2026 Women's World Matchplay

Background

The 2026 Women's World Matchplay was the fifth edition of the tournament to be staged by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).^[1] It was the first women's event to be fully televised by the organisation, being introduced in 2022 as part of the PDC's expanded commitment to women's darts after the establishment of the PDC Women's Series.^[2][3] Fallon Sherrock, the first female player to win a match at the PDC World Darts Championship, won the inaugural edition by defeating Aileen de Graaf 6–3 in the final. This granted her qualification to the 2022 Grand Slam of Darts,^[4] although she was later granted a place at the 2023 World Championship as the Women's World Matchplay champion.^[5]

The 2026 edition took place on the afternoon of 26 July 2026 in the Empress Ballroom, located within the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, England.^[6] British bookmaker Betfred continued its sponsorship of the event, extending its partnership with the PDC to sponsor the main tournament and the women's equivalent until 2030.^[7] Lisa Ashton entered the tournament as defending champion, having defeated Fallon Sherrock 6–5 in the 2025 final to win her first World Matchplay title.^[8]

Format

The eight-played field was seeded into a tournament bracket based on the Women's World Matchplay Order of Merit. All matches were in leg play format, with the number of legs required to win increasing as the tournament progressed:^[9]

• Quarter-finals: Best of nine legs
• Semi-finals: Best of nine legs
• Final: Best of eleven legs

Prize money

The total prize fund was increased from £25,000 in 2025 to £40,000 in 2026.^[10] The winner received £15,000. The prize money breakdown was:^[11]

Quarter-finals

Top seed Beau Greaves began her campaign with a 5–1 victory over Kirsi Viinikainen, converting checkouts of 148 and 144 during the contest. Gemma Hayter won a deciding leg against Swedish debutant Vicky Pruim to achieve her first win at the tournament. Reigning champion Lisa Ashton hit a 120 checkout as she started her title defence by defeating Rhian O'Sullivan 5–2, closing out the match with her ninth match dart. The 2022 champion Fallon Sherrock was victorious in the last quarter-final, earning a whitewash victory over Deta Hedman without allowing the English debutant a dart at double.^[16][17]

Semi-finals

Beau Greaves was taken to a deciding leg by Gemma Hayter in the first semi-final. Hayter found a break of throw to level the match at 2–2, before hitting an 83 checkout for another break to take the match to a ninth leg. Greaves secured her place in the final by converting a 104 finish to win 5–4. In a rematch of the 2025 final, Fallon Sherrock avenged her loss to Lisa Ashton by eliminating the defending champion in a 5–1 victory, entering the final having lost just one leg.^[16][18]

Final

The final was contested by top seed Beau Greaves and third seed Fallon Sherrock, with the latter reaching her third consecutive final.^[18] It was a rematch of the 2024 final, which Greaves won 6–3.^[16] Sherrock broke Greaves' throw with an 87 checkout to take an early 2–1 lead, but Greaves responded with a 120 finish to break back. Greaves capitalised on missed doubles from Sherrock to pin double 2 in the eighth leg and go 5–3 ahead, one away from victory. However, Sherrock recorded an 11-dart break of throw and a 70 checkout to take the final to a deciding leg. The pair shared maximums in the title decider, before Greaves followed a 145 set-up shot with a 56 finish on double 10 to complete a 6–5 triumph.^[16][17][18] Greaves ended the match with a three-dart average of 88.63, compared to Sherrock's 87.84.^[19]

Greaves won the Women's World Matchplay for the third time in four years, adding to her back-to-back victories in 2023 and 2024.^[20] The win also guaranteed Greaves' qualification for the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts and the 2027 PDC World Darts Championship.^[17] Sherrock suffered her third consecutive final defeat, following losses to Greaves in 2024 and Lisa Ashton in 2025.^[16] In her post-match interview, Greaves said she was nervous due to the pressure of the final and that hitting the last dart was an "outpouring of relief" after her elimination the previous year.^[18] She also commented on balancing men's and women's darts, admitting that she felt "deflated" after her last Women's Series performances and that she was thinking about focusing on her work on the Pro Tour.^[21] "If somebody had said to me I'd get to the final, I'd have bitten their hand off," said Sherrock in defeat, who aimed to take the positives out of the tournament and focus on qualifying for the World Championship.^[17]