Nice Littler earner: World Darts Championship winner to get £1m
The winner of the next World Darts Championship will pocket £1m after the PDC doubled prize money for Luke Littler’s defence of the title.
The end-of-year spectacular at London’s Alexandra Palace will also expand from 96 to 128 players, with the overall prize fund doubling to £5m.
It comes amid a boom in the popularity of darts, driven by rising ticket sales and broadcast viewership as well as the emergence of teenage sensation Littler.
“The £1m prize for the World Champion reflects darts’ standing as one of the most exciting and in-demand sports in the world and the historic total will rightly attract headlines as the biggest prize ever paid out in the sport,” said PDC chief executive Matt Porter.
“However, the increased prize funds announced today demonstrate our commitment to growing earning potential for players at all levels within the PDC system.
“Expanding the player fields for the World Darts Championship and Grand Slam of Darts will provide more opportunities than ever before for players around the world to feature in televised PDC events.
“The incredible growth of the PDC in recent years has seen darts elevated to levels never seen before both in terms of playing opportunities and global interest and this is a huge moment for all players with the ambition to make it to the very pinnacle of the sport.”
Other changes include the prize fund for Premier League Darts, which concludes at the O2, increasing from £1m to £1.25m next year.
The World Matchplay and Grand Slam of Darts will both have £1m prize pots, boosted by 25 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.
Earlier this month global investment bank Houlihan Lokey released a report recommending investing in darts due to the sport’s recent growth and increasing popularity with the Gen Z audience.