2026 PDC Challenge Tour series


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. 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 but did not win a PDC Tour Card.

Order of Merit

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.
Under PDC Order of Merit Rule 6.9, the 2026 Challenge Tour prizes are as follows:
  • 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.
RankPlayerPrize money
1£6,450
2£4,100
3£3,350
4£3,200
5£3,200
6£3,200
7£2,350
8£2,100
9£2,100
10£2,000
11£1,600
12£1,500
13£1,450
14£1,350
15£1,300
16£1,200

January

Challenge Tour 1

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.

Challenge Tour 2

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.

Challenge Tour 3

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.

Challenge Tour 4

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.

Challenge Tour 5

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.