Littler headlines 2026 World Youth Championship line-up

Luke Littler will headline the 2026 Winmau World Youth Championship, the PDC has confirmed.

The world number one tops the line-up for an event staged across Wigan and Minehead.

Group games start on Monday at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, while the final is set for Sunday, November 29, at Butlin’s Minehead Resort.

Littler won the World Youth Championship in 2023.

He returns as top seed because he is world number one.

PDC confirms full field, seeding and official schedule

The PDC has now confirmed the full field, the seeding order and the schedule that will decide this year’s champion, with the governing body confirming the 128-player roster will include all age-qualified Tour Card Holders who accepted their invitation, plus 26 international representatives.

The remaining places will come from the final Development Tour Rankings once Events 21 to 24 finish in Wigan on October 3 and 4.

The group stage features 32 groups of four.

Each group has one seed, drawn from the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder and the Development Tour Rankings. The top two players in every group move into the knockout stage, which starts at the last 64.

World number one and former champion Luke Littler will headline the list of Tour Card Holders and International Qualifiers competing in next Monday’s Winmau World Youth Championship.

Group games are played over the best of nine legs.

Play begins at 11:30 BST on Monday at Robin Park Leisure Centre. The last 64 switches to a knockout format over the best of 11 legs, continuing through to the semi-finals on the same day.

The winner in Wigan will collect the £15,000 top prize when the final is played on Sunday, November 29, at Butlin’s Minehead Resort during the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals. Full details are set out in the PDC announcement.

Littler’s place in the line-up and what it means for the field

Littler is the top seed because of his world number one status. Sebastian Bialecki of Poland is seeded second, with Keane Barry of Ireland third.

The field also includes Jurjen van der Velde, Cam Crabtree, Charlie Manby, Owen Bates and Adam Gawlas. Lewis Cook, a 16-year-old from the JDC circuit, is also in the line-up.

Kaya Baysal, Archie Self and Ben Townley have stepped up to the Development Tour this year and all feature in Monday’s field.

Eleanor Cairns and Kyana Frauenfelder come in through the PDC Women’s Series rankings.

For more on his recent schedule, see our recent Luke Littler coverage.

Reigning two-time champion Gian van Veen will not return to defend his title. Beau Greaves and Yorick Hofkens have also chosen not to compete in Monday’s event.

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