Paddy Power World Darts Championship - The Greatest Show in Darts Returns
Forget the mince pies, December is all about maximums, walk-ons, and pure adrenaline. The PDC World Championship returns this week, transforming Alexandra Palace into the beating heart of darts once more. It’s become as much a part of the festive calendar as Christmas itself. Where the atmosphere is electric, the stakes sky-high, and the matches not to be missed – It’s officially Dartsmas!
With a record-breaking 128 players making their mark on the big stage from the PDC and Pro Tour Orders of Merit to the international qualifiers chasing glory, every contender arrives with one goal: lifting the 2025/26 Paddy Power World Championship trophy and claiming the £1,000,000 prize. With thrills and twists in every leg, set, and round, the journey begins here, and so does your coverage.
Format
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Round One |
Best of Five Sets |
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Round Two |
Best of Five Sets |
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Round Three |
Best of Seven Sets |
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Round Four |
Best of Seven Sets |
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Quarter-Finals |
Best of Nine Sets |
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Semi-Finals |
Best of 11 Sets |
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Finals |
Best of 13 Sets |
All sets will be contested as the best of five legs. A tie-break rule applies in every match, meaning the deciding set must be won by two clear legs. If the players reach 5-5 in that final set, the match will be settled by a sudden-death leg, with no bull-up to decide the throw.
Prize money
The 2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship will feature a record-breaking £5,000,000 prize fund, with a phenomenal £1,000,000 on offer for the player who lifts the trophy.
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Round One Losers |
£15,000 |
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Round Two Losers |
£25,000 |
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Round Three Losers |
£35,000 |
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Round Four Losers |
£60,000 |
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Quarter-Finalists |
£100,000 |
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Semi-Finalists |
£200,000 |
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Runner-up |
£400,000 |
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Winner |
£1,000,000 |
Who’s qualified?
This year’s World Championship features an expanded 128-player field comprising the highest calibre of darts talent. Below is the full list of players who have secured their place on the sport’s premier stage.
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2025 ProTour Rankings – Top 40 Qualifiers |
International and Tier Tour Qualifiers |
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Luke Littler (England) |
Niko Springer (Germany) |
Beau Greaves (England) PDC Development Tour Qualifier |
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Luke Humphries (England) |
William O’Connor (Ireland) |
Charlie Manby (England) PDC Development Tour Qualifier |
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Michael Van Gerwen(Netherlands) |
Niels Zonneveld (Netherlands) |
Jamai van den Herik (Netherlands) PDC Development Tour Qualifier |
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Stephen Bunting (England) |
Kevin Doets (Netherlands) |
Jurjen van der Velde (Netherlands) PDC Development Tour Qualifier |
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Jonny Clayton (Wales) |
Karel Sedlacek (Czechia) |
Stefan Bellmont (Switzerland) PDC Challenge Tour Qualifier |
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Danny Noppert (Netherlands) |
Bradley Brooks (England) |
Ted Evetts (England) PDC Challenge Tour Qualifier |
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James Wade (England) |
Jeffrey de Graaf (Sweden) |
Mervyn King (England) PDC Challenge Tour Qualifier |
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Chris Dobey (England) |
Mickey Mansell (Northern Ireland) |
Lisa Ashton (England) Women’s World Matchplay Champion |
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Gerwyn Price (Wales) |
Mario Vandenbogaerde (Belgium) |
Fallon Sherrock (England) PDC Women’s Series Qualifier |
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Gian Van Veen (Netherlands) |
Callan Rydz (England) |
Noa-Lynn van Leuven (Netherlands) PDC Women’s Series Qualifier |
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Josh Rock (Northern Ireland) |
Cam Crabtree (England) |
Gemma Hayter (England) PDC Women’s Series Qualifier |
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Ross Smith (England) |
Ian White (England) |
Mitsuhiko Tatsunami (Japan) Steel Darts Japan Champion |
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Martin Schindler (Germany) |
Sebastian BIalecki (Poland) |
Xiaochen Zong (China) PDC China Championship Winner |
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Gary Anderson (Scotland) |
Nitin Kumar (India) IDC Indian Qualifier Winner |
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Nathan Aspinall (England) |
Richard Veenstra (Netherlands) |
Lourence Ilagan (Philippines) PDC Asian Championship Winner |
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Damon Heta (Australia) |
Madars Razma (Latvia) |
Alexis Toylo (Philippines) PDC Asian Championship Runner-Up |
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Rob Cross (England) |
Alan Soutar (Scotland) |
Motomu Sakai (Japan) PDC Asian Tour Qualifier |
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Mike De Decker (Belgium) |
Lukas Wenig (Germany) |
Ryusei Azemoto (Japan) PDC Asian Tour Qualifier |
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Jermaine Wattimena (Netherlands) |
Kim Huybrechts (Belgium) |
Paul Lim (Singapore) PDC Asian Tour Qualifier |
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Ryan Searle (England) |
Mensur Suljovic (Austria) |
Man Lok Leung (Hong Kong) PDC Asian Tour Qualifier |
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Dave Chisnall (England) |
Gabriel Clemens (Germany) |
Paolo Nebrida (Philippines) PDC Asian Tour Qualifier |
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Daryl Gurney (Northern Ireland) |
Thibault Tricole (France) |
Andy Baetens (Belgium) Netherlands & Belgium Qualifier |
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Dimitri Van den Bergh (Belgium) |
Matthew Dennant (England) |
Cristo Reyes (Spain) Mediterranean Qualifier |
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Ryan Joyce (England) |
Darren Beveridge (Scotland) |
Boris Krcmar (Croatia) South-East Europe Qualifier |
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Luke Woodhouse (England) |
Justin Hood (England) |
Adam Gawlas (Czechia) Czechia Qualifier |
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Cameron Menzies (Scotland) |
Wesley Plaisier (Netherlands) |
Krzysztof Kciuk (Poland) PDO Polish Qualifier |
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Ritchie Edhouse (England) |
Steve Lennon (Ireland) |
Arno Merk (Germany) PDC Europe DACH Super League Winner |
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Michael Smith (England) |
Max Hopp (Germany) |
Patrik Kovacs (Hungary) Hungarian Super League Winner |
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Dirk Van Duijvenbode (Belgium) |
Ryan Meikle (England) |
David Davies (Wales) UK & Ireland Tour Card Holder & Associate Member Qualifier |
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Peter Wright (Scotland) |
James Hurrell (England) |
Alex Spellman (USA) CDC Continental Cup Winner |
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Wessel Nijman (Netherlands) |
Nick Kenny (Wales) |
Leonard Gates (USA) CDC Cross-Border Challenge Winner |
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Joe Cullen (England) |
Adam Sevada (USA) CDC Top-Ranked American |
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Ricardo Pietreczko (Germany) |
Keane Barry (Ireland) |
David Cameron (Canada) CDC Top-Ranked Canadian |
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Andrew Gilding (England) |
Adam Lipscombe (England) |
Stowe Buntz (USA) CDC Top-Ranked Non-Qualified Player |
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Raymond Van Barneveld (Netherlands) |
Darius Labanauskas (Lithuania) |
Jesus Salate (Argentina) CDLC Qualifier |
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Scott Williams (England) |
Dominik Gruellich (Germany) |
Teemu Harju (Finland) PDC Nordic & Baltic Championship Winner |
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Krzysztof Ratajski (Poland) |
Chris Landman (Netherlands) |
Andreas Harrysson (Sweden) PDCNB ProTour Winner |
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Martin Lukeman (England) |
Owen Bates (England) |
Oskar Lukasiak (Sweden) PDCNB ProTour Runner-Up |
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Brendan Dolan (Northern Ireland) |
Cor Dekker (Norway) |
Simon Whitlock (Australia) ANZ Premier League Winner |
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Ricky Evans (England) |
(England) |
Tim Pusey (Australia) ADA Australian Tour Winner |
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Joe Comito (Australia) DPA ProTour Winner |
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Jonny Tata (New Zealand) DPNZ ProTour Winner |
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David Munyua (Kenya) African Darts Group Qualifier |
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Jose de Sousa (Portugal) PDC Tour Card Holder Qualifiers |
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Haupai Puha (New Zealand) PDC Tour Card Holder Qualifiers |
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Adam Hunt (England) PDC Tour Card Holder Qualifiers |
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Tavis Dudeney (England) PDC Tour Card Holder Qualifiers |
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Stephen Burton (England) PDC Tour Card Holder Qualifiers |
How to watch
If you’re watching from the United Kingdom and Ireland, the entire tournament will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Darts, with evening sessions also being shown on Sky Sports Main Event. You can also stream every match live on the Sky Sports app, giving you the freedom to watch the action as it happens or revisit standout performances and unmissable moments wherever you are!
Highlights of the 2024/25 Paddy Power World Championship
- Luke Littler became the youngest ever World Champion, defeating Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in a chair gripping final. Littler also secured the record for the highest ever three-dart set average at a World Championship match with a 140.91 set average against Ryan Meikle in the second round.
- Peter Wright ended the reign of defending champ Luke Humphries with 4-1 in the fourth round, securing Wright’s place in the Quarter Finals.
- Last year’s World Championship delivered five unforgettable Big Fish finishes (170 checkouts) by Luke Littler, Chris Dobey, Kevin Doets, Joe Cullen and Nick Kenny lifting the Ally Pally roof with every dart to the bull.
- Rashad ‘Candyman’ Sweeting lit up Ally Pally on his magical debut, celebrating a maximum 180 with only 194 left by hitting Cole Palmer’s iconic ‘cold’ celebration. This sent the crowd absolutely wild and instantly establishing himself as one of the tournament’s most unforgettable personalities.
How many 9 darters?
There were 2x nine-dart finishes in last year's tournament by Christian Kist in the first round against Madras Razma, even though the overall result did not fall for Kist, the moment he hit a nine-darter of the biggest stage of world darts is something that will never be forgotten. Damon Heta followed up with the nine-dart magic in the third round again Luke Woodhouse. Heta’s celebration was so electric that it ignited the entire arena prompting even his opponent, Luke Woodhouse, to sprint across the stage in shared admiration of the moment.
How many 180’s?
The 2024/25 PDC World Championship produced an impressive 907 180s, just short of the 914 recorded at the previous year’s World Championship, with Luke Littler contributing 76 of them.
PDC World Championship Hall of Fame
|
2025 |
Luke Littler |
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2024 |
Luke Humphries |
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2023 |
Michael Smith |
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2022 |
Peter Wright |
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2021 |
Gerwyn Price |
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2020 |
Peter Wright |
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2019 |
Michael van Gerwen |
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2018 |
Rob Cross |
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2017 |
Michael van Gerwen |
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2016 |
Gary Anderson |
Bigger Prize Fund, Larger Field, Unrivalled Entertainment – Christmas Simply Doesn’t Get Better Than the World Darts Championship. For daily score updates, highlights and everything you need as the tournament unfolds, we’ve got you covered.
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