DRAW World Seniors Champion of Champions 2025: Raymond van Barneveld, John Henderson, Steve Beaton & Martin Adams find out opponents

The draw has been made for the 2024 Champion of Champions, with twelve legends of the oche set to battle it out on Sunday 29 June in Portsmouth.

Held at the regular home of the MODUS Super Series, the event brings together a mix of world champions, TV title winners, and long-time fan favourites from across the darts landscape. Four players have been seeded directly into the quarter-finals, while the remaining eight will compete in first-round ties to earn their place in the last eight.

Among the headline names is Raymond van Barneveld, whose appearance has raised a few eyebrows. The five-time world champion remains an active PDC Tour Card holder, and PDC rules typically prevent contracted players from appearing in streamed or televised events hosted by rival organisations. However, Van Barneveld was granted special permission to compete — an unusual move that adds extra intrigue to the line-up.

Van Barneveld has been placed directly into the quarter-finals, where he’ll face the winner of the first-round clash between Martin Adams and Neil Duff. The prospect of a renewed rivalry between Barney and Wolfie is one of the most compelling storylines in the draw. The pair famously contested high-stakes matches at Lakeside in the early 2000s, with Van Barneveld beating Adams in the 2005 final and 2006 semi-final.

Also in Van Barneveld’s half of the bracket is Steve Beaton, who opens against Trina Gulliver. The winner will meet Ross Montgomery, the reigning World Seniors Champion, in the quarter-finals.

On the other side of the draw, Mervyn King takes on Kevin Painter in the preliminary round. The winner earns a shot at Richie Howson, who returns as the defending Champion of Champions title-holder after his 13–10 final win over Andy Hamilton last year. That win marked Howson’s first televised title in the seniors game, capping off a strong 2023 in which he also reached the finals of both the Seniors World Championship and World Seniors Masters.

Elsewhere, 1995 world champion Richie Burnett takes on Simon Whitlock, who makes his seniors debut. The winner will progress to meet John Henderson in the quarter-finals.