Luke Littler set to have chance to win £1MILLION as darts chiefs make unprecedented prize money decision

LUKE LITTLER will win £1million if he retains his PDC World Darts Championship in January 2026 in a landmark move.

The Professional Darts Corporation has today increased the prize money for the winner of the Sid Waddell Trophy for the 2025-26 tournament.

Rex

Luke Littler and the rest of the PDC field are in line for huge increases in prize money[/caption]

PA

Lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy will be worth £1million next year[/caption]

Littler became the youngest world champion in the sport’s history when he lifted the title aged 17 in January and earned £500,000 in money.

But that figure has DOUBLED following the historic Sky Sports £125million five-year TV deal.

The World Championship will become bigger than ever before with an expanded 128-player field competing for a £5million prize fund.

The mammoth jump comes as part of a landmark announcement by the PDC that will boost prize funds across all levels of the professional circuit in 2026.

A whopping £25MILLION will be on offer across the PDC circuit next season, following a historic increase of £7MILLION from 2025’s figures.

The Premier League prize pot for 2026 will increase to £1.25million from 2026, with £350,000 for next season’s champion – compared to the minimum £275,000 earned by the 2025 winner.

The Grand Slam of Darts will expand from 32 players to 48 in November 2026 to mark the 20th staging of the tournament.

Four other Premier events – the World Grand Prix, Players Championship Finals, European Championship and UK Open – will all increase to a £750,000 prize fund next year.

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Barry Hearn, the president of Matchroom Sport, and Matt Porter, PDC chief executive, met with players this morning to reveal the details of the new financial structure for the sport’s flagship event.

Porter said: “The £1million 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 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.”

To put these figures into context, Dennis Priestley won just £16,000 for winning the inuagural PDC world crown in 1994 and it took until 2006 when Phil Taylor smashed Peter Manley 7-0 and received £100,000 for his efforts.

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