PDC World Darts Championship 2024/25: Dates, start times, talkSPORT commentary, tournament format and competitors for iconic event
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The PDC World Darts Championship is fast approaching as the best players head to the Alexandra Palace to compete for the Sid Waddell Trophy.
It is an event not only loved by darts fans but has become one of the highlights of the sporting year.
Last year saw the emergence of teenage sensation Luke Littler, with the then-16-year-old making it all the way to the final during his debut appearance.
Littler stunned everyone, but he couldn’t quite get over the line, with Luke Humphries proving to be too good for the Warrington-born player.
However, he’ll be back and will be determined to go that one step further, while Humphries will be out to defend his title.
But they won’t be the only attractions, with all of darts best players set to take their place on the oche in north London.
PDC World Darts Championship 2024/25: Dates and how to follow
This edition of the World Darts Championship is set to get underway on Sunday, December 15, and will end on Friday, January 3.
It is being held in north London at the famous Alexandra Palace, or Ally Pally as it’s commonly known.
There are set to be seven rounds until the final.
talkSPORT will have live commentary of the World Darts Championship action across the network.
We will announce details about our team in due course.
talkSPORT.com will also be right across the action with reaction and all of the latest news.
To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
The action will also be streamed on Sky Sports Main Event and Arena.
PDC World Darts Championship 2024/25: Tournament format
There are set to be 96 players involved at the PDC World Darts Championship.
Last year, there was a prize pot of £2.5million up for grabs, with the winner taking home £500,000.
However, the prize money for this edition has yet to be revealed.
In terms of the 96 players, the top-ranked 32 in the world automatically qualify and enter at the second round.
Another 32 are made up of the PDC Tour Order of Merit, and the rest are qualifiers.
Each match in the first round sees a qualifier take on a PDC Order of Merit player.
Prize money won across the season is what determines a player’s ranking, and the cut-off point is November 25.
All matches are played as single in, double out – requiring players to score 501 points to win a leg, finishing on either a double or the bullseye.
For all rounds except the first, the deciding set has to be won by two clear legs unless the set score goes to 5–5, in which case a sudden-death leg will be played. There would be no throw for the bull in any sudden-death legs.
The matches get longer as the tournament progresses, with the first and second rounds being best of five and working up to the final which will be best of 13.
PDC World Darts Championship 2024/25: What has been said?
Former PDC chairman Barry Hearn believes that Littler has the chance to become one of the greatest darts players ever.
Speaking on the Barry Hearn Show, he said: “He has the potential to be one of the greats of all time.
“That is the sacrifice he has to make. Does money spoil him along the way?
"No one really knows the answer, will he be or won't he be? It will largely depend on him and how he copes with his new world.
“I think he will surprise a lot of people with his maturity as he already has. The way he handles himself. He's excellent.
“Let's hope he keeps like that. We are being entertained by greatness. There are a dozen or so players that have the potential from 12 years up.
"We need to be able to tell a story, set the scene. We need to involve everybody, get people talking. Luke Littler did that. By the way, he's still got a long way to go.
“I think he's a sensible boy, I think he knows that. He's pacing himself and he's going to get beat as well, he's not going to suddenly blow everybody away."
PDC World Darts Championship 2024/25: Competitors
Subject to change
PDC Order of Merit
- Luke Humphries
- Michael Smith
- Michael van Gerwen
- Rob Cross
- Dave Chisnall
- Damon Heta
- Johnny Clayton
- Stephen Bunting
- Gerwyn Price
- Dimitri van den Bergh
- Nathan Aspinall
- Chris Dobey
- Peter Wright
- Luke Littler
- Josh Rock
- Ryan Searle
- James Wade
- Danny Noppert
- Andrew Gilding
- Gary Anderson
- Ross Smith
- Joe Cullen
- Martin Schindler
- Gabriel Clemens
- Daryl Gurney
- Dirk van Duijvenbode
- Brendan Dolan
- Krzysztof Ratajski
- Gian van Veen
- Raymond van Barneveld
- Ricardo Pietreczko
- Luke Woodhouse
PDC Tour Order of Merit
Subject to change
- Ritchie Edhouse
- Mike De Decker
- Cameron Menzies
- Wessel Nijman
- Jermaine Wattimena
- Ryan Joyce
- Alan Soutar
- Callan Rydz
- Kevin Doets
- Madars Razma
- Martin Lukeman
- Niels Zonneveld
- Scott Williams
- Richard Veenstra
- Dom Taylor
- Karel Sedlacek
- Stephen Burton
- Connor Scutt
- Wesley Plaiser
- Thibault Tricole
- William O’Connor
- Ian White
- Ricky Evans
- Mensur Suljovic
- Nick Kenny
- Jim Williams
- Ryan Meikle
- Florian Hempel
- Robert Owen
- James Hurrell
- Kim Huybrechts
- Maik Kuivenhoven
