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World Darts Championship

World Darts Championship

Alex Moss |

Inside the World Darts Championship

Dartsmas is here! The PDC World Darts Championship is the biggest and most lucrative tournament on the darting calendar, with 96 of the world’s best players competing for £2.5 million in prize money. Held at the iconic Alexandra Palace, in North London, the darts World Championship has become a must-watch event and a staple on the sporting calendar over the festive period, with fans from all around the world watching in their millions to see who will become the world darts champion.

The 2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship marks the 32nd staging of the popular tournament and will take place from December 15, 2024 to January 3, 2025. There will be extra excitement for this year’s PDC Darts World Championship as Luke Humphries bids to defend the title with fierce competition from rivals such as Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson.

Event Information

Where is the World Darts Championship held? London’s Alexandra Palace has staged every World Championship since the 2007/08 edition

The 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Paddy Power World Darts Championship, will be the 32nd staging of the competition and will take place over three weeks from December 15 to January 3 at Alexandra Palace, in London.

Commonly referred to as ‘Ally Pally’, Alexandra Palace has been the World Darts Championship venue since the 2007/08 edition of the tournament. The first 14 stagings of the competition were held at the Circus Tavern, in Purfleet. Find out more about both venues in our ‘Top 10 Best Darts Venues In The UK’ blog.

The World Darts Championship 2024 will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, as well as through the PDC’s various global broadcast partners. For darts fans who cannot attend the event in person, regular updates will be posted on the PDC’s social media channels as well as highlights after each session on their YouTube channel.

World Darts Championship Full Schedule

When does darts World Championship start? The 2024/25 PDC World Darts Championship begins on Sunday, December 15 at London’s Alexandra Palace

The darts World Championship schedule has been released for the first and second rounds of this year’s tournament. All 96 players will be in action between December 15-23, before the competition takes a three-day break over Christmas.

World number one and the reigning PDC world champion Luke Humphries headlines the opening night of this year’s tournament on Sunday, December 15. The top seed will start his title defense in the second round against either French number one Thibault Tricole or Australian debutant Joe Comito, who meet in the first match of the opening session.

One of the most hotly anticipated matches to come out of the World Darts Championship draw takes place on Tuesday, December 17 when Ryan Meikle and Fallon Sherrock meet in round one. Sherrock is nicknamed ‘The Queen of the Palace’ after becoming the first female player to win a match at Alexandra Palace in 2019. The winner of this tie will face the Premier League and Grand Slam champion Luke Littler in the second round on Saturday, December 21.

On Thursday, December 19, the 2023 world champion Michael Smith begins his darts World Championship 2024 campaign against either Kevin Doets or Noa-Lynn van Leuven. Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen opens his latest bid for a fourth world title against either James Hurrell or Jim Long on Friday, December 20, whilst the 2015 and 2016 winner Gary Anderson faces Jeffrey de Graaf or Rashad Sweeting in his Ally Pally opener on Sunday, December 22.

Below is the list of darts World Championship fixtures for the first and second rounds:-

Sunday December 15 (1900 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Thibault Tricole v Joe Comito (R1)
Jermaine Wattimena v Stefan Bellmont (R1)
Kim Huybrechts v Keane Barry (R1)
Luke Humphries v Tricole/Comito (R2)

Monday December 16
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Wesley Plaisier v Ryusei Azemoto (R1)
Luke Woodhouse v Lourence Ilagan (R1)
Alan Soutar v Kai Gotthardt (R1)
James Wade v Wattimena/Bellmont (R2)

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Niels Zonneveld v Robert Owen (R1)
Connor Scutt v Ben Robb (R1)
Cameron Menzies v Leonard Gates (R1)
Gerwyn Price v Huybrechts/Barry (R2)

Tuesday December 17
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
James Hurrell v Jim Long (R1)
Kevin Doets v Noa-Lynn van Leuven (R1)
Ryan Joyce v Darius Labanauskas (R1)
Mike De Decker v Woodhouse/Ilagan (R2)

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Jeffrey de Graaf v Rashad Sweeting (R1)
Ricardo Pietreczko v Xiaochen Zong (R1)
Ryan Meikle v Fallon Sherrock (R1)
Peter Wright v Plaisier/Azemoto (R2)

Wednesday December 18 (1900 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Jim Williams v Paolo Nebrida (R1)
Madars Razma v Christian Kist (R1)
Ricky Evans v Gordon Mathers (R1)
Nathan Aspinall v Menzies/Gates (R2)

Thursday December 19
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Chris Landman v Lok Yin Lee (R1)
Callan Rydz v Romeo Grbavac (R1)
Martin Lukeman v Nitin Kumar (R1)
Gabriel Clemens v Zonneveld/Owen (R2)

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Nick Kenny v Stowe Buntz (R1)
Mensur Suljovic v Matt Campbell (R1)
Scott Williams v Niko Springer (R1)
Michael Smith v Doets/Van Leuven (R2)

Friday December 20
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Stephen Burton v Alexander Merkx (R1)
Wessel Nijman v Cameron Carolissen (R1)
Ian White v Sandro Eric Sosing (R1)
Stephen Bunting v Soutar/Gotthardt (R2)

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Mickey Mansell v Tomoya Goto (R1)
Florian Hempel v Jeffrey De Zwaan (R1)
William O’Connor v Dylan Slevin (R1)
Michael van Gerwen v Hurrell/Long (R2)

Saturday December 21
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
2x First Round, 2x Second Round
Karel Sedlacek v Rhys Griffin (R1)
Richard Veenstra v Alexis Toylo (R1)
Brendan Dolan v Landman/Lee (R2)
Chris Dobey v Burton/Merkx (R2)

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
4x Second Round
Danny Noppert v Joyce/Labanauskas (R2)
Raymond van Barneveld v Kenny/Buntz (R2)
Luke Littler v Meikle/Sherrock (R2)
Damon Heta v Scutt/Robb (R2) 

Sunday December 22
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
4x Second Round
Ryan Searle v Suljovic/Campbell (R2)
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Razma/Kist (R2)
Joe Cullen v Nijman/Carolissen (R2)
Ritchie Edhouse v White/Sosing (R2)

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
4x Second Round
Martin Schindler v Rydz/Grbavac (R2)
Ross Smith v J Williams/Nebrida (R2)
Gary Anderson v De Graaf/Sweeting (R2)
Dimitri Van den Bergh v O’Connor/Slevin (R2)

Monday December 23
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
4x Second Round
Krzysztof Ratajski v Veenstra/Toylo (R2)
Andrew Gilding v Lukeman/Kumar (R2)
Josh Rock v Sedlacek/Griffin (R2)
Jonny Clayton v Mansell/Goto (R2)

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
4x Second Round
Gian van Veen v Pietreczko/Zong (R2)
Daryl Gurney v Hempel/De Zwaan (R2)
Dave Chisnall v Evans/Mathers (R2)
Rob Cross v S Williams/Springer (R2)

Friday December 27
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
3x Third Round

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
3x Third Round

Saturday December 28
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
3x Third Round

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
3x Third Round

Sunday December 29
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
3x Third Round

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
1x Third Round, 2x Fourth Round

Monday December 30
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
3x Fourth Round

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
3x Fourth Round

Wednesday January 1
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
2x Quarter-Finals

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
2x Quarter-Finals

Thursday January 2 (1930 GMT)
Semi-Finals

Friday January 3 (2000 GMT)
Final

World Darts Championship Format And Rules

How many sets in darts World Championship matches? The first and second round matches are played over the best of five legs, with the format increasing as the tournament progresses with the final contested over the best of 13 legs

The PDC World Darts Championship is made up of 96 players from around the world. The top 32 players on the PDC Order of Merit, which is the world rankings used on the professional tour, are seeded directly into the second round (last 64), with the remaining 64 players in the competition all starting in round one.

The first round includes the next 32 highest ranked players on the PDC ProTour Order of Merit, which is a ranking list made up of prize money won from Players Championship and European Tour events during the last 12 months. Those 32 players are drawn against 32 international qualifiers, comprised of players who have won through their own qualifying events to earn a spot in the tournament.

In the 2024/25 edition history will be made with Rashad Sweeting the first player from the Bahamas to compete in the World Championship, whilst Stefan Bellmont will become Switzerland’s first competitor in the tournament’s history.

Listen to an exclusive interview with Rashad Sweeting, the first player from the Bahamas to compete in the PDC World Championship, on the Weekly Dartscast podcast via the player below!

The World Darts Championship format is set-play with each match a race to a predetermined number of sets. As the tournament progresses, the number of sets a player needs to win increases. The first and second rounds are a race to three sets whilst the World Darts Championship final is a race to seven sets. Find out more about how sets and legs work with our ‘What Are Darts Sets And Legs’ blog.

Here is a breakdown of the World Darts Championship format:-

  • Round 1 – best of 5 sets (no tiebreak*)
  • Round 2 – best of 5 sets
  • Round 3 – best of 7 sets
  • Round 4 – best of 7 sets
  • Quarter-finals – best of 9 sets
  • Semi-finals – best of 11 sets
  • Final – best of 13 sets

*Tiebreak rule – for all World Championship matches from the second round onwards, if a match reaches the final set and 2-2 in legs in that final set then the match must be won by two clear legs. If the legs score reaches 5-5 in the final set, the next leg will be a tie-break leg and the winner of that leg is declared the winner.

All To Play For: World Darts Championship Prize Money

How much do players get paid for World Championship? Michael Smith pocketed £500,000 for winning the 2022/23 edition of the PDC World Darts Championship

The World Darts Championship prize money has increased many times during its 30-plus year history. The first staging of the PDC World Darts Championship in 1993/94 had a prize fund of £64,000, including £16,000 for the winner. The prize money in darts World Championship matches has jumped several times since then, with the winners of the World Darts Championship earning a record-breaking £500,000 for the last six years. The half-a-million top prize comes from a total prize pot of £2.5 million – making the tournament the most lucrative in the history of the sport.

Below is the World Darts Championship prize money breakdown for the 2024/25 edition:-

  • Winner - £500,000
  • Runner-up - £200,000
  • Semi-finals - £100,000
  • Quarter-finals - £50,000
  • Round 4 - £35,000
  • Round 3 - £25,000
  • Round 2 - £15,000
  • Round 1 - £7,500

Who’s Competing At The 2024 World Darts Championship?

After winning the Premier League and Grand Slam of Darts in his debut season on the PDC tour, Luke Littler, 17, will be aiming to becoming the youngest ever darts World Championship winner at Alexandra Palace

The 2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship features a star-studded line up of the world’s best players. Amongst the top 32 players who have qualified from the PDC Order of Merit includes the reigning champion Luke Humphries, teenage superstar Luke Littler and former world champions Michael Smith, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright, Gary Anderson and Raymond van Barneveld.

The list of 32 qualifiers from the PDC ProTour Order of Merit features some of the PDC title winners this season such as Cameron Menzies, Wessel Nijman and Alan Soutar, whilst the field of international qualifiers includes the likes of Fallon Sherrock, Leonard Gates and Xiaochen Zong.

Below is a list of the 96 players competing in the 2024/25 World Darts Championship:-

PDC Order of Merit Top 32
1. Luke Humphries (England)
2. Michael Smith (England)
3. Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands)
4. Luke Littler (England)
5. Rob Cross (England)
6. Dave Chisnall (England)
7. Jonny Clayton (Wales)
8. Stephen Bunting (England)
9. Damon Heta (Australia)
10. Gerwyn Price (Wales)
11. Dimitri Van den Bergh (Belgium)
12. Nathan Aspinall (England)
13. Danny Noppert (Netherlands)
14. Gary Anderson (Scotland)
15. Chris Dobey (England)
16. James Wade (England)
17. Peter Wright (Scotland)
18. Josh Rock (Northern Ireland)
19. Ross Smith (England)
20. Ryan Searle (England)
21. Andrew Gilding (England)
22. Martin Schindler (Germany)
23. Joe Cullen (England)
24. Mike De Decker (Belgium)
25. Dirk van Duijvenbode (Netherlands)
26. Daryl Gurney (Northern Ireland)
27. Gabriel Clemens (Germany)
28. Gian van Veen (Netherlands)
29. Ritchie Edhouse (England)
30. Brendan Dolan (Northern Ireland)
31. Krzysztof Ratajski (Poland)
32. Raymond van Barneveld (Netherlands)

ProTour Order of Merit Qualifiers
Cameron Menzies (Scotland)
Wessel Nijman (Netherlands)
Jermaine Wattimena (Netherlands)
Ricardo Pietreczko (Germany)
Luke Woodhouse (England)
Ryan Joyce (England)
Niels Zonneveld (Netherlands)
Alan Soutar (Scotland)
Madars Razma (Latvia)
Callan Rydz (England)
Wesley Plaisier (Netherlands)
Martin Lukeman (England)
Kevin Doets (Netherlands)
Richard Veenstra (Netherlands)
Scott Williams (England)
Kim Huybrechts (Belgium)
William O'Connor (Ireland)
Karel Sedlacek (Czech Republic)
Stephen Burton (England)
Thibault Tricole (France)
Connor Scutt (England)
Mensur Suljovic (Austria)
Ian White (England)
Jeffrey de Graaf (Sweden)
Jim Williams (Wales)
Florian Hempel (Germany)
Ryan Meikle (England)
Chris Landman (Netherlands)
Nick Kenny (Wales)
James Hurrell (England)
Mickey Mansell (Northern Ireland)
Ricky Evans (England)

International Qualifiers
Ryusei Azemoto (Japan)
Keane Barry (Ireland)
Stefan Bellmont (Switzerland)
Stowe Buntz (USA)
Matt Campbell (Canada)
Cameron Carolissen (South Africa)
Joe Comito (Australia)
Leonard Gates (USA)
Tomoya Goto (Japan)
Kai Gotthardt (Germany)
Romeo Grbavac (Croatia)
Rhys Griffin (Wales)
Lourence Ilagan (Philippines)
Christian Kist (Netherlands)
Nitin Kumar (India)
Darius Labanauskas (Lithuania)
Lok Yin Lee (Hong Kong)
Jim Long (Canada)
Gordon Mathers (Australia)
Alexander Merkx (Netherlands)
Paolo Nebrida (Philippines)
Robert Owen (Wales)
Ben Robb (New Zealand)
Sandro Eric Sosing (Philippines)
Fallon Sherrock (England)
Dylan Slevin (Ireland)
Niko Springer (Germany)
Rashad Sweeting (Bahamas)
Alexis Toylo (Philippines)
Noa-Lynn van Leuven (Netherlands)
Xiaochen Zong (China)
Jeffrey de Zwaan (Netherlands)

Players To Watch

Wessel Nijman has enjoyed a breakthrough first season on the PDC tour, winning a title on the ProTour and climbing into the top 64 on the PDC Order of Merit in less than 12 months

There will be no fewer than eight former PDC Darts World Championship winners in this year’s tournament including the 2024 champion Luke Humphries. ‘Cool Hand’ is the outright world number one in the world rankings and has backed up his success at Ally Pally in January by winning the World Cup of Darts, World Matchplay and Players Championship Finals during 2024.

Humphries and Luke Littler contested the youngest darts World Championship final in the event’s history last January, with Littler aged just 16 during his record-breaking run to the final on debut. ‘The Nuke’, now aged 17, has continued to hit the headlines during the rest of 2024, winning 10 titles on the PDC tour, including the Premier League and Grand Slam of Darts. His victory in the Grand Slam last month saw the teenager climb up to number four in the world rankings.

Ahead of the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship, Darts Corner has picked out six players to watch out for at Ally Pally. Check out our ‘2025 PDC World Darts Championship: Our Six Players To Watch’ blog to see who we are excited to see play in this year’s tournament.

Past Highlights From The World Darts Championship

Phil Taylor lifts the Sid Waddell Trophy after winning a record-extending 16th World Championship title in 2014

The PDC World Darts Championship has produced countless memorable moments over the last 30 years, from historic comebacks to record-breaking performances. Darts Corner has taken a trip down memory lane to pick out some of our favourite World Championship moments.

The 2007 PDC World Championship final – the last match played at the Circus Tavern before the tournament moved to Alexandra Palace – had it all. Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld renewed their rivalry in the final and the match went all the way to a sudden-death leg in the 13th and final set. Van Barneveld landed tops to win the tie breaker and become a five-time world champion.

In 2015, Gary Anderson ended his wait for a first world title when he beat Phil Taylor in another thrilling final. The deciding clash at Alexandra Palace went all the way to a 13th set, where ‘The Flying Scotsman’ held his nerve to defeat ‘The Power’ and become the first Scottish winner of the PDC World Championship.

Fallon Sherrock wrote her name into the history books when she won her first-round match at the 2020 PDC World Championship. Sherrock saw off Ted Evetts in a deciding set to become the first female player to win a match in the tournament’s history, a feat which would see her adopt the nickname of ‘The Queen of the Palace’. Another victory followed against Mensur Suljovic in the second round, before Sherrock’s run ended in the last 32 against Chris Dobey.

Pure darts! This first-round clash between Willie Borland and Bradley Brooks in the 2022 World Championship went all the way to a deciding leg and saw one of the most incredible finishes ever. Borland produced perfection in the decider with a nine-dart leg to win the match and write his name into the record books as the first player to win a match at Ally Pally with a nine-dart leg.

Play Like The Pros: Official Darts Championship Equipment

The Winmau Blade 6 is the dartboard of choice for the PDC World Darts Championship, with the Winmau Blade 6 Triple Core Dartboard being used for every match in the tournament as part of the brand’s deal as the official equipment supplier of the PDC. Replicate a professional-like setup at home with a Winmau Blade 6 Dual Core Dartboard, made from the finest East African Sisal and designed to withstand plenty of use.

Darts Corner also stocks many of the signature darts and accessories used by players competing in this year’s World Championship including Luke Littler, Michael Smith, Gary Anderson, Dave Chisnall and Damon Heta. Upgrade your darts equipment to help improve your own game and enhance your playing experience at home! Explore our ‘PDC World Championship’ collection to shop for the signature darts and accessories of your favorite players competing at Ally Pally this year!

Don’t Miss The Action At The 2024/2025 World Darts Championship

The 2024/25 edition of the PDC World Darts Championship is just around the corner as 96 of the world’s top players get ready to battle it out for the Sid Waddell Trophy. The World Darts Championship takes place from December 15 to January 3 at London’s Alexandra Palace, and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

Get in touch with the Darts Corner team and let us know your predictions for this year’s World Championship. Tweet us your predicted winner on X (Twitter) or leave a comment on our Facebook page.

Keep up to date with all the action at Ally Pally with updates in the ‘Darts News’ section of our blog. Explore our ‘Professional Darts’ collection for a wide range of pro-level gear to take your game to the next level!

Pictures: PDC

Alex Moss is a content creator for Darts Corner and the co-host of the Weekly Dartscast podcast. Alex co-founded the Weekly Dartscast in 2017 and has helped produce 350+ episodes of the podcast, with their list of previous guests on the show a who’s who in the world of darts.

Alex also writes content for the Darts Corner blog, including the weekly darts news round-ups and how-to guides.

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