Schedule PDC World Darts Championship 2025 on Monday night including 'Santa Claus' Ricky Evans and showman Scott Williams v Rob Cross

Four more matches will be played before we arrive at the Christmas break at the PDC World Darts Championship. Monday night's four winners will be the last four players to advance to the last 32 at Alexandra Palace.

Like last year, the PDC has reserved a spot for Ricky Evans in the last session before the Christmas break.

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Gian van Veen v Ricardo Pietreczko (R2)

Only three Dutchmen in the last 32 for now, which is pretty meager. Gian van Veen can be the fourth Dutchman after Jermaine Wattimena, Kevin Doets and Michael van Gerwen to qualify for the remainder of the World Darts Championship after the Christmas break. 'GVV The Giant' will then have to win a match on stage at Alexandra Palace for the first time in his career. Van Veen made his debut in London last year, but then encountered a grandiose playing Man Lok Leung.

This year Van Veen has a tough draw again. He meets Ricardo Pietreczko in the second round, making the numbers 28 (Van Veen) and 34 (Pietreczko) face each other in the last 64. So the German already had to play a match at this world championship. Pietreczko won easily in his opening round 3-0 in sets from Xiaochen Zong.

The two players have already faced each other three times on the tour and the first omens are not very positive for Van Veen. The 22-year-old lost all his three previous matches with Pietreczko.

Daryl Gurney v Florian Hempel (R2)

After the exit of Kai Gotthardt, Niko Springer, Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens, Florian Hempel is along with Pietreczko the last remaining German darter in the tournament. He recorded a handsome 3-1 victory over Jeffrey de Zwaan in the first round and also played a strong match with an average of 93 and a finishing percentage of 44 percent. Hempel is actually always good at World Championship, at two of his three previous World Championship appearances Hempel survived Christmas.

So let that be a warning to Daryl Gurney, Hempel's next opponent. For the Northern Irishman, it will be his first match at this tournament because he had a bye in the first round. In the period 2015 to let's say 2021, 'Superchin' was considered an excellent sub-topper in darts, but after that Gurney sank in the world rankings. He lost his spot in the top-10 of the PDC Order of Merit and had to try hard not to fall out of the top-32 as well. Over the past year and a half, however, Gurney has been on his way back, with three quarterfinals on the majors and better results on the Pro Tour. It will be Gurney's 12th participation at Alexandra Palace. At the 2017 and 2021 editions, Gurney reached the quarterfinals.

This year, Gurney and Hempel already played each other twice and both duels were won by Gurney. In the overall balance, the Northern Irish darter is leading 3-2 against the German.

Daryl Gurney can make sure there are no more German darters at the World Darts Championship after Christmas

Dave Chisnall v Ricky Evans (R2)

Last year, "Santa Claus" Ricky Evans got to be in action during the last race before Christmas. That festive finale is unfortunately not in the cards this year, but fans can undoubtedly live with an act in the final session. Evans was in action earlier this tournament against Gordon Mathers. That match 'Rapd Ricky' managed to win 3-2 with much difficulty after a deciding set. Evans could qualify for the third round at the World Darts Championship for the second year in a row and for the fourth time in his career.

To do that again, Evans will first get past Dave Chisnall. 'Chizzy' has been fantastic on the Pro Tour for several years, winning no fewer than nine titles in the past two seasons. On TV in 2024, Chisnall doesn't actually throw a punch. He still made it to the quarterfinals at the World Darts Championship, but lost his opening match at the World Matchplay, World Series Finals and European Championship. At the Grand Slam of Darts, Chisnall lost all his group matches and at the World Grand Prix (last sixteen) and Playes Championship Finals (second round) the tournament was also over early. It has been a while since Chisnall lost his first match at a World Championship. That last happened to him seven years ago.

Evans and Chisnall have faced each other 15 times over the years, but never at a televised tournament. Chisnall leads 11-4 in the head-to-head, having won four of the last five matches between them.

Rob Cross v Scott Williams (R2)

A delightful poster to end the second round with. The 2018 world champion against the semifinalist of the 2024 edition. Scott Williams is somewhat seen as the new badboy of darts these days. 'Shaggy' does like to put on a show, and couples his appearance with a good stage level. After the World Darts Championships, his season on the Pro Tour was nothing special, but in late November Williams showed well again with a quarterfinal at the Players Championship Finals. In addition, Williams also played an excellent match in the first round. He fell one set behind against Niko Springer, but then won beautifully 3-1 in sets.

Like Williams, Rob Cross was also in the semifinals of the World Darts Championship last year. 'Voltage' then had a pretty good year on television, reaching the quarterfinals at five other majors. On the Euro Tour, Cross won a title for the second time in his career, and in addition, Cross was the best at the US Darts Masters in New York. However, Cross will have to be immediately alert at Alexandra Palace to avoid being surprised by Williams, who is certainly not afraid to win from the top players.

Three years ago, the two Englishmen also faced each other in the second round at the World Darts Championship. Then the win went to Cross 3-1 in sets. In the overall head-to-head, 'Voltage' has a 2-1 lead over his compatriot.

TV Guide during World Darts Championship

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 Worlds 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. 23

Evening session (from 7 p.m.)

Gian van Veen v Ricardo Pietreczko (R2)

Daryl Gurney v Florian Hempel (R2)

Dave Chisnall v Ricky Evans (R2)

Rob Cross v Scott Williams (R2)

Scott Williams is the new "badboy" of darts. Will we see him again after Christmas?