World Darts Championship: Schedule, format, previous winners and nine darters at Alexandra Palace
Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Michael Smith are among the favourites to win the tournament; watch the 2025 World Darts Championship, live on Sky Sports' dedicated darts channel from Sunday, December 15
Wednesday 11 December 2024 13:37, UK
It is the most wonderful time of the year as the World Darts Championship is around the corner and there is nothing better than sitting back for a few weeks and watching the greatest arrows show on Earth.
We will look back on 2024 as a significant year for darts, a year where the sport has grown to new heights and a new generation of players has emerged.
From iconic walk-ons, arguments on the oche, huge upsets and nine-darters, including a certain "I can't spake" - the World Championship always delivers.
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When is the World Darts Championship 2025?
The 32nd World Darts Championship takes place from Sunday, December 15 to Friday, January 3.
There is action every day apart from Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve.
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Where is the World Darts Championship 2025?
The World Darts Championship is held at the Alexandra Palace in London, which has been the case since 2008.
Previously, the Circus Tavern in Essex hosted the biggest darts event of the year from 1994 to 2007.
Why is the Alexandra Palace so special?
There's no definitive answers for this but hosting a renowned tournament each year which sells out every time probably helps. As expected, every session for this year's tournament was sold out in a couple of hours, so the 3,500-capacity Ally Pally will be full to the brim.
'Ally Pally' also hosts the Masters snooker tournament in January and Pool's Mosconi cup biannually during the winter too, so it feels like the home of cue sports in this period.
How to watch the World Darts Championship
You won't miss an arrow in the World Championship on the dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel, with the best of the action also on Sky Sports Main Event.
Coverage begins on Sunday, December 15 at 6.30pm, with afternoon sessions at 12.30pm and evening sessions at 7pm taking place for most the tournament.
The quarter-finals are on New Year's Day on Wednesday, January 1 with the first two matches at 12.30pm, and the last two at 7pm.
The semi-finals are on Thursday, January 2 from 7.30pm and the final is on Friday, January 3 at 8pm.
World Darts Championship format
The World Championship uses the sets format, with each set being the first to three legs.
The deciding set must be won by at least two legs, so if it's 2-2 in the final set, a player must win 4-2 or 5-3. If it's 5-5, a sudden-death leg will take place with no throw for the bull, so the alteration of whoever throws first simply continues.
When is Luke Littler playing?
Luke Littler has been a shining light for darts over the last 12 months but this time there is expectation for him to go far and become world champion.
The 17-year-old will play on Saturday, December 21 on a night which also sees Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury's rematch, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Littler will face Ryan Meikle or 'The Queen of the Palace' Fallon Sherrock in what could be a must-watch match.
Should he come through that, Littler and top seed Luke Humphries will be on a collision course to come up against each other in the semi-finals, as they are in the same half of the draw.
Who is the defending champion?
World No 1 Humphries is the defending champion after he beat Littler in a thrilling final at the start of 2024.
The last player to successfully defend their title was Gary Anderson in 2016. Adrian Lewis and Phil Taylor are the only other players to achieve that feat.
Humphries will headline the opening night on Sunday against Thibault Tricole or Joe Comito.
World Darts Championship Prize Money
- Champion - £500,000
- Runner-up - £200,000
- Semi-finals - £100,000
- Quarter-finals - £50,000
- Fourth round - £35,000
- Third round - £25,000
- Second round - £15,000
- First round - £7,500
- Nine-darter - £60,000
PDC World Darts Championship winners
How many world titles has Phil Taylor won?
Phil 'The Power' Taylor won 14 PDC world titles but also became world champion twice before the PDC era.
It's a record which many think will be impossible to beat. Michael van Gerwen has won three titles, with John Part, Gary Anderson, Adrian Lewis and Peter Wright the only other multiple winners.
How many nine-darters have there been?
It's fair to say nine-darters have become more common in the sport but there have only been 14 in the history of the PDC World Championship.
The first only came in 2009 when Raymond van Barneveld nailed the perfect leg. Barney did it again a year later, then Adrian Lewis made the first nine-darter in a final in 2011.
Two nines were done in 2013 thanks to Dean Winstanley and Van Gerwen. Terry Jenkins and Kyle Anderson joined the illustrious nine-dart list in 2014, with Lewis making a second nine in 2015.
In 2016, Gary Anderson made a nine in the semi-finals and there was a five-year gap until the next perfect leg.
The player who's faced so many nine-darters against him, James Wade, became the eighth player to do a nine, then there were three in 2022 from William Borland, Darius Labanauskas and Gerwyn Price.
And, of course, Michael Smith's nine-darter in the 2023 final against Van Gerwen has been etched in darting folklore in what has to be the best leg of darts ever.
How much beer is drunk at the World Championship?
Around 90,000 darts fans will flock the Ally Pally from the middle of December to early January. As the crowd stand up to love the darts, they may have a pint in their hand too.
How many pints are drunk you ask? Around half a million across the event apparently.
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What's the song they play at the darts in between breaks?
Ever had that annoying feeling when you know how a song goes but don't know what it's called? You may think that about the song which is played during breaks in the match at the end of a leg during the World Championship.
It's called Chase the Sun by Planet Funk and you just have to join in when it comes on.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live from December 15-January 3 on Sky Sports' dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
