Schedule PDC World Darts Championship 2025 Monday afternoon session featuring James Wade v Jermaine Wattimena
PDC
Lights out and away we go at the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship. After the opening day on Sunday, we continue Monday with the first double session of the tournament. On Monday afternoon, we once again have four matches on the schedule.
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James Wade will be the leading name on Monday afternoon who will head back to the Palace in a top tie against Jermaine Wattimena. Read our preview for Monday afternoon's matches at the World Darts Championship here.
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Wesley Plaisier v Ryusei Azemoto (R1)
The afternoon begins with debutant Wesley Plaisier, a Dutch dart player who has had an incredible year. Despite missing a PDC Tour Card, Plaisier managed to work his way up to become a dangerous player on the Pro Tour. He played virtually every Players Championship tournament as a substitute and made it to three finals, one of which he managed to win. That performance earned him his first PDC title and put him in the spotlight.
For Plaisier, this match is more than a chance to add luster to his World Championship debut. A win virtually moves him into the top-64 in the world, which is crucial to maintaining his 2024 merit on the rankings. His opponent, Ryusei Azemoto, is also making his World Cup debut. The Japanese earned his place through the Asian Tour, where he performed consistently with four titles and a final place finish. The winner of this match awaits a meeting with two-time world champion Peter Wright, who has been struggling with his form for more than a year.
Luke Woodhouse v Lourence Ilagan (R1)
The second match of the afternoon session brings Luke Woodhouse opposite Lourence Ilagan. Woodhouse, an established name with his sixth World Cup appearance, finally wants to get past Christmas again. He hasn't succeeded since his third round in 2020. This season, he played at almost every ranking tournament and earned a semifinal spot at the European Championship, showing he is in good shape.
Lourence Ilagan is an experienced force at the World Cup, with his ninth participation and a regular spot as an Asian representative. Although often stranded in the first round, Ilagan has shown he is a dominant player on the Asian Tour. This year, he reached seven finals and won three. The battle between the consistent Woodhouse and the flamboyant Ilagan promises to be an interesting one. Whoever wins will get to face talented Belgian Mike de Decker in the second round.
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Alan Soutar v Kai Gotthardt (R1)
Alan Soutar is back at the World Championship after a year's absence. The Scot is known for his impressive performances at Alexandra Palace, with fourth-round finishes in 2022 and 2023. This season, Soutar won his first PDC title by winning a Players Championship tournament, a career highlight. Nevertheless, he has had little success at televised tournaments, which puts a question mark over his form on the big stage.
Kai Gotthardt is a lesser-known name, but with his victory in the PDC Europe Super League, he managed to qualify as Germany's representative. His only previous stage appearances on the PDC circuit, two Euro Tour tournaments, ended in early elimination. This is his chance to prove himself on the world stage against an experienced opponent like Soutar.
James Wade v Jermaine Wattimena (R1)
The session concludes with a second-round match between James Wade and Jermaine Wattimena. Wade, an icon in the sport of darts, begins his 21st PDC World Championship in a row, an impressive run. Still, the Englishman has earned a reputation as the best darter to never reach a World Championship final. With 11 major titles to his name and four semifinals at the World Championship, the ultimate prize remains elusive for Wade. After losing his opening match two years in a row, Wade must surely see out Christmas once again
Jermaine Wattimena, however, is not just any opponent. The Dutchman is in excellent form and showed it with a convincing 3-0 victory over Stefan Bellmont in the first round. After his final place at the European Darts Championship and a quarterfinal at the Grand Slam, Wattimena has become a formidable opponent. His improved averages and improved mental toughness make him a serious threat to Wade.
TV Guide during World Darts Championship
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Sky Sports are broadcasting the entire World Darts Championship in the UK with coverage throughout on a dedicated channel Sky Sports Darts.
A subscription is required to access this though which can be sought on a Sky box or through their streaming platform
Prize money
The 96 participants at the 2025 World Darts Championship may divide as much as 2.5 million pounds between them. That amount is almost forty times higher than at the very first edition of the PDC World Championship in 1994.
The 64 participants to start in the first round of the World Darts Championship will receive £7500 in prize money anyway. The top-32 of the placement list are guaranteed 15,000 pounds. These players enter the World Darts Championship from the second round. The amount then increases further each round. The new world champion will receive the top prize of 500,000 pounds.
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Format
First round: Best of 5 sets
Second round: Best of 5 sets
Third round: Best of 7 sets
Fourth round: Best of 7 sets
Quarterfinals: Best of 9 sets
Semifinals: Best of 11 sets
Final: Best of 13 sets
In the first round, there will be no tiebreak if it is 2-2 after four legs in the fifth set. In that case, the fifth leg will be sudden-death. Starting from the second round, a tie-break rule will be applied in all matches; a deciding set must be won with a difference of two legs. If the score in the final set becomes 5-5, a sudden-death leg will still be played.
World Darts Championship 2025 Schedule
Monday, Dec. 16
Afternoon session (from 12:30 p.m.)
Wesley Plaisier v Ryusei Azemoto (R1)
Luke Woodhouse v Lourence Ilagan (R1)
Alan Soutar v Kai Gotthardt (R1)
James Wade v Jermaine Wattimena (R2)
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- 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
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026