The penultimate day of the World Darts Championship prior to the Christmas break is upon us. Sunday afternoon, four great matches are once again scheduled at Alexandra Palace.
We have now progressed to the second round, in which a player from the top-32 world rankings will take on a player who managed to win his match in the first round. The winners of the matches in the second round may return after Christmas for the last 32 of the World Championships.
Ryan Searle v Matt Campbell (R2)
Immediately a tasty match to open the session with. Ryan Searle against Matt Campbell. For Searle it will be his first match, after he had a bye in the first round. It is for 'Heavy Metal' his seventh consecutive appearance at the World Darts Championship in London. A good omen is that Searle has always managed to reach at least the third round. The Englishman had a consistent year on the Pro Tour this season. In no fewer than eight of the thirteen Euro Tours, Searle reached at least the quarterfinals, including once in the final. He did not win that one, although Searle did win a title on the floor.
Campbell was responsible for the elimination of Mensur Suljovic in the first round. The Canadian then played a solid match, averaging 94. A win over Searle will allow Campbell to return to Ally Pally for the second consecutive year after Christmas.
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Dirk van Duijvenbode v Madars Razma (R2)
What can Dirk van Duijvenbode do at this world championship? A year ago, he still struggled with injury to his shoulder and was knocked out by Boris Krcmar. Meanwhile, Van Duijvenbode is back on the road, showing good form at the major tournaments in the fall. He was a quarterfinalist at the European Darts Championship and even reached the semifinals at the Players Championship Finals. It is his sixth World Championship entry for Van Duijvenbode. At the 2021 edition, he recorded his best result with a place in the last eight.
A Dutch clash was among the possibilities in this round, but Madars Razma put a stop to that by defeating Christian Kist. The Latvian did not get off the mark after losing the first set, in which Kist threw a nine-darter, and then won three sets in a row to reach the next round. Last year, Razma reached the third round at the World Darts Championship for the first time in his career, a feat Razma would like to emulate.
Joe Cullen v Wessel Nijman (R2)
Immediately after Van Duijvenbode we get to see another Dutchman at the oche, although it was close or Wessel Nijman would already be back home. Nijman escaped elimination in the first round against Cameron Carolissen, who was one leg away from a sensational victory over one of the outsiders for the world title.
With Joe Cullen, Nijman meets a seeded player who has been struggling with his form for months. The Rockstar, who almost beat Luke Humphries at the World Darts Championship last year, has dropped to 23rd place in the world rankings. The year 2024 is one to quickly forget for the 35-year-old dart player from Bradford. A quarterfinal at the World Grand Prix was the highlight of a bad year. Although Cullen still made it to a Euro Tour final, his Pro Tour results were downright disappointing. In no less than seventeen of the thirty Players Championship tournaments, the former Masters winner lost in the opening round.
Ritchie Edhouse v Ian White (R2)
The afternoon session concludes with a duel between two players who have not yet played a match at this tournament. Ian White was supposed to face Sandro Eric Sosing in the first round, but the Filipino had to withdraw at the last minute due to health reasons.
His opponent Ritchie Edhouse had the best year of his career. Out of nowhere, 'The Madhouse' managed to win a major title at the European Darts Championship. As a result, he has now moved up to the 29th position on the PDC Order of Merit. In the past two years, Edhouse was eliminated in the first round each time. Perhaps after such a successful year he will manage to survive Christmas in London for the first time in his career.
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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 back 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.
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.
Sunday, Dec. 22
Afternoon session (from 12:30 p.m.)
Ryan Searle v Matt Campbell (R2)
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Madars Razma (R2)
Joe Cullen v Wessel Nijman (R2)
Ritchie Edhouse v Ian White (R2)