Major change to World Darts Championship qualifying spots announced in tournament first

The World Darts Championship could produce another African cult hero.

In a tournament first, the PDC confirmed this year’s World Championship will offer two guaranteed spots for African players.

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The two places will be decided by a Northern African Qualifier and a Southern African Qualifier.

Darts fans will hope the additional spot for an African qualifier will generate more scenes like the ones produced by Kenyan star David Munyua.

How Munyua became an Ally Pally cult hero

Nicknamed ‘Why Not’, Munyua produced one of the greatest upsets in tournament history when he knocked out No.18 seed Mike De Decker in the first round.

Munyua came back from two sets down to oust the Belgian 3-2 in a scoreline that sent fans at the Alexandra Palace into raptures.

But it wasn’t just the staggering performance on the board that helped Munyua, who is a veterenarian, generate headlines.

Against De Decker, Munyua encountered the infamous Ally Pally wasp and placed it in his pocket.

Munyua also overcame De Decker by using the darts of fellow pro Cam Crabtree, who poked fun at the situation on social media.

The additional spot for a player from Africa is one of the 48 qualification places the PDC allocated to international qualifiers for this year’s World Championship.

Asian darts stars also set to shine

Five places have been allocated to the highest-ranked stars on the PDC Asian Tour, while there are two spots on offer for the Asian Championship finalists.

The PDC China Champion along with qualifiers in India and Japan will also secure berths at Ally Pally.

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Darts fans may hope Motomu Sakai will be among the Asian contingent to secure a spot in the World Championship field given he produced one of the all-time walk-ons at the last edition of the tournament.

Japan’s Sakai also had the skills with the tungsten to match, as he beat Thibaut Tricole in their first round encounter.

What is the full make-up of the 128-player field at the 2026/27 World Darts Championship?

The 48 spots awarded to international qualifiers make up a large chunk of the 128-player field set to do battle for the honour of being world champion.

Rounding out the draw will be the top 40 players in the PDC rankings along with the top 40 non-qualified players from the ProTour rankings.

Luke Littler will enter the 2026/27 edition of the tournament as the reigning champ having thrashed Gian van Veen in the final.

Littler’s victory was also monumental as he became the first player in 20 years to successfully defend their world title.

Another element that made Littler’s victory even sweeter was that he became the first player to take out the £1million prize for winning the tournament.