The next four games of the Darts World Cup are scheduled for Friday afternoon. World Cup debutant Kai Gotthardt plays his second round match against current Masters champion Stephen Bunting. In addition, co-favorite Wessel Nijman is entering the tournament.
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 the third round of the Darts World Cup after the Christmas break.
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Stephen Burton vs Alexander Merkx (R1)
Stephen Burton is perhaps one of the more obscure players to have qualified through the Pro Tour. He did so as number 19 in the Pro Tour qualifying race. What Burton was particularly good at is often collecting a win on the Pro Tour. In just nine of thirty Players Championship tournaments, Burton was eliminated in the first round. At the same time, Burton never really got very far, as he only made it to the round of 16 three times. Burton already has some World Cup experience behind him, having competed six years ago. Back then, the Englishman lost in the first round against Ryan Searle (0:3).
Alexander Merkx surprisingly managed to qualify for the Darts World Championship via the Challenge Tour. “Alexander the Great”, as he was nicknamed, did not actually enter the qualifying race for the World Championship via the Challenge Tour, but still secured a place after an excellent final weekend. Merkx then took fourth place on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit. Normally that's not enough for a World Championship ticket, but the Dutchman still got a World Championship spot because Connor Scutt and Wesley Plaisier qualified via the Pro Tour. In 2023, Merkx competed in the WDF World Championship, where he reached the third round.
Wessel Nijman vs Cameron Carolissen (R1)
A lot is expected from Wessel Nijman at the Darts World Championship. The bookmakers consider the Dutchman to be the seventh (!) favorite to win the world championship. Perhaps a little optimistic for a player who failed to win a single match at his last World Championship and at the Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals this year. But Nijman has shown how much talent he has, especially on the Pro Tour and at the Grand Slam of Darts. Although he lost all of his games at the Grand Slam of Darts, he achieved a tournament average of 111. Nijman also managed to win a Players Championship tournament in his first year as a Tour Card holder.
The first round should normally be a breeze for the Dutchman. With Cameron Carolissen he comes across one of the easiest options on paper. Carolissen forced participation by winning the World Cup qualifying tournament for African darts. Four years ago Carolissen also took part in the Darts World Championship. Back then, he made it to the second round without playing after Martijn Kleermaker was eliminated from the tournament due to a positive corona test. Danny Noppert was then too strong for the South African at 3-1 in sets.
Can Wessel Nijman live up to bookmakers' high expectations for this World Cup?
Ian White vs. Sandro Eric Sosing (R1)
Ian White will be playing at Alexandra Palace for the 13th time in his career. times in his career. In his third appearance in 2014, “The Diamond” made it to the quarterfinals, but since then he has only managed to reach the quarterfinals twice. Last year, White was eliminated in the first round after a surprising 3-1 defeat against Tomoya Goto. This year White managed to qualify for the Darts World Cup via the Pro Tour. However, his Pro Tour season with three round of 16 appearances and one quarterfinal was nothing special.
Like last year, White will once again face an Asian player. This time Sandro Eric Sosing is the opponent. The Filipino darts player qualified for this tournament as a losing finalist in the PDC Asian Championship. Sosing made his debut at Alexandra Palace last year. Back then, Lee Evans was too strong in the first round, 3-0 in sets.
Stephen Bunting vs Kai Gotthardt (R2)
Stephen Bunting's tournament begins on Friday afternoon against Germany's Kai Gotthardt. This edition marks the first time that Bunting will be celebrated as the PDC's major winner at the World Darts Championship, having surprisingly won the Masters this season. This has also ensured that Bunting is strongly mentioned for the Premier League Darts in 2025. A good result at Alexandra Palace will further strengthen Bunting's candidacy. It will be the eleventh participation in the PDC World Darts Championship for the 2014 Lakeside champion. In recent years The Bullet has done quite well in London. Bunting reached at least the round of 16 in four of the last five editions, ending with a semi-final in 2021.
Bunting had been expected to face Alan Soutar in the second round, but the Scot was surprisingly beaten by Kai Gotthardt. A broken dart didn't let him off the hook and the German PDC Europe Super League winner won 3-1 in sets. Gotthardt averaged 89 in this game, but will probably have to improve significantly to have a chance against Bunting.
TV guide 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. At DAZN, every single dart is broadcast. Sport 1 is also broadcasting the entire Darts World Championship, but on Saturday you can only follow it in a live stream on the website and on YouTube.
Prize money
The 96 participants in the Darts World Cup 2025 can share a whopping £2.5 million. This amount is almost 40 times higher than the very first edition of the PDC World Cup in 1994.
The 64 participants who start in the first round of the World Darts Championship will receive prize money of £7,500. The top 32 in the rankings will be 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 last set, a sudden death leg is still played.
Darts World Championship 2025 schedule
Friday, December 20th
Afternoon session (from 1:30 p.m.)
Stephen Burton vs Alexander Merkx (R1)
Wessel Nijman vs Cameron Carolissen (R1)
Ian White vs. Sandro Eric Sosing (R1)
Stephen Bunting vs Kai Gotthardt (R2)
Stephen Bunting will finally take the spotlight for Premier League Darts at the 2025 World Darts Championship
By Oliver Ried
