The World Matchplay first-round schedule has been confirmed.
Luke Littler began the defence of his crown against Niko Springer, in which he came up with a monster 109 average for a 10-6 victory.
Defending champion Littler clinched the coveted Phil Taylor Trophy after beating James Wade 18-13 in the final of last year's event, recovering from 5-0 down to seal an enthralling comeback victory and become the fifth player in history to complete the 'Triple Crown'.
If Littler can keep hold of the trophy, he will become the first player since Michael van Gerwen in 2015 to go back-to-back in Blackpool.
Second seed Luke Humphries starts his Matchplay with a mouth-watering tie against Cameron Menzies, while Gian van Veen takes on Krzysztof Ratajski and Gerwyn Price plays Martin Schindler.
Michael van Gerwen, Nathan Aspinall, Jonny Clayton, Gary Anderson, and Stephen Bunting all picked up round one wins.
The event features the top 16 players from the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder as well as the best 16 players from the one-year ProTour rankings.
Prize purses for the 2026 event have been boosted to £1m, with the winner set to pocket £225,000.
All times UK and Ireland
Session One
Saturday July 18
Round One x4
Session Two
Sunday July 19 (1pm)
Round One x4
Session Three
Sunday July 19 (7pm)
Round One x4
Monday July 20 (7pm)
Round One x4
Ross Smith vs Kevin Doets
Gerwyn Price vs Martin Schindler
Luke Humphries vs Cameron Menzies
Danny Noppert vs Rob Cross
Tuesday July 21 (7pm)
Round Two x4 - match order TBC
Luke Littler vs Nathan Aspinall
Josh Rock v Stephen Bunting
Michael van Gerwen v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Jonny Clayton v Gary Anderson
Wednesday July 22 (7pm)
Round Two x4 - match order TBC
Humphries/Menzies v Smith/Doets
Price/Schindler v Noppert/Cross
Van Veen/Ratajski v Nijman/Chisnall
Wade/Wattimena v Ryan Searle
Thursday July 23 (8pm*)
Quarter-finals x2
Friday July 24 (8pm*)
Quarter-finals x2
Saturday July 25 (8pm*)
Semi-finals
Sunday July 26
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm)
Betfred Women's World Matchplay
Evening Session (8pm*)
Betfred World Matchplay Final
(1) Luke Littler v Niko Springer
(16) Nathan Aspinall v Joe Cullen
(8) Josh Rock v Luke Woodhouse
(9) Stephen Bunting v Niels Zonneveld
(4) Michael van Gerwen v Andrew Gilding
(13) Chris Dobey v Dirk van Duijvenbode
(5) Jonny Clayton v Damon Heta
(12) Gary Anderson v Ryan Joyce
(2) Luke Humphries v Cameron Menzies
(15) Ross Smith v Kevin Doets
(7) Gerwyn Price v Martin Schindler
(10) Danny Noppert v Rob Cross
(3) Gian van Veen v Krzysztof Ratajski
(14) Wessel Nijman v Dave Chisnall
(6) James Wade v Jermaine Wattimena
(11) Ryan Searle v William O'Connor
1. Luke Littler
2. Luke Humphries
3. Gian van Veen
4. Michael van Gerwen
5. Jonny Clayton
6. James Wade
7. Gerwyn Price
8. Josh Rock
9. Stephen Bunting
10. Danny Noppert
11. Ryan Searle
12. Gary Anderson
13. Chris Dobey
14. Wessel Nijman
15. Ross Smith
16. Nathan Aspinall
Luke Woodhouse
Jermaine Wattimena
Kevin Doets
Andrew Gilding
Rob Cross
Krzysztof Ratajski
William O'Connor
Niko Springer
Niels Zonneveld
Martin Schindler
Ryan Joyce
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Cameron Menzies
Joe Cullen
Damon Heta
Dave Chisnall
The World Matchplay commences on Saturday, July 18 and ends on Sunday, July 26.
All nine days of the event will be shown live on Your Site, with coverage of the opening day commencing on Your Site+ at 7pm
