The 2025 PDC World Darts Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship) is a professional darts event that will take place at Alexandra Palace in London, England, from 15 December 2024 to 3 January 2025. It will be the 32nd World Darts Championship to be organised by the Professional Darts Corporation.
| 2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament information | |||
| Dates | 15 December 2024 – 3 January 2025 | ||
| Venue | Alexandra Palace | ||
| Location | London, England | ||
| Organisation(s) | Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) | ||
| Format | Sets Final – first to 7 sets | ||
| |||
Luke Humphries is the defending champion, having defeated Luke Littler 7–4 in the 2024 final.[1]
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Overview
editThe 2025 PDC World Darts Championship is the 32nd World Darts Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation, and the 18th to be held at Alexandra Palace, London. It will take place from 15 December 2024 to 3 January 2025 as the culminating event of the 2024 Professional Darts Corporation season. The championship will feature 96 players, with the top 32 highest ranked players on the PDC Order of Merit seeded through to the second round. The 32 qualifiers from the ProTour Order of Merit and the 32 other players from various qualifiers start in the first round.
Bookmaker Paddy Power will continue their sponsorship of the event, having agreed a three-year contract with the PDC ahead of the 2024 edition.[2]
Entering the event, the previous years' finalists are at the head of the betting market to lift the trophy, with the defending champion Luke Humphries just about favourite after a year which has seen him win the 2024 World Matchplay, and reach the final of the 2024 UK Open,[3] the 2024 World Grand Prix[4] and the 2024 Premier League Darts.[5]
Format
editAll matches will be played as straight in, double out, requiring the players to score 501 points to win a leg, finishing on a double. The matches were played in the set format, with a minimum of three sets required to win a match. The following rules were observed:
- All sets will be played to the best of five legs in the first round, and also in non-deciding sets of subsequent rounds.
- In the deciding set of all but the first round, the first player to win at least three legs and be leading by two or more wins the set and the match. If the set reaches a 5–5 tie without a winner, it will be decided by a sudden-death leg with no throw for the bull.
| Round | Best of (sets) | First to (sets) |
|---|---|---|
| First & Second | 5 | 3 |
| Third & Fourth | 7 | 4 |
| Quarter-finals | 9 | 5 |
| Semi-finals | 11 | 6 |
| Final | 13 | 7 |
Ranking
editThe rankings on the PDC Order of Merit are calculated on a two-year basis. Players who participated in the 2023 PDC World Darts Championship are defending their prize money from that event on their ranking. At the end of the tournament, the PDC Order of Merit prize money from that event will be deleted from their ranking. After the tournament, the top 64 in the PDC Order of Merit will receive a one-year extension on their tour card. Players in the final year of their tour card, or that do not hold a tour card for the 2024 season, who finish the tournament outside the top 64 lose their tour card, unless players inside the top 64 resign their tour card, which Steve Beaton is expected to do.[6]
Prize money
editThe total prize pool for the tournament is expected to remain at £2.5 million in total for the seventh year in a row.
| Position (no. of players) | Prize money (Total: £2,500,000) | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (1) | £500,000 |
| Runner-up | (1) | £200,000 |
| Semi-finalists | (2) | £100,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | £50,000 |
| Fourth round losers | (8) | £35,000 |
| Third round losers | (16) | £25,000 |
| Second round losers | (32) | £15,000 |
| First round losers | (32) | £7,500 |
Qualification
editSeeding and Pro Tour qualification
editThe top 32 of the Order of Merit will qualify, and will be seeded. They will be joined by the top 32 not yet qualified players of the Pro Tour Order of Merit. The Main Order of Merit and ProTour Order of Merit qualifiers are correct as of the 2024 European Championship and includes provisional prize money for all remaining tournaments according to the current qualifying spots, even if qualification is not secure yet. The cut-off date is 25 November 2024.[7]
Seeds
editThe previous year's winner and 2024 World Matchplay champion Luke Humphries is top of the two-year PDC Order of Merit and number one seed going into the tournament. The 2023 world champion Michael Smith is the provisional second seed. Michael van Gerwen, the three-time world champion from 2014, 2017 and 2019, is the provisional third seed. Rob Cross, who was champion in 2018 is the provisional fourth seed. As well as Humphries, Smith, van Gerwen and Cross, four other previous PDC world champions qualified as seeds: 2021 world champion Gerwyn Price is the provisional 8th seed, 2020 world champion 2022 world champion Peter Wright is the provisional 16th seed, 2015 and 2016 world champion Gary Anderson is provisionally seeded 17th, and 2007 world champion Raymond van Barneveld is provisionally seeded 32nd. 2014 BDO World Champion Stephen Bunting is provisionally qualified as 7th seed. He was one of two former BDO champions to qualify as seeds, alongside four-time BDO champion van Barneveld.[7]
The provisional top seeds behind Humphries, Smith, van Gerwen and Cross are Dave Chisnall, Jonny Clayton, 2024 Masters champion Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price, Damon Heta and 2024 UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh. Other 2024 major event champions to qualify as seeds are 2024 Premier League Darts and 2024 World Series of Darts Finals champion Luke Littler as provisional 12th seed, with Mike De Decker provisionally seeded twelve places below him at 24th. Following his win in the 2024 European Championship,[8] Ritchie Edhouse moved up to a being a seed, provisionally number 29, having previously been the highest non–seed on the ProTour Order of Merit.
Pro Tour qualification
editCameron Menzies is provisionally the highest-ranked non-seed on the 2024 PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit. 2024 ProTour event winners Wessel Nijman, Wesley Plaisier and Alan Soutar are also amongst the qualifiers.
Other players qualifying via the Pro Tour include Jermaine Wattimena, Ricardo Pietreczko, Luke Woodhouse, Ryan Joyce, Niels Zonneveld, Madars Razma, Callan Rydz, 2024 semi-finalist Scott Williams and Kim Huybrechts as well as Connor Scutt, the Challenge Tour Order of Merit winner. Scutt and Plaisier also qualified for the 2024 WDF World Championship but withdrew in order to play at the Alexandra Palace.[9]
International qualifiers
editNiko Springer and Keane Barry qualified via the PDC Development Tour. Fallon Sherrock, the only woman to have previously won a match at the PDC World Darts Championship, and Noa-Lynn van Leuven qualified via the PDC Women's Series, with Van Leuven set to be the first transgender competitor in PDC history. As with the previous edition, no player will be eligible to compete in the 2025 PDC World Championship had they played at the 2024 WDF World Darts Championship which will conclude a week earlier. Beau Greaves, the winner of the 2024 Women's World Matchplay, has qualified but has indicated her intention to opt for the WDF. The final places will be awarded by a qualifier for non-qualified PDC Tour Card holders.[10] Rashad Sweeting will become the first player from the Bahamas to play at the PDC World Championship after sealing his qualification through the Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean Order of Merit, while Stefan Bellmont will become the first Swiss player to play at a World Championship.[11]
List of qualifiers
edit
- ^ Greaves chose to play the 2024 WDF World Darts Championship[19] following a ruling by the PDC which did not allow players to compete in both World Championships in the same year.[20]
Summary
editSchedule
editDraw
editFinal
editStatistics
editMedia coverage
editReferences
edit- ^ Liew, Jonathan (3 January 2024). "Luke Humphries ends Luke Littler's fairytale in epic PDC world darts final". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ Mullen, Archie (11 July 2023). "World Darts Championship agrees Paddy Power title sponsorship". SportsPro. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ Gorton, Josh (3 March 2024). "Van den Bergh topples Humphries to claim UK Open glory". PDC. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ Keogh, Frank (13 October 2024). "De Decker stuns Humphries to win World Grand Prix". BBC. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ Colman, Jonty (23 May 2024). "Littler beats Humphries to win Premier League Darts title". BBC. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ "PDC Rankings". Global Darts. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ a b "World Championship Race 2024/2025". DartsRankings. 25 November 2024.
- ^ Gorton, Josh (27 October 2024). "Exceptional Edhouse wins Machineseeker European Championship". PDC. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ Gill, Samuel (28 October 2024). "Plaisier, Gates, Robb and Scutt snub Lakeside in favour of PDC World Darts Championship". DartsNews. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ "Greaves says no to PDC Worlds after Matchplay win". BBC Sport. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ "Stefan Bellmont makes history as first ever Swiss qualifier for PDC World Darts Championship". Dartsnews.com. 16 November 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d Gorton, Josh (8 October 2024). "Toylo & Azemoto secure Ally Pally debuts alongside Ilagan & Nebrida". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ a b Gorton, Josh (13 October 2024). "Coates & Dudeney win maiden titles; Springer & Barry seal WDC spots". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ a b c Gorton, Josh (23 September 2024). "Gates, Long & Buntz secure World Darts Championship qualification". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ Gorton, Josh (30 September 2024). "Carolissen confirms Ally Pally return with epic win over Wachiuri". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ Duncan, Craig (24 September 2024). "Harvey's darts supremo Joe Comito to show skills at world titles". Harvey-Waroona Reporter. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ Gorton, Josh (9 September 2024). "Goto wins Japan Tour Finals to secure World Championship return". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ a b Allen, Dave (27 August 2024). "Harrysson & Labanauskas end PDCNB season with victories". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ "2024 WDF Lakeside World Championship Fields". www.dartswdf.com. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "2023 WDF Lakeside World Championships – Player eligibility update". www.dartswdf.com. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Gorton, Josh (21 October 2024). "Five more International Qualifiers confirmed for World Darts Championship". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Allen, Dave (20 October 2024). "Mathers seals Ally Pally return with DPA Oceanic Masters triumph". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
- ^ Allen, Dave (7 October 2024). "Robb wins DPNZ knockout to secure Ally Pally return". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ "Fallon Sherrock qualifies for World Darts Championship but misses out on Grand Slam of Darts spot". Sky Sports. 20 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
- ^ Gorton, Josh (20 October 2024). "Sherrock secures Ally Pally return; Van Leuven confirms Grand Slam debut". PDC. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ Gorton, Josh (20 October 2024). "Ilagan wins PDC Asian Championship to seal Grand Slam debut". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
- ^ "Rashad Sweeting Qualifies for World Darts Championships". Our News Bahamas. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ "World Darts Championship: Noa-Lynn van Leuven beats Beau Greaves to qualify for Alexandra Palace". Sky Sports. 19 October 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ "PDC Women's Series: Van Leuven seals Ally Pally spot as Greaves claims eighth 2024 title". PDC. 19 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ "Transgender Noa-Lynn van Leuven makes history with qualification for World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace". Irish Independent. 19 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ Gorton, Josh (19 August 2024). "Zong wins inaugural PDC China Championship to confirm Ally Pally return". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 19 October 2024.