There are bigger tournaments in darts. There are richer tournaments. There are tournaments with considerably longer matches and far more television coverage.
But there can't be many quite like the Worthington's Champion of Champions, which takes place on Saturday 22nd August 2026
In Cardiff, 256 qualifiers will come together for one of grassroots darts' great annual shootouts. Every player has earned their place through a qualifying venue, there are no PDC Tour Card holders in the field, and eventually one player will emerge as the 2026 Champion of Champions.
The extraordinary part is how little time they have to prove themselves.
Every match is best of three legs.
First to two.
That's it.
You could arrive as one of the strongest players in the tournament, lose the bull, watch your opponent throw a 15-darter, miss one dart at double in the second leg and be packing the darts away a few minutes later.
Equally, you could arrive in Cardiff as one of the lesser-known qualifiers and genuinely believe you can beat anybody in the room.
That's what makes the Champion of Champions special.
And this year's provisional field looks absolutely fascinating.
From Price and Clayton to the Grassroots Stars of Today
Red Dragon relaunched the Champion of Champions in 2014 and its roll of honour tells you plenty about the quality required to win it.
Steve Degville won the first edition in 2014 before Gerwyn Price took the title in 2015. Jonny Clayton followed in 2016, Paul Hogan in 2017 and Ryan Searle in 2018.
Jim Williams became champion in 2019 before the competition's interruption, with Alec Small winning in 2022, Kurt Parry in 2023, Nick Kenny in 2024 and David Davies becoming the latest champion in 2025.
It's quite a list.
Price, Clayton and Searle subsequently became established names at the highest level of professional darts, while Williams and Kenny have also competed extensively within the PDC system.
But perhaps the most remarkable statistic is this:
Nobody has ever won it twice.
Ten completed tournaments. Ten different champions.
And there is another sequence on the line in Cardiff.
The last five completed editions have all produced Welsh champions: Jim Williams, Alec Small, Kurt Parry, Nick Kenny and David Davies.
Can Wales make it six?
With the tournament being staged in Cardiff and another huge Welsh contingent expected, there is every reason to think it can.
But in this format, expecting anything is dangerous.
The Modern News of the World?
The Champion of Champions is sometimes compared to the old News of the World Championship and it's easy to understand why.
Short-format darts creates a completely different test.
In a best-of-11 or best-of-19 match, the stronger player has time to recover from a poor leg. Over best of three, there is almost no margin for error.
One leg against throw can effectively decide the match.
One missed double can decide the match.
One 12 or 15-dart burst can decide the match.
Even winning the bull could become hugely significant.
To win a 256-player straight knockout tournament requires eight victories.
Eight best-of-three matches.
That potentially means a player could become Champion of Champions by winning just 16 legs of darts.
Of course, actually doing it is anything but easy.
You have to repeatedly deal with the pressure of knowing there is virtually no recovery time. You have to find doubles immediately. And you need to survive the inevitable match where your opponent suddenly produces their best darts of the day.
That's why simply looking at the rankings won't tell us who is going to win.
But they can tell us who arrives with a particularly interesting chance.
Stevenson Sets the Statistical Standard
Of the provisional qualifiers I've been able to match against the Q4QS database, Simon Stevenson is the highest-ranked player.
Stevenson sits at No.62 in the database with an overall average of 88.47 and has won seven of his last ten recorded matches.
More importantly, the numbers show the level he's capable of producing.
He won the Legends Darts Lounge UK Open Grand Final Qualifier with a 92.31 tournament average and has recorded notable victories in the database including a 98.82 average against John Mann. His recent Challenge Tour appearances also include a Last 64 run at Event 18 where he averaged 92.44 across the event.
In a conventional tournament, Stevenson would be one of the obvious favourites.
He still is here.
But Champion of Champions favourites come with a very large warning label.
Jim Williams Could Become the First Two-Time Champion
If history is the theme, Jim Williams might have the biggest story of all.
The 2019 champion is back and attempting to do something nobody has managed before.
Win it twice.
Williams remains one of the highest-quality players in the provisional field. He is ranked 209 in the Q4QS database but averages 87.17 overall, while his recent results demonstrate that his scoring remains extremely dangerous.
He reached a Vault final at Shooters Bar in Leominster with a 92.55 event average and has subsequently produced Challenge Tour event averages around the 89 mark.
There are players ranked above Williams in this field.
There aren't many I'd particularly want to draw against him in a first-to-two shootout.
If Williams wins, he doesn't merely take the 2026 title.
He breaks one of the tournament's great traditions.
Paul Hogan Is Flying
Then there is the 2017 champion.
Paul Hogan might sit only 471st in the current Q4QS rankings, but that ranking seriously understates the form in which he arrives.
His database record reads:
Last 10: 10 wins, 0 defeats.
Hogan recently won at the Wolversdene Club in Andover with an 87.02 event average and has been collecting titles and deep runs consistently. His recent five-event sequence includes three victories, another win at Burghfield and a semi-final.
Experience also counts for something in a format like this.
Hogan knows how to win the Champion of Champions because he's already done it.
Nine years later, could he become its first repeat winner?
On current form, it certainly isn't an outrageous suggestion.
Alec Small and Kurt Parry Chase History Too
Two more former champions arrive with outstanding recent numbers.
Alec Small, champion in 2022, is another player showing 10 wins from his last ten recorded matches.
His recent Vault results include an 88.04 winning average at the National Club in Wattsville, while his database numbers show repeated tournament victories rather than one isolated good performance.
Then comes 2023 champion Kurt Parry.
Parry has won nine of his last ten, recently won a Vault at Duffy's in Pontypridd and then reached another final at the Mile End Inn while averaging 86.48.
His overall Q4QS average of 81.61 doesn't put him alongside Stevenson and Williams for pure scoring, but that's precisely where this tournament becomes interesting.
Parry doesn't need to average 90 for eight matches.
He needs to win two legs at a time.
And he has already demonstrated that he knows exactly how to do that on Champion of Champions day.
What About the Defending Champion?
David Davies is another fascinating inclusion on the provisional qualifier list.
The defending champion has the opportunity to become the first player ever to successfully retain the title.
His wider database numbers aren't as eye-catching as some of the headline contenders, but that hardly matters when discussing a player who proved only 12 months ago that he can navigate this unique format.
There is no gradual settling into the Champion of Champions.
The defending champion gets exactly the same two-leg target as everyone else.
Survive, and move on.
The Q4QS Top 20
Among the provisional qualifiers matched to the Q4QS database, the leading 20 are:
| # | Player | Q4QS Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simon Stevenson | 62 |
| 2 | Keenan Thomas | 105 |
| 3 | Neil Wild | 136 |
| 4 | Graham Usher | 137 |
| 5 | Jim Williams | 209 |
| 6 | Chas Barstow | 241 |
| 7 | Johnny Haines | 307 |
| 8 | Dean Reynolds | 324 |
| 9 | Jamie Kelling | 360 |
| 10 | Martin Thomas | 417 |
| 11 | Stephen Cake | 423 |
| 12 | Paul Hogan | 471 |
| 13 | Mike Huntley | 516 |
| 14 | Chris Hurds | 518 |
| 15 | William Thomas | 547 |
| 16 | Jason Collins | 568 |
| 17 | Matt Dennant | 654 |
| 18 | Clive Langford | 671 |
| 19 | Nigel Prior | 685 |
| 20 | Alec Small | 691 |
That list itself demonstrates the depth.
Keenan Thomas has recently won a Vault event with an 86.29 average and has Challenge Tour experience. Graham Usher carries an 85.12 overall average and has been playing both Challenge Tour and ADC competition.
Chas Barstow has an 86.10 overall average, while Johnny Haines has won nine of his last ten and recently produced a 90.85 event average in a Vault victory.
And that's before we reach some of the most interesting form players in the entire tournament.
The Dangerous Outsiders
If you're looking for players capable of wrecking the predictions, Neil Wild immediately stands out.
Wild is 9-1 across his last ten matches in the database and has produced some extraordinary scoring. One recent tournament victory came with a 104.63 event average, including recorded match averages of 119.55, 104.51 and 100.31.
If anything approaching that Neil Wild turns up in Cardiff, nobody will want to see his name beside theirs.
Matt Dennant comes in at 9-1 and has been accumulating Vault titles. His recent results include multiple tournament victories and a recorded 104.86 match average.
Bryan Flew is another name I like in this format. He's 8-2 across his last ten and recently produced winning event averages of 88.39, 84.61 and 85.52 across a run of strong Vault performances.
Stephen Cake is in excellent form too. Cake is 8-2, recently won at the Junction Inn with an 85.15 average and has followed that with further titles and a final.
Mike Huntley brings a 9-1 recent record, while Alec McCready has the same last-ten record and has been collecting titles around Hereford and Leominster.
And don't overlook Gavin Sterio, also 9-1, or Dean Reynolds, whose recent 9-1 run includes victory at the Towy Sports Bar Open.
In a best-of-three tournament, those are exactly the sort of players who can suddenly find themselves five or six rounds deep.
Players to Watch
There are stories much further down the field as well.
Robbie Long's recent results include a nine-win unbeaten tournament at Hangar 61, while his database contains a 96.39 match average amongst his notable performances.
William Thomas deserves attention after winning all ten of his most recently recorded matches. His recent results include a tournament win, another final and a semi-final run at the Towy Sports Bar Open.
Kai Clark has Development Tour experience alongside strong grassroots results and is 8-2 in his last ten.
Clive Langford has also been winning, including success at the Out Out Bar UK Open Grand Finals, and has seven victories from his last ten recorded matches.
There will undoubtedly be others.
That's an important point with a tournament like this. Rankings tell us about what players have already achieved in the events captured by the database. They don't guarantee what happens when two players stand eight feet from a dartboard and race to two legs.
Can Wales Make It Six?
The Welsh dominance is difficult to ignore.
Five consecutive completed editions have been won by Welsh players.
The provisional field again contains enormous Welsh representation, including former champions Williams, Small, Parry and Davies alongside players such as Cake, Huntley, Flew, Sterio and a long list of dangerous qualifiers from across the country.
Home advantage doesn't guarantee anything.
But the sheer depth of Welsh grassroots darts means it would be no surprise whatsoever if the trophy remained in Wales.
The intriguing alternative is whether somebody from outside Wales can finally break the sequence.
Stevenson has the highest Q4QS ranking among the provisional qualifiers. Wild's recent numbers are frightening. Usher, Barstow, Haines, Hogan, Evans and Dennant provide serious opposition.
Wales may have the numbers.
It certainly doesn't have a monopoly on contenders.
Two Legs From Disaster – Eight Matches From Glory
That's ultimately why I love the Champion of Champions concept.
Imagine being the best player in a 256-player tournament and knowing that none of it matters if your opponent throws two brilliant legs.
Imagine being ranked well outside the leading contenders and knowing exactly the same thing works in your favour.
You don't have to beat Simon Stevenson over 19 legs.
You don't have to outscore Jim Williams for an hour.
You don't have to match Neil Wild's best tournament averages across an entire afternoon.
You have to beat whoever stands in front of you twice.
Then do it again.
And again.
Eight matches later, you're Champion of Champions.
The format creates jeopardy from the opening dart. It rewards nerve, doubling and the ability to produce your best darts immediately. There is almost no opportunity to play your way into a match.
That makes predicting a winner extraordinarily difficult.
But if I were building a shortlist from the provisional field and current Q4QS data, Simon Stevenson and Jim Williams have to be among the headline names, while the current form of Neil Wild, Paul Hogan, Johnny Haines, Alec Small, Kurt Parry, Lee Evans and Matt Dennant makes all of them extremely interesting.
Then there are another 200-plus players perfectly capable of making that prediction look ridiculous.
And that's the point.
The Red Dragon Champion of Champions has produced future PDC stars, established champions and grassroots heroes.
It has never produced a two-time winner.
Wales has won the last five.
And somewhere in Cardiff, among 256 qualifiers, there may be a player almost nobody is talking about who is only 16 winning legs away from becoming the 2026 champion.
In most major darts tournaments, saying almost anyone can win is a cliché.
At the Champion of Champions, it might actually be true.
