The third day of the 2025 Darts World Cup at Alexandra Palace in London has begun. In the afternoon session, among other things, a promising duel between Mike De Decker and Luke Woodhouse is on the menu.
The first three games of the afternoon are first round duels. The afternoon session will conclude with a game from the second round. The winner of this game can return to London after the Christmas break for the third round of the Darts World Cup.
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James Hurrell vs Jim Long (R1)
The afternoon begins with the clash between James Hurrell and Jim Long, who are fighting not only for a place in the second round, but also for the right to play against Michael van Gerwen in the second round. For Hurrell, this game is his debut at the PDC World Championship, having previously made a name for himself at the legendary Lakeside tournament. There he reached the quarterfinals in 2022. This year, as a brand new Tour Card holder, Hurrell reached the quarterfinals three times on the Pro Tour.
On the other side is the Canadian Jim Long, who already took the World Cup stage in 2019. He beat Mickey Mansell in the first round before losing to Benito van de Pas. Long qualified via the North American Tour, where he finished second.
Kevin Doets vs Noa-Lynn van Leuven (R1)
The second game features a unique Dutch duel between Kevin Doets and Noa-Lynn van Leuven. For Doets it is the second World Cup participation in a row. Last year he impressed with a win against Stowe Buntz and nearly surprised defending champion Michael Smith. Although he lost after taking a lead, he showed that he has the talent to make things difficult for the top players. His consistent performances on the Pro Tour with multiple quarterfinal appearances underline that Hawkeye has taken another step in his development this year.
Van Leuven makes history as the first trans woman to compete in the World Darts Championship. She qualified for this prestigious tournament through the Women's Series, where she finished second. Although her debut at the Grand Slam of Darts a few weeks ago wasn't really successful, she gained valuable experience against top players like Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson. This is a chance for Van Leuven to make history and show that she can shine on this stage too. The winner of the Dutch duel will face former world champion Michael Smith in the round of 64.
Ryan Joyce vs. Darius Labanauskas (R1)
Ryan Joyce and Darius Labanauskas face each other in the third game of the afternoon. Both players have already impressed at the World Championships: Joyce reached the quarterfinals in 2019, Labanauskas a year later in 2020. Joyce, who is usually razor-sharp on the doubles, is playing his seventh World Championships and qualified sixth via the Pro Tour Order of Merit. This year he showed strong performances with a final place and a semi-final on the Pro Tour. Joyce has proven that he is a player who stays under the radar but at the same time is not afraid to win against big names.
Labanauskas earned his World Cup ticket via the PDCNB Tour. This is his sixth participation in the World Cup, where he has almost always made it past the first round. The Lithuanian leads in the mutual encounters with Joyce (3-1) and will draw confidence from these statistics. The winner of this duel will face Dutchman Danny Noppert in the second round.
Mike De Decker vs Luke Woodhouse (R2)
The afternoon ends with the second round match between Mike De Decker and Luke Woodhouse. De Decker had his breakthrough this year when he surprisingly won the World Grand Prix. With this performance he has given himself a new status and is now one of the outsiders for the world championship title. However, De Decker has never reached the third round of the World Championships.
His opponent, Luke Woodhouse, had to compete in the first round but didn't have to exert himself excessively. He defeated Lourence Ilagan with a convincing 3-0. Both players faced each other on the European Tour earlier this year, where De Decker triumphed 6-3. The Belgian leads 2-1 head-to-head but Woodhouse will be aiming to restore balance. There's a lot at stake: whoever wins will qualify for the third round and be allowed to return to the Ally Pally after Christmas.
Sport1 transmission times during the Darts World Championship
This year's World Darts Championship 2025 can of course be followed live on TV again. The tournament at Alexandra Palace will take place from Sunday December 15th to Friday January 3rd 2025.
The darts rights in German-speaking countries have been held by Sport1 and DAZN for several years. The latter channel will broadcast the entire Darts World Championship, while Sport1 will not show most of the matches live on Saturday, December 21st, but in an exclusive broadcast from 11:00 p.m.
Prize money
The participants of the PDC Darts World Championship 2025 can significantly improve their bills at the Darts World Championship. The 96 participants can share a whopping £2.5 million. This amount is almost 40 times higher than at the very first edition of the PDC World Championship in 1994. At that time the prize money was 64,000 pounds.
The 64 participants who start in the first round of the World Darts Championship will receive prize money of 7,500 pounds anyway. The top 32 in the rankings are guaranteed £15,000. These players will take part in the World Darts Championship from the second round. The amount then continues to increase per round. The new world champion will receive the top prize of £500,000.
format
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
There is no tiebreak in the first round if the score is 2-2 after four legs in the fifth set. In this case, the fifth set will be played in sudden death. From the second round onwards, a tie-break rule is applied in all games; A deciding set must be won by two legs. If the score is 5-5 in the final set, a sudden death leg is still played.
Darts World Cup 2025 schedule
Tuesday, December 17th
Afternoon session (from 1:30 p.m.)
James Hurrell vs Jim Long (R1)
Kevin Doets vs Noa-Lynn van Leuven (R1)
Ryan Joyce vs. Darius Labanauskas (R1)
Mike De Decker vs Luke Woodhouse (R2)
By Nic Gayer
