The pinnacle of the WDF calendar is right around the corner. The 2025 WDF World Championship is soon set to commence, with many stars set to battle for the privilege of being called 'World Champion.' But where is Lakeside Country Club, and when does the 2025 WDF World Championship start?
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The Men's Open event last year saw Shane McGuirk ruled supreme last year, defeating a 70-year-old Paul Lim in the final. In the Women's, Beau Greaves became a three-time world champion, defending her crown for the third consecutive year after defeating Scot Sophie McKinlay.
Here is all the info you need to know about the WDF World Championship.
1. Where is WDF World Championship hosted?
2. When does the WDF World Championship start?
3. How to qualify for WDF World Championship?
4. How to get to WDF World Championship?
5. How to get tickets for WDF World Championship?
6. How much prize money is up for grabs?
7. Which players have won the WDF World Championship?
8. What is the format for the WDF World Championship?
1. Where is WDF World Championship hosted?
2. When does the WDF World Championship start?
3. How to qualify for WDF World Championship?
4. How to get to WDF World Championship?
5. How to get tickets for WDF World Championship?
6. How much prize money is up for grabs?
7. Which players have won the WDF World Championship?
8. What is the format for the WDF World Championship?
1. Where is WDF World Championship hosted?
The historic event will be once again competed at the Lakeside Country Club located in Frimley Green, Surrey, England. The event has been held at the iconic Lakeside venue for the three years as the WDF.
Throughout the year it holds restaurants, bars and live entertainment including concerts, comedy, tribute shows and private entertainment. At the end of the year, it is turned into a darts haven. Some of the best players have taken the Lakeside stage over the years, with it being the host from 1986 when it was promoted by the BDO. Aside from 2020, where it was hosted at the O2 in London, Lakeside has become synonymous with the event.
Shane McGuirk was winner in 2024. He returns this year.
2. When does the WDF World Championship start?
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The eagerly anticipated event is set to kick off on Friday, 28th November and climax on Sunday, 7th December 2025. The men's and women's first-round ties will be played from 28th-30th November, with the top seeds entering the fray in the second round on 30th November-3rd December for the men, and 1st-4th December for women.
The Youth quarter-finals will kick off on the 4th December with all the last-eight ties from the men being hosted on the 5th December. The semi-finals will subsequently follow in the 6th for all four tournaments, with the finals being played on the culminating day of the event, 7th December. It also acts as the first of two World Championships with the PDC version taking place the week later. Albeit players cannot qualify for both with a ruling in place to stop them and they need to pick between them.
3. How to qualify for WDF World Championship?
Throughout the year, numerous WDF tournaments have been held, Players have not only been competing for the title but for crucial ranking points which places them in the WDF World Rankings. Events are classed in difficulty, with Platinum and Gold events the most prestigious. The top 16 automatically qualifies and are seeded for the event.
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If you come out on top on a coveted Platinum or Gold tournament, you would have also booked yourself a place at Lakeside. There are also 14 qualifiers from the regional tables. There are seven of these, with the top two earning a ticket for the prestigious event. You then go back to the WDF World rankings. The next highest ranked players make it into the event until 44 players are on the shortlist. The final four lock horns in a qualifiers event.
A similar process goes for the women's tournament. The top eight in the rankings qualify, along with any winners of Platinum or Gold events throughout the calendar year. 14 regional qualifiers are included with the next highest players in the rankings used until 22 players have a spot. There is then space for just two qualifiers to make up the 24 players to take to the oche.
For the Youth event, eight players will feature in the open's event while four will feature in the girls tournament. Players must be aged 18 or under on 31st December 2024 to be elegibe the upcoming World Championship. Open-qualification criteria is split in two groups of four. The four highest ranked players in the WDF World Championship who are the required age are in with the other four qualifying through the Open WDF World Championships Play Off. It is the same criteria for the girls event but two players qualify from the rankings while another two get in through the Girls WDF World Championships Play Off.
4. How to get to WDF World Championship?
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Lakeside Country Club is located on Wharf Road, Frimley Green, Surrey. By car, exit the M3 at junction four before going down the A331 towards Frimley Green. Turn onto Wharf Road, which should be obvious to find with the location clearly sign posted when the darts is in town. Parking is free but limited spaces on offer.
If travelling by train, Frimley station is the closest to the location. You can either walk it in around 15/20. Other local train stations are Farnborough and Ash Vale, which are slightly further away. You can take the bus for part of the way and walk the rest or hop in a taxi from the station. The number two bus goes to the Country Club from Camberley and Frimley.
5. How to get tickets for WDF World Championship?
Tickets for the event have been on sale from the dedicated Eventbrite page. Aside from the afternoon session on Saturday, 6th December, tickets are still available for anyone interested in going. Starting prices range from roughly £27 to £38, with some session more expensive than others. From the 5th December, when the quarter-finals start, tickets start from £43.69, and for the final it will be from £54.49.
Beau Greaves clenches her fist during the PDC Women's World Matchplay
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6. How much prize money is up for grabs?
There will be a prize pool of £146,000 for the men's event. The men's champion will take home £50,000 with the runner-up clinching £16,000. Semi-finalists earn £8,000, double the number of quarter-finalists who are rewarded with £4,000. A ast-16 appearance will yield you £2,00, last-32 £1,250 and for making it to the last-48 you are guaranteed £750.
The women's prize pool is at £63,000. The champion will earn £25,000 with the defeated finalist pocketing £8,000. Semi-finalists accumulate £4,000 while quarter-finalists claim £2,000. A last-16 appearance will see you collect £1,000 while a last-24 spot gets you £750.
The youth champion will clinch £3,000 with the other finalist walking away with £1,500. The pair of semi-finalists gain £1,000 as the quarter-finalists take £500. The girls champion earns £1,500, runner-up gets £1,000 and the semi-finalists clinch £500.
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WDF World Championship Open Prize Money
| Position | Prize Money |
| Winner | £50,000 |
| Runner-Up | £16,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £8,000 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £4,000 |
| Last 16 | £2,000 |
| Last 32 | £1,250 |
| Last 48 | £750 |
WDF World Championship Ladies Prize Money
| Position | Prize Money |
| Winner | £25,000 |
| Runner-Up | £8,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £4,000 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £2,000 |
| Last 16 | £1,000 |
| Last 24 | £750 |
Youth Prize Money
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| Position | Prize Money |
| Winner | £3,000 |
| Runner-Up | £1,500 |
| Semi-Finalists | £1,000 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £500 |
Girls Prize Money
| Position | Prize Money |
| Winner | £1,500 |
| Runner-Up | £1,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £500 |
7. Which players have won the WDF World Championship?
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The WDF World Championship first commenced in 2022, with Neil Duff coming out on top 6-5 in a tense final against Frenchman Thibaut Tricole. It was a more convincing victory the next year, with Andy Baetens winning 6-1 against Dutchman Chirs Landman. Lat year's event saw another Irishman take glory, but this time residing from the Republic of Ireland. McGuirk conquered the field in Lakeside a year ago after defeating Lim 6-3.
Men's Winners WDF World Championship
| Year | Champion | Av. | Score | Runner-Up | Av. |
| 2022 | Neil Duff | 87.73 | 6–5 | Thibault Tricole | 86.95 |
| 2023 | Andy Baetens | 93.69 | 6–1 | Chris Landman | 86.47 |
| 2024 | Shane McGuirk | 90.31 | 6–3 | Paul Lim | 83.76 |
While there have been three winners in the men's side, the women's event has been dominated by one name: Greaves. She burst onto the scene in 2022 after taking down Kirsty Hutchinson 4-0. She followed that up a year later with a 4-1 triumph over Aileen de Graaf ahead of defending her title once more in another 4-1 win, this time against McKinlay. A new winner will be added to the women's trophy this year.
Women's WDF World Championship Winners
| Year | Champion | Av. | Score | Runner-Up | Av. |
| 2022 | Beau Greaves | 92.05 | 4–0 | Kirsty Hutchinson | 72.53 |
| 2023 | Beau Greaves (2) | 84.64 | 4–1 | Aileen de Graaf | 77.69 |
| 2024 | Beau Greaves (3) | 83.92 | 4–1 | Sophie McKinlay | 73.81 |
The first two years of the youth tournament was dominated by a duo of young Dutchman. Bradley Roes defeated Charlie Large 3-1 in the 2022 event while his fellow countryman Bradley van der Velden overcame Adam Dee 3-0 to have his name etched onto the trophy. Archie Self is the reigning champion, beating out Jenson Walker 3-2 in a closely contested final.
Boys WDF World Championship Winners
| Year | Champion | Av. | Score | Runner-Up | Av. |
| 2022 | Bradly Roes | 71.34 | 3–1 | Charlie Large | 71.56 |
| 2023 | Bradley van der Velden | 69.93 | 3–0 | Adam Dee | 66.68 |
| 2024 | Archie Self | 81.34 | 3–2 | Jenson Walker | 84.76 |
In the girls competition, all the finals have been whitewash victories. Eleanor Cairns edged out German Wibke Riemann 2-0 ahead of Aurora Fochesato brought glory to Italy in a 2-0 win against Krisztina Turai. In 2024, Paige Pauling impressed to become world champion, heaping more misery onto the shoulders of McKinlay.
Girls Winners - WDF World Championship
| Year | Champion | Av. | Score | Runner-Up | Av. |
| 2022 | Eleanor Cairns | 52.45 | 2–0 | Wibke Riemann | 52.22 |
| 2023 | Aurora Fochesato | 59.43 | 2–0 | Krisztina Turai | 51.07 |
| 2024 | Paige Pauling | 73.88 | 2–0 | Sophie McKinlay | 71.92 |
8. What is the format for the WDF World Championship?
The WDF World Championship is played in set format, with three legs equalling one set. There has been a change in the format from last year's event for both the men's and women's tournaments. The men will play the first-round, second-round and last-16 in a best-of-five format. It extends from each round onwards. The quarter-final goes up to best-of-seven, semi-final best-of-nine and final best-of-11.
The women's format is slightly shorter. The first-round and last-16 are best-of-three. The quarter-finals has gone up from a best-of-three to now being best-of five, the same as the semi-final. The final will then be played in a best-of-seven format.
There have also been extensions in the youth and girls format. The youth quarter-final is best-of-three sets, semi-finals moves up to best-of-five and final is best-of-seve. Last year it was best-of-three throughout. The girls semi-final is best-of-three ahead of a best-of-five set final.
| Round | Best of (legs) |
| First Round | Best of 5 sets |
| Second Round | Best of 5 sets |
| Third Round | Best of 5 sets |
| Quarter-Finals | Best of 7 sets |
| Semi-Finals | Best of 9 sets |
| Final | Best of 11 sets |
Lucas MichaelDarts Journalist
Lucas Michael is a darts journalist and reporter based in Cambridge, UK, and has been part of the DartsNews team since 2025. He covers professional darts through reports, analysis, round-ups, and live coverage, with a focus on clear context and accurate reporting across the PDC calendar.
A key part of his work is liveblogging major tournaments throughout the year, providing real-time updates, match coverage, and contextual reporting across the professional circuit. He also reports regularly from events on site and has covered the PDC World Darts Championship from the venue, delivering first-hand insight throughout the tournament.
Within the newsroom, Lucas works closely with the editorial team and supports coverage alongside Chief Content Officer Samuel Gill and reporter Kieran Wood.
Lucas holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. In his work, he places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating content promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026