World Grand Prix 2026: draw confirmed – Niko Springer faces Danny Noppert, Littler starts against Woodhouse

The PDC has published the first-round draw for the 2026 World Grand Prix in Leicester: Springer v Noppert, Littler v Woodhouse, Humphries v Chisnall.

The draw for the 2026 World Grand Prix is out. On Monday (14 September) the PDC published all 16 first-round ties of the double-in, double-out tournament, which runs from 28 September to 4 October at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester. Niko Springer, the only German in the field, opens against eighth seed Danny Noppert. Defending champion Luke Littler starts against Luke Woodhouse.

Springer v Noppert: a tough task for the only German

Niko Springer earned his ticket to Leicester via the one-year ProTour Order of Merit and is the only player representing Germany at the World Grand Prix. Danny Noppert is an experienced opponent: the Dutchman has twice reached the semi-finals at this tournament and goes into the tie as the seeded player.

Martin Schindler is not involved. Germany's number one was unable to play his way into the field at the final European Tour event. German hopes in Leicester therefore rest on Springer alone.

Littler begins his title defence against Woodhouse

Luke Littler, world number one and defending champion, faces Luke Woodhouse in the first round; Woodhouse tops the ProTour qualifiers and won the Baltic Sea Darts Open this year. Littler won the World Grand Prix for the first time twelve months ago – in the 2025 final he beat Luke Humphries 6-1. If he defends his title, he would join an exclusive group: so far only Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen have won the tournament twice in a row.

Luke Humphries, the 2023 champion, takes on Dave Chisnall, who has already reached two World Grand Prix finals. Former champion Gerwyn Price starts against Poland's Sebastian Bialecki, while Jonny Clayton, also a former winner, meets the latter's compatriot Krzysztof Ratajski.

All first-round ties at a glance

Seeded players in brackets, order as per the tournament bracket:

(1) Luke Littler – Luke Woodhouse
(16) Nathan Aspinall – Kevin Doets
(8) Danny Noppert – Niko Springer
(9) Michael van Gerwen – Ryan Joyce
(4) Gerwyn Price – Sebastian Bialecki
(13) Ross Smith – Cameron Menzies
(5) Jonny Clayton – Krzysztof Ratajski
(12) Wessel Nijman – Rob Cross
(2) Luke Humphries – Dave Chisnall
(15) Chris Dobey – Jermaine Wattimena
(7) Josh Rock – Niels Zonneveld
(10) Gary Anderson – Damon Heta
(3) Gian van Veen – Dirk van Duijvenbode
(14) Ryan Searle – William O'Connor
(6) James Wade – Joe Cullen
(11) Stephen Bunting – Andrew Gilding

Van Gerwen v Joyce, an all-Dutch tie, Aspinall against a debutant

Record champion Michael van Gerwen, a six-time World Grand Prix winner, faces an awkward opener against Ryan Joyce, who reached the semi-finals in 2024. The draw also produced an all-Dutch tie: European champion Gian van Veen meets Dirk van Duijvenbode, who reached the final in Leicester in 2020.

Wessel Nijman, winner of eight ranking titles this year, comes up against former world champion Rob Cross. Kevin Doets makes his World Grand Prix debut – and runs straight into Nathan Aspinall, a finalist in 2022. Two-time champion James Wade starts against Joe Cullen, a semi-finalist in 2023. Gary Anderson has been drawn against Australian number one Damon Heta.

Key facts and TV coverage

The World Grand Prix is the only PDC major in which every leg must be started and finished on a double or the bullseye. The field is made up of the top 16 in the PDC Order of Merit as seeds plus the 16 highest-placed players in the one-year ProTour ranking who had not already qualified. This year the winner receives increased prize money of £150,000.

Dates: 28 September to 4 October 2026
Venue: Mattioli Arena, Leicester
Opening night: Monday 28 September with eight first-round matches; play starts at 6pm local time (7pm CEST)
Final: Sunday 4 October

The PDC has not yet published a detailed session schedule for the individual matches. The tournament is shown in the UK on Sky Sports and internationally on DAZN and Viaplay among others, as well as via PDCTV, which is not available to subscribers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. You can find all the results, the bracket and the statistics on our tournament page for the PDC World Grand Prix.