It's officially Christmas! the 32nd edition of the PDC World Darts Championship gets underway this December. With Darts biggest event set to be held at the Alexandra Palace in London for the 15th year in a row.
What is the World Darts Championship?
The World Darts Championship is by far the biggest and most prestigious darts tournament in the world.
In 2015, with Michael van Gerwen said that he would “swap all the other titles for the world championship” if he could. This was following a year of him winning seven titles.
Why is it so special?
The players are set to perform in front of sold-out crowds of 3,200 fans over 16 days of action. The expectation is that there will also be millions of viewers around the world. This is due to a record-breaking domestic audience of 4.8 million for the Littler-Humphries final 12 months ago.
The crowds at Alexandra Palace will create an electric atmosphere, wearing fancy dress and cheering on the players. Fans also sing along to the famous ‘darts song’, Chase The Sun by Planet Funk, at the end of each game. Fans also get involved with each pre-game player walk-on.
The Ally Pally experience is so in demand that this year’s tickets sold out during a pre-sale before they even went on general sale.
When does the World Darts Championship begin?
The tournament will begin on Sunday the 15th of December, with the first match seeing France’s Thibault Tricole face Australia’s Joe Comito. The winner will earn the right to face Luke Humphries in round two to close out the opening night.
The action-packed schedule will feature 95 matches in total. 12 of the 16 days will feature both afternoon and evening sessions. The first few rounds will see the afternoon sessions begin at 12:30 GMT, with the evening session getting underway at 19:00 GMT.
How long will the tournament last?
Rounds one and two will be played out until the 23rd of December. Following this there is a break with no darting action between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
Rounds three and four then take place from the 27th until the 30th, after which there is a day off for New Year’s Eve.
The first two days of 2025 will see the quarters and semis take place before the showpiece final. This takes place on the evening of the 3rd of January.
Who is the current PDC World Darts Championship title holder?
Luke Humphries’ 7-4 win over teenage sensation, Luke Littler, in the 2024 final saw him become the world number one. A title he has held onto ever since.
Over the summer he won the World Matchplay, darts’ second biggest title. In addition to this, he recently defended a major for the first time at the Players Championship.
Who is playing in the World Darts Championship?
Heading into this event, the two Lukes are by far the game’s most in-form players. However, a second consecutive meeting in the final between the pair is impossible. This is because this year, they are in the same half of the draw.
Littler’s stunning run to the world final as a 16-year-old was arguably the biggest story in the history of darts. Since then, he has demonstrated strong performances, climbing to world number four. He has won multiple ranking titles, most recently at the Grand Slam.
The other half of the 96-player draw features multiple-time World Champions Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen. It will also feature the 2023 winner and current world number two Michael Smith.
Young Dutch talents Gian van Veen and Wessel Nijman are two rising stars who will fancy runs at Ally Pally. Whilst Belgium’s Mike de Decker will also fancy his chances of going far, following his maiden major win at the World Grand Prix.
Ritchie Edhouse, who also recently won a major at the European Championship, could also go deep in the draw.
The full list of 96 players can be found below:
Luke Humphries
Michael Smith
Michael van Gerwen
Luke Littler
Rob Cross
Dave Chisnall
Jonny Clayton
Stephen Bunting
Damon Heta
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Nathan Aspinall
Danny Noppert
Gary Anderson
Chris Dobey
James Wade
Peter Wright
Josh Rock
Ross Smith
Ryan Searle
Andrew Gilding
Martin Schindler
Joe Cullen
Mike De Decker
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Daryl Gurney
Gabriel Clemens
Gian van Veen
Ritchie Edhouse
Brendan Dolan
Krzysztof Ratajski
Raymond van Barneveld
Cameron Menzies
Wessel Nijman
Jermaine Wattimena
Ricardo Pietreczko
Luke Woodhouse
Ryan Joyce
Niels Zonneveld
Alan Soutar
Madars Razma
Callan Rydz
Wesley Plaisier
Martin Lukeman
Kevin Doets
Richard Veenstra
Scott Williams
Kim Huybrechts
William O'Connor
Karel Sedlacek
Stephen Burton
Thibault Tricole
Connor Scutt
Mensur Suljovic
Ian White
Jeffrey de Graaf
Jim Williams
Florian Hempel
Ryan Meikle
Chris Landman
Nick Kenny
James Hurrell
Mickey Mansell
Ricky Evans
Ryusei Azemoto
Keane Barry
Stefan Bellmont
Stowe Buntz
Matt Campbell
Cameron Carolissen
Joe Comito
Jeffrey de Zwaan
Leonard Gates
Tomoya Goto
Kai Gotthardt
Romeo Grbavac
Rhys Griffin
Lourence Ilagan
Christian Kist
Nitin Kumar
Darius Labanauskas
Lok Yin Lee
Jim Long
Gordon Mathers
Alexander Merkx
Paolo Nebrida
Robert Owen
Ben Robb
Sandro Eric Sosing
Fallon Sherrock
Dylan Slevin
Niko Springer
Rashad Sweeting
Alexis Toylo
Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Xiaochen Zong
Which players are seeded and who has qualified?
The top 32 players from the PDC Order of Merit do not feature in the first round and are instead seeded through to round two.
Round one features ties between the top 32 players from the Pro Tour Order of Merit and 32 International Qualifiers.
Dom Taylor, an English player who was ranked within the top 32 on the Pro Tour Order of Merit has been suspended by the PDC. This is due to failing a drugs test, meaning he has been replaced by the next highest-ranked non-qualified player, Wales’ Robert Owen.
The countries of Switzerland and The Bahamas will have their first ever representation in the PDC World Championship. Rashad Sweeting will be representing The Bahamas. And Stefan Bellmont for Switzerland.
The event also features qualifiers from the PDC Women’s Series. This includes Noa-Lynn van Leuven, who is set to be the first transgender player to play in the event.
Who is the favourite for the World Darts Championship?
Luke Littler is the bookmaker’s 3/1 favourite to win the title, a price many feel is too short for any player to win the high-pressure event.
Luke Humphries is priced at 4/1 to defend his title, a feat which nobody has accomplished since Gary Anderson in 2016.
Anderson is the third favourite at 11/1, with Michael van Gerwen at 13/1 the only other player under 20/1. Wessel Nijman at 31/1 and Josh Rock at 66/1, both of whom are in the seemingly easier half of the draw, could be good value picks.
Key Fixtures for the tournament
It's hard to predict what could be a key fixture for this tournament as the top 32 players do not feature until round two. However, there are a string of potential round two and round three matches that could be very exciting (if they happen!). We summarise the possibilities below:
Round Two
PDC Women’s Series qualifier Fallon Sherrock is the only woman to have previously won a match in the PDC World Championship. She will be facing Ryan Meikle in the first round. Should she win, she will set up a showpiece second round game against Luke Littler.
Michael Smith could face Kevin Doets, who pushed him all the way to a deciding set last year.
Out-of-form Peter Wright could play in-form Dutchman Wesley Plaisier.
Round Three
Luke Humphries v Raymond van Barneveld
Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson
What is the format for the tournament?
Each match is played using the set format. Players must win three legs to win one set. Each match will have a determined number of sets.
The first and second rounds are played over the first to three sets, with rounds three and four being the best of seven sets.
The format then increases again to first to five in the quarters, first to six in the semis, and finally first to seven in the final.
If the scores reach 2-2 in legs in a deciding set, games in the first round will instantly go to a tiebreak. This sees the game extended to see if a player can lead by two clear legs until the leg score reaches 5-5, at which point a sudden-death leg would be played.
Where is the tournament being held?
The iconic Alexandra Palace, normally referred to as ‘Ally Pally’ by darts fans, is located in North London. The Alexandra Palace has hosted every PDC World Championship since the event moved away from the Circus Tavern in 2008.
Before then, the venue was notable for having hosted the now-defunct News of the World Darts Championship between 1963 and 1977.
The event takes place in Ally Pally’s West Hall, with the Grand Hall hosting the Fan Village. Fans sit in stands or on tables, with the hospitality and VIP section located to the side of the walk-on zone.
Where can I watch the PDC World Darts Championship?
For fans not lucky enough to get one of the now sold-out tickets for the event, the tournament is available to watch almost anywhere in the world.
In the UK, the broadcast rights are held by Sky Sports, who rename one of their channels to Sky Sports Darts for the festive period.
In Germany, where viewing figures often rival those of the UK, the tournament is shown on free-to-air channel Sport1.
In the Netherlands, another big darts market, fans can watch via the Viaplay streaming service.
Details on the further channels showing the event can be found on the PDC website.
Can I stream the World Darts Championship?
For countries where the event is not televised, you can stream it online with a subscription via the PDCTV service.
What is the prize money for the World Darts Championship?
The huge prize fund totals £2.5 million, the biggest of any darts tournament. This is £1.5 million more than the second-placed Premier League.
The World Champion wins £500,000, with the runner-up getting £200,000.
Each player that hits a nine-dart finish will also receive a £60,000 bonus for every perfect leg. The same amount is also donated to Prostate Cancer UK, as well as 60k being available to win for one lucky fan in attendance.
The prize money earned at the event is hugely significant for the world rankings. The big prizes having the potential to shoot players up the Order of Merit. This is shown by the fact that the current world number one and two are the previous two World Champions.