PDC World Darts Championship 2024-25: Start date, schedule, format and where to watch as Luke Humphries seeks title defense against Luke Littler and Co

The 2024-25 PDC World Darts Championship is almost here.

World number one Luke Humphries returns to Ally Pally hoping to defend his title against worthy contenders Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith.

Humphries lifted the Sid Waddle Trophy for the first time in his career after a thrilling 7-4 victory over teenage sensation Luke Littler.

Littler, who burst onto the scene this time last year, is favorite to take the title after his impressive performance in December last year, when the 16-year-old produced mesmerizing performances against some of the biggest names in darts to reach the final at his debut release.

However, the teenage sensation was denied his fairytale ending as he was beaten by the 29-year-old in the final.

Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s championships, including the start date, schedule, competitors and where to watch.

When is the World Darts Championship?

The 2024-25 World Darts Championship will begin on Sunday, December 15 at Alexandra Palace in London.

During the two-week event, the tournament will break for three days from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day.

The last day of the competition is Friday, January 3rd.

Where should I look?

This year’s PDC World Darts Championship will be available to watch live on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel.

Coverage of the event will begin on December 15th and continue until the finale on Friday, January 3rd.

For darts fans on the go this festive season, the championship will also be available to watch live via the Sky Go app and Now TV.

Schedule

The ties for the first and second rounds of the competition were drawing on Monday, November 25 and it did not disappoint.

Last year’s runner-up and the sport’s new poster boy Luke Littler is paired against Fallon Sherrock in his opening clash, given that she defeated Ryan Meikle in her first-round tie.

While Michael Smith can start his campaign against transgender player Noah-Lynn van Leeuwen if she beats Kevin Doets.

Defending champion Luke Humphries will face either Thibaut Tricole or Joe Comito in the first round draw.

List of widgets

Sunday, December 15 (7:00 p.m.)

• Thibault Tricole vs. Joe Comito (R1)
• Jermaine Wattimena vs. Stefan Bellmont (R1)
• Kim Huybrechts vs Keane Barry (R1)
• Luke Humphries (1) vs. Thibaut Tricole or Joe Comito (R2)

Monday December 16

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

• Wesley Plaisier vs Ryusei Azemoto (R1)
• Luke Woodhouse vs Lawrence Ilagan (R1)
• Alan Soutar vs. Kai Gotthardt (R1)
• James Wade (16) vs. Jermaine Wattimena or Stefan Belmont (R2)

Evening Session (19:00)

• Niels Zonneveld vs. Robert Owen (R1)
• Conor Scott vs. Ben Robb (R1)
• Cameron Menzies vs. Leonard Gates (R1)
• Gerwyn Price (10) vs Kim Huybrechts or Keane Barry (R2)

Tuesday 17 December

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

• James Hurrell vs. Jim Long (R1)
• Kevin Doets or Noah-Lynn van Leeuwen (R1)
• Ryan Joyce vs Darius Labanauskas (R1)
• Mike De Decker (24) vs Luke Woodhouse or Lawrence Ilagan (R2)

Evening Session (19:00)

• Jeffrey de Graaf vs. Rashad Sweeting (R1)
• Ricardo Pietreczko vs. Xiaochen Zong (R1)
• Ryan Meikle vs. Fallon Sherrock (R1)
• Peter Wright (17) vs Wesley Plaisier or Ryusei Azemoto (R2)

Wednesday, December 18 (7:00 p.m.)

• Jim Williams vs. Paolo Nebrida (R1)
• Madars Razma vs Christian Kist (R1)
• Ricky Evans vs. Gordon Mathers (R1)
• Nathan Aspinall (12) vs Cameron Menzies or Leonard Gates (R2)

Thursday 19 December

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

• Chris Landman vs Lok Yin Lee (R1)
• Callan Rydz vs. Romeo Grbavac (R1)
• Martin Lukeman vs. Nitin Kumar
• Gabriel Clemens (27) vs Nils Zonneveld or Robert Owen (R2

Evening Session (19:00)

• Nick Kenny vs Stowe Buntz (R1)
• Mensur Suljovic vs. Matt Campbell (R1)
• Scott Williams vs Nico Springer (R1)
• Michael Smith (2) vs. Kevin Doets or Noa-Lynn van Leuven (R2)

Friday 20 December

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

• Stephen Burton vs. Alexander Merckx (R1)
• Wessel Nijman vs Cameron Carolissen (R1)
• Ian White vs Sandro Eric Sosing (R1)
• Stephen Bunting (8) vs Alan Soutar or Kai Gotthardt (R2)

Evening Session (19:00)

• Mickey Mansell vs. Tomoya Goto (R1)
• Florian Hempel vs Jeffrey De Zwaan (R1)
• William O’Connor vs. Dylan Slevin (R1)
• Michael van Gerwen (3) vs James Hurrell or Jim Long (R2)

Saturday 21 December

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

• Karel Sedlacek or Rhys Griffin (R1)
• Richard Veenstra or Alexis Toylo (R1)
• Brendan Dolan (30) vs Chris Landman or Lok Yin Lee (R2)
• Chris Dobey (15) vs. Stephen Burton or Alexander Merkx (R2)

Evening Session (19:00)

• Danny Noppert (13) vs. Ryan Joyce or Darius Labanauskas (R2)
• Raymond van Barneveld (32) vs Nick Kenny or Stowe Buntz (R2)
• Luke Littler (4) vs. Ryan Meikle or Fallon Sherrock (R2)
• Damon Hetta (9) vs Connor Scott or Ben Robb (R2)

Sunday 22 December

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

• Ryan Searle (20) vs Mensur Suljovic or Matt Campbell (R2)
• Dirk van Duijvenbode (25) vs Madars Razma or Christian Kist (R2)
• Joe Cullen (23) vs Wessel Nijman or Cameron Carolissen (R2)
• Ritchie Edhouse (29) v Ian White or Sandro Eric Sosing (R2)

Evening Session (19:00)

• Martin Schindler (22) vs. Callan Rydz or Romeo Grbavac (R2)
• Ross Smith (19) vs Jim Williams or Paolo Nebrida (R2)
• Gary Anderson (14) vs Jeffrey de Graaf vs Rashad Sweeting (R2)
• Dimitri van den Bergh (11) vs William O’Connor or Dylan Slevin (R2)

Monday 23 December

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

• Krzysztof Ratajski (31) vs. Richard Veenstra or Alexis Toylo (R2)
• Andrew Gilding (21) vs Martin Luckman or Nitin Kumar (R2)
• Josh Rock (18) vs. Karel Sedlacek or Rhys Griffin (R2)
• Johnny Clayton (7) vs. Mickey Mansell or Tomoya Goto (R2)

Evening Session (19:00)

• Gian van Veen (28) vs Ricardo Pietreczko or Xiaochen Zong (R2)
• Daryl Gurney (26) vs Florian Hempel or Jeffrey De Zwaan (R2)
• Dave Chisnall (6) v Ricky Evans or Gordon Mathers (R2)
• Rob Cross (5) vs. Scott Williams or Nico Springer (R2)

Friday December 27

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

Evening Session (7:00 p.m.)

Saturday 28 December

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

Evening Session (19:00)

Sunday 29 December

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

Evening Session (19:00)

• 1x Third Round, 2x Fourth Round

Monday December 30

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

Evening Session (19:00)

Wednesday January 1st

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

Evening Session (19:00)

Thursday, January 2 (7:30 p.m.)

Friday, January 3 (8:00 p.m.)

format

• First round: Best of five sets
• Second round: Best of five sets
• Third round: Best of seven sets
• Fourth round: Best of seven sets
• Quarter-finals: Best of nine sets
• Semi-final: Best of 11 sets
• Final: Best of 13 sets

Cash prizes

The overall prize for this year’s World Darts Championship is a whopping £2.5 million

Just taking part in the first round will see players take home £7,500, with their purses increasing if they manage to progress further in the competition.

The winner will take home a whopping £500,000 for their performance and the runner-up will walk away with £200,000′.

Breakdown of prize pool:

• Winner: £500,000
• Runner-up: £200,000
• Semi-Final: £100,000
• Quarter-final: £50,000
• Fourth round: £35,000
• Third round: £25,000
• Second round: £15,000
• First round: £7,500
• Total: £2,500,000

Nine Darts Bonus

Paddy Power has committed to paying a bonus of £180,000 for each nine-dart player at this year’s championship.

The six-figure bonus will be split equally between the player who throws the perfect leg, Prostate Cancer UK and one lucky fan in the crowd at Alexandra Palace.