Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, yells of onehunnnnnnnnnnndredandeeiiigghtyyy from the Ally Pally choir and folks all dressed up in fancy clothes. It's that magical time of the year once again when the biggest darting deities on the planet descend on Alexandra Palace in North London. It’s the 32nd edition of the PDC World Darts Championship and the tournament gets underway on Sunday, December 15.
The 2024-2025 edition of the PDC World Darts Championship has a lot to live up to after last year’s darting extravaganza made headlines on both the front pages as well as the back pages. Luke Littler shot to stardom at the event twelve months ago, and the British nation was gripped by the 16-year-old’s oche antics. ‘The Nuke’ would roar past Christian Kist, Andrew Gilding, Matt Campbell, Raymond van Barneveld, Brendan Dolan and Rob Cross before going toe-to-toe with Luke Humphries in the final. Humphries stood firm to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy, but a new darting sensation was born, and Littler’s year since has been full of highs.
Despite continually being in the media spotlight since, Luke Littler has thrived and grown throughout 2024. Having won this year’s Premier League, World Series Finals and Grand Slam of Darts crowns, ‘The Nuke’ is the favourite to go one better at Ally Pally this time around and reign supreme as world champion. Winning the Grand Slam of Darts has proved to be a lucky omen in previous years. Humphries went on to lift the World Championship trophy aloft following his Grand Slam victory last year, and so did Michael ‘Bully Boy’ Smith after he reigned supreme in Wolverhampton in 2022.
Defending world champion Luke Humphries has also been on fire this season, winning the World Matchplay and the Players Championship Finals. In the latter of those tournaments, "Cool Hand Luke" held his nerve to beat Luke Littler once again in the final, and it may give him a psychological edge as he now turns his attention to the World Championships. Humphries aims to become the first player since Gary Anderson in 2016 to win back-to-back world titles.
Let GOAL show you all the info you need ahead of this year’s PDC World Darts Championship, including how to watch the tournament, the schedule and format and how much money is up for grabs at Alexandra Palace.
When is the 2024-25 PDC World Darts Championship?
Getty ImagesThe 2024-2025 PDC World Darts Championship gets underway at Alexandra Palace from 19:00 GMT on Sunday, December 15, with 3 first-round matches and 1 second-round match. The action continues daily/nightly until Monday, December 23, and then the tournament breaks for Christmas. The action returns on Friday, December 27, and the daily/nightly routine continues until Monday, December 30. There are no matches on New Year’s Eve, but we’re back on Wednesday, January 1, with four quarter-final encounters. The semi-finals take place on Thursday, January 2, with a best-of-13 sets final scheduled for the following night (Friday, January 3). Throughout the PDC World Darts Championship, afternoon sessions will commence at 12:30 pm (GMT), and night sessions will get underway at 19:00 (GMT).
2024-25 PDC World Darts Championship - Venue & location
Getty Images The PDC World Darts Championship moved from the Circus Tavern in Purfleet to the Alexandra Palace for the first time in 2008, so this will be the 18th edition played at the North London venue. Alexandra Palace’s West Hall, which hosts the World Championship, has a capacity of 3,200 people.
Opened in 1873 and intended as a 'palace for the people', Alexandra Palace's (often referred to as 'Ally Pally') original purpose was to serve as a public centre of recreation, education and entertainment and North London's equivalent of Crystal Palace in South London. Aside from the World Darts Championship, the Alexandra Palace has staged the Masters snooker tournament annually every January since 2012.
How to watch the 2024-25 PDC World Darts Championship
Getty ImagesThe 2024-25 PDC World Darts Championship will be available to watch live and exclusively on Sky Sports in the UK from Sunday, December 15 2024, to Friday, January 3 2025.
If you're an existing Sky customer, you can add Sky Sports online or through the My Sky app at any time. Packages start from £20 per month with Sky Stream. Sky Sports+ is included at no extra cost, allowing the viewer to watch many more live events across a range of sports. The Sky Sports app allows subscribers to download and watch live sport on the go and is available on iPhone, iPad, and Android.
NOW TV offers a variety of sign-ups for the avid sports watcher, including the ‘Sports Day Membership, which allows access to all 12 Sky Sports channels for a 24-hour period for £14.99. NOW’s ‘Fully Flexible Sports Month Membership’ again gives unlimited Sky Sports access but over a 30-day period instead. That costs £29.99 a month and auto-renews unless cancelled before the end of the month.
What is the format for the 2024-25 PDC World Darts Championship?
The PDC World Darts Championship is a set-play tournament. Each set is won by the player who wins three legs.
- First & Second round - Best of 5 sets
- Third & Fourth - Best of 7 sets
- Quarter-finals - Best of 9 sets
- Semi-finals - Best of 11 sets
- Final - Best of 13 sets
What's the prize money for the 2024-25 PDC World Darts Championship?
The total prize money on offer for the 2024-25 PDC World Darts Championship is £2.5 million, and that is broken down as follows:
- Winner - £500,000
- Runner-up - £200,000
- Losing semi-finalist - £100,000
- Losing quarter-finalist - £50,000
- Fourth Round losers - £35,000
- Third Round losers - £25,000
- Second Round losers - £15,000
- First Round losers - £7,500
Tournament sponsors Paddy Power have also pledged a £60,000 bonus for a nine-dart finish hit during the tournament to the player, Prostate Cancer UK, and a fan in the Alexandra Palace crowd during the match it was hit.
