sportskeeda
The Christmas vacation has officially commenced for professional darts players, following the completion of the first two rounds.
This year’s World Darts Championship has experienced the most exhilarating opening nine days in its history, with an astonishing 14 seeded players facing elimination in the initial rounds. Notable players like Gary Anderson, Michael Smith, Rob Cross, and Dave Chisnall have all been knocked out.
2
Luke Humphries made history in darts by defeating emerging talent Luke Littler to win the 2023/24 championship and achieve World No 1 status for the first time.
The final showcased an exciting match, with Humphries narrowly claiming victory 7-4 after being down 4-2 at one stage.
Last year’s tournament broke records with 914 180s thrown and raised £914,000 for charity, which was subsequently rounded up to £1 million.
As the competition intensifies, particularly between the two Lukes, fans can anticipate another spectacular event at Alexandra Palace.
Read more on Luke Littler
Players such as Stephen Bunting, Nathan Aspinall, and Michael van Gerwen have successfully advanced to round 3, which will continue on Friday, December 27.
When does the World Darts Championship take place?
- The World Darts Championship began on Sunday, December 15 and will conclude on Friday, January 3, 2025.
- Afternoon sessions start at 12.30pm GMT, while evening sessions commence at 7pm GMT.
- No matches will occur from December 24 to 26.
- This prestigious event is hosted at Alexandra Palace in North London.
- Luke Humphries narrowly defeated Luke Littler to secure the 2023/24 title with a scoreline of 7-4.
What TV channel broadcasts the World Darts Championship and is it available for live streaming?
- The 2024/25 World Darts Championship will be shown LIVE on Sky Sports in the UK.
- Viewers in the UK can stream all the action via NOW TV.
- Matches will also be accessible on PDCTV and their international broadcasting partners, including DAZN and Viaplay.
- SunSport will offer a continuous LIVE BLOG with match coverage and the latest tournament updates.
What is the format of the World Darts Championship?
The tournament format comprises the best of five sets for the first and second rounds.
As the rounds progress, matches shift to best of seven and then best of nine, culminating in the final, which is best of 11.
The championship match will be contested as the best of 13 sets.
The top 32 ranked darts players have secured automatic qualification for the second round.
List of All-Time Darts World Champions
Below is a list of Darts world champions arranged by year.
This list does not incorporate champions from the pre-Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) era or BDO world champions.
Consequently, players like Raymond van Barneveld are mentioned only once—Barney has also won four BDO titles, while none of Eric Bristow’s five BDO titles are included.
- 1994 – Dennis Priestley
- 1995 – Phil Taylor
- 1996 – Phil Taylor (2)
- 1997 – Phil Taylor (3)
- 1998 – Phil Taylor (4)
- 1999 – Phil Taylor (5)
- 2000 – Phil Taylor (6)
- 2001 – Phil Taylor (7)
- 2002 – Phil Taylor (8)
- 2003 – John Part
- 2004 – Phil Taylor (9)
- 2005 – Phil Taylor (10)
- 2006 – Phil Taylor (11)
- 2007 – Raymond van Barneveld
- 2008 – John Part (2)
- 2009 – Phil Taylor (12)
- 2010 – Phil Taylor (13)
- 2011 – Adrian Lewis
- 2012 – Adrian Lewis (2)
- 2013 – Phil Taylor (14)
- 2014 – Michael van Gerwen
- 2015 – Gary Anderson
- 2016 – Gary Anderson (2)
- 2017 – Michael van Gerwen (2)
- 2018 – Rob Cross
- 2019 – Michael van Gerwen (3)
- 2020 – Peter Wright
- 2021 – Gerwyn Price
- 2022 – Peter Wright (2)
- 2023 – Michael Smith
- 2024 – Luke Humphries
Most World Titles
- 14 – Phil Taylor
- 3 – Michael van Gerwen
- 2 – John Part, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright
- 1 – Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Luke Humphries
World Darts Championship 2024/25 Schedule
Sunday, December 15
Evening Session (7pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
- Thibault Tricole 3-1 Joe Comito (R1)
- Jermaine Wattimena 3-0 Stefan Bellmont (R1)
- Kim Huybrechts 1-3 Keane Barry (R1)
- Luke Humphries 3-0 Thibault Tricole (R2)
Monday, December 16
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
- Wesley Plaisier 3-2 Ryusei Azemoto (R1)
- Luke Woodhouse 3-0 Lourence Ilagan (R1)
- Alan Soutar 1-3 Kai Gotthardt (R1)
- James Wade 0-3 Jermaine Wattimena (R2)
Evening Session (7pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
- Niels Zonneveld 1-3 Robert Owen (R1)
- Connor Scutt 3-0 Ben Robb (R1)
- Cameron Menzies 1-3 Leonard Gates (R1)
- Gerwyn Price 3-0 Keane Barry (R2)
Tuesday, December 17
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
- James Hurrell 3-0 Jim Long (R1)
- Kevin Doets 3-1 Noa-Lynn van Leuven (R1)
- Ryan Joyce 3-1 Darius Labanauskas (R1)
- Mike De Decker 1-3 Luke Woodhouse (R2)
Evening Session (7pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
- Jeffrey de Graaf 3-1 Rashad Sweeting (R1)
- Ricardo Pietreczko 3-0 Xiaochen Zong (R1)
- Ryan Meikle 3-2 Fallon Sherrock (R1)
- Peter Wright 3-1 Wesley Plaisier (R2)
Wednesday, December 18 (7pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
- Jim Williams 2-3 Paolo Nebrida (R1)
- Madars Razma 3-1 Christian Kist (R1)
- Ricky Evans 3-2 Gordon Mathers (R1)
- Nathan Aspinall 3-1 Leonard Gates (R2)
Thursday, December 19
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
- Chris Landman 1-3 Lok Yin Lee (R1)
- Callan Rydz 3-0 Romeo Grbavac (R1)
- Martin Lukeman 3-1 Nitin Kumar (R1)
- Gabriel Clemens 1-3 Robert Owen (R2)
Evening Session (7pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
- Nick Kenny 3-0 Stowe Buntz (R1)
- Mensur Suljovic 2-3 Matt Campbell (R1)
- Scott Williams 3-1 Niko Springer (R1)
- Michael Smith 2-3 Kevin Doets (R2)
Friday, December 20
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
- Stephen Burton 0-3 Alexander Merkx (R1)
- Wessel Nijman 3-2 Cameron Carolissen (R1)
- Ian White vs Sandro Eric Sosing (R1) – White wins by walkover after Sosing withdraws
- Stephen Bunting 3-1 Kai Gotthardt (R2)
Evening Session (7pm)
2x First Round, 2x Second Round
- Mickey Mansell 3-1 Tomoya Goto (R1)
- Florian Hempel 3-1 Jeffrey De Zwaan (R1)
- William O’Connor 1-3 Dylan Slevin (R1)
- Michael van Gerwen 3-0 James Hurrell (R2)
Saturday, December 21
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
4x Second Round
- Karel Sedlacek 0-3 Rhys Griffin (R1)
- Richard Veenstra 0-3 Alexis Toylo (R1)
- Brendan Dolan 3-0 Lok-Yin Lee (R2)
- Chris Dobey 3-1 Alexander Merkx (R2)
Evening Session (7pm)
4x Second Round
- Danny Noppert 1-3 Ryan Joyce (R2)
- Raymond van Barneveld 1-3 Nick Kenny (R2)
- Luke Littler 3-1 Ryan Meikle (R2)
- Damon Heta 3-1 Connor Scutt (R2)
Sunday, December 22
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
4x Second Round
- Ryan Searle 3-0 Matt Campbell (R2)
- Dirk van Duijvenbode 1-3 Madars Razma (R2)
- Joe Cullen 0-3 Wessel Nijman (R2)
- Ritchie Edhouse 1-3 Ian White (R2)
Evening Session (7pm)
4x Second Round
- Martin Schindler 0-3 Callan Rydz (R2)
- Ross Smith 0-3 Paolo Nebrida (R2)
- Gary Anderson 0-3 Jeffrey De Graaf (R2)
- Dimitri van den Bergh 3-0 Dylan Slevin (R2)
Monday, December 23
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
4x Second Round
- Krzysztof Ratajski 3-1 Alexis Toylo (R2)
- Andrew Gilding 3-1 Martin Lukeman (R2)
- Josh Rock 3-0 Rhys Griffin (R2)
- Jonny Clayton 3-2 Mickey Mansell (R2)
Evening Session (7pm)
4x Second Round
- Gian van Veen 1-3 Ricardo Pietreczko (R2)
- Daryl Gurney 3-2 Florian Hempel (R2)
- Dave Chisnall 2-3 Ricky Evans (R2)
- Rob Cross 1-3 Scott Williams (R2)
World Darts Championship – Top Stories
READ MORE on the lead-up to the Ally Pally extravaganza…
All the details:
News, features, and interviews:
Friday, December 27
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x Third Round
- Damon Heta vs Luke Woodhouse
- Johnny Clayton vs Daryl Gurney
- Stephen Bunting vs Madars Razma
Evening Session (7pm)
3x Third Round
- Gerwyn Price vs Joe Cullen
- Jermaine Wattimena vs Peter Wright
- Luke Humphries vs Nick Kenny
Saturday, December 28
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x Third Round
- Ryan Joyce vs Ryan Searle
- Scott Williams vs Ricardo Pietreczko
- Nathan Aspinall vs Andrew Gilding
Evening Session (7pm)
3x Third Round
- Chris Dobey vs Josh Rock
- Michael van Gerwen vs Brendan Dolan
- Luke Littler vs Ian White
Sunday, December 29
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x Third Round
- Jeffrey de Graaf vs Paolo Nebrida
- Kevin Doets vs Krzysztof Ratajski
- Dimitri van den Bergh vs Callan Rydz
Evening Session (7pm)
1x Third Round, 2x Fourth Round
- Ricky Evans vs Robert Owen
- 2x Fourth Round matches – TBC
Monday, December 30
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x Fourth Round
Evening Session (7pm)
3x Fourth Round
Wednesday, January 1
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
2x Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (7pm)
2x Quarter-Finals
Thursday, January 2 (7.30pm)
Semi-Finals
Friday, January 3 (8pm)
Final
2
