PREVIEW 2025 Winmau World Masters: Who wins the first rebranded edition under PDC umbrella?

The 2025 Winmau World Masters promises to be one of the standout events in the early part of this year’s darts calendar. This week, from 29th January to 2nd February, the Arena MK in Milton Keynes will play host to the reimagined World Masters. Returning to its traditional roots, the tournament features a set-play format that should see more drama, closer battles, and perhaps one or two surprises for good measure.

The preliminary rounds kick off on Wednesday, 29th January, before the main televised event begins on Thursday, 30th January, and runs until the final on Sunday, 2nd February. With a total prize fund of £500,000, including £100,000 for the champion and £50,000 for the runner-up, there’s a lot at stake for the 32 players competing in Milton Keynes over the next few days.

The top 24 are already through to the main tournament and the remaining eight spots will be divided in the Preliminary Round on Wednesday January 29. This means that Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and co are already into Thursday's action as the action then continues with the draw for those players already completed.

In 2024, Stephen Bunting claimed his first PDC major title in stunning fashion at the Masters. The 39-year-old defeated Michael van Gerwen 11-7 in the final with a commanding performance, taking control early and never letting up.

Bunting’s triumph marked a potentially pivotal moment in his career in a year that saw him rediscover his best form, and he hasn’t looked back since. After a shaky start to the year, Bunting built momentum through consistent performances and entered the tournament with quiet confidence. He defeated big names such as Luke Humphries and Peter Wright on his way to the final, and he would not be denied the title this time.

Bunting’s 2024 success has set the stage for a 2025 season, where his popularity has absolutely skyrocketed in recent months. Can he defend his title and continue climb to the top, or will a new champion emerge?

World number one Luke Humphries heads into this year’s World Masters looking to rediscover his form. The 2024 world champion has had a challenging start to 2025, suffering a surprising loss to Jermaine Wattimena at last weekend’s Dutch Darts Masters and an earlier semi-final defeat to Bunting in Bahrain. Not to mention, he was battered by Peter Wright in the last 16 of the World Championships a month ago. Humphries will face Joe Cullen in the opening round. Cullen, the 2022 Masters champion, has shown he has the pedigree to succeed in this format. But can he summon the magic of three years ago to upset the top seed?

Reigning world champion Luke Littler enters his first World Masters as the second seed. The teenage sensation has been the story of the past 12 months in the world of darts, becoming the youngest world champion in history earlier this month. His emphatic 7-3 victory over Michael van Gerwen in the World Championship final cemented his status as one of the sport’s brightest talents. Although Littler fell short against Bunting in last weekend’s Dutch Darts Masters, the 18-year-old is eager to add another major title to his collection. He begins his campaign against a qualifier and will be looking to make a statement in his debut at this event.

Stephen Bunting is the defending champion and comes into the World Masters in red-hot form. The reigning champion secured victory at the Bahrain Darts Masters two weeks ago and reached the final of the Dutch Darts Masters last weekend, only to fall to Rob Cross on the night. But there were still positives from the weekend in the Netherlands, as Bunting got revenge over Littler for his world championship semi final defeat to the teenager. With momentum firmly on his side, Bunting is one of the favourites to lift the title again this year. He’ll face a qualifier in the first round as he aims to continue his hot streak.

Fresh off his Dutch Darts Masters victory, Rob Cross enters the World Masters brimming with confidence, which is good to see after a difficult loss at the world championships. The 2018 world champion showcased his class last weekend by defeating Bunting in the final, securing his first title of the year. Cross will face a qualifier in the first round, looking to maintain his strong start to 2025. If Cross is in the same sort of form we saw last weekend, he could be a serious threat.

Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen returns to the World Masters as the record holder for most titles in the original format, with five wins in 12 appearances. Despite losing to Littler in the World Championship final earlier this month, van Gerwen’s performance in London was one of his strongest in recent years. We’re glad about that, as darts is a better place with MvG at his best. The 35-year-old Dutchman will begin his quest for a sixth title against a qualifier. If he’s on his A game, van Gerwen is always a favourite and no one would be surprised to see him pick up yet more silverware.

One of the standout matchups in the opening round pits James Wade against Mike De Decker. Wade, a 2014 Masters champion and 11-time PDC major winner, brings a wealth of experience to the table.

However, Wade’s form has been inconsistent of late, and he’ll need to be at his best against De Decker, the 2024 World Grand Prix champion. De Decker’s victory over Luke Humphries in last October’s Grand Prix final was a career highlight, but his early exit at the World Championship may still weigh on his mind. De Decker will be playing with a chip on his shoulder, as he recently became the first winner of a televised event on Sky Sports not to be selected for the Premier League.

Danny Noppert and Michael Smith’s first-round clash certainly promises fireworks, with both players looking to kick start their 2025 campaigns this weekend Noppert, a former UK Open champion, will hope to reignite his form in front of the Milton Keynes crowd. Meanwhile, Smith, the 2023 World Champion, is eager to put recent struggles behind him and re-establish himself as one of the sport’s elite. The Smith of two years ago would be right up there as favourites to win the Masters, but can he get back to his best?

Gary Anderson faces Dimitri Van den Bergh in another marquee first-round matchup. Anderson, a two-time world champion, was brilliant in his Grand Slam semi-final clash with Littler last November but failed to carry that form into the World Championship, where he suffered an early exit. It was a strange drop of form from Anderson, as he was expected to be one of the favourites at Alexandra Palace.

Van den Bergh, a World Matchplay and UK Open champion, is no stranger to the spotlight either. Both players are capable of producing world-class darts, making this one of the must-watch ties of the opening round.

As the 2025 World Masters gets underway, there’s plenty of different storylines to get excited about. Can Littler add another title to his collection and draw closer to the word number 1 spot? Can Humphries bounce back? Or is the Bunting train going to continue picking up speed? Whatever the case, it promises to be a yet another epic weekend of darts action.

(1) Luke Humphries v Joe Cullen

(16) Josh Rock v Qualifier 6

(8) Damon Heta v Ross Smith

(9) Gerwyn Price v Qualifier 4

(4) Rob Cross v Qualifier 8

(13) Danny Noppert v Michael Smith

(5) Stephen Bunting v Qualifier 5

(12) Peter Wright v Qualifier 1

(2) Luke Littler v Qualifier 3

(15) James Wade v Mike De Decker

(7) Jonny Clayton v Martin Schindler

(10) Chris Dobey v Ryan Searle

(3) Michael van Gerwen v Qualifier 2

(14) Gary Anderson v Dimitri Van den Bergh

(6) Dave Chisnall v Qualifier 7

(11) Nathan Aspinall v Andrew Gilding

The Winmau World Masters is played in a classic set format, with each set consisting of the best of three legs. The match lengths increase as the tournament progresses.

Preliminary Rounds: Best of 3 sets

First Round: Best of 5 sets

Second Round & Quarter-Finals: Best of 7 sets

Semi-Finals: Best of 9 sets

Final: Best of 11 sets