Dec 15,2024
The 2024/25 World Darts Championship gets under way at London's Alexandra Palace on Sunday evening, as reigning champion Luke Humphries opens his defence of the title.
The 32nd staging of the event will see 96 players competing for the coveted Sid Waddell Trophy from Sunday through to the final on Friday, 3 January.
The festive feast of darts will see 14 debutants and 28 countries represented in the £2.5 million showpiece, as number one seed Humphries aims to emulate Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson by winning back-to-back titles.
Humphries ran out a 7-4 winner against Luke Littler in a record-breaking final back in January, in a contest watched by a staggering audience of 4.8 million viewers - the highest ever non-football peak in Sky Sports history.
The 29-year-old has enjoyed a terrific 2024 season, lifting maiden World Cup of Darts and World Matchplay titles, before retaining his Players Championship Finals crown in Minehead last month.
Humphries, who won the Premier League event in Dublin last March, kicks off his campaign against Thibault Tricole or Joe Comito.
"I’m quite proud of the way I’ve handled myself as the World Champion," said Humphries, also a UK Open, Premier League and World Grand Prix runner-up in 2024.
"For me, it’s been the most amazing year, but it’s a year you want to go and do again next year.
"I know what it feels like to be a World Champion now, and that makes me dangerous, because there’s nothing left for me to prove.
"I feel like I’ve got another 20 years left at the top level hopefully, and now I’m setting my goals on trying to win as many World Championship titles as I can."
There are seven Irish dartists in action with Meath man Keane Barry (above) the first to toe the oche. The 2022 UK Open semi-finalist meets Belgium's Kim Huybrechts on opening night with the prize for the winner a meeting with Wales' Gerwyn Price in round two.
Grand Slam semi-finalist Mickey Mansell, from Tyrone, starts his bid against Tomoya Goto of Japan on Friday evening with Jonny Clayton awaiting the victor.
On the same evening, Limerick's Willie O'Connor faces off with Tipperary man Dylan Slevin with the winner taking on UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Last year's quarter-finalist Brendan Dolan, from Fermanagh, meets the winner of Chris Landman and Lok Yin Lee on Saturday week.
Antrim's Josh Rock enters the fray on Monday 23 December and he will clash with Karel Sedlacek or Rhys Griffin, while Derry man Daryl Gurney faces either Florian Hempel or Jeffrey De Zwaan.
The pre-Christmas period at this year's World Championship will feature nine days of first and second round action from 15-23 December.
The top 32 players from the PDC Order of Merit will enter the tournament at the second round stage, with the ProTour Order of Merit Qualifiers and International Representatives starting in the first round.
Two-time World Champion Peter Wright and World Grand Prix winner Mike De Decker enter the fray on Day Three, while Fallon Sherrock - featuring in her fifth World Darts Championship - goes head-to-head with Ryan Meikle on Tuesday.
Nathan Aspinall - a two-time World Championship semi-finalist - plays either Cameron Menzies or Leonard Gates on Wednesday with 2022/23 World Champion Michael Smith getting his campaign under way on Thursday.
Smith created global headlines with his sensational success almost two years ago, producing an incredible nine-darter in a leg dubbed 'the greatest of all-time’ on his way to a 7-4 success against Michael van Gerwen.
Masters champion Stephen Bunting will take the spotlight on the afternoon of Friday, before Dutch superstar Van Gerwen opens his challenge for a fourth World Championship crown.
Van Gerwen (below) has won more titles at Alexandra Palace than any player in this year’s field, and is confident of putting an underwhelming run of form behind him on his return to the capital.
"It’s the biggest tournament of the year. Everyone is looking forward to it, especially me," declared the world number three, who faces debutant James Hurrell or Canadian veteran Jim Long in his second round tie.
"I don’t have to deny that my recent results are not what I wished for, but you need to make sure all your focus goes in the right direction."
The first round action draws to a close on Saturday week, on a day where five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld, world number nine Damon Heta, two-time quarter-finalist Chris Dobey and teenage sensation Luke Littler also feature in a star-studded double session.
Fourth seed Littler – a runner-up on debut last year – makes his World Championship return against either Meikle or Sherrock, fresh from his record-breaking exploits 12 months ago.
Littler (below) was a 66/1 outsider for World Championship glory this time last year, but a testament to his meteoric rise since means that he makes his return to the capital as the outright favourite this time around.
"I feel I’ve definitely improved as a player," said Littler, who has won ten PDC titles in 2024, including the Premier League, Grand Slam of Darts and World Series of Darts Finals.
"The confidence is there from playing on all these different stages, but this is the one that everyone wants to win.
"I will take it game by game like I did last year, but any player can turn up and produce against me, so I know I must be on my A-game.
"The last year has flown by. There’s been plenty of darts this year, but now it’s all focus on the big one."
2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship
Sunday 15 December (1900)
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 16 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
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)
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 17 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
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)
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 18 December (1900)
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 19 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
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)
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 20 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
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)
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 21 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
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)
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 22 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
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)
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 23 December
Afternoon Session (1230)
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)
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)
