friday evening against Dave Chisnall, a two-time Masters runner-up.
However, Clayton will headline Thursday's opening night, with the Welshman pitted against Dutch star Wessel Nijman in arguably the tie of the opening round.
"This is a great tournament, because it's completely different. It's a new challenge," claimed Clayton, who won the Masters in its previous format back in 2021. "I really enjoyed playing here last year, and I'm looking forward to the start of the new season. Hopefully it will be something special. "I would love to pick a few more trophies up. I'm back, I'm hungry and I'm playing well, so I'm excited for this year."
World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen will also take centre stage on Day One, with Ryan Joyce awaiting the Dutch number one in another intriguing tussle. Van Veen overcame Joyce on his way to European Championship glory last October, and the world number three is expecting another tough assignment on his World Masters debut.
"I'm feeling good. I'm looking forward to getting back on the big stage after a successful 2025, and I can't wait to get started again," insisted the 23-year-old.
"Especially in such a short format, it's always going to be difficult against Ryan. I think we are probably two of the best finishers in the game.
"When you are number three in the world, people are always going to expect you to do more, but I'm just going to keep trying to play my own game and hopefully the results will come."
Three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen faces Australian number one Damon Heta in another high-profile contest, while world number six Gary Anderson kicks off his campaign against Niels Zonneveld. 2014 Masters winner James Wade and Latvian trailblazer Madars Razma also go head-to-head, as 2020/21 World Champion Gerwyn Price plays James Hurrell in another eye-catching clash.
Former World Matchplay winner Nathan Aspinall will play debutant Shane McGuirk for a place in round two, whilst 2023 champion Chris Dobey takes on European Championship runner-up Jermaine Wattimena in his opener.
Humphries and World Champion Luke Littler will enter the fray at Arena MK on Friday, with the world number one facing Belgian number one Mike De Decker in the sixth game of the night. 2024 Masters winner Stephen Bunting marks his Milton Keynes return with a clash against Swedish number one Jeffrey de Graaf, as Ryan Searle sets his sights on a tussle against 2017/18 World Champion Rob Cross.
Searle stormed into the world's top eight following his run to the World Championship semi-finals at Alexandra Palace, and he's hoping to build on that momentum in the first ranking event of 2026.
"This format is built for comebacks. There were some great games last year, and it's a really exciting tournament for the viewers," declared Searle, a winner of seven PDC ranking titles. "It's cut-throat for sure. Rob played some decent stuff at the World Championship so I'm expecting a really tough game. "Last time I played Rob on TV was at the World Matchplay in 2024 and he averaged 107 against me, so he can cut that out!"
Northern Ireland's number one Josh Rock begins his challenge against qualifier Connor Scutt, while Rock's World Cup partner Daryl Gurney has been handed a tough test against Dutch star Danny Noppert. Elsewhere, former European Champion Ross Smith tackles emerging Dutchman Jimmy van Schie, as German number one Martin Schindler opens Friday's action against former European Championship semi-finalist Luke Woodhouse.
Following the conclusion of round one, round two will be held across two sessions on Saturday January 31, before the tournament concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final on a bumper Finals Day at Arena MK on Sunday February 1.
The 2026 Winmau World Masters champion will take home a 100,000 prize pound, with 50,000 pound on offer to the runner-up.
The 2026 Winmau World Masters will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, and through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, with coverage also available on PDCTV (excluding subscribers in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland).