DJ Mag Top 100 DJs 2026: What to Know Before the Reveal

The world’s best-known DJ ranking gets its 2026 result on 6 October, when DJ Mag reveals the new World’s #1 DJ live on stage at UNVRS in Ibiza. David Guetta held the top spot through 2025. Whether he keeps it, or someone else takes over, is the whole point of the night — here’s what’s confirmed, what happened last year, and what’s actually worth watching for.

How the Reveal Works

DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs LIVE event has run at UNVRS (formerly Hï Ibiza’s sister superclub) for several years now, combining an awards show with a full club night: the new #1 is announced on stage, and they go straight into a headline set minutes later. This year’s edition, on Tuesday 6 October, is hosted by BBC Radio 1’s Sarah Story, with a confirmed lineup of Anastazja, Charlotte de Witte, GORDO, Korolova, Lost Frequencies and Vintage Culture — plus whoever gets crowned #1 on the night.

Where Things Stood in 2025

Guetta’s 2025 win was his fifth Top 100 title (after 2011, 2020, 2021 and 2023), putting him level with Martin Garrix and Armin van Buuren as the only DJs to top the list five times. Behind him, the 2025 top 10 ran: Guetta, Garrix, Alok, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, van Buuren, Timmy Trumpet, FISHER, Afrojack, Charlotte de Witte and Anyma.

A Short List of Repeat Winners

The Top 100 has crowned the same small circle of names for most of its history: Tiësto, van Buuren, Hardwell, Garrix and Guetta account for the vast majority of #1 finishes between them. That’s part of why a jump like de Witte’s or Anyma‘s stands out — the list rewards staying power and campaign momentum as much as any given year’s output, so genuine new entries into the conversation are rare. A new name at #1 in 2026 would be a bigger shift than it might look from outside the scene; Guetta holding on for a sixth win would extend a pattern that’s defined the list for over a decade.

The Storyline Worth Watching: Techno’s Climb

The number that stands out in last year’s list isn’t who won — it’s how far Charlotte de Witte and Anyma climbed to get into the top 10 at all. Both jumped seven places in a single year, the two biggest moves in the entire top 10, in a ranking that mainstage EDM and big-room house have dominated for most of its history. De Witte’s KNTXT label and techno’s broader move toward harder, faster sounds (the shift we covered in our hard techno explainer) now has a real foothold in a list built mostly on festival headliners and radio-friendly dance-pop. Whether that climb continues into 2026, or the top of the list snaps back to its usual names, is a more interesting question than the #1 slot itself.

Why the List Still Matters

DJ Mag’s poll gets criticised every year for rewarding fan-voting campaigns and social reach over pure DJ skill, and that criticism is fair as far as it goes. But the list still moves bookings: a strong placement shapes festival fees and lineup slots for the following season, which is exactly why a seven-place jump like de Witte’s or Anyma’s is worth more attention than another year of the same five names trading the top spot. It’s less a ranking of who’s best behind the decks and more a yearly snapshot of where the audience’s attention is actually pointed — and this year, more of it than usual is pointed at techno.

What Happens Next

The result goes live at UNVRS on 6 October, with the new #1 performing immediately after. Whoever it is, the more telling number will be further down the list — whether last year’s techno surge was a one-off or the start of something the mainstage can’t ignore anymore.

For the sounds driving that shift either way, Doubleclap Radio streams house and techno around the clock, curated by real DJs, free on iOS and Android.