We’re less than 2 months into the year, and already we’ve had some brilliant action. From Littler’s world championship win to Van Gerwen’s revenge on the opening night of the Premier League, it looks like we’re in for another great year of darts. But this week, it’s all about the seniors.
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The 2025 World Senior Darts Championship is here, with the action kicking off on Wednesday, February 19th, and running through to this Saturday, February 22nd. Hosted once again at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, the event brings together some of the most experienced names in darts to battle for the £73,000 prize fund, and the winner will walk away with a healthy £30,000 payday.
The senior championship is open to players over the age of 45 who do not hold a PDC Tour Card for the 2025 season. Featuring 28 players, the format has four seeded players enter in the second round, while the remaining 24 begin their campaigns in the first round.
Who are the favourites?
Since it was created back in 2022, the tournament has been dominated by the Scots, with Robert Thornton winning the first two editions before John Henderson claimed victory last year. With three editions and three Scottish champions, will 2025 be the year that another nation claims the crown?
John Henderson
John Henderson enters the tournament as the defending champion, having produced a dominant display in last year’s final where the Scotsman crushed Colin McGarry 5-0 to claim the title.
Henderson had a year to remember in 2024, as he also won the World Seniors Matchplay and World Masters. These victories secured his place as the top dog in senior darts, and he’ll be hoping to continue this momentum in 2025. While Henderson always had the ability, consistency was something that had eluded him during his peak years but it looks like he’s found a solution to that now.
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His best showing at the PDC World Championship was a last-16 finish in 2018, where he lost to eventual winner Rob Cross. Despite never breaking into the elite ranks of the PDC, his longevity has earned him the chance to be the best in the senior game.
Heading into this year’s championship, Henderson will be brimming with confidence. If he can replicate his 2024 form, will anyone be able to stop him? Or will the pressure of now being the defending champion unsettle his game?
Robert Thornton
Two-time champion Robert Thornton is back in the mix, looking to reclaim the title he lost last year. After storming to victory in the first two editions of the event, Thornton suffered a surprising early exit in 2024, losing to Andy Hamilton in just the second round. Since then, he has struggled to add to his senior darts trophy cabinet, last winning a major back in 2023.
‘The Thorn’ is no stranger to big titles, having won the UK Open in 2012 and the World Grand Prix in 2015 during his time in the PDC. Despite his past successes, last year’s defeat was a humbling moment for the Scot, and something he’ll desperately want to avoid repeating this week.
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Twelve months ago, Thornton entered the tournament as the favourite, expected to make a deep run, but simply could not get his A game going against Hamilton. Can he clinch his third crown this time around?
Most recently, he was beaten by Henderson in the final of the World Seniors Darts Masters last November. Thornton, once the king of this competition, now finds himself in a position where he has to fight to reclaim his place at the top against his fellow Scotsman.
If Thornton can get back to his best, there’s no doubt that he will be one of the main contenders for the title. However, with a highly competitive field, he will have to be at his very best to get his hands back on the trophy.
One of the most exciting additions to this year’s championship is Simon Whitlock, who makes his debut in the senior game. The 55-year-old Australian, a professional since 1984 (yes 1984!), is best known for his run to the PDC World Championship final in 2010, where he lost to Phil Taylor 7-3. Along the way, he took down big names like James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld, which shows just how good he can be.
Throughout his career, ‘The Wizard’ has produced some unforgettable moments, including his incredible win over Michael van Gerwen at the 2020 Grand Slam of Darts, where he won 16-15 in a deciding leg while also setting a tournament record with 20 maximums. Not even Littler has been able to do that just yet!
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Now entering the senior circuit, Whitlock is set to face Paul Hogan in his debut match.
Leonard Gates is another major contender, but is missing a senior world title from his resume. Just a couple of months ago, the American was a fan favourite at the PDC World Championship, where he made it to the second round before falling to Nathan Aspinall.
Gates has an impressive resume in senior darts, having won the World Senior Matchplay, Masters, and Champions titles in 2023. Can he win the world title and become the first non-Scotsman to get his hands on the trophy? The former Baseball player will be hoping so, and fans are in for a treat whenever he is in action.
One of the most widely loved figures in all of darts, the legendary ‘Bronzed Adonis’ makes his World Seniors debut at the Circus Tavern this year, after retiring from PDC darts at the end of 2024.
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Fresh off the PDC Tour, Beaton has already proved himself a more than capable operator on the MODUS Super Series in early 2025. Although Colin McGarry, finalist at the 2024 World Seniors Darts Championship poses as an early test in the opening round, you get the feeling that if Beaton is allowed to grow into the tournament, he could be unstoppable if he reaches full flow!
Another of the newbies to the World Seniors Darts Tour, Mervyn King was reaching PDC major finals as recently as 2021. A seven-time major finalist all told with the PDC, King also twice reached the Lakeside final in the BDO.
Despite this sorry run in major finals, King starts the 2025 World Seniors Darts Championship as one of the standout names. Already in 2025, King has shown strong form on the Challenge Tour, actually earning appearances back on the PDC Pro Tour as a replacement. This recent match practice against the very best in the world could prove telling when ‘The King’ makes his entrance at the Circus Tavern against Derek Coulson in round one!
So, there you have it, our list of favourites for this years World Senior Darts Championship. Will Scotland continue their stronghold on the event, or will a new champion emerge? Could someone else not from our list cause an upset?
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Draw World Seniors Darts Championship 2025
First round
Mark Dudbridge v Chris Mason
Derek Coulson v Mervyn King
Tony O’Shea v Lisa Ashton
Kevin Edwards v Michael
Huntley
Richard
Rowlands v Graham Usher
Neil Duff v Vincent van
der Voort
Kevin Painter v Richie Burnett
Colin McGarry v Steve Beaton
Paul Hogan v Simon Whitlock
Martin Adams v Darryl Fitton
Jim McEwan v John Part
Ross Montgomery v Trina Gulliver
Second Round
John Henderson v Dudbridge/Mason
Coulson/King v O’Shea/Ashton
Leonard Gates v Edwards/Huntley
Rowlands/Usher v Duff/Van
der Voort
Richie Howson v Painter/Burnett
McGarry/Beaton v Hogan/Whitlock
Robert Thornton v Adams/Fitton
McEwan/Part v Montgomery/Gulliver
FM
Fin Major
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- 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