What Darts Do Pros Use in 2026? Player Setups Revealed

Knowing what darts do pros use in 2026 is useful because it shows you the equipment that works at the highest level. You should not copy a professional’s setup blindly – their throw is different from yours. But understanding the patterns in their equipment choices helps you make smarter decisions about your own. When most of the top PDC players throw between 21g and 24g, that tells you something about what works.

TheDartScout has compiled the current setups of the top PDC players for 2026. This isn’t a list of signature dart reviews – it’s an analysis of what they actually throw, why they chose it, and what you can learn from it.

What Do the Top PDC Players Throw in 2026?

Here are the current setups for the top PDC players. Data is from manufacturer specs and tournament records.

Player	Weight	Brand	Tungsten	Barrel Style
Luke Littler	23g	Target	90%	Front-weighted, Swiss Point system
Luke Humphries	22g	Red Dragon	90%	Front-weighted torpedo, multi-ring grip
Michael van Gerwen	21.5g	Winmau	90%	Straight, slim profile
Gerwyn Price	24g	Red Dragon	90%	Straight, shark fin groove pattern
Gary Anderson	23g	Unicorn	90%	Phase 6 Duo, dual grip zones
Peter Wright	22g	Red Dragon	90%	Various – changes frequently
Rob Cross	21g	Target	90%	Voltage, straight slim profile, radial grooves
Jonny Clayton	22g	Red Dragon	90%	Precision-milled grip zones
Dave Chisnall	22g	Harrows	90%	Chizzy signature, ring grip

The pattern is clear. Every player on this list throws 90% tungsten. Weight ranges from 21g (Rob Cross) to 24g (Gerwyn Price), with the majority sitting at 22-23g. Front-weighted barrels are the most common, but straight barrels have a strong minority – van Gerwen, Price, and Cross all throw them. The three dominant brands are Target, Red Dragon, and Winmau, with Unicorn and Harrows also represented.

Why Do Most Pros Throw 21-24g?

This weight range represents the sweet spot between momentum and control. Darts below 20g don’t carry enough energy to penetrate the board reliably at the speed professionals throw. Darts above 26g are harder to group tightly because the increased weight amplifies small release errors.

Within the 21-24g range, the choice is personal. Lighter darts (21-22g) suit faster, more direct throws. Players like Rob Cross and Michael van Gerwen throw with a quick, flat action and prefer lighter darts that match their tempo. Heavier darts (23-24g) suit slower, more deliberate throws. Gerwyn Price throws with more force and uses the extra weight to stabilise the dart through a longer flight path.

Luke Littler’s 23g choice is interesting because it sits right in the middle. His throw is fast but smooth, and the 23g weight gives him the momentum of a heavier dart without the slower flight of 24g+. For weight selection advice, see our dart weight guide.

Why Do All Pros Use 90% Tungsten?

Every player in the table above throws 90% tungsten. The reason is barrel diameter. At 90% tungsten, a 23g barrel can be machined to roughly 6.0-6.5mm in diameter. At 80% tungsten, the same weight produces a barrel closer to 7.0-7.5mm. That extra millimetre matters when you’re trying to fit three darts into the treble 20 bed, which is only about 8mm deep.

The difference between 90% and 95% tungsten is smaller – a fraction of a millimetre in diameter for the same weight. Some pros use 95% (Josh Rock’s Mission signature darts come in a 95% version, for example), but the majority stick with 90% because it’s slightly more durable and cheaper to manufacture. The barrel thinness at 90% is already sufficient for world-class grouping. For the full material comparison, see 80 vs 90 vs 95 tungsten.

What Barrel Shapes Do Pros Prefer?

The torpedo (front-weighted) barrel is the most common shape on the professional circuit. Players like Luke Humphries and Luke Littler use barrels where the widest point is in the front third and the barrel tapers toward the back. This pushes the centre of gravity forward, which helps the dart fly point-first with minimal wobble.

Gerwyn Price is the best-known exception – he uses a straight barrel with shark fin grooves, as do Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross with their own slim straight designs. Straight barrels have a uniform diameter and a more centred balance point. Price grips further back on his barrel and throws with a distinctive snap release that suits the even weight distribution. Gary Anderson uses a design with dual grip zones that sits between torpedo and straight.

Peter Wright deserves special mention because he changes his darts constantly – sometimes between matches, sometimes between legs. He has used dozens of different barrels over his career. While entertaining, this approach isn’t recommended for most players. Stable equipment builds a stable throw. For barrel shape details, see dart barrel shapes.

Player Spotlight: How Three Champions Set Up Their Darts

Looking at what darts do pros use in 2026 at the individual level reveals how much personalisation matters even within the narrow spec range.

Luke Littler – the new generation

Littler’s Target signature darts weigh 23g with a front-weighted 90% tungsten barrel. The barrel uses Target’s Swiss Point system, so points can be swapped without changing barrels, and he pairs it with Target’s K-Flex integrated flight-and-shaft system in the No.6 shape. His setup is remarkably conventional for someone who has redefined the sport’s age expectations. For the full breakdown, see what darts Luke Littler uses.

What stands out is how balanced his setup is. The 23g weight sits dead centre of the pro range. The front-weighted barrel is the most popular shape on tour. There is nothing experimental about his equipment. The brilliance is in his throw, not his darts.

Michael van Gerwen – the veteran’s refinement

MVG’s Winmau darts are among the lightest on tour at 21.5g. His barrel is slim and straight, built for speed rather than front-loaded balance. Van Gerwen throws with one of the fastest actions in professional darts – a quick, whipping motion that generates enormous velocity. The light weight matches this speed. A heavier dart at his throwing speed would fly too far and too flat.

His signature models have been refined over the years rather than reinvented – the slim, light straight profile has stayed the constant. He won his three World Championships (2014, 2017, and 2019) with that same basic approach. This is the strongest argument for finding your setup and committing to it. The equipment isn’t the variable.

Gerwyn Price – the outlier

Price’s 24g Red Dragon darts are heavier than most of his rivals’ setups, and his straight barrel sets him apart from the torpedo-heavy majority. The shark fin groove pattern is aggressive – deep V-shaped channels cut at regular intervals. Price grips the barrel firmly and throws with a snap release from the back of the barrel. The heavier weight and rear grip create a different flight dynamic from the front-weighted throws of his rivals.

Price proves that the torpedo-front-weighted consensus isn’t a rule. It’s a preference shared by most players. If your throw is different – if you grip further back, if you throw with more force, if you prefer a centred balance – a straight barrel at 24g is equally valid. Barrel shape is the specification that most changes how a dart feels in the hand, which is why it’s worth trying several before you buy.

How Do Pros Choose Their Darts?

Knowing what the pros throw is only half the picture. The more useful lesson is how they got there. A professional setup is usually the end result of a long testing process with the player’s sponsor, and the order in which pros make their decisions is something any player can copy.

Grip comes first. Where your fingers sit on the barrel dictates everything else. A player who holds the front of the barrel suits a front-weighted torpedo, because the weight sits under the fingers. A player who grips further back, like Gerwyn Price, suits a straight barrel with a centred balance point. Trying to change your grip to fit a barrel you like the look of is the most common selection mistake. See dart grip styles to identify yours.

Shape, then weight. With the grip settled, pros compare barrel shapes and then weights in small steps, usually a gram at a time, judging each one over long practice sessions rather than a handful of throws. Throw speed matters here: fast, flat throwers like van Gerwen and Cross sit at the lighter end of the range, while players who throw with more force, like Price, go heavier. A weight that feels fine for 20 minutes can also cause forearm fatigue over a long session, so the right test is your longest typical session, not your warm-up.

Texture next. Grip pattern is the most personal choice of all. Aggressive knurl or deep grooves give maximum hold but can snag on release. Evenly spaced rings give a repeatable finger position. Light texture gives the cleanest release, which suits players with a firm grip or sweaty hands.

Shafts, flights, and points last. These are tuned to the barrel rather than chosen on their own. A front-weighted barrel needs less flight drag than a straight one, so picking flights before the barrel means tuning for a dart you may not keep. For how the pieces interact, see how flights and shafts affect your throw.

Sponsors build to the player’s spec. When a player signs with a manufacturer, the brand produces prototypes to the player’s requirements and refines them from feedback. That’s why a signature model generally mirrors the barrel the player throws on stage – the manufacturer has every reason to get it right.

How to copy the pro selection process

1. Identify your grip before you buy anything. Hold a pen as if you were about to throw it and note where your fingers sit.
2. Buy one set and commit. Choose a barrel shape that suits that grip at 22-23g, the middle of the pro range, and throw it for a month without changing anything. That gives you a baseline.
3. Change one variable at a time – weight, shaft length, or flight shape – and give each change at least a week. Change three things at once and you’ll never know which one helped.
4. Test under match conditions. A barrel that groups well on treble 20 in relaxed practice can feel different when you need double 16 to win a leg. Play 501 legs and doubles practice with it before you decide.
5. Stop changing. Once each component feels right, commit to the setup for the season. Pros separate a testing phase from a competition phase, and you should too.

You don’t need to test dozens of barrels to find a good match. Try at least three shapes in your weight range – a shop with try-before-you-buy boards, or an online retailer with a returns policy, makes this easy – and settle on the one that feels most natural. The brand on the barrel matters far less than the shape and weight: at the same tungsten percentage, the main differences between brands are grip pattern, finish, and point system.

How to Build a Pro-Spec Setup on a Budget

You don’t need to buy a signature model to match professional specifications. Here is how to build a pro-equivalent setup for under £30 (~$40).

The barrel does most of the work. The shafts and flights are cheap consumables. This setup matches the core specifications of what the top PDC players throw. The difference between this and a signature model is mostly cosmetics, branding, and point systems – not playing performance. For barrel recommendations, see barrel shapes.

What Flights and Shafts Do Pros Use?

Flights and shafts get less attention than barrels, but professionals are just as careful about their choices.

Flights: standard-shaped flights are common at the top of the game – Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, and Gerwyn Price all use them – while others, like Littler, use a slightly different shape. Slim flights are rarer at elite level because the reduced drag makes the dart more sensitive to release errors. Flight thickness is typically 100 or 150 micron. For flight options, see how to choose dart flights.

Shafts: short and medium lengths dominate. Extra-short shafts are rare because they position the flight too close to the barrel and cause excessive deflection when grouping tightly. Long shafts are also rare because they create a longer overall dart that can feel unwieldy at professional throwing speeds. Nylon and aluminium are both common, and integrated flight-and-shaft systems like Target’s K-Flex are used by some top players. For shaft options, see how to choose dart shafts.

Point systems: Target’s Swiss Point system is used by several top players, including Littler and Cross. This system allows screw-in point replacement, so players can change point length or texture between matches without changing barrels. For point options, see dart point types.

What Can You Learn from Professional Setups?

The pro data shows clear patterns. These are useful for choosing your own equipment.

The weight cluster is narrow. Despite having access to any weight up to the 50g limit, every player in the table above throws between 21g and 24g. That range has been proven at the highest level. If you’re unsure about weight, start within this range.

90% tungsten is the standard, not 95% or 97%. Higher percentages offer marginally thinner barrels but at higher cost and with slightly more brittleness. The professionals who could have any percentage free of charge choose 90% because the performance-to-durability balance is optimal.

Front-weighted barrels dominate. This isn’t a coincidence. A forward centre of gravity helps the dart fly point-first, which reduces wobble and produces tighter grouping. If you have not tried a torpedo barrel, it’s worth experimenting with one.

Grip patterns vary more than any other spec. This is the most personal element. Some pros want aggressive knurl (Price), others want precision-milled grooves (Humphries), others want dual-zone designs (Anderson). No two pros have exactly the same grip preference. This is the component where copying a pro is least useful – your grip is unique to your hands. See dart grip styles for how to find yours.

Copy the specifications, not the player. A 22g, 90% tungsten torpedo barrel is a proven template. But the grip pattern, shaft length, and flight shape need to match YOUR throw, not theirs.

How Much Do Professional-Grade Darts Cost?

Signature models from the big brands are premium products, and the flagship editions are priced accordingly. Target lists its Luke Littler G1 World Champion Swiss Point set from £99.95, and Red Dragon’s Gerwyn Price Iceman range starts at around £70. Cheaper signature lines exist, but the models the players actually throw on stage sit at the top of each brand’s range.

You don’t need to buy a signature model to get the same specifications. The same brands sell non-signature 90% tungsten darts in the 21-24g range for much less. You’re paying a premium for the player’s name, finish, and point system on the signature models, not for a better-flying dart. For the best value tungsten darts, see our tungsten vs brass comparison which covers entry-level tungsten options.

What Boards Do the Pros Play On?

PDC events are played on Winmau boards. Since January 2026, stage events such as the World Championship and Premier League use the new Winmau Blade X, and floor events such as the Players Championships use the Blade 360, according to the PDC. Before that, PDC events were played on the Blade 6 Triple Core for four years. For home practice, a Blade 6 is close enough to the stage boards for almost every player and costs less – see our Winmau Blade 6 review for which version to buy.

The Blade 6 uses thin blade-wire dividers with no staples, which leaves fewer hard edges for a point to strike and cuts bounce-outs compared with older round-wire boards. For most players, a Blade 6 is the last bristle board they will ever need to research. For the full board comparison, see best dartboard for home.

The WDF (World Darts Federation) and BDO-era tournaments have used various boards including the Unicorn Eclipse series. These are also excellent competition boards with similar blade-wire technology. The key takeaway is that all professional darts is played on premium blade-wire bristle boards. No professional tournament uses electronic boards, round-wire boards, or any board with staples. For the board type comparison, see electronic vs bristle dartboard.

What About Women’s Professional Darts?

The women’s professional circuit has grown rapidly. Fallon Sherrock, Beau Greaves, and Lisa Ashton are among the most prominent players, and their equipment follows the same patterns as the men’s game: tungsten barrels in the low-20s gram range.

Beau Greaves, for example, throws 23g Target darts. The equipment doesn’t differ by gender – it differs by individual throw characteristics.

What darts do pros use in 2026 is the same question regardless of the circuit. The answer is the same: 90% tungsten, narrow weight range, front-weighted barrels, quality blade-wire boards.

Do Pros Change Their Darts Often?

Less than you might think. Most professionals find a barrel weight and shape that works and stick with it for years. They replace flights every few days, shafts every few weeks, and occasionally adjust point length. But the barrel itself – the core of the dart – stays the same.

When pros do change, it’s usually because their sponsor releases a new model or because they are working through a form slump and want a fresh feel. Even then, a new signature model is usually a refinement of the old one rather than a different dart.

The lesson is consistency. Find darts that work, then stop looking. Practice and technique improvement will do more for your game than any equipment change. The pros who win the most titles are the ones who settled on their setup earliest and spent the most time practising with it. Phil Taylor used the same basic barrel design for well over a decade. The equipment becomes invisible – it’s just an extension of the throw. That should be your goal too. The only reason to change barrels is if something fundamental about your throw changes – a grip adjustment, a weight preference shift, or a barrel that’s physically worn out. For barrel maintenance, see how to re-grip a dart barrel. For practice routines that build consistency, see how to practice darts alone and consistent dart throw.

Shaft and flight changes are more frequent than barrel changes, but even these tend to settle into a pattern. For equipment maintenance to keep your current darts performing, see how to clean tungsten darts and how to re-grip a dart barrel.

Frequently Asked Questions

What weight darts does Luke Littler use?

Luke Littler uses 23g Target darts with 90% tungsten barrels. His signature models are front-weighted and use Target’s Swiss Point system, allowing interchangeable point lengths. For his full setup, see what darts Luke Littler uses.

Do pros use the same darts they sell to the public?

Yes, in most cases. The signature models available in shops are the same specifications the player uses on stage. The barrel weight, tungsten percentage, shape, and grip pattern are identical. The player may have a set that has been used longer and worn to their preference, but the manufacturing spec is the same as what you buy.

Why do most pros use 90% tungsten instead of 95%?

The barrel diameter difference between 90% and 95% tungsten is only a fraction of a millimetre at the same weight. This is barely perceptible during play. 90% tungsten is slightly more durable (less prone to chipping on the CNC-machined grip) and is easier for manufacturers to produce reliably. The practical performance difference is negligible, so pros default to the tougher, more reliable alloy.

Should I buy the same darts as my favourite player?

Only if the specifications match your throw. If your favourite player throws 21g and you prefer 24g, buying their signature model won’t help. Use the pro data as a guide for specifications (weight range, tungsten percentage, barrel shape) but choose the specific model based on how it feels in YOUR hand. Try before you buy if possible, or buy from a retailer with a returns policy. For personalised recommendations, take our dart recommendation quiz.

How long does it take a pro to settle on a setup?

It varies. Some players settle within a few weeks of testing prototypes; others adjust for much longer. What they have in common is the method: one variable at a time, judged over long sessions and match play, then a commitment to the result. Most club players can find a good match within a month or two using the same approach.

What darts do pros use 2026 compared to 2020?

The weight range has not changed – 21-24g was standard in 2020 and remains standard now. The biggest visible change is in point systems – screw-in replaceable points like Target’s Swiss Point are now common on signature models – along with integrated flight-and-shaft systems such as K-Flex. The fundamentals of what works at the professional level have been stable for decades.

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For weight selection, see how to choose dart weight. For barrel shapes, read dart barrel shapes. For the entrance music behind these players, see the 25 most iconic walk-on songs. For tungsten percentages, see 80 vs 90 vs 95 tungsten. For how pros build their checkout strategy, read 501 checkout strategy. To understand every component, see anatomy of a dart. New to darts? Start with the beginner’s guide or take the dart recommendation quiz.