The line-up is almost complete for the 2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship at the Alexandra Palace, with coverage of the draw for this year’s contest live on Sky Sports.
Luke Humphries will return as defending champion after last year’s victory over teenage sensation Luke Littler, while former world champions Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson are among the others looking to impress.
Mike de Decker and Ritchie Edhouse have both enjoyed TV victories in recent weeks and will be part of the biggest event in the darting calendar, where 96 players will battle it out for the Sid Waddell Trophy and a total £2.5million prize fund.
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Check out the best moments from the 2024 World Darts Championship
The top 32 players on the PDC Order of Merit will go straight through to the second round, with those names confirmed following the conclusion of the 2024 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals on Sunday.
The first round sees 32 ProTour Order of Merit Qualifiers, who earned their spots through European Tour and Players Championship events on the PDC circuit during 2024, playing one of the International Qualifiers.
How can I watch the draw?
The draw will be made on Monday November 25 at 4.30pm from the launch event in London and will be shown live on Sky Sports News.
Coverage will also be streamed live on the Sky Sports Darts YouTube channel, along with the Sky Sports website or by downloading the Sky Sports app.
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Speaking on Love The Darts, Michael Bridge and Polly James debate which players are still to be feared when playing against them
When will the World Darts Championship take place?
The tournament gets under way at the Alexandra Palace on Sunday December 15, with three first-round matches and one second-round match on the opening evening.
There will be live darts over each of the following eight days, including seven afternoon sessions, with the usual three-day break from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day before returning with the third round and a double session on December 27.
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As a historic and memorable World Darts Championship campaign draws to a close, we take a look at some of the best walk-ons at Alexandra Palace, featuring Ricky Evans, Michael van Gerwen, Stephen Bunting & more!
The third and fourth rounds will be completed by December 30 before a night off on New Year’s Eve, with the quarter-finals held across two sessions on New Year’s Day ahead of the semi-finals on January 2 and the final on Friday January 3.
The full day-by-day schedule for this year’s tournament can be found here.
Who are the International Qualifiers?
At least five further International Qualifiers will be confirmed before Monday’s draw, with one spot from the East Europe Qualifier taking place in Slovakia on Sunday and another coming from the Winmau World Youth Championship final between Gian van Veen and Van der Velde.
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Gian Van Veen came agonisingly close to a nine-darter against Stephen Bunting during their clash at the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton
The PDPA Tour Card Holder Qualifier will then be held in Wigan on Monday November 25, where a minimum of three qualification places will be up for grabs.
PDC China Championship Winner – Xiaochen Zong
PDCNB ProTour Winner – Jeffrey de Graaf,
PDCNB ProTour Runner-Up – Darius Labanauskas
Steel Darts Japan Tour Winner – Tomoya Goto
DPA ProTour Champion – Joe Comito
CDC Main Tour Top American – Leonard Gates
CDC Main Tour Top Canadian – Jim Long
CDC Top-Ranked Non-Qualified Player – Stowe Buntz
African Darts Group Qualifier – Cameron Carolissen
PDC Asian Tour OOM 1 – Alexis Toylo
PDC Asian Tour OOM 2 – Lawrence Ilagan
PDC Asian Tour OOM 3 – Paolo Nebrida
PDC Asian Tour OOM 4 – Ryusei Azemoto
DPNZ Qualifier Winner – Ben Robb
CLDC Tour OOM Winner – Rashad Sweeting
Winmau Development Tour Qualifier 1 – Niko Springer
Winmau Development Tour Qualifier 2 – Keane Barry
PDC Asian Championship Runner-Up Sandro Eric Sosing
PDC Asian Championship Qualifier – Lok Yin Lee
DPA Oceanic Masters Winner – Gordon Mathers
Women’s Series Qualifier 1 – Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Women’s Series Qualifier 2 – Fallon Sherrock
Indian Qualifier – Nitin Kumar
Winmau Challenge Tour Qualifier 1 – Christian Kist
Winmau Challenge Tour Qualifier 2 – Alexander Merkx
PDC Europe Super League Champion – Kai Gotthardt
West Europe Qualifier – Stefan Bellmont
World Youth Champion – November 24
East Europe Qualifier – November 24
Tour Card Holder Qualifier 1 – November 24
Tour Card Holder Qualifier 2 – November 25
Tour Card Holder Qualifier 3 – November 25
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live from December 15-January 3 on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
