The World Matchplay 2025 is due to take place between 19-27 July 2025 in the traditional visit to the Winter Gardens in Blackpool for what is seen as the second biggest tournament on the darting calendar.
ADVERTISEMENT
It sees the top 16 PDC Order of Merit stars face the top 16 ProTour Order of Merit players. They all compete for a lion's share of £800,000, with the winner receiving £200,000. Luke Humphries is the defending champion, having defeated Michael van Gerwen 18-15 in the 2024 final.
Read also
World Matchplay 2025 - Match Schedule, Draw and Results
| Schedule of Play |
|---|
|
Saturday July 19 First Round Evening Session (1900 BST) James Wade (104.44) 10-3 (95.76) Joe Cullen Danny Noppert (96.44) 10-2 (81.35) Cameron Menzies Luke Humphries (95.69) 8-10 (98.45) Gian van Veen Nathan Aspinall (98.88) 6-10 (101.72) Wessel Nijman |
|
Sunday July 20 First Round Afternoon Session (1300 BST) Damon Heta (100.03) 10-12 (101.82) Andrew Gilding Rob Cross (96.1) 8-10 (95.33) Dirk van Duijvenbode Peter Wright (93.1) 8-10 (91.81) Jermaine Wattimena Dave Chisnall (91.87) 7-10 (93.01) Mike De Decker Evening Session (1900 BST) Gary Anderson (98.02) 10-5 (94.11) Luke Woodhouse Jonny Clayton (99.6) 10-7 (103.45) Martin Schindler Luke Littler (108.92) 10-2 (98.63) Ryan Searle Stephen Bunting (98) 10-8 (93.71) Ryan Joyce |
|
Monday July 21 First Round Evening Session (1900 BST) Chris Dobey (90.95) 10-5 (83.22) Ricardo Pietreczko Gerwyn Price (100.21) 10-7 (98.46) Daryl Gurney Michael van Gerwen (91.84) 10-6 (87.1) Raymond van Barneveld Ross Smith (94.88) 5-10 (104.32) Josh Rock |
|
Tuesday July 22 Second Round Evening Session (1900 BST) Gian van Veen (94.94) 11-5 (94.59) Danny Noppert Wessel Nijman (94.78) 5-11 (102.53) James Wade Stephen Bunting (92.71) 12-10 (91.7) Gary Anderson Jonny Clayton (93.41) 11-8 (92.62) Mike de Decker |
|
Wednesday July 23 Second Round Evening Session (1900 BST) Andrew Gilding (100.5) 11-5 (93.78) Dirk van Duijvenbode Chris Dobey (96.5) 3-11 (108.73) Gerwyn Price Luke Littler (99.28) 13-11 (96.39) Jermaine Wattimena Michael van Gerwen (97.31) 11-13 (95.16) Josh Rock |
|
Thursday July 24 Quarter-Finals Evening Session (2000 BST) Quarter-Finals x2 Gian van Veen (99.24) 13-16 (96.35) James Wade Stephen Bunting (94.97) 7-16 (98.13) Jonny Clayton |
|
Friday July 25 Quarter-Finals Evening Session (2000 BST) Quarter-Finals x2 Luke Littler (103.91) 16-14 (98.45) Andrew Gilding Gerwyn Price (104.02) 11-16 (100.21) Josh Rock |
|
Saturday July 26 Semi-Finals Evening Session (2000 BST) Semi-Finals James Wade (101.79) 20-18 (100.97) Jonny Clayton Luke Littler (107.5) 17-14 (104.15) Josh Rock |
|
Final Evening Session (starts 20:00) James Wade (101.54) 13-18 (107.24) Luke Littler |
Format
All matches are in leg play format. All matches have to be won by two clear legs. If the scores are tied after the full distance and six extra legs, it will then be decided by sudden death.
The number of legs required to win will increase as the tournament continues.
ADVERTISEMENT
First round: Best of nineteen legs - first to 10
Second round: Best of twenty-one legs - first to 11
Quarter-finals: Best of thirty-one legs - first to 16
Semi-finals: Best of thirty-three legs - first to 17
Final: Best of thirty-five legs - first to 18
Predictions
Samuel Gill, Head Editor for DartsNews.com sees Gerwyn Price lifting the title.
ADVERTISEMENT
Gerwyn Price for me is the one to watch. He is due a title of this magnitude given his recent form.
It would be easy to say Luke Littler and I think he will be there or thereabouts but I see Price getting there at some moment and that is likely now.
Luke Humphries also wouldn't shock me to see him go back-to-back. While I will also keep a beady eye on Jonny Clayton and Stephen Bunting as their recent form shouldn't go unnoticed.
Favourites:
*** Gerwyn Price
** Luke Humphries, Luke Littler
* Jonny Clayton, Stephen Bunting, Michael van Gerwen
Mats Leering, writer for DartsNieuws.com sees Luke Littler as the big favourite. Given the World Matchplay draw and bracket, I see Luke Littler as the big favourite for the win. The youngster is in quite a promising quarter as far as I'm concerned, so he should normally at least make it to the semi-finals. Then, I am guessing he will meet Rock or Price, who can also go far.In the other part of the bracket, I see Bunting also reaching the semi-finals.
ADVERTISEMENT
Normally Humphries should also be able to get that far, but he meets Gian van Veen straight away in the first round. For me the Dutchman is a potential outsider, and therefore also a danger for Humphries. The winner of the match between Aspinall and Nijman also has a real chance of getting far in that part of the bracket. As other potential outsiders i see names like Jonny Clayton, Martin Schindler, Michael van Gerwen, Damon Heta and Gary Anderson.
Favourites:
*** Luke Littler
** Stephen Bunting, Luke Humphries
*Gerwyn Price, Gian van Veen, Nathan Aspinall
Pieter Verbeek, Editor for DartsNieuws.com also sees Luke Littler as the likely winner.
The World Matchplay always serves as a perfect checkpoint to assess where players stand halfway through the season, right before the busy autumn schedule kicks off. For me, Luke Littler is the favourite to lift the title in Blackpool. I expect ‘The Nuke’ to be highly motivated to redeem himself after last year’s early exit in the first round. On top of that, I think Littler has been handed a favourable draw, and should, in theory, reach at least the semi-finals without too much trouble.His main rival is, of course, fellow Luke and Premier League nemesis Luke Humphries – the man who denied Littler back-to-back Premier League titles.
However, Humphries has a much tougher path ahead of him. He faces Gian van Veen in the opening round – arguably one of the most dangerous opponents in the entire field. Add Nathan Aspinall and James Wade to his quarter, and it becomes clear that Humphries has a far from straightforward route.
As for the outsiders, I’m looking at players who have made the strongest impression in the first half of the season. Gerwyn Price looks to be back to something close to his best, though he needs to win another ranking major to really solidify that status. Both Jonny Clayton and Josh Rock have enjoyed a strong spring campaign, and each of them has a draw that offers real opportunities.
ADVERTISEMENT
Of course, Nathan Aspinall deserves to be in that conversation as well. He’s had an excellent first half of the year. However, I believe ‘The Asp’ has been handed too tough a draw to really have a chance to claim the title – though I’d be happy to be proven wrong
Favourites
*** Luke Littler
** Luke Humphries
* Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, Josh Rock
Nicolas Gayer, Editor for DartsNews.DE sees Josh Rock as having the tools.
This year’s World Matchplay feels like a wide-open affair. Yes, of course, there are two standout players: both Luke Humphries and Luke Littler have proven time and again over the past few months that they are by far the best players in the world right now. And yet, I don’t believe either of them is currently in unbeatable form.That opens the door for the rest of the world’s elite—and I believe Josh Rock is going to burst through that door at the Empress Ballroom this year. The young Northern Irishman has made remarkable progress this season. Once a promising talent who burst onto the scene with remarkable dominance but then struggled to fully live up to the hype, “Rocky” has now firmly established himself among the absolute world-class players.
Armed with new equipment and a level of scoring power rarely seen before, he has been shining across various tournaments since the beginning of the year. Not to mention, he played a pivotal role in securing Northern Ireland’s first-ever World Cup of Darts title. Of course, there are other, more established names traveling to Blackpool as favorites—but I believe Josh Rock is ready to take the next big step in his career.
Alongside the aforementioned Littler and Humphries, I expect strong performances from Gerwyn Price and Damon Heta. Price has impressively shown this year that he’s left his slump behind and is once again a part of the extended world elite. The Welshman will be highly motivated in Blackpool to finally end his long-standing major drought. As for Damon Heta, I feel his big breakthrough at a major event is just a matter of time.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Australian, who has become a symbol of steady improvement and consistent progress, continues his incredible journey from World Series local representative to one of the best dart players on the planet. I believe he’ll reap the rewards for all his hard work in Blackpool.From a German perspective, much will depend on Martin Schindler’s opening match. "The Wall" will face Jonny Clayton—a matchup we’ve already seen five times this year, three of which went the Welshman’s way. If Schindler can get through this, his side of the draw gives him a real chance of reaching the quarterfinals or even the semifinals.
I also give Ricardo Pietreczko a good shot at winning his first-round match against Chris Dobey. However, with potential matchups against Josh Rock and Gerwyn Price later on, I don’t expect a deep run beyond that.
Favourites:
*** Josh Rock
** Luke Littler, Luke Humphries
* Gerwyn Price, Damon Heta, Gary Anderson
Field
The field sees Luke Humphries lead the way alongside Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen among others.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mike de Decker and Cameron Menzies are the two newcomers to this year's field with this confirmed with the recent ProTour double header.
2025 Betfred World Matchplay
Top 16 from the Werner Ladder Rankings
(Seeded for First Round Draw)
- Luke Humphries
- Luke Littler
- Michael van Gerwen
- Stephen Bunting
- Jonny Clayton
- Chris Dobey
- Damon Heta
- Nathan Aspinall
- James Wade
- Rob Cross
- Gerwyn Price
- Dave Chisnall
- Gary Anderson
- Ross Smith
- Peter Wright
- Danny Noppert
Qualifiers from ProTour Rankings
- Martin Schindler
- Josh Rock
- Cameron Menzies
- Gian van Veen
- Wessel Nijman
- Ryan Searle
- Mike De Decker
- Dirk van Duijvenbode
- Jermaine Wattimena
- Andrew Gilding
- Daryl Gurney
- Joe Cullen
- Ricardo Pietreczko
- Luke Woodhouse
- Raymond van Barneveld
- Ryan Joyce
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.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- 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