Luke Humphries will begin his defence of the Paddy Power World Darts Championship on the opening night of the 2024/25 tournament, with the schedule of play for the first and second rounds now finalised.
The pre-Christmas period in the sport’s showpiece event will see the first and second rounds played across nine days from December 15-23, as 96 players prepare to feature in a festive feast of darts at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Reigning champion Humphries will begin his bid for back-to-back titles on the tournament’s opening night, as he faces either French number one Thibault Tricole or Australian qualifier Joe Comito, who lock horns in the evening’s curtain-raiser.
Sunday’s action will also see European Championship runner-up Jermaine Wattimena take on Swiss debutant Stefan Bellmont, while 2011/12 quarter-finalist Kim Huybrechts plays Ireland’s Keane Barry.
The first double session at this year’s World Darts Championship will take place on Monday December 16, as 2020/21 World Champion Gerwyn Price meets either Huybrechts or Barry.
Cameron Menzies and Leonard Gates go head-to-head in a fascinating first round tie, while four-time semi-finalist James Wade is tasked with a potential showdown against Wattimena on Monday afternoon.
World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker – seeded for the first time at this event – headlines Tuesday afternoon’s action, as Kevin Doets and Noa-Lynn van Leuven collide in an all-Dutch affair.
Two-time World Champion Peter Wright then takes centre stage in the evening session, which also sees Fallon Sherrock kick off her fifth World Championship campaign against Ryan Meikle.
Nathan Aspinall – a semi-finalist in 2018/19 and 2019/20 – will be the star attraction on Day Four of the £2.5m tournament, with Menzies or Gates awaiting the former World Matchplay winner in the second round.
2022/23 World Champion Michael Smith enters the fray on Thursday December 19, while former semi-finalists Gabriel Clemens and Scott Williams also feature alongside Grand Slam of Darts runner-up Martin Lukeman.
Dutch superstar Michael van Gerwen will open his challenge for a fourth World Championship crown on Day Six at Alexandra Palace, as Masters champion Stephen Bunting takes the spotlight on Friday afternoon.
Fourth seed Luke Littler – a runner-up on debut last year – makes his return to the capital on Saturday December 21, and the 17-year-old sensation will play either Meikle or Sherrock for a place in the third round.
Five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld and world number nine Damon Heta will also be in action on a star-studded Saturday night, after the first round draws to a close earlier in the day.
Scottish icon Gary Anderson – eyeing a third World Championship crown in January – begins his title challenge on Sunday December 22, as 2022/23 semi-finalist Dimitri Van den Bergh also makes his Ally Pally return.
German number one Martin Schindler kicks off Sunday evening’s play, while European Champion Ritchie Edhouse rounds off an afternoon session which includes Ryan Searle, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Joe Cullen.
The second round will conclude across two sessions on Saturday December 23, with 2017/18 World Champion Rob Cross completing the pre-Christmas action against Scott Williams or Niko Springer.
2020/21 semi-finalist Dave Chisnall, seventh seed Jonny Clayton and newly-crowned World Youth Champion Gian van Veen will also take to the stage on Saturday, as the second round draws to a close in style.
Following a three-day Christmas break, the third and fourth rounds will be held from December 27-30, with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final taking place from January 1-3.
The tournament will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship
Schedule of Play
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 (1930 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
About Author
