Luke Humphries will open his defence of the Winmau World Masters against Dave Chisnall, as World Champion Luke Littler begins his title challenge against Mike De Decker.
The latest staging of the revamped Winmau World Masters will take place at Arena MK in Milton Keynes, with the Preliminary Rounds taking place on Wednesday January 28 ahead of the televised main event from Thursday January 29-Sunday February 1.
The top 24 players from the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder automatically qualify for the 32-player main event, with the world’s top 16 seeded in the draw, which was made at Oche on The Strand in London on Monday.
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.
World number two Humphries will kick off his title defence against St Helens star Chisnall, a two-time Masters runner-up in 2016 and 2022.
Reigning two-time World Champion Littler – featuring in his first ranking event since retaining the Sid Waddell Trophy – opens his bid against 2024 World Grand Prix champion De Decker.
World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen will make his Winmau World Masters debut at Arena MK, as the Dutch number one has been pitted against two-time TV semi-finalist Ryan Joyce in round one.
Van Veen’s fellow countryman Michael van Gerwen – a five-time Masters champion – will also headline in Milton Keynes, as he plays Australian number one Damon Heta in his opener.
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 winner Stephen Bunting.
World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle goes head-to-head with former World Champion Rob Cross in a standout tie, while tenth seed Danny Noppert faces Northern Ireland’s World Cup champion Daryl Gurney.
Northern Ireland’s 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 January 28.
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 match order for Thursday and Friday’s opening round games will be confirmed following the conclusion of Wednesday’s Preliminary Rounds.
The Preliminary Rounds will see 32 players seeded through to the Last 64 (players 25-56 on the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder should all players enter), and they will be joined by 32 Group Winners from the round-robin group stage.
The group stage will see 32 players seeded as one per group (players 57-88 on the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder should all players enter), with the remaining players drawn at random to the groups.
The tournament will be played in a set format, with each set being contested over the best of three legs – beginning with the best of three sets throughout in the Preliminary Rounds.
2026 Winmau World Masters
Draw Bracket
(1) Luke Littler v Mike De Decker
(16) Ross Smith v Qualifier 7
(8) Ryan Searle v Rob Cross
(9) Josh Rock v Qualifier 6
(4) Michael van Gerwen v Damon Heta
(13) Chris Dobey v Jermaine Wattimena
(5) Jonny Clayton v Qualifier 4
(12) Gerwyn Price v Qualifier 8
(2) Luke Humphries v Dave Chisnall
(15) Martin Schindler v Luke Woodhouse
(7) Stephen Bunting v Qualifier 2
(10) Danny Noppert v Daryl Gurney
(3) Gian van Veen v Ryan Joyce
(14) Nathan Aspinall v Qualifier 5
(6) Gary Anderson v Qualifier 1
(11) James Wade v Qualifier 3
Wednesday January 28
Preliminary Rounds
Thursday January 29 (1900 GMT)
First Round x8 – Match Order TBC
Michael van Gerwen v Damon Heta
Chris Dobey v Jermaine Wattimena
Jonny Clayton v Qualifier 4
Gerwyn Price v Qualifier 8
Gian van Veen v Ryan Joyce
Nathan Aspinall v Qualifier 5
Gary Anderson v Qualifier 1
James Wade v Qualifier 3
Friday January 30 (1900 GMT)
First Round x8 – Match Order TBC
Luke Littler v Mike De Decker
Ross Smith v Qualifier 7
Ryan Searle v Rob Cross
Josh Rock v Qualifier 6
Luke Humphries v Dave Chisnall
Martin Schindler v Luke Woodhouse
Stephen Bunting v Qualifier 2
Danny Noppert v Daryl Gurney
Saturday January 31
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
4x Second Round
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
4x Second Round
Sunday February 1
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Semi-Finals & Final
