PDC Announce Major World Darts Championship Rule Change That Will Delight Fans

The PDC have announced a new agreement ahead of next year's World Darts Championship.

The 2026 World Darts Championship will resume after a three-day Christmas break with play at the Ally Pally set to resume on Saturday.

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries have safely made their way to the third round, as well as Michael van Gerwen and Stephen Bunting.

But several seeds have already been eliminated, including Cameroon Menzies, who smashed up the water table following his defeat to Charlie Manby, and Danny Noppert, who lost to Justin Hood.

Not to mention Mike De Decker, who fell at the first round to Kenya's David Munyua in what was one of the biggest shocks in World Darts Championship history.

Munyua beat De Decker 3-2 in a thrilling clash before being dumped out of the competition by Kevin Doets.

David Munyua beat Mike De Decker in a huge upset at the World Darts Championship. Image: Getty

The 30-year-old was the first Kenyan to feature at the World Darts Championship and had never visited England before doing so for this competition.

And he had secured money from sponsors to make the trip to London from Nairobi.

His victory on darts' biggest stage was a big win not only for himself but for the whole of Africa as the PDC have confirmed that they will get two qualifiers for the 2027 World Darts Championship.

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The PDC confirmed its commitment to the global development of darts with the announcement of a £3million-plus investment in its Global Affiliate Tours from 2026 to 2028.

Darts across Africa will be boosted by a new agreement with the African Darts Group, which will see the African Continental Tour feature six R50,000 events each across the Northern and Southern regions respectively and will increase to featuring two World Darts Championship qualifiers from the 2026/27 event.

The PDC have confirmed Africa will get two qualifiers for next year's World Darts Championship. Image: Getty

PDC Chief Executive Matt Porter said: "This announcement gives our global partners certainty for the next three years but also a platform to continue growing the sport across their regions.

"The success Kenya's David Munyua and India's Nitin Kumar in being their nation's first winners on the World Championship stage and with Jesus Salate becoming the first Argentinian player in the event will only inspire more players from around the world and there is now a defined route for these players to gain more big-stage experience."