Ninety-six of the world's most prominent darts players are set to compete in the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship and vie for the Sid Waddell Trophy.
From schedules to rules to past winners, here's everything to know about the most prestigious tournament in darts:
When is the PDC World Darts Championship?
The 2025 PDC World Darts Championship will take place from Dec. 15 to Jan. 3 at Alexandra Palace in London. It has been held at Alexandra Palace since 2008.
When was the first PDC World Darts Championship?
The first PDC World Darts Championship was held in 1994.
What is the PDC?
PDC is the Professional Darts Corporation, a professional darts organization established in 1992 and based in England. PDC is the leading professional body in darts.
What is the prize money for the PDC World Darts Championship?
The total pot for the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship is about $3.2 million, with the winner receiving about $640,000.
How do players qualify for the PDC World Darts Championship?
Qualifying is based on the PDC Order of Merit. The top 32 players qualify for the tournament and are seeded in order. The PDC Order of Merit is based on prize money won over a two-year period by players in ranking tournaments. The cut-off date for the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship was Nov. 25, 2024.
What is the schedule for the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship?
*All times Eastern
Dec. 15
2 p.m.
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Thibault Tricole vs. Joe Comito (R1)
Jermaine Wattimena vs. Stefan Bellmont (R1)
Kim Huybrechts vs. Keane Barry (R1)
No. 1 Luke Humphries (defending champion) vs. Tricole/Comito (R2)
Dec. 16
7:30 a.m.
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Wesley Plaisier vs. Ryusei Azemoto (R1)
Luke Woodhouse vs. Lourence Ilagan (R1)
Alan Soutar vs. Kai Gotthardt (R1)
No. 16 James Wade vs. Wattimena/Bellmont (R2)
2 p.m.
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Niels Zonneveld vs. Robert Owen (R1)
Connor Scutt vs. Ben Robb (R1)
Cameron Menzies vs. Leonard Gates (R1)
No. 10 Gerwyn Price vs. Huybrechts/Barry (R2)
Dec. 17
7:30 a.m.
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
James Hurrell vs. Jim Long (R1)
Kevin Doets vs. Noa-Lynn van Leuven (R1)
Ryan Joyce vs. Darius Labanauskas (R1)
No. 24 Mike De Decker vs. Woodhouse/Ilagan (R2)
2 p.m.
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Jeffrey de Graaf vs. Rashad Sweeting (R1)
Ricardo Pietreczko vs. Xiaochen Zong (R1)
Ryan Meikle vs. Fallon Sherrock (R1)
No. 17 Peter Wright vs. Plaisier/Azemoto (R2)
Dec. 18
2 p.m.
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Jim Williams vs. Paolo Nebrida (R1)
Madars Razma vs. Christian Kist (R1)
Ricky Evans vs. Gordon Mathers (R1)
No. 12 Nathan Aspinall vs. Menzies/Gates (R2)
Dec. 19
7:30 a.m.
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Chris Landman vs. Lok Yin Lee (R1)
Callan Rydz vs. Romeo Grbavac (R1)
Martin Lukeman vs. Nitin Kumar (R1)
No. 27 Gabriel Clemens vs. Zonneveld/Owen (R2)
2 p.m.
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Nick Kenny vs. Stowe Buntz (R1)
Mensur Suljovic vs. Matt Campbell (R1)
Scott Williams vs. Niko Springer (R1)
No. 2 Michael Smith vs. Doets/Van Leuven (R2)
Dec. 20
7:30 a.m.
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Stephen Burton vs. Alexander Merkx (R1)
Wessel Nijman vs. Cameron Carolissen (R1)
Ian White vs. Sandro Eric Sosing (R1)
No. 8 Stephen Bunting vs. Soutar/Gotthardt (R2)
2 p.m.
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Mickey Mansell vs. Tomoya Goto (R1)
Florian Hempel vs. Jeffrey De Zwaan (R1)
William O'Connor vs. Dylan Slevin (R1)
No. 3 Michael van Gerwen vs. Hurrell/Long (R2)
Dec. 21
7:30 a.m.
2x First Round, 2x Second
Round Karel Sedlacek vs. Rhys Griffin (R1)
Richard Veenstra vs. Alexis Toylo (R1)
No. 30 Brendan Dolan vs. Landman/Lee (R2)
No. 15 Chris Dobey vs. Burton/Merkx (R2)
2 p.m.
4x Second Round No. 13 Danny Noppert vs. Joyce/Labanauskas (R2)
No. 32 Raymond van Barneveld vs. Kenny/Buntz (R2)
No. 4 Luke Littler vs. Meikle/Sherrock (R2)
No. 9 Damon Heta vs. Scutt/Robb (R2)
Dec. 22
7:30 a.m.
4x Second Round
No. 20 Ryan Searle vs. Suljovic/Campbell (R2)
No. 25 Dirk van Duijvenbode vs. Razma/Kist (R2)
No. 23 Joe Cullen vs. Nijman/Carolissen (R2)
No. 29 Ritchie Edhouse vs. White/Sosing (R2)
2 p.m.
4x Second Round
No. 22 Martin Schindler vs. Rydz/Grbavac (R2)
No. 19 Ross Smith vs. J Williams/Nebrida (R2)
No. 14 Gary Anderson vs. De Graaf/Sweeting (R2)
No. 11 Dimitri Van den Bergh vs. O'Connor/Slevin (R2)
Dec. 23
7:30 a.m.
4x Second Round
No. 31 Krzysztof Ratajski vs. Veenstra/Toylo (R2)
No. 21 Andrew Gilding vs. Lukeman/Kumar (R2)
No. 18 Josh Rock vs. Sedlacek/Griffin (R2)
No. 7 Jonny Clayton vs. Mansell/Goto (R2)
2 p.m.
4x Second Round
No. 28 Gian van Veen vs. Pietreczko/Zong (R2)
No. 26 Daryl Gurney vs. Hempel/De Zwaan (R2)
No. 6 Dave Chisnall vs. Evans/Mathers (R2)
No. 5 Rob Cross vs. S Williams/Springer (R2)
Dec. 27
7:30 a.m.
3x Third Round
2 p.m.
3x Third Round
Dec. 28
7:30 a.m.
3x Third Round
2 p.m.
3x Third Round
Dec. 29
7:30 a.m.
3x Third Round
2 p.m.
1x Third Round, 2x Fourth Round
Dec. 30
7:30 a.m.
3x Fourth Round
2 p.m.
3x Fourth Round
Jan. 1
7:30 a.m.
2x Quarterfinals
2 p.m.
2x Quarterfinals
Jan. 2
7:30 a.m.
Semifinals
Jan. 3
3 p.m.
Final
What are the format and rules of the PDC World Darts Championship?
Matches at the 2025 World Darts Championship are decided by legs and sets. As with all PDC tournaments, the games are played in the 501 format, where players look to reduce their score from 501 to zero as efficiently as possible, finishing with a double.
The highest-scoring move is a 180 (three darts in the triple 20), while the fastest way to finish a game is with a nine-dart leg. Each successful finish counts as one leg, and the first player to win three legs secures a set.
The number of sets required to win varies by round. In the first and second rounds, matches are played in a best-of-five sets format. In the third round and the Round of 16, matches are played to the best of seven sets.
In the quarterfinals, the winner is determined in a best-of-nine-sets format, while the semifinals are played in a best-of-11-sets match. The final follows a best-of-13-sets format, where the first player to win seven sets is crowned the world champion.
Past PDC world champions
2024: Luke Humphries
2023: Michael Smith
2022: Peter Wright
2021: Gerwyn Price
2020: Peter Wright
2019: Michael van Gerwen
2018: Rob Cross
2017: Michael van Gerwen
2016: Gary Anderson
2015: Gary Anderson
2014: Michael van Gerwen
2013: Phil Taylor
2012: Adrian Lewis
2011: Adrian Lewis
2010: Phil Taylor
2009: Phil Taylor
2008: John Part
2007: Raymond van Barneveld
2006: Phil Taylor
2005: Phil Taylor
2004: Phil Taylor
2003: John Part
2002: Phil Taylor
2001: Phil Taylor
2000: Phil Taylor
1999: Phil Taylor
1998: Phil Taylor
1997: Phil Taylor
1996: Phil Taylor
1995: Phil Taylor
1994: Dennis Priestley
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