Schedule PDC World Darts Championship 2025 on Sunday afternoon with Van den Bergh-Rydz and Kevin Doets in action

It's already the final day of the third round at the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship. The schedule is set for the conclusion on Sunday 29 December.

During the third round of the World Darts Championship, players need four sets won to qualify for the last sixteen of the World Darts Championship. The fourth round will take place on Dec. 29 and 30.

Where many had counted on a showdown between Gary Anderson and Ross Smith, it was Jeffrey de Graaf and Paolo Nebrida who provided a surprise shock in the second round of the PDC World Darts Championship.

De Graaf ruined Gary Anderson's birthday by defeating the Scot by a whopping 3-0 in sets. This qualified the Swedish Dutchman for the last 32 at this tournament for the second time in a row.

With Nebrida as an opponent, more may be possible for De Graaf. However, the Filipino is not to be underestimated, as with solid play he did not allow Ross Smith a set, having also previously defeated Jim Williams 3-2. The winner of this duel qualifies for the fourth round at the World Championship for the first time in his career and may face Michael van Gerwen in the next round.

One of the few Dutch highlights before Christmas came on the account of Kevin Doets. After Doets won 3-1 in sets from Noa-Lynn van Leuven in the opening round, 'Hawkeye' triumphed in a true spectacle against former world champion Michael Smith. After a thriller, the Dutchman managed to pull the deciding set his way 6-4.

It earned him a meeting with Krzysztof Ratajski, who managed to win 3-1 in sets over Alexis Toylo in his previous match. For the fifth time in six years, 'The Polish Eagle' is at the last 32, but only once did he make it through this round. That was during the 2021 edition, when Ratajski managed to make it to the quarter-finals.

The head-to-head is in favor of Ratajski, who won both previous duels with Doets. In 2021, Ratajski won 6-5 over Doets at a Players Championship tournament. This year they met again on the floor, and then the Pole won 6-4.

This match has all the ingredients to be an enthralling spectacle. Can Callan Rydz handle the pace changes of Dimitri van den Bergh. Rydz likes to dart fast, while Van den Bergh often chooses to take his time. In any case, Rydz was quick in his previous two matches. He defeated both Romeo Grbavac and Martin Schindler 3-0 in sets to qualify for the last 32.

After the early defeats of Kim Huybrechts and Mike de Decker, the Belgian pressure was entirely on the shoulders of Dimitri van den Bergh. 'The Dreammaker' did not fail in his opening match, defeating Dylan Slevin 3-0, although all sets were won 3-2.

The mutual balance between these two players is completely balanced. The met for the first time in 2016 at a Development Tour tournament, where Rydz prevailed 4-3. Van den Bergh then won 6-5 from Rydz at the Youth World Championship that same year. Only six years later they met again. Then Van den Bergh triumphed by a whopping 10-2 at the World Matchplay. In 2024, Rydz recorded his second victory over the Belgian by beating him 6-5 at a Players Championship tournament.

Both men have both reached the last sixteen at the PDC World Darts Championship before. Van den Bergh was in the quarterfinals at the 2018 and 2020 editions and even in the semifinals in 2023. Rydz, on the other hand, was a quarterfinalist at the 2022 PDC 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.

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 seeding 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.

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

Jeffrey de Graaf v Paolo Nebrida

Kevin Doets v Krzysztof Ratajski

Dimitri Van den Bergh v Callan Rydz