ADC Global Championship 2026: Van den Herik Takes the Title in Portsmouth
The ADC Global Championship rolled into the MODUS Live Lounge in Portsmouth on Sunday 1 November for eight days of relentless, high-quality darts. The field has grown to 128 players this year, all fighting for the trophy and a £20,000 prize, and this was no place for the faint-hearted. The group stages of previous years are gone. It was straight knockout from the first dart, with no safety net and no second chances.
Every player in that room earned their place the hard way, grinding through a full season on the Amateur Darts Circuit. There were no invites and no wildcards. Just hard-earned wins in pubs, leagues and ranking events, all leading to the same stage, where only one would take the title and join Devon Petersen (2024) and Jack Tweddell (2025) in the history books.
The biggest field yet!
The Global Championship has grown from 56 players to 128, which means 72 more players got to chase the title this year. The prize fund of £126,000 sends £20,000 to the champion, and nobody leaves empty-handed. Even a first-round exit pays £500, so every player who made the trip got something back for it.
ADC’s Scott Hunt said the expansion is “about creating more opportunity” and giving more players the chance to compete on a global stage. That showed in the draw, with players from the UK, Ireland and Europe lining up alongside qualifiers from Africa, Canada and Australia.
And you didn’t need a ticket to be part of it. Every session was live and free on Pluto TV, with a crowd in the room all week.
Results
Jamai van den Herik is crowned the 2026 ADC Global Champion
Instagram | @adcglobalchampionship
The 23-year-old Dutchman beat Neil Duff 9–5 in Sunday's final to win £20,000 and become the third name on the roll of honour, after Devon Petersen and Jack Tweddell. He recently booked his place at the 2026/27 PDC World Darts Championship, and he finished his amateur run with a title.
It was a win built over the whole week. He beat Sean Stessens 5–2 in round one and won a last-leg decider against Carl Wilson, 5–4. He then beat Rudie Van Staden 6–1 in the last 32. On finals day he beat Maxim Lemahieu 6–4 in the last 16, Kevin Lankhuizen 7–5 in the quarter-finals, Lewis Cook 8–2 in the semi-finals and Duff in the final. That was four matches in a day, and he won all four.
The final: Van den Herik 9–5 Duff
Source: YouTube | Modus Super Series - CHAMPION OF THE WORLD 🏆🌎 | Darts Highlights | ADC GLOBAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2026 FINAL
The final was best of 17 legs, first to nine, played on Sunday evening. Both men had already won three matches that day. Duff came in off a comeback against Callum Francis, winning the last four legs from 4–6 down. Van den Herik came in off an 8–2 semi-final win with a 98.11 average.
The gap opened up in the second half and Duff couldn't close it. Van den Herik won 9–5 with a 90.21 average to Duff's 86.22. Each of his four wins on the day came by at least two legs. Duff took £8,000 as runner-up.
| Round | Van den Herik | Duff |
|---|---|---|
| Last 16 | 6–4 v Maxim Lemahieu | 6–4 v Raymond Mulvey |
| Quarter-final | 7–5 v Kevin Lankhuizen | 7–1 v Dan Nicholls |
| Semi-final | 8–2 v Lewis Cook | 8–6 v Callum Francis |
| Final | 9–5 | 5–9 |
| Legs won – lost on the day | 30–16 | 26–20 |
Semi-finals
Van den Herik 8–2 Cook
Source: Instagram | @adcglobalchampionship
Cook earned his place. He beat Ricardo Ham and Adam Mould 5–3 in the early rounds, then beat Niek Tuik 6–4 in the last 16. In the quarter-finals he needed a deciding leg to beat Archie Self 7–6. Against Van den Herik he won two legs. The Dutchman averaged 98.11, the highest of the semi-finals and final, against Cook's 90.44. That 90.44 was only a point behind Francis's 91.43 in the other semi-final. Cook left with £4,000 for reaching the last four.
Duff 8–6 Francis
Source: Instagram | @adcglobalchampionship
This was the tighter semi-final. Duff had beaten Mulvey 6–4 and Nicholls 7–1, while Francis had come through two close ones, 6–5 and 7–5. Francis led 6–4, but Duff won the last four legs to win 8–6. Duff averaged 92.55 to Francis's 91.43. Francis took £4,000.
Quarter-finals
Source: Instagram | @adcglobalchampionship
The quarter-finals were best of 13 legs.
| Match | Score |
|---|---|
| Michael Wiles v Callum Francis | 5–7 |
| Neil Duff v Dan Nicholls | 7–1 |
| Jamai van den Herik v Kevin Lankhuizen | 7–5 |
| Lewis Cook v Archie Self | 7–6 |
Duff dropped just one leg against Nicholls, who had beaten Jack Drayton 6–5 in the last 16. Cook's 7–6 win over Self was the closest tie of the round. Van den Herik beat Lankhuizen 7–5, with averages of 84.74 and 77.16. Lankhuizen had beaten Chas Barstow 6–4 earlier in the day. Francis beat Wiles 7–5 after getting past Ashley Coleman 6–5 in the last 16.
How the tournament worked
There were no group stages this year. It was a 128-player straight knockout, so one loss ended your tournament.
| Round | Stage | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Last 128 | Best of 9 |
| 2 | Last 64 | Best of 9 |
| 3 | Last 32 | Best of 11 |
| 4 | Last 16 | Best of 11 |
| 5 | Quarter-finals | Best of 13 |
| 6 | Semi-finals | Best of 15 |
| 7 | Final | Best of 17 |
The Last 128 ran from Sunday 1 to Wednesday 4 November. The Last 64 was on Thursday 5 and Friday 6, and the Last 32 on Saturday 7. Everything from the Last 16 to the final was played on Sunday 8 November. There were 16 sessions across the week, split between afternoons and evenings.
Prize money
| Finish | Prize |
|---|---|
| Last 128 | £500 |
| Last 64 | £750 |
| Last 32 | £1,000 |
| Last 16 | £1,250 |
| Quarter-finals | £2,000 |
| Semi-finals | £4,000 |
| Runner-up | £8,000 |
| Winner | £20,000 |
How players qualified
There were several routes in, across the UK, Ireland, Europe and the rest of the world. New for 2026 are extra places for Regional Ranking Number Ones and spots from combined VAULT points across Series 14 to 18. The top two players in each region from that table qualified.
UK and Ireland
Source:UK & Ireland Qualification | ADC Global Championship
- Regional Title Holders and Regional Ranking Number Ones: 1 spot each
- Major winners: VAULT National Finals (winner and runner-up), UK & Ireland Classic (winner), Winmau Championship (winner)
- Combined VAULT points (Series 14 to 18): top 2 from each region, 22 spots
- UK Rankings: the top 5 players not already qualified
- Winmau Championship Tour: top 4 from the North table and top 4 from the South
- Ireland Championship Tour and WADC Winmau Championship Women's Tour: places for the top finishers
Europe
Source: Europe Qualification | ADC Global Championship
- European Major winners: 1 spot each
- Order of Merit: 16 spots
- European Tour places: 16 spots
- Further places through ADC qualifying events
Rest of the World
- Qualifiers from Africa, Canada and Australia
If a player qualified through more than one route, the spot passed to the next eligible player.
Watch and follow
Every session is free on Pluto TV, on any smart device or browser. Tickets for the later stages were also available for anyone who wanted to be in the room.
Red Dragon is proud to back the ADC and the amateur game. We'll keep sharing the key moments and stories from the Global Championship.
