World Darts Championship 2026 Salaries For Luke Littler and Gian van Veen

Teenage sensation Luke Littler became a two-time winner of the PDC World Darts Championship on Saturday night after demolishing Gian van Veen in a one-sided final at Alexandra Palace in north London. ‘The Nuke’ walked away with the biggest amount of prize money ever awarded in the sport, while the Dutchman banked a staggering sum in defeat.

With the 2026 tournament having been expanded to include a massive 128 players, Littler’s chances of retaining the crown that he won in 2025 by beating Michael van Gerwen should theoretically have been slimmer than usual. However, the 18-year-old made light work of the rest of the field.

In making his way to a third-straight world championship final, Littler lost just three sets. He made light work of names such as Darius Labanauskas, David Davies, Mensur Suljovic, Rob Cross, Krzysztof Ratajski and Ryan Searle in order to book his showdown with Van Veen.

‘The Giant’ may have had a tougher route to the final, but the 10th seed showed his class by getting the better of a host of big names to secure his place in the showpiece decider. The 23-year-old produced two of the best performances of his career as he beat former champion Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals, before outclassing two-time victor Gary Anderson in the semis.

Luke Littler Dominated Gian van Veen in the 2026 World Championship Final

However, for as much promise as Van Veen showed in his run to the final, the reigning European Champion failed to produce his best when it really mattered. The final started well enough for the underdog, as he took the first set.

Frustratingly, though, that would be the only time he got onto the scoreboard in terms of sets. Recovering from the early setback, Littler produced some of the best darts of his young career to reel off seven sets in succession and claim the Sid Waddell Trophy in dominant fashion once again.

While Littler ultimately walked away victorious, there were mixed fortunes for some other former winners.

Many Top Seeds Struggled at the 2026 World Darts Championship

As mentioned, Luke Humphries suffered a shock quarter-final exit. The number two seed was humbled 5-1 by Van Veen in one of the biggest shocks of the tournament.

Third seed Michael van Gerwen fared even worse as the three-time world champion was dumped out by Gary Anderson in the fourth-round. There were similar tales of woe for the likes of Stephen Bunting, Danny Noppert and Gerwyn Price as a number of top seeds bowed out far earlier than expected.

However, those shock exits paved the way for some relatively unknown names to stamp their own impression on the tournament. After defeating Cameron Menzies in the first round, 20-year-old Charlie Manby enjoyed a fairytale run to the fourth round, before being beaten by eventual finalist Van Veen.

The unseeded Justin Hood went one better than Manby. ‘Happy Feet’ overcame seeds such as Noppert and Josh Rock to earn a quarter-final berth. His unlikely journey to the last-eight was ended by Gary Anderson, but the £100,000 pounds that Hood earned for his run in the tournament was a life-changing sum. The 32-year-old will now be able to pursue the sport full-time, and even has one eye on his dream of opening a chinese takeaway off the back of his success.

Five Female Players Competed at the 2026 World Darts Championship

The expansion of the tournament to 128 players also meant that there was a record number of female players in the draw. However, none of the women involved made it past the first round.

Women’s world number one Beau Greaves came closest to making it to the next phase after pushing Daryl Gurney all the way in their first-round meeting. ‘The Queen of the Palace’ Fallon Sherrock was also in action, although she failed to replicate her heroics of previous years, losing to 21st seed Dave Chisnall in their opening round encounter.

Even for those that fell at the first hurdle, though, the prize money was still highly respectable. As a result of the PDC’s decision to boost the overall prize money pool on offer to a massive £5 million, even first-round losers walked away with £15,000.

Littler and Van Veen Lead Player Salaries at 2026 World Darts Championship

However, the major beneficiaries of the move were finalists Littler and Van Veen. The victorious teenager earned £1 million, exactly double what he made for winning in 2025, while Van Veen can console himself in defeat with a hefty £400,000 payday.

By way of illustration, Van Veen’s purse for finishing as runner-up was more than three times what he received for winning the European Championship last year.

No Nine-Darter Hit During The 2026 World Darts Championship

As lucrative as this year’s tournament was, it could have been even more so, as sponsors Paddy Power were ready to reward any player who could finish a leg in just nine darts with a £60,000 bonus.

However, despite several players coming close, there was no nine-darter hit during the tournament. This was bad news for everyone involved in the event.

Not only did the players miss out on £60,000, but Paddy Power would also have awarded the same sum to a fan in the crowd, as well as making a donation in the same amount to Prostate Cancer UK.

Although he ultimately secured the coveted trophy, Littler admitted after the final that a nine-darter was the “only thing missing” from his triumph on Saturday night.

“I think you just take it in all the time and as the game goes on,” the teenage star said of the hype surrounding a potential nine-dart finish.

“The chants, the 180s. Obviously, you go off [hitting a] 180, you hit a small 20 and they’re not happy. Some of them want £60,000, but it didn’t happen tonight. I really wanted that nine-darter, that was the only thing missing.”