World Darts Championship

PDC World Darts Championship News & Insights

Check out expert tips and insight into all things World Championship Darts. From expert analysis, to views and insight into out darts experts, We've got you covered. It's showtime!

Darts

LITTLER FAVOURITE AS 2025 BETMGM PREMIER LEAGUE DARTS LINEUP ANNOUNCED

The 2025 BetMGM Premier League Darts season pits eight of the world's best against one another across 17 nights of world-class action. From defending champion Luke Littler to seven-time winner Michael van Gerwen and returning stars Stephen Bunting and Chris Dobey, the PDC's darting roadshow is entertainment guaranteed. It's showtime!

Darts

PDC World Championship: Quarter 4 Preview

Two former world champions are the stand-out names in quarter four of the World Darts Championship draw, Michael Van Gerwen & Gary Anderson are both looking to stand tall but numerous fantastic names stand in their way, who wins in the fourth quarter? Find our thoughts!

Darts

PDC World Championship: Quarter 3 Preview

Michael Smith, who won the World Championship two years ago, is the top seed in quarter three but 'Bully Boy' is out of form and truly anybody could walk out of quarter three victorious, who are we backing? Find out here!

The PDC World Championship is upon us.

Alexandra Palace is ready for 96 of the biggest names in darts to battle it out to become world champion, with Luke Humphries preparing to defend his title after an incredible 2024.

The tournament gets underway on 15th December 2024 and culminates on 3rd January 2025, with thousands of fans set to descend on London to watch darts’ finest put on the sport's most famous show.

Here we break down the format of the tournament, show how you can place bets on the action and look at the history and past winners of the PDC World Darts Championship.

How to Place Bets on the PDC World Darts Championship

BetMGM has a wealth of markets available for the PDC World Darts Championship.

You can check out all of the available markets by heading over to the event page on our site.

Before you can place a bet on the World Championship, you will need to log into, or create an account with, BetMGM.

Once you have signed in, or signed up to benefit from our Welcome Offer, you can start betting on the tournament.

As well as outright bets on the winner of the overall tournament, there are markets on individual games which allow you to build a bet on the match.

Selections include not only the match winner but under/over legs, number of 180s and highest checkout, among a range of others.

These selections can often be combined into a Bet Builder on one game or across several, and combining selections across games can also be used to create multiple bets, such as an accumulator.

For a full breakdown of all of the available markets, head over to our dedicated PDC Darts World Championship page.

Format and Schedule

A total of 96 players will take part in the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace from 15th December until 3rd January.

The format is a straight knockout, with the winner of each tie progressing to the next round. The full schedule of the tournament is below:

Sunday 15th December – 3x first round matches, 1x second round
Monday 16th December – 6x first round matches, 2x second round matches
Tuesday 17th December – 6x first round matches, 2x second round matches
Wednesday 18th December – 3x first round matches, 1x second round match
Thursday 19th December – 6x first round matches, 2x second round matches
Friday 20th December – 5x first round matches, 3x second round matches
Saturday 21st December – 8x second round matches
Sunday 22nd December – 8x second round matches
Monday 23rd December – 8x second round matches
Friday 27th December – 6x third round matches
Saturday 28th December – 6x third round matches
Sunday 29th December – 4x third round matches, 2x fourth round matches
Monday 30th December – 6x fourth round matches
Wednesday 1st January – Quarter-finals
Thursday 2nd January – Semi-finals
Friday 3rd January – Final

How Does the Tournament Work?

All matches at the PDC World Darts Championship will be played in the form of a straight-in, double-out format where the players win a leg by scoring 501.

The tournament is played with the set format, with a minimum of three sets required to win a match in the first round which increases as the stages progress with the final first to seven.

In the first round, and in the non-deciding legs of further rounds, sets are played to the best of five legs. From the second round onwards the first player to win at least three legs of the deciding leg and be leading by two or more wins the set and the match.

The sets required per round is outlined below:

First round – Best of five sets (first to three)
Second round – Best of five sets (first to three)
Third round – Best of seven sets (first to four)
Fourth round – Best of seven sets (first to four)
Quarter-finals – Best of nine sets (first to five)
Semi-finals – Best of 11 Sets (first to six)
Final – Best of 13 Sets (first to seven)

The top 32 players in the PDC Order of Merit automatically qualify for the competition and are seeded in the draw, which is formed of four quarters.

They will enter the competition in the second round. The top 32 players who have not already qualified from the Pro Tour Order of Merit will also qualify for the World Championship and enter in the first alongside 32 further players who have qualified internationally.

Humphries, last year’s winner, is the number one seed for the 2025 tournament with 2023 champion Michael Smith seeded as number two.

Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen is at number three despite a below-par year by his standards and BetMGM Premier League winner Luke Littler is the number four seed.

Rob Cross, Dave Chisnall, Jonny Clayton, Stephen Bunting, Damon Heta and Gerwyn Price complete the top 10 seedings for the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship.