The 2025 Darts World Cup begins on Sunday evening in London's iconic Alexandra Palace. As always, the 32nd edition of the tournament promises to be spectacular with a mix of debutants, established names and unpredictable surprises.
Traditionally, the reigning world champion competes on the opening evening. Before that, there are still three first round games on the program. It will be the start of what will hopefully be a brilliant tournament. Dartsnews.de looks ahead to the first games of the Darts World Championship.
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Thibault Tricole vs Joe Comito (R1)
French sensation Thibault Tricole has shown in 2024 that he is a serious threat on the PDC circuit. After becoming the first Frenchman ever to take part in the World Championships last year, making his debut with a victory over Mario Vandenbogaerde, he has made even greater progress this year. Winning a tour card at Q-School allowed him to play all Players Championship tournaments. The French Touch did not do badly and reached, among other things, a semi-final and a quarter-final. He recently beat Gerwyn Price in the Players Championship Finals, evidence of his improving form.
Joe Comito, the Australian who has earned his place on the DPA Tour, makes his World Cup debut on Sunday evening. With three titles in the last four tournaments on this tour, he has indicated that he can strike when it matters most. Nevertheless, he will have a difficult time against Tricole, who goes into the match as favorite due to his form and experience. The winner of this duel has the difficult task of meeting world champion Luke Humphries later in the evening.
Jermaine Wattimena vs Stefan Bellmont (R1)
Jermaine Wattimena started his 11th Darts World Championship in excellent form. This year the Dutchman reached the final of the European Darts Championship and was in the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts. His averages have improved impressively. In 2023 it had an annual average of 92.26, in 2024 it increased to 95.13. With this form, “The Machine Gun” could reach the round of 16 at the World Darts Championship for the first time in his career. With the 2019 and 2021 editions, Wattimena reached the third round.
His opponent, Stefan Bellmont, makes history as the first Swiss to take part in the Darts World Cup. Bellmont came to London via the Western European qualifying tournament, where he played rock solid but survived match darts in the final against Jimmy van Schie. Despite not having a tour card, he impressed as a reserve player on the Pro Tour, where he reached two quarterfinals. In recent years, Belli has already gained some stage experience, having competed for Switzerland in the last three editions of the World Cup of Darts. The winner of the game between Wattimena and Bellmont will face eleven-time major winner James Wade in the round of 64.
Kim Huybrechts vs Keane Barry (R1)
The duel between Kim Huybrechts and Keane Barry is a clash of experience and emerging talent. Huybrechts, who is taking part in the World Championship for the 14th time in a row, qualified this year thanks to a strong performance at the Czech Darts Open. Although The Hurricane had a difficult Pro Tour season, Huybrechts finished it strong with a final place at the European Tour tournament in Prague. The Belgian has had inconsistent performances at the World Darts Championship, having not reached the quarter-finals since his debut in 2012. However, Huybrechts reached the round of 16 twice. The 39-year-old from Antwerp has regularly pointed out that he is dangerous on the big stage.
This will be Barry's sixth time competing at Alexandra Palace. Dynamite has had a tough season on the 2024 Pro Tour. Although Barry reached the quarterfinals twice at the Players Championship tournaments, he was also eliminated in the first round 19 times. His consistency remains a question mark, but he has an excellent record against Huybrechts: he has won all four historic encounters. With this mental edge, Barry can gain confidence, but Huybrechts' experience at the highest level still makes the Belgian the slight favorite. The winner will face a tough match in the second round against Gerwyn Price, one of the outsiders for the world title.
Luke Humphries vs Tricole/Comito (R2)
As the reigning world champion, Luke Humphries is the last player on the opening night. Humphries had a phenomenal season, winning three major titles: the World Cup of Darts, the World Matchplay and the Players Championship Finals. He has cemented his place as number one in the world rankings and can make history at this tournament by becoming the first player to break the two million barrier in the PDC Order of Merit.
Although he doesn't know the opponent yet, Humphries knows he has to be well prepared either way. Whether he faces Tricole, the French revelation, or Comito, the Australian debutant, Humphries will want to underline his status as a world champion. It's up to him to immediately make a strong statement and get on the path to a possible title defense.
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
Sunday, December 15th (from 8 p.m.)
Thibault Tricole vs Joe Comito (R1)
Jermaine Wattimena vs Stefan Bellmont (R1)
Kim Huybrechts vs Keane Barry (R1)
Luke Humphries vs Tricole/Comito (R2)
By Nic Gayer
