2025 PDC WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW, TIPS & 50/1 ACCA
It’s that time of year when it feels like Christmas has come early as the PDC World Darts Championship returns to Alexandra Palace and 96 players battle it out to become champion of the world.
Luke Humphries is the defending titlist and, after a sensational 2024, will be hoping to become the first player to win the tournament back-to-back since Gary Anderson in 2016.
BetMGM has you covered with all the key information, where to watch the action profiles of the main favourites for the tournament and even a tasty 50/1 pre-tournament accumulator.
As always, we will have some phenomenal odds and offers throughout the competition – check out our dedicated PDC World Darts Championship page throughout the action at Ally Pally for the latest prices, insightful articles and promotions.
When is the PDC World Darts Championship and how to watch it?
Location: Alexandra Palace, London Dates & times: 15th December 2024 - 3rd January 2025 How to watch: Live on Sky Sports plus news on BetMGM social media and live odds on-site Format: Sets (knockout) Defending Champion: Luke Humphries
2025 PDC World Darts Championship Favourites
Luke Littler – 15/8
Last year’s debutant sensation, Littler has had a remarkable first year on tour since announcing his arrival as a 16-year-old finalist in the 2024 World Championship.
Littler enters the worlds as the holder of the BetMGM Premier League, the World Series of Darts and the Grand Slam of Darts titles as well as a beaten finalist in the Players Championships Finals.
His remarkable rise sees him enter this competition as the 15/8 favourite, with the new kid on the block proving immensely difficult to beat when hitting top form – indeed his 800 maximums and 32 105+ averages lead the tour this year.
He could take some stopping.
Luke Humphries – 10/3
What a year it has been for the reigning world champion. Humphries has had another outstanding season, winning the World Matchplay, World Cup of Darts and the Players Championship Finals.
Add to this runner-up finishes in the BetMGM Premier League, the UK Open and the World Grand Prix and you have quite the 2024 for the 29-year-old.
He returns to Ally Pally a 10/3 shot to defend his title, a price which looks excellent value. He beat Littler in the final last year but, notably, we cannot see a repeat as they are in the same half of the draw this time round.
Gary Anderson – 10/1
Anderson was the last player to win back-to-back World Championships when he lifted the title in 2015 and 2016.
The Flying Scotsman hasn’t won a major since 2019 but has made a couple of semi-finals in 2024 in the Grand Slam and the World Cup and won the European Grand Prix back in April.
Despite this Anderson has often shown the kind of form that makes him impossible to deal with and he leads the way for averages this year with an impressive 99.60. He also could – and perhaps should – have beaten Luke Littler to make the final of the Grand Slam of Darts when averaging over 100 and losing in a deciding leg.
The 10/1 odds make him third favourite and, while the longer format of World Championship set play may not suit him these days, a player of his calibre can’t be ignored.
Michael van Gerwen – 12/1
Three-time world champion Van Gerwen hasn’t been in the best form this year with moments of his old self outweighed by below-par and, at times, rather careless performances.
That said, the Dutchman has still made two major finals – at the Masters and the World Matchplay – and won the Hungarian Darts Trophy on the European Tour.
Van Gerwen’s 12/1 odds make him one of the favourites despite his mixed year, though his place in the bottom half of the draw means there is a strong chance of meeting Anderson in the fourth round.
With the way MVG has been playing it is difficult to make a strong case for him here – but when you have won the World Championships on three occasions already and your major titles are counted in multiples of 10, you simply cannot be ruled out.
50/1 PDC World Darts Championship Acca
We’ve put together an acca for the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship and we have chosen our winner for each of the four quarters of the draw. Our choices for the four winners come in at a tasty 50/1
Here’s a breakdown of our choices:
Leg 1: Luke Humphries to win Quarter 1 @ 5/6
We can’t look past the defending champion to win the first quarter of the draw.
While there are some tricky games on paper it’s too difficult to envisage anyone ultimately getting the better of ‘Cool Hand’ on his way to the semi-finals.
An opening second-round game against either Thibault Tricole or Joe Comico should pose no issues and could set up a meeting with 2007 winner Raymond van Barneveld, who he brushed aside 6-3 in their last meeting.
Perhaps his biggest worry will be Mike De Decker – the Belgian famously beat Humphries in the World Grand Prix final to claim his first major title and indeed has defeated him in two of their last three meetings If the two meet here it will be at the quarter-final stage – a platform Cool Hand is still far more used to than De Decker.
Two-time world champion Peter Wright as well as James Wade and eighth-seed Stephen Bunting, the reigning Masters champion, are all in this portion of the draw but, on his day, Humphries beats them all.
Leg 2: Luke Littler to win Quarter 2 @ 4/6
From a relatively unknown prodigy to favourite to win the World Championship, Luke Littler will get underway here in the second round against either Fallon Sherrock or Ryan Meikle.
We envisage no problems there, nor in a potential third-round tie against European Championship winner Ritchie Edhouse – ‘the Nuke’ has comfortably won both previous meetings against him.
Potential opponents en route to the semis include Rob Cross, who Littler whitewashed at the Players Championship Finals, as well as Nathan Aspinall who the youngster beat five out of six times on his way to BetMGM Premier League glory.
We can’t see either stopping him nor can we see fellow youngster Gian van Veen ending his run, with Littler winning his meeting with the Dutchman in the PDC World Youth Championship final last year.
🧱 Barney beaten by a bricklayer
— BetMGM UK (@BetMGMUK) December 10, 2024
🎙️ “I CAN’T SPAKE!"
🤯 Luke Littler bursting on the scene
The World Championship never fails to entertain, read 10 of the biggest shocks 👇 https://t.co/FkjrrliUqm pic.twitter.com/QLPCJjZVIz
Leg 3: Michael Smith to win Quarter 3 @ 9/2
While the first two quarters of the draw were reasonably straightforward in terms of standout winners, things are a lot more open in the third.
Second-seed Michael Smith hasn’t set the world alight this year, though the 2023 world champion did win the World Cup of Darts in June alongside Humphries.
Despite a relatively barren year, Smith is our pick to make the semi-finals from this portion of the draw. His second-round match shouldn’t be anything to worry about and could set up a battle with Chris Dobey, with Bully Boy seeking revenge for last year’s fourth-round exit.
His 9/2 odds don’t make him the favourite for the quarter; that goes to Wessel Nijman, but the Dutchman has lost his last six matches and Smith won the last meeting between the pair.
He also has enough, on his day, to win potential meetings with Jonny Clayton and an out-of-sorts Gerwyn Price to get to the last four.
Not a shoo-in this one by any means then, but Smith’s nous and experience will be enough to make the semis.
Leg 4: Michael van Gerwen to win Quarter 4 @ 9/4
The final quarter of the draw came down to a choice between two of the biggest names in darts history.
Van Gerwen and Anderson have five PDC world titles between them and we are looking at the winner of their potential third-round meeting to go all the way to the semis at least.
There are other strong candidates here, including UK Open champion Dimitri van den Bergh. Looking at head-to-head meetings, though, MVG has won the last three against Van den Bergh, including an 11-2 thrashing, while Anderson also won his last match against the Belgian.
We don’t see either Van Gerwen or the Flying Scotsman slipping up in the second round, setting up a tasty third-round battle.
They are hard to separate in the outright betting – Anderson 10/1 and Van Gerwen 12/1 – while their recent head-to-head is also level with both winning two of the last four.
Both have had far better years than 2024 but both will be desperate to have another shot at World Championship glory.
Barring a shock exit prior, Van Gerwen vs Anderson should make for an early tournament cracker. We’ve said the winner will take the quarter… that winner will be the Dutchman. Just.
50/1 quarter winners acca
- Luke Humphries to win Quarter 1
- Luke Littler to win Quarter 2
- Michael Smith to win Quarter 3
- Michael van Gerwen to win Quarter 4
Add our 50/1 World Darts Championship quarter winners acca to your betslip here
2025 PDC World Darts Championship Specials As well as outright betting and accas, BetMGM offers a range of specials throughout the PDC World Darts Championship.
‘King of the Oche’, number of 180s and checkout markets will be available, to name but a few, while there are also individual player specials and more. s.
Favourite Littler, for example, is 6/1 to throw a nine-darter in the tournament. As the youngest person to ever throw a televised perfect leg, and after achieving the feat in the BetMGM Premier League final no less, this is an intriguing bet that could have legs for the duration of the tournament.
You can also predict your World Championship finalists without having to choose which one wins the Sid Waddell Trophy.
Remember: Littler and Humphries cannot repeat their 2024 final due to the draw and would face off in the semis. The Nuke has developed an intriguing battle with three-time champion Van Gerwen over the past year, with the pair each winning six of their 12 meetings. Who would write off 8/1 for them to contest the final?
Keep an eye on BetMGM’s dedicated PDC World Darts Championship page for further specials, articles and tips as the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship progresses.
It’s showtime!
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change. Statistics referenced courtesy of the PDC & Darts Orakel