Jurjen van der Velde and Nitin Kumar are among the latest 2026/27 Paddy Power World Darts Championship international qualifiers, with 12 more players earning a spot at the sport’s biggest event in the last three weeks. Twenty-five of the 48 international qualifiers for Alexandra Palace have now been confirmed, with Van der Velde one of […]
Jurjen van der Velde and Nitin Kumar are among the latest 2026/27 Paddy Power World Darts Championship international qualifiers, with 12 more players earning a spot at the sport’s biggest event in the last three weeks.
Twenty-five of the 48 international qualifiers for Alexandra Palace have now been confirmed, with Van der Velde one of three names to secure his place through the Development Tour.
The former World Youth Championship runner-up finished second on the final Development Tour standings to confirm his return to north London, and will one joined by Cam Crabtree and Jamai van den Herik.
Crabtree – who will play in this year’s World Youth Championship final in November after defeating Luke Littler in a last-leg decider – secured an Alexandra Palace return after finishing third on the Development Tour rankings.
Van den Herik also returns for a second Ally Pally appearance after finishing fourth in the standings.
Since Sebastian Bialecki, this year’s Development Tour topper, is certain to feature as a ProTour qualifier at the World Championship, his place is passed down to Van den Herik.
The 2026 Challenge Tour also wrapped up on September 27, producing a similar situation due to first-place Joe Hunt’s excellent outings on the ProTour.
Hunt is set to feature as a ProTour qualifier after some excellent performances on the Players Championship circuit this year, allowing all three of Derek Coulson, Tommy Morris and Daniel Klose to make their debuts in December.
Coulson and Morris finished second and third respectively on the Challenge Tour rankings to star in maiden Ally Pally campaigns, while Germany’s Klose will feature after fishing fourth.
Kumar – who became the first Indian player to win on the Alexandra Palace stage last year – will return after winning through the IDC Indian Qualifier.
India’s premier player won two of the three qualifiers to book his place in a sixth successive World Championship this December.
Motomu Sakai was confirmed as the Steel Darts Japan Champion, despite an incredible late effort from Ryusei Azemoto.
As Sakai was already assured of an Alexandra Palace spot after finishing second on the PDC Asian Tour rankings, his qualification spot is passed down to seventh-ranked Man Lok Leung.
Hong Kong’s former World Cup of Darts quarter-finalist memorably defeated Gian van Veen at the 2023/24 World Championship, and will now feature in the sport’s flagship event for a third time in December.
Carl Wilson battled through the UK & Ireland Tour Card Holder & Associate Member Qualifier to seal a World Championship debut, defeating Republic of Ireland’s Shane McGuirk 7-4 in the final.
Daniel Larsson and Cor Dekker will return to Alexandra Palace, after finishing first and second respectively on the PDC Nordic & Baltic ProTour.
Larsson showed incredible consistency in the circuit, reaching the quarter-finals or better in eight of the 12 events, and his reward for topping the rankings is a fifth Ally Pally appearance. Dekker, meanwhile, scooped two titles to finish second.
Finally, David Munyua triumphed in the African Darts Group Northern African Qualifier in September to confirm his return to the World Championship.
Munyua became the first Kenyan to both play and win at Alexandra Palace after a historic 3-2 comeback win over Mike De Decker last December, and he survived a match dart against Evans Njuguna in the final before triumphing in a last-leg decider to ensure his return.
A further eight names will secure their World Championship qualification in October, with four qualifiers from the PDC Women’s Series set to be confirmed on October.
The CDC Top Ranked American & Canadian will also seal Ally Pally spots on October 18, with the ANZ Premier League and Hungarian Super League winners earning World Championship call-ups on October 31.