2026 Winmau World Masters Preliminary Rounds Confirmed Entries

The 2026 Winmau World Masters Preliminary Rounds entries have been officially confirmed. This prestigious darts event will take place in Milton Keynes, with a total prize fund of £500,000. The competition is set to unfold on January 28, featuring 122 players competing for eight coveted spots in the main tournament.

Event Details

The Preliminary Rounds will occur at Arena MK. The top 24 players from the PDC Werner Rankings will receive exemptions to the televised stages. The main tournament is scheduled from January 29 to February 1, 2026.

Participants

Besides the top ranked players, the Preliminary Rounds will see participants including:

• Invited players from PDC’s secondary and affiliate tours
• Four representatives from the JDC Advanced Tour

The highest-ranking 32 players will be seeded into the Last 64. These players will be joined by 32 Group Winners from the round-robin stage.

Notable Competitors

The competition will feature several high-profile stars, including:

• Peter Wright – Two-time World Champion and 2020 Masters title holder
• Michael Smith – Former World Champion returning to action
• Joe Cullen – The 2022 Masters winner
• Dimitri Van den Bergh – Last year’s World Masters semi-finalist
• Wessel Nijman and Dirk van Duijvenbode – Prominent Dutch players
• Krzysztof Ratajski and Justin Hood – Both impressive in their recent World Championship appearances

However, notable absentees include five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld and several other Tour Card Holders. A total of eight players will not participate in this year’s event.

Match Format

The Preliminary Rounds will use a best of five sets format, with best of three legs per set. Matches will begin at 12:00 GMT, and darts fans can watch live action from two boards on PDCTV. Live scoring will be available via DartConnect.

Draw and Knockout Phases

The draw for the event will take place at 11:00 GMT on Wednesday, revealing the matchups for the knockout stage. The Last 64 will have matches organized according to a specific bracket order.

Exemptions and Seedings

The following players are exempt to round one:

• Luke Littler
• Luke Humphries
• Gerwyn Price
• Michael van Gerwen
• Jonny Clayton
• Gary Anderson
• Stephen Bunting
• Ryan Searle

This year’s edition of the Winmau World Masters promises to deliver thrilling darts action as established stars and emerging talents vie for glory. For more updates and insights, visit Filmogaz.com.