Schedule PDC World Darts Championship 2025 opening night: Reigning champion Luke Humphries begins title defence

Sunday night, the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship kicks off at London's iconic Alexandra Palace. As always, this 32nd edition of the tournament promises spectacle with a mix of debutants, established names and unpredictable surprises.

Traditionally, the reigning world champion will be in action on opening night. But before that happens, three matches from the first round are scheduled. It will be the start of hopefully another brilliant tournament. Dartsnews.com looks ahead to the first matches of the World Darts Championship.

Follow the 2025 World Darts Championship via our LIVE SCORE!

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Thibault Tricole v Joe Comito (R1)

French sensation Thibault Tricole has shown in 2024 that he is a serious force on the PDC circuit. After becoming the first Frenchman ever to participate in the PDC World Championship last year and making his debut with a win over Mario Vandenbogaerde, he has made even bigger strides this year. Winning a Tour Card at the Q-School enabled him to play all Players Championship tournaments. 'The French Touch' didn’t do badly either, reaching a semifinal and a quarterfinal, among others. He recently defeated Gerwyn Price at the Players Championship Finals, a testament to his rising form.

Joe Comito, the Australian who earned his spot through the DPA Tour, will make his Worlds debut Sunday night. With three titles in the last four tournaments of that tour, he showed he has a strong form. Still, he will have a tough time against Tricole, who goes into the match as the favourite based on form and experience. The winner of this duel will have the tough task of meeting world champion Luke Humphries later in the evening.

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Jermaine Wattimena v Stefan Bellmont (R1)

Jermaine Wattimena begins his 11th World Championship and does so with excellent form. The Dutchman reached the final of the European Championship this year and was in the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts. His averages have risen impressively. He had an annual average of 92.26 in 2023, and that rose to 95.13 in 2024. With this form, 'The Machine Gun' could well reach the last sixteen at the World Darts Championship for the first time in his career. At the 2019 and 2021 editions, Wattimena made it to the third round.

His opponent, Stefan Bellmont, is making history as the first Swiss at the World Darts Championship. Bellmont came to London via the Western European qualifying tournament, where he played rock solid, but still survived match darts in the final against Jimmy van Schie. Although he does not have a Tour Card, he impressed as a substitute on the Pro Tour, culminating in two quarterfinals. In recent years, 'Belli' has already been able to gain some stage experience, as he was allowed to compete in the World Cup of Darts on behalf of Switzerland in the past three editions. The winner of the match between Wattimena and Bellmont may take on eleven-time major winner James Wade at the last 64.

Jermaine Wattimena is the first Dutchman in action at the 2025 World Championship 

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Kim Huybrechts v Keane Barry (R1)

The duel between Kim Huybrechts and Keane Barry is a meeting between experience and emerging talent. Huybrechts, competing in the World Championship for the 14th time in a row, managed to qualify this year thanks to a strong run at the Czech Darts Open. Although "The Hurricane" had a difficult Pro Tour season, Huybrechts closed strong with a final spot at the Euro Tour tournament in Prague. The Belgian performs inconsistently at the World Darts Championship, although he did not reach the quarter-finals since his debut in 2012. Huybrechts did reach the last sixteen twice. The 39-year-old from Antwerp has regularly proven to be dangerous on the big stage.

For Barry, it will be the sixth time he may participate at Alexandra Palace. 'Dynamite' has had a difficult season on the Pro Tour in 2024. Although Barry reached two quarterfinals at Players Championship tournaments, he was also eliminated 19 times in the first round. His consistency remains a question mark, but he has an excellent record against Huybrechts: he won all four previous encounters. With this mental edge, Barry can draw confidence, but Huybrechts' experience at the highest level still makes the Belgian darter slight favorite to go through. The winner will face Gerwyn Price, one of the outsiders for the world title, in the second round.

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Luke Humphries v Tricole/Comito (R2)

As the reigning world champion, Luke Humphries comes last in action on opening night. Humphries had a phenomenal season in which he won three major titles: the World Cup of Darts, the World Matchplay and the Players Championship Finals. He has solidified his spot as number one in the world rankings and can make history this tournament by becoming the first player to break the two million pound mark on the PDC Order of Merit.

Although he does not yet know the opponent, Humphries knows he must be sharp regardless. Whether he faces Tricole, the French revelation, or Comito, the Australian rookie, Humphries will want to underscore his status as world champion. It is up to him to make a powerful statement immediately and set himself on the road to a possible title defence.

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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 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 playing schedule

Sunday, Dec. 15 (from 7 p.m.)

Thibault Tricole v Joe Comito (R1)

Jermaine Wattimena v Stefan Bellmont (R1)

Kim Huybrechts v Keane Barry (R1)

Luke Humphries v Tricole/Comito (R2)