World number one and former title‑holder Luke Littler will be the marquee name among the Tour Card Holders and International Qualifiers who will take part in the upcoming Winmau World Youth Championship on Monday. The tournament’s full roster of 128 competitors will be locked in once the Development Tour season wraps up this weekend, after Events 21 through 24 are contested in Wigan on 3–4 October. The 2026 edition of the World Youth Championship will unfold at the Robin Park Leisure Centre, with the round‑robin stage and the knockout rounds from the last 64 through to the semi‑finals all scheduled for Monday, 5 October.
For the best viewing experience, organisers recommend using the Chrome browser to access the video player. Littler, who pulled out of Players Championship events 29 and 30 after his loss at the World Series Finals in Amsterdam, effectively ended his chance of qualifying for the Minehead finals in November.
Nevertheless, he remains eligible to compete at the venue and will be a focal point of the youth event. The championship final is slated for Sunday, 29 November, at the Butlin's Minehead Resort, coinciding with the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals. The winner will claim a boosted top prize of £15,000.
The 128‑player field will comprise all age‑eligible PDC Tour Card Holders who accept the invitation, 26 international representatives, and the remaining slots will be filled by the highest‑ranked players on the final Development Tour Rankings. During the group stage, the competitors will be divided into 32 groups of four, each group containing one seeded player. Seedings are determined first by the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder and then by the Development Tour Rankings.
The two best performers from each group will progress to the knockout phase, which begins at the last‑64 stage. Again, Chrome is advised for optimal video playback. As the reigning World Youth Champion from 2023, Littler will be the top seed, reflecting his status as world number one.
He will be followed in the seeding order by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki and Ireland’s Keane Barry. Former runner‑up Jurjen van der Velde, who finished second in 2024, will also return, alongside notable names such as Cam Crabtree, Charlie Manby, Owen Bates and Czech representative Adam Gawlas. Among the younger talents, 16‑year‑old Lewis Cook from the Junior Darts Corporation (JDC) circuit will make his debut, while other rising stars like Kaya Baysal, Archie Self and Ben Townley have stepped up to the Development Tour this season.
From the PDC Women’s Series rankings, Eleanor Cairns and Kyana Frauenfelder will also be in the mix. Two‑time champion Gian van Veen will not be defending his title, and former runner‑up Beau Greaves as well as Yorick Hofkens have opted out of Monday’s competition. Match play will commence at 11:30 am on Monday at the Robin Park Leisure Centre.
Group‑stage encounters will be contested over the best of nine legs. The top two players from each group will then move on to the last‑64 round, which will be played in a knockout format over the best of eleven legs. The official program lists a long roster of participants, including age‑qualified Tour Card Holders such as Luke Littler, Sebastian Bialecki, Keane Barry, Cam Crabtree, Dominik Gruellich, Charlie Manby, Leon Weber, Tavis Dudeney, Adam Gawlas, Owen Bates, Jurjen van der Velde, and Tyler Thorpe.
International qualifiers will represent a wide array of nations: Germany’s Liam Maendl‑Lawrance and Mika Donnevert, Finland’s Mio Varila, Iceland’s Alexander Thorvaldsson, Denmark’s Daniel Kortbek, Australia’s Ky Smith, Bailey Marsh, Jayden Wedemeyer, Mitchel Beswick, New Zealand’s Jack Sheppard, Hunter Eyles, Zacarno King, USA’s Zachary Meeks and Conner Olson, Canada’s Liam McNeil and Benjamin Goddard, Gibraltar’s Craig Galliano, South Africa’s Hayden Moodley and Jason Britz, England’s Eleanor Cairns and Lewis Cook, the Netherlands’ Kyana Frauenfelder, China’s Jaichen Song and Zhijun Cui, Japan’s Hiroyuki Tanaka, the Philippines’ Duyana Decena, among others. Beyond the youth championship, Sky Sports continues to be the primary broadcaster for darts, covering major events such as the World Grand Prix (through 4 October), the Grand Slam of Darts (14‑22 November) and the World Darts Championship (10 December – 3 January).
Fans can also stream darts and additional sports content via the NOW platform without a contract, ensuring broad access to live action throughout the season.