World Cup of Darts 2026 LIVE: UK start time, TV channel, format and prize money as Littler and Humphries return

The 2026 football World Cup might be about to get underway, but the World Cup of Darts is also on the horizon.

It is the one event in the darting calendar that sees the players from around the world represent their countries rather than themselves.

Getty

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries are representing England and will hope to improve on 2025’s display.

The two best players in the world collapsed to a second-round defeat to Germany.

That opened up the tournament and Northern Ireland claimed victory.

Their pair of Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney saw off Welsh duo Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton, and they are back to defend their crown.

World Cup of Darts 2026: Dates and start times

The World Cup of Darts is set to get going on Thursday, June 11 – the same day as the 2026 World Cup starts.

It will come to an end on Sunday, June 14.

The entire tournament is set to be held in Frankfurt at Eissporthalle am Ratsweg.

The first day has one evening session that starts at 6pm UK time.

The following three days have afternoon and evening sessions, with afternoon sessions starting at 12pm UK time, except for day two that is at 11am.

Getty

World Cup of Darts 2026: How to follow

Sky Sports will have live coverage of the whole tournament.

Sky Go customers will be able to stream the action through their laptops and mobile devices.

Alternatively, You can sign up for Sky Sports and find out how to stream with NOW TV here. 

*If you make a purchase through the above link we will earn affiliate revenue

talkSPORT will also provide live coverage of the event in Germany. 

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

Meanwhile, talkSPORT.com will keep you up to date with all the latest. 

X formerly Twitter / @SkySportsDarts

World Cup of Darts 2026: Format

Forty nations are set to compete in the 2026 edition of the World Cup of Darts.

The top four nations go straight through to the second round, while the remaining 36 nations are split into 12 groups of three. 

The winner of each group progressed through to the second round, and then the tournament, and it is knockout from there.

Each group stage game is a best-of-seven legs match, before the second round, quarter-finals and semi-finals are all best of 15 legs.

The World Cup final will be best of 19 legs. 

All matches are played in the doubles format, with teammates taking turns at the oche.

Getty

World Cup of Darts 2026: Pairs

• Seeds 1-4 — Exempt to Round Two
• (1) England — Luke Littler, Luke Humphries
• (2) Netherlands — Gian van Veen, Michael van Gerwen
• (3) Northern Ireland — Josh Rock, Daryl Gurney
• (4) Scotland — Gary Anderson, Cameron Menzies

• Seeds 5-16 – Seeded for Group Stage
• (5) Germany — Martin Schindler, Ricardo Pietreczko
• (6) Belgium — Mike De Decker, Dimitri Van den Bergh
• (7) Wales — Jonny Clayton, Nick Kenny
• (8) Republic of Ireland — William O’Connor, Mickey Mansell
• (9) Poland — Krzysztof Ratajski, Sebastian Bialecki
• (10) Sweden — Jeffrey de Graaf, Oskar Lukasiak
• (11) Australia — Damon Heta, Adam Leek
• (12) Czechia — Karel Sedlacek, Adam Gawlas
• (13) Austria — Mensur Suljovic, Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
• (14) Latvia — Madars Razma, Valters Melderis
• (15) Croatia — Boris Krcmar, Pero Ljubic
• (16) Finland — Jani Haavisto, Jonas Masalin

• Unseeded Nations
• Canada –Jim Long, David Cameron
• China — Qingyu Zhan, Xiaochen Zong
• Denmark — Andreas Toft Jorgensen, Jonas Graversen
• France — Thibault Tricole, Nicolas Thuillier
• Hong Kong — Man Lok Leung, Lok Yin Lee
• Hungary — Patrik Kovacs, Pal Szekely
• India — Nitin Kumar, Ankit Goenka
• Italy — Michele Turetta, Riccardo Castelli
• Japan — Motomu Sakai, Haruki Muramatsu
• Lithuania — Darius Labanauskas, Mindaugas Barauskas
• Mongolia — Altantulkhuur Myagmarsuren, Ganzorig Lkhagvasuren
• New Zealand — Jonny Tata, Ben Robb
• Norway — Cor Dekker, Kent Sivertsen
• Philippines — Alexis Toylo, Paolo Nebrida
• Portugal — Luis Camacho, Jose de Sousa
• Singapore — Paul Lim, Phuay Wey Tan
• Slovenia — Benjamin Pratnemer, Stefano Bozicek
• South Africa — Graham Filby, Devon Petersen
• Spain — Cristo Reyes, Jose Justicia
• Switzerland — Stefan Bellmont, Marcel Walpen
• Thailand — Sarayut Ouamumpa, Sowaris Rodman
• Trinidad and Tobago — Joshua Balfour, James Walklin
• Uganda — Patrick Ocheng, Juma Said
• USA — Adam Sevada, Stowe Buntz

World Cup of Darts 2026: Schedule

(All times UK)

Day 1, Thursday, June 11

• Evening session: 6pm

Day 2, Friday, June 12

• Day session: 11am
• Evening session: 6pm

Day 3, Saturday, June 13

• Day session: 12pm
• Evening session: 6pm

Day 4, Sunday, June 14

• Day session: 12pm
• Evening session: 6pm