Winmau World Masters 2026 Draw | Humphries to begin title defence against Chisnall
The draw for the 2026 Winmau World Masters has been confirmed, with Luke Humphries to begin the defence of his title against Dave Chisnall.
The PDC’s second staging of the Winmau World Masters takes place at Arena MK in Milton Keynes, with the Preliminary Rounds held on Wednesday January 28 ahead of the televised main event from Thursday January 29 to Sunday February 1.
The top 24 players from the PDC Order of Merit automatically qualify for the 32-player main event, with the world’s top 16 seeded in the draw.
The remaining eight players will come from the Preliminary Rounds on Wednesday, which will feature Tour Card Holders and representatives from the PDC’s secondary tours, affiliate tours and Junior Darts Corporation.
Humphries, who claimed the title in dramatic fashion in 2025, will start his title defence against Chisnall – Masters runner-up in 2016 and 2022.
Two-time World Champion Luke Littler – featuring in his first ranking event since retaining the Sid Waddell Trophy – opens his bid against 2024 World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker.
World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen will make his Winmau World Masters debut at Arena MK, and the Dutch number one has been pitted against two-time TV semi-finalist Ryan Joyce in the opening round.
Michael van Gerwen, a five-time Masters champion, has been drawn to face Australian number one Damon Heta.
Last year’s runner-up Jonny Clayton will take on one of the eight qualifiers for a place in round two, as will two-time World Champion Gary Anderson and 2024 Masters champion Stephen Bunting.
World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle goes head-to-head with former World Champion Rob Cross, while tenth seed Danny Noppert faces Northern Ireland’s World Cup of Darts winner Daryl Gurney.
Northern Irish number one Josh Rock will play one of the eight qualifiers in round one, with James Wade, Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall and Ross Smith also set to discover their opponents following the conclusion of the Preliminary Rounds on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, 2023 Masters winner Chris Dobey plays former European Championship finalist Jermaine Wattimena, while German number one Martin Schindler locks horns with world number 21 Luke Woodhouse.
The tournament is contested in a sets format, with each set being played over the best of three legs – beginning with the best of three sets throughout in the Preliminary Rounds.
Winmau World Masters 2026 Draw
(1) Luke Littler v Mike De Decker
(16) Ross Smith v Jimmy van Schie
(8) Ryan Searle v Rob Cross
(9) Josh Rock v Connor Scutt
(4) Michael van Gerwen v Damon Heta
(13) Chris Dobey v Jermaine Wattimena
(5) Jonny Clayton v Wessel Nijman
(12) Gerwyn Price v James Hurrell
(2) Luke Humphries v Dave Chisnall
(15) Martin Schindler v Luke Woodhouse
(7) Stephen Bunting v Jeffrey de Graaf
(10) Danny Noppert v Daryl Gurney
(3) Gian van Veen v Ryan Joyce
(14) Nathan Aspinall v Shane McGuirk
(6) Gary Anderson v Niels Zonneveld
(11) James Wade v Madars Razma
