Last year, speculation about moving the Darts World Cup to Saudi Arabia, which was fueled by PDC boss Barry Hearn, caused great excitement within the scene. Now the association has made a decision.
As confirmed on Thursday, the World Darts Championship will remain in London long-term, but will change location within Alexandra Palace. The world association PDC and the arena extended their contract by five years until 2031.
From next year, however, games will be played in the much larger Great Hall instead of the West Hall as before.
According to official information, the total capacity should increase to around 180,000 spectators and thus increase by around 70,000 seats.
From the 2027 World Cup onwards, the individual sessions will accommodate over 5,000 fans. The smaller West Hall has a capacity of only around 3,000 seats and is traditionally sold out.
The run on tickets for the Darts World Cup is becoming more and more extreme
“Alexandra Palace at Christmas is the flagship event of the tournament – its atmosphere is unrivaled across sport,” PDC chief executive Matt Porter was quoted as saying.
The event hall is “inseparably” linked to the Darts World Cup, which will be held from December 11th to January 3rd, 2026 and will be played for the first time this year with 128 participants.
With the change, the PDC is also reacting to the extremely high demand for tickets around the World Cup. In most cases, all tickets for the tournament are sold out in a very short time.
A move to Saudi Arabia is therefore off the table – at least for the next few years. The Saudi Arabia Darts Masters will take place there for the first time in January – but the World Cup, as the sport’s premium product, will remain in its home country of Great Britain until at least 2031.
This time, eight German players are taking part in the highlight of the year, more than ever before. From a German perspective, Martin Schindler, 13th in the world rankings, carries the greatest hopes on his shoulders. The top favorite is the English world number one and defending champion Luke Littler.