The last six places at the 2026 WDF World Championships were decided at Lakeside on Sunday, completing the 90-player field for the tournament at the Iconic Lakeside Country Club from 27 November to 6 December.
Six players came through the last-chance qualifier: two in the Open, two in the Open Youth and one each in the Women’s and Girls events. They join the 84 players already qualified through the ranking season, regional race tables, major winners and the Las Vegas qualifier in July.
Open: Lewis and Van der Wal make their debuts
Paul Lewis came close to booking a first World Championship appearance through the rankings, and sealed the deal in the qualifier. ‘Big Top’ beat Antony Allen 6-1 in the semi-final, hitting two maximums and a match-winning 93 finish.
The other Open place went to Jitse van der Wal, who also makes his World Championship debut. ‘The Frisian Viking’ whitewashed Kevin Cottiss 6-0 in the final, with an 11-darter and four 140s along the way. The Dutchman takes the last place in the 48-player Open field.
Women’s: Holden takes the remaining place
Kim Holden won the one Women’s place with a 6-3 victory over Paige Pauling in the final, throwing five 140s in the process.
She takes the 24th and final spot in the Women’s field, which is headed by defending champion Deta Hedman.
Youth: Ennis and Wiltshire complete the field
Christian Ennis claimed the first Youth spot, averaging 84.61 in a 5-3 win over Scotland’s Owen Bryceland. The Northern Irishman had been a semi-finalist at Saturday’s Lakeside Open, going out 4-3 to Kyano Helsdingen after averaging 93.94 in his quarter-final.
Cori Wiltshire took the second and final Youth place, edging James Wright 5-4 in a deciding leg after Wright fought back. The pair fill the last two places in the 12-player Youth field, led by reigning champion Mitchell Lawrie.
Girls: Allen Returns
Rebecca Allen sealed her return to Lakeside for a second World Championship appearance, beating Olivia Heaton 5-2 in the final. The former Girls World Master hit a maximum and eight 100-plus scores. Heaton had won Saturday’s Girls title and had beaten Allen 3-2 in the semi-finals there.
She joins a six-player Girls field headed by Paige Pauling and Macy Gibbons, with reigning champion Zehra Gemi also in the mix.
The Field and the Draw
Lawrie tops the Open seeds as well as the Youth, with Jenson Walker, Dutch Open winner Paul Krohne and USA’s Leonard Gates making up the top four. Matthew Edgar (Hungarian Masters), Chris Lim (World Masters) and Saturday’s Lakeside Open runner-up Lewis Gurney also feature.
The draw will be made on Tuesday 3 November, conducted by WDF Secretary-General Nick Rolls, S4C presenter Sioned Dafydd and former Lakeside World Champion Scott Mitchell. It will be broadcast on the WDF YouTube channel at 7pm.
See the complete 2026 WDF World Championship lineup at dartswdf.com/news/2026-wdf-world-championships-fields
