2026 PDC Challenge Tour
The 2026 PDC Challenge Tour, known as the Winmau Challenge Tour for sponsorship reasons, is a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). A secondary tour to the 2026 PDC Pro Tour, it consists of 24 tournaments, held over four weekends of five events and one weekend of four events. The Challenge Tour, sponsored by Winmau, is the PDC's second-tier system for players who competed at the 2026 Qualifying Schools (Q-School) but did not win a PDC Tour Card.[1]
Order of Merit
[edit]Under PDC Order of Merit Rule 4.2, the Challenge Tour Order of Merit rankings are used to determine reserve players for Players Championship events up to 128 entries, when any of the 2026 Tour Card holders are not present.[2]
According to the PDC's Order of Merit rules, the 2026 Challenge Tour prizes are as follows:[2]
- The top two players on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, who have not obtained a PDC Tour Card via another method, win a two-year Tour Card for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.
- The top three players on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, who had not qualified via another method, qualified for places at the 2027 PDC World Championship.
- The highest ranked player on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit receives a spot at the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts.
- The players in the top 16 of the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, who have not obtained a PDC Tour Card before 2027 Q-School, are granted free entry to the final stage of Q–School.
- The eight highest ranked players from the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, who do not earn a Tour Card for the 2027 season, qualified for the first round of the 2027 UK Open.
| Rank | Player | Prize money |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Joe Hunt (ENG) | £12,750 |
| 2 |  Derek Coulson (WAL) | £9,550 |
| 3 | Tommy Lishman (ENG) | £7,900 |
| 4 | Daniel Ayres (ENG) | £6,750 |
| 5 | Tommy Morris (ENG) | £6,650 |
| 6 | Aden Kirk (ENG) | £5,500 |
| 7 | Christopher Wickenden (ENG) | £5,450 |
| 8 | Nathan Potter (ENG) | £5,400 |
| 9 | Jack Tweddell (ENG) | £5,350 |
| 10 | Harry Ward (ENG) | £5,050 |
| 11 |  Martijn Dragt (NED) | £4,950 |
| 12 | Henry Coates (ENG) | £4,650 |
| 13 |  Daniel Klose (GER) | £4,600 |
| 14 | Florian Preis (GER) | £4,200 |
| 15 | Jack Aldridge (ENG) | £4,200 |
| 16 | Levy Frauenfelder (NED) | £4,150 |
January
[edit]Challenge Tour 1
[edit]Challenge Tour 1 was contested on 16 January 2026 at the Arena MK in Milton Keynes. The tournament was won by Tommy Lishman, who defeated Tommy Morris 5–2 in the final.[4]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
| Nathan Potter 89.10
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Derek Coulson 93.98
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Derek Coulson 93.61
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Morris 90.72
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Jenson Walker 80.26
| 0 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Morris 107.36
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Morris 98.52
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Lishman 99.12
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Lewis Pride 91.73
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Jack Aldridge 90.86
| 1 | |||||||||||||
| Lewis Pride 88.10
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Lishman 92.41
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Luke Smith 80.39
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Lishman 92.18
| 5 | |||||||||||||
Challenge Tour 2
[edit]Challenge Tour 2 was contested on 16 January 2026 at the Arena MK in Milton Keynes. The tournament was won by Joe Hunt, who defeated José Justicia 5–2 in the final.[4]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
| Christopher Wickenden 90.64
| 4 | |||||||||||||
 Dylan Dowling 80.33
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Dylan Dowling 81.63
| 1 | |||||||||||||
| Joe Hunt 94.29
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Joe Hunt 93.75
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Jenson Walker 90.92
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Joe Hunt 99.49
| 5 | |||||||||||||
 José Justicia 90.20
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| José Justicia 79.59
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Jamie Kay 87.70
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| José Justicia 88.44
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Martijn Dragt 85.51
| 2 | |||||||||||||
 Scott Campbell 88.77
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Martijn Dragt 101.80
| 5 | |||||||||||||
Challenge Tour 3
[edit]Challenge Tour 3 was contested on 17 January 2026 at the Arena MK in Milton Keynes. The tournament was won by Joe Hunt, who defeated Arron Monk 5–2 in the final.[5]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
| Daniel Ayres 86.18
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Derek Coulson 82.73
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Derek Coulson 84.64
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Arron Monk 83.73
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Arron Monk 76.58
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Ryan Branley 76.57
| 1 | |||||||||||||
| Arron Monk 80.40
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Joe Hunt 88.04
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Alan Norris 88.90
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Cayden Smith 81.00
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Alan Norris 82.63
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Joe Hunt 89.92
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Steve Beaton 87.16
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Joe Hunt 85.10
| 5 | |||||||||||||
Challenge Tour 4
[edit]Challenge Tour 4 was contested on 17 January 2026 at the Arena MK in Milton Keynes. The tournament was won by Martijn Dragt, who defeated Scott Waites 5–3 in the final.[5]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
| Steve Lennon 93.94
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Daniel Smith 65.08
| 0 | |||||||||||||
| Steve Lennon 80.51
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Martijn Dragt 82.46
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Gary Jackson 93.64
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Martijn Dragt 94.29
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Martijn Dragt 88.23
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Scott Waites 88.38
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Scott Waites 96.16
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Danny Trueman 84.14
| 1 | |||||||||||||
| Scott Waites 91.31
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Simon Stevenson 87.53
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Keenan Thomas 87.69
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Simon Stevenson 93.94
| 5 | |||||||||||||
Challenge Tour 5
[edit]Challenge Tour 5 was contested on 18 January 2026 at the Arena MK in Milton Keynes. The tournament was won by Jack Tweddell, who defeated Steve Lennon 5–1 in the final.[6]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
| Steve Hine 79.25
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Jack Tweddell 82.77
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Jack Tweddell 88.51
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Jimmy Bristow 87.30
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Jimmy Bristow 73.40
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Ashley Coleman 75.13
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Jack Tweddell 85.68
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Steve Lennon 84.06
| 1 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Morris 82.45
| 1 | |||||||||||||
| Henry Coates 87.95
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Henry Coates 88.09
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Steve Lennon 94.68
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Graham Hall 82.20
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Steve Lennon 84.57
| 5 | |||||||||||||
April
[edit]Challenge Tour 6
[edit]Challenge Tour 6 was contested on 27 March 2026 at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester. The tournament was won by Derek Coulson, who defeated Oliver Mitchell 5–0 in the final.[7]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
| Andy Hamilton 92.34
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| James Howard Hughes 85.31
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Andy Hamilton 88.13
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Derek Coulson 99.99
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Derek Coulson 97.57
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Adrian Gray 93.82
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Derek Coulson 93.94
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Oliver Mitchell 77.88
| 0 | |||||||||||||
| Daniel Ayres 90.77
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Oliver Mitchell 91.40
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Oliver Mitchell 93.17
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Gilbert van der Meijden 85.93
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Gilbert van der Meijden 93.27
| 5 | |||||||||||||
 Michele Turetta 88.72
| 3 | |||||||||||||
Challenge Tour 7
[edit]Challenge Tour 7 was contested on 27 March 2026 at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester. The tournament was won by Daniel Klose, who defeated Callum Goffin 5–3 in the final.[8]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
| Daniel Klose 79.81
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Andy Courtney 80.97
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Daniel Klose 83.84
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Ben Townley 82.13
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Ben Townley 86.33
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Lishman 81.76
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Daniel Klose 87.88
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Callum Goffin 80.89
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| William Leonard 95.84
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Callum Goffin 100.91
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Callum Goffin 86.84
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Archie Self 91.96
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Jamai van den Herik 84.20
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Archie Self 96.29
| 5 | |||||||||||||
Challenge Tour 8
[edit]Challenge Tour 8 was contested on 28 March 2026 at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester. The tournament was won by Ted Evetts, who defeated Aden Kirk 5–4 in the final.[9]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
| Derek Coulson 93.94
| 5 | |||||||||||||
 Bruno Stöckli 80.42
| 0 | |||||||||||||
| Derek Coulson 93.05
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Ted Evetts 97.67
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Jack Aldridge 101.92
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Ted Evetts 102.89
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Ted Evetts 86.61
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Aden Kirk 84.98
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Aden Kirk 95.28
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Matthew Dennant 88.74
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Aden Kirk 94.61
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Graham Usher 90.93
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Graham Usher 83.03
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Michele Turetta 85.28
| 4 | |||||||||||||
Challenge Tour 9
[edit]Challenge Tour 9 was contested on 28 March 2026 at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester. The tournament was won by Florian Preis, who defeated Lewis Pride 5–4 in the final.[10]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
| Llew Bevan 84.12
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Danny Trueman 87.34
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Llew Bevan 77.62
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Aden Kirk 83.37
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Aden Kirk 91.78
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| James Beeton 82.91
| 1 | |||||||||||||
| Aden Kirk 87.85
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Florian Preis 86.71
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Lewis Pride 91.51
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Steve Haggerty 83.96
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Lewis Pride 79.22
| 1 | |||||||||||||
| Florian Preis 88.99
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Florian Preis 95.81
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Joe Hunt 95.32
| 1 | |||||||||||||
Challenge Tour 10
[edit]Challenge Tour 10 was contested on 29 March 2026 at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester. The tournament was won by Nathan Potter, who defeated Radek Szagański 5–1 in the final.[11]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
 Radek Szagański 95.84
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Harry Ward 92.34
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Radek Szagański 82.58
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Danny Goddard 75.57
| 0 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Lishman 90.54
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Danny Goddard 86.31
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Radek Szagański 83.50
| 1 | |||||||||||||
| Nathan Potter 101.13
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Nathan Potter 104.13
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Jack Aldridge 95.84
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Nathan Potter 98.88
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Derek Coulson 97.89
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Derek Coulson 88.41
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Keegan Brown 75.04
| 0 | |||||||||||||
May
[edit]Challenge Tour 11
[edit]Challenge Tour 11 was contested on 1 May 2026 at the Halle 39 in Hildesheim. The tournament was won by Levy Frauenfelder, who defeated Henry Coates 5–3 in the final.[12][13]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
| Harrison Leigh 83.71
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Kevin Troppmann 83.44
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Harrison Leigh 82.36
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Henry Coates 85.19
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Daniel Ayres 83.89
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Henry Coates 95.29
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Henry Coates 102.90
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Levy Frauenfelder 93.34
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Lishman 103.45
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| James Beeton 100.23
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Lishman 85.52
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Levy Frauenfelder 87.15
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Jack Tweddell 84.22
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Levy Frauenfelder 85.32
| 5 | |||||||||||||
Challenge Tour 12
[edit]Challenge Tour 12 was contested on 1 May 2026 at the Halle 39 in Hildesheim. The tournament was won by Harry Ward, who defeated Tommy Lishman 5–3 in the final.[12][14]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
| Paul Rowley 87.09
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Harry Ward 94.60
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Harry Ward 94.51
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Jack Aldridge 92.73
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Ashton Brown 85.90
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Jack Aldridge 98.77
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Harry Ward 89.80
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Lishman 84.69
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Joe Hunt 91.65
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Lishman 94.07
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Lishman 93.94
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Andy Courtney 86.80
| 0 | |||||||||||||
| Steve Hine 82.92
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Andy Courtney 84.94
| 5 | |||||||||||||
Challenge Tour 13
[edit]Challenge Tour 13 was contested on 2 May 2026 at the Halle 39 in Hildesheim. The tournament was won by Christopher Wickenden, who defeated David Evans 5–3 in the final.[15][16]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
| Liam Maendl-Lawrance 84.45
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Christopher Wickenden 86.90
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Christopher Wickenden 85.37
| 5 | |||||||||||||
 Patrick Tringler 86.49
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Stef Kosters 78.25
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Patrick Tringler 82.54
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Christopher Wickenden 87.54
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| David Evans 93.49
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| David Evans 83.50
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Joe Hunt 82.69
| 0 | |||||||||||||
| David Evans 93.93
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Gilbert van der Meijden 91.10
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Gilbert van der Meijden 89.16
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Marcel Hausotter 93.30
| 4 | |||||||||||||
Challenge Tour 14
[edit]Challenge Tour 14 was contested on 2 May 2026 at the Halle 39 in Hildesheim. The tournament was won by Joe Hunt, who defeated Tommy Morris 5–3 in the final.[15][17]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
| Nathan Potter 85.07
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Derek Coulson 84.12
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Derek Coulson 95.68
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Joe Hunt 88.33
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Joe Hunt 88.57
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Jamai van den Herik 83.53
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Joe Hunt 88.38
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Morris 80.52
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Owen Roelofs 86.81
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Morris 90.72
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Tommy Morris 92.31
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Finn Behrens 88.84
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Michele Turetta 73.13
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Finn Behrens 78.40
| 5 | |||||||||||||
Challenge Tour 15
[edit]Challenge Tour 15 was contested on 3 May 2026 at the Halle 39 in Hildesheim. The tournament was won by Daniel Ayres, who defeated Kevin Burness 5–3 in the final.[18][19]
| Quarter-finals (best of 9 legs) | Semi-finals (best of 9 legs) | Final (best of 9 legs) | ||||||||||||
| Radek Szagański 92.75
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Daniel Ayres 94.05
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Daniel Ayres 97.66
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Ricardo Ulrich 88.45
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Ricardo Ulrich 95.22
| 5 | |||||||||||||
 Pál Székely 91.89
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| Daniel Ayres 93.58
| 5 | |||||||||||||
 Kevin Burness 91.64
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Levy Frauenfelder 75.58
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Jake Eichen 75.87
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Jake Eichen 77.93
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| Kevin Burness 82.16
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Kevin Burness 91.96
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Aden Kirk 87.11
| 4 | |||||||||||||
Remaining schedule
[edit]| Tour No.(s) | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 16–17 | 14 August | Arena MK, Milton Keynes |
| 18–19 | 15 August | |
| 20 | 16 August | |
| 21–22 | 26 September | Robin Park Leisure Centre, Wigan |
| 23–24 | 27 September |
References
[edit]- ↑ "Winmau Challenge Tour". PDC. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- 1 2 "2026 PDC Rankings Rules, as of December 31 2025". PDC.
- ↑ "Challenge Tour Order of Merit 2026". DartsRankings.
- 1 2 Simpson, Will (16 January 2026). "Lishman and Hunt claim opening 2026 Challenge Tour titles". PDC. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
- 1 2 Simpson, Will (17 January 2026). "Hunt claims consecutive Challenge Tour titles as Dragt records maiden win". PDC. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
- ↑ Gorton, Josh (18 January 2026). "Tweddell doubles Winmau Challenge Tour title tally in MK". PDC. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
- ↑ Wagner, Connor (27 March 2026). "Coulson and Klose claim maiden Challenge Tour titles in Leicester". PDC. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- ↑ Wagner, Connor (27 March 2026). "Coulson and Klose claim maiden Challenge Tour titles in Leicester". PDC. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- ↑ Simpson, Will (28 March 2026). "Evetts and Preis bag Challenge Tour titles in Leicester". PDC.
- ↑ Simpson, Will (28 March 2026). "Evetts and Preis bag Challenge Tour titles in Leicester". PDC.
- ↑ Gorton, Josh (29 March 2026). "Potter powers to Winmau Challenge Tour ten title". PDC.
- 1 2 Gorton, Josh (1 May 2026). "Frauenfelder and Ward clinch Challenge Tour success in Hildesheim". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
- ↑ "PDC Challenge Tour 11". DartConnect. 1 May 2026. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
- ↑ "PDC Challenge Tour 12". DartConnect. 1 May 2026. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
- 1 2 Wagner, Connor (2 May 2026). "Wickenden and Hunt secure Challenge Tour titles in Hildesheim". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
- ↑ "PDC Challenge Tour 13". DartConnect. 2 May 2026. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
- ↑ "PDC Challenge Tour 14". DartConnect. 2 May 2026. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
- ↑ Ambage, Anthony (3 May 2026). "Ayres wins first Challenge Tour title in Hildesheim". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
- ↑ "PDC Challenge Tour 15". DartConnect. 3 May 2026. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
- ↑ "Tournament Calendar | PDC". www.pdc.tv. Retrieved 23 January 2026.