Isle of Man International Darts Festival returns for anniversary year

Event has welcomed top names in the sport in previous decades

Top darts players from the Isle of Man, UK and further afield are set to take part in the 2026 Isle of Man International Darts Festival which gets underway later today (5 March).

Taking place from today until Sunday (5-8 March) at the Villa Marina in Douglas, the event features four World Darts Federation-ranked events and an overall prize pot of around £34,000.

What's more, this year marks the 40th anniversary of the festival which over the years has welcomed some of the top names in the sport including Phil Taylor, Eric Bristow, Luke Littler and Beau Greaves.

Chairman of England Darts, Tommy Thompson explains why this tournament holds a special place on the organisation's calendar each year:

The festival consists of four main tournaments for male and female participants - the Isle of Man Open; Isle of Man Classic; Isle of Man Masters and Isle of Man Youth.

The Isle of Man Open is a gold-ranked WDF event whilst the Classic and Youth competitions are silver-ranked and the Masters bronze-ranked.

For those who win the Open, they qualify to take part in the WDF World Championships at the iconic Lakeside Country Club which will be held later this year from 27 November to 6 December.

For spectators, the festival will be free to attend.

Further information on the schedule is available below and also at www.isleofmandartsfestival.com

2026 Isle of Man International Festival of Darts

Thursday, 5 March (Doors open from 5.30pm, competition starts from 7.30pm)

IoM Classic Open & Ladies Classic

Open Singles

Friday, 6 March (Doors open from 10.30am, competition starts from 12pm)

IoM Masters Open & Ladies Masters Singles

IoM Mixed Triples Open

Saturday, 7 March (Doors open from 8.30am, competition starts from 10.30am)

IoM Open & Ladies Open Singles

Youth Classic

Sunday, 8 March (Doors open from 8.30am, competition starts from 10am)

IoM Men's & Ladies Open Pairs

Stage Finals