The Dates: A Sunday Final for the First Time
The 2026/27 edition runs for just over three weeks, from Friday 11 December through to Sunday 3 January, with the tournament’s usual break over Christmas between 24 and 27 December. The final falling on a Sunday is itself a first for the modern World Championship era at Ally Pally, where the showpiece match has traditionally been a New Year’s Day or midweek evening fixture.
Why the Move to the Great Hall Matters
Every previous World Championship at Alexandra Palace has been staged in the venue’s main auditorium, capped at around 3,200 spectators per session. From 2026/27, the tournament switches to Ally Pally’s Great Hall, which holds more than 5,200 fans — an increase of over 60% per session. Across the full three-week run, that takes the total number of tickets available to a record 180,000, comfortably the biggest capacity the World Championship has ever offered.
The switch follows the PDC and Alexandra Palace agreeing in December 2025 to extend their partnership through to at least 2031, a deal that was reported at the time to have resolved the practical obstacles that had previously kept the World Championship out of the Great Hall. This week’s announcement confirms that move is now going ahead for this December.
Tickets Move to a Ballot System
With demand for tickets consistently outstripping the old venue’s capacity, the PDC is switching to a ballot for the first time rather than a straightforward on-sale. PDCTV annual members get first access, with their ballot window running from Tuesday 1 September to Monday 7 September. The general public ballot then follows, open from Tuesday 8 September to Monday 14 September.
Even with the Great Hall’s bigger capacity, a ballot rather than a first-come, first-served sale suggests the PDC still expects demand to outstrip supply for the more popular sessions — particularly the run-up to Christmas and the closing days of the tournament.
What Stays the Same
The format itself is unaffected by the venue change: 128 players will still contest the tournament, combining the top 32 seeds from the Order of Merit with ProTour qualifiers and international representatives from PDC Asia, PDC Nordic & Baltic, PDC Oceania, PDC Americas and national qualifying events. For the full breakdown of every route into the field, see our guide on how to qualify for the PDC World Darts Championship.