How to qualify in Darts
How players qualify for the PDC World Darts Championship
Checked 20 October 2026Valid for: the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, London, the 2027 edition (played over December 2026 and January 2027), as announced by the PDC and reported by DartsNews (secondary; the PDC's own page is not saved). Not covered: how the PDC Order of Merit is worked out (see the darts ranking page); the WDF World Championship (the other world championship, run by the World Darts Federation).
The PDC World Darts Championship has 128 players. They come from three groups:
| Route | Places |
|---|---|
| Top 40 on the PDC Order of Merit (two years of prize money), after the Players Championship Finals in November | 40 |
| Top 40 not yet qualified on the ProTour Order of Merit (prize money from the Players Championships and European Tour) | 40 |
| International and other qualifiers | 48 |
| Total | 128 |
India has its own route: the winner of a PDC India qualifier gets a place.
Since the 2026 edition, all 128 players start in the first round. The top 32 are seeded.
The 48 other places (2027 edition)
| Group | Places |
|---|---|
| PDC Asian Tour: highest-ranked players | 5 |
| Asian Championship finalists | 2 |
| PDC China champion; winners of the India and Japan qualifiers | 3 |
| Championship Darts Corporation (North America) | 5 |
| Nordic and Baltic | 3 |
| Africa (one North African and one Southern African qualifier, run through the African Darts Group) | 2 |
| Women: Women's World Matchplay winner and the top three on the Women's Series Order of Merit | 4 |
| Development Tour top three and Challenge Tour top three | 6 |
| PDC World Youth Champion | 1 |
| Tour Card Holder Qualifier | at least 2 |
| Other affiliates (Australia, Oceania, mainland Europe) | the rest |
The report gives some groups exactly and others only in outline; the PDC's own list should be checked before publishing. The two African places are new for 2027.
The draw
The top 32 on the PDC Order of Merit are seeded. Players ranked 33 to 64 go into the top half of the draw and are paired at random with the 64 other qualifiers.
Women
At least four women are in the field.