Paul Nicholson on the 2025 PDC season: Player of the Year, finest nine-darter and most remarkable comeback

The 2025 PDC season is halfway through, and with a calendar already bulging with spectacle, titles and surprises, it's time for a midterm review. Paul Nicholson, former top darter and Sporting Life analyst, looks back on the first half of the season and hands out his personal awards.

With 20 different winners on the circuit, the competition is greater than ever. But who stands out? It’s really difficult to pick just one player because there’s been 20 different winners on the circuit so far this season which is fantastic to see and shows the depth of talent right now. However I’m going to have to give the nod to Luke Humphries."

For Nicholson, the choice of Luke Humphries makes sense, especially after his win in the Premier League Darts, in which he beat Luke Littler in the final. "He ticked the Premier League title off his list by beating Luke Littler and he’s now very close to completing the full set of majors."

"To get through the long campaign and have enough energy towards the end to actually get it done against such an incredible talent was really impressive, while we can’t forget he also won the Winmau World Masters back in February.

"That was his only ranked title of the campaign but that’s understandable when you consider he chose to miss a lot of tournaments to stay fresh and focused on the Premier League. His recent US Masters success added to his pot of unranked cash and was the perfect response to his World Cup of Darts disappointment with Littler that received a lot of unfair criticism."

The rivalry between Luke Littler and Luke Humphries has colored the season, with the absolute highlight being their legendary duel in Aberdeen, on a Premier League night.

"You can never get bored of watching the many matches we’ve seen between the two Lukes, especially when they’re both in the mood. It’s something that takes your breath away."

"There was one particular night in Aberdeen this season when they produced an absolute classic of the ages and I’m sure every reader will know instantly which one I’m talking about."

Littler won 6-3, notching an average of 115.96 and throwing five 180s. Humphries was hardly less impressive with 110.01 and nine maximum scores. In just nine legs, 14 180s fell.

"I remember sitting down after and just leaning back, thinking, “What was that?”This kind of match was never the norm but now when these two come up against each other, it’s the kind of thing we can expect. That said, it’s still no less thrilling when they do deliver."

Nicholson said the best sports moment of the season came from an unexpected source: Northern Ireland's victory at the World Cup of Darts. The duo of Daryl Gurney and Josh Rock defeated the experienced Welsh team in a thrilling final.

"To see Daryl Gurney and Josh Rock show so much emotion certainly made this the most heartwarming moment of the season so far, especially with the sportsmanship offered from both Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton."

Gurney's resurgence especially stands out for the analyst. "We all know about the potential of Rock, but we’ve been saying for a good while that Gurney is showing signs of bouncing back to more successful times in his career, so it’s great to see him lifting a trophy once again.This really could be a springboard for him to challenge for big individual honours again and the financial boost will also help ease any pressures that may have been building."

With 31 nine-darters this year, five of them televised, it's hard to choose. But Nicholson quickly found his favorite.

"Price actually did it twice and it’s the second of those against Stephen Bunting which was my favourite.It was the 15th week of the campaign and he was almost gesturing the fact that he was going to get a second set of golden darts from the title sponsor.

"This was another dose of the blockbuster version of Price we’ve all loved watching in recent months, even though he lost the match!

A striking choice for this category, Nicholson himself acknowledges. "I know it seems really weird to say someone as established as Jonny Clayton but after a relatively lean patch over the past couple of seasons, he’s enjoyed a superb resurgence in 2025 and is actually ranked second for ranked prize money behind Luke Littler.

Clayton finished second at the World Masters, won two titles (including a European Tour event) and is now second on the 2025 ranked prize money list, trailing only Littler.

"I think there were question marks as to whether we’d seen the best of him because of his age but it really does feel like he’s been reborn and that’s tremendous to see."