Luke Littler has been drawn against Mike De Decker in the opening round of the Winmau World Masters, as Luke Humphries begins his title defence against Dave Chisnall.
Littler will arrive at Arena MK as back-to-back world champion and having already enjoyed success this year at the inaugural Saudi Darts Masters, leaving him the pre-tournament favourite to claim one of only two remaining major televised events he has yet to win.
‘The Nuke’ suffered a quarter-final exit to Jonny Clayton on debut last year but will look to improve on that record against De Decker, who lost to African qualifier David Munyua at the World Championship last month.
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David Munyua provided one of the biggest shocks in World Darts Championship history after beating De Decker
Humphries looks to become the first back-to-back winner since Michael van Gerwen and opens against Chisnall, a two-time runner-up at the World Masters, while five-time champion Van Gerwen takes on Damon Heta.
The world’s top 24 were automatic qualifiers for the event, which starts on Thursday and runs to Sunday in Milton Keynes, while eight players came through preliminary rounds on Wednesday to complete the 32-player field.
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Littler hit a 170 checkout to defeat De Decker at the World Grand Prix
Last year’s runner-up Clayton will face Wessel Nijman – one of Wednesday’s qualifiers in the opening round – as will sixth seed Gary Anderson, who takes on Niels Zonneveld, and seventh seed James Wade, who faces Madars Razma. World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen opens his debut against Ryan Joyce.
All matches at the 2026 Winmau World Masters will be played in a sets format over the best of three legs per set, in keeping with the tournament’s traditional structure.
Winmau World Masters draw
Luke Littler (1) v Mike de Decker (19)
Ross Smith (16) v Qualifier 7
Ryan Searle (8) v Rob Cross (20)
Josh Rock (9) v Connor Scutt
Michael van Gerwen (4) v Damon Heta (17)
Chris Dobey (13) v Jermaine Wattimena (18)
Jonny Clayton (5) v Wessel Nijman
Gerwyn Price (12) v James Hurrell
Luke Humphries (2) v Dave Chisnall (22)
Martin Schindler (15) v Luke Woodhouse (21)
Stephen Bunting (7) v Jeffrey de Graaf
Danny Noppert (10) v Daryl Gurney (23)
Gian van Veen (3) v Ryan Joyce (24)
Nathan Aspinall (14) v Shane McGuirk
Gary Anderson (6) v Niels Zonneveld
James Wade (11) v Madars Razma
2026 World Masters – Schedule
Wednesday January 28 (12pm)
Preliminary Rounds
Thursday January 29 (7pm) – Round One
Chris Dobey v Jermaine Wattimena
Gary Anderson v Niels Zonneveld
James Wade v Madars Razma
Nathan Aspinall v Shane McGuirk
Jonny Clayton v Wessel Nijman
Gerwyn Price v James Hurrell
Michael van Gerwen v Damon Heta
Gian van Veen v Ryan Joyce
Friday January 30 (7pm) – Round One
Martin Schindler v Luke Woodhouse
Ross Smith v Jimmy van Schie
Danny Noppert v Daryl Gurney
Ryan Searle v Rob Cross
Josh Rock v Connor Scutt
Luke Littler v Mike De Decker
Luke Humphries v Dave Chisnall
Stephen Bunting v Jeffrey de Graaf
Saturday January 31
Afternoon Session (1pm)
Round Two x4
Evening Session (7pm)
Round Two x4
Sunday February 1
Afternoon Session (1pm)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (7pm)
Semi-Finals
Final
Format
Round One
Best of five sets, best of three legs per set
Round Two
Best of seven sets, best of three legs per set
Quarter-finals
Best of seven sets, best of three legs per set
Semi-finals
Best of nine sets, best of three legs per set
Final
Best of 11 sets, best of three legs per set
Prize money
- Winner – £100,000
- Runner-up – £50,000
- Semi-finalists – £30,000
- Quarter-finalists – £17,500
- Round Two losers – £10,000
- Round One losers – £5,000
- Preliminary Round L16 – £2,500
- Preliminary Round L32 – £1,000
- Preliminary Round L64 – £750
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