The tournament commences with the first four opening round matches on Saturday 19th July, before the 32 participants are whittled down to four semi-finalists over the next six days. The last four battle it out over the second weekend, with the champion declared late on the evening of Sunday 27th July.
There are only two qualification routes for this event. Players can either secure a place in the tournament by virtue of their PDC Order of Merit ranking or progressive performance on the PDC Pro Tour. The top 16 players in the world rankings are automatically invited and allocated a seeding, while the 16 highest earners on the PDC Pro Tour (who haven’t already qualified via the above method) also gain entry.
The tournament follows a traditional knockout template, with the finalists navigating four rounds en route to the Sunday showpiece. Unlike most other darts events, the World Matchplay adopts a ‘legs’ rather than ‘sets’ format. To defeat an opponent, players must be the first to win a specific number of legs in order to establish an unassailable lead. This differs from competitions such as the PDC World Championships, where participants face each other in multiple five-leg sets in a ‘best of’ contest. World Matchplay rules dictate that all matches must be won by at least two clear legs, with an additional six legs introduced if players cannot be separated ahead of a pre-determined point. If a winner still doesn’t materialise by the conclusion of these extra legs, the tie will switch to a sudden death scenario.
The structure of each World Matchplay round is as follows:
1st Round: First to 10 legs (maximum number of legs played before sudden death – 24)
2nd Round: First to 11 legs (maximum number of legs played before sudden death – 26)
Quarter-finals: First to 16 legs (maximum number of legs played before sudden death – 36)
Semi-finals: First to 17 legs (maximum number of legs played before sudden death – 38)
Final: to 18 legs (maximum number of legs played before sudden death – 40)
Teenage sensation Luke Littler has unsurprisingly been installed as the bookies' favourite, with English compatriot Luke Humphries expected to mount a serious challenge for the title. Alongside a stellar cast of previous world champions and serial major winners, two debutants will also approach the Empress Ballroom oche. Dutch archer Wessel Nijman makes his maiden appearance at the World Matchplay, as does 2024 Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finalist Cameron Menzies.
Currently occupying 21st position in the PDC Order of Merit ranking following a series of underwhelming performances on the PDC Pro Tour, Michael Smith has failed to qualify for the World Matchplay for the first time in over a decade. The 34-year-old Englishman, who revealed his struggles with arthritis at the beginning of the current season, came runner-up in this event in 2019. Another surprising omission from the roster is 2020 champion Dimitri Van den Bergh, the only player to deliver a nine-dart finish in last year’s competition.
2025 World Matchplay – Key Information
Dates: Saturday 19th July to Sunday 27th July
Venue: Empress Ballroom, Winter Gardens (Blackpool)
Format: Legs
2024 winner: Luke Humphries (defeated Michael van Gerwen in the final)
TV channel: Sky Sports: Coverage on Sky Sports Action, Sky Sports Main Event, and Sky Sports+
Favourites: Luke Littler – 15/8, Luke Humphries – 4/1, Gerwyn Price – 8/1
Odds courtesy of bet365. Correct at the time of publication and subject to change.
Schedule
Luke Humphries launches his title defence on the opening night of the tournament, before reigning world champion Luke Littler meets Ryan Searle a day later. There’s a mouth-watering all-Dutch tie on Monday evening, as Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld clash for the first time in almost eighteen months. Whilst the first round exclusively consists of ties between seeded and unseeded players, all participants are eligible to face one another from the last sixteen (second round) onwards.
The vast majority of the action takes place in the evenings, with one afternoon session scheduled for the first Sunday of the event. The full draw was mapped out prior to any darts being thrown, so participants can already see their potential opponents in each round. The first five evening sessions start at 7.00pm, before shifting to 8.00pm from Thursday as the field reduces to eight quarter-finalists. Several hours ahead of the final, the Women’s World Matchplay takes centre stage. With only eight participants, the full competition is condensed into a four-hour timeframe on Sunday afternoon.
The 2025 World Matchplay schedule is as follows (all times above and below relate to BST):
Saturday 19th July (7.00pm to 11.00pm): First Round
James Wade (England) vs. Joe Cullen (England)
Danny Noppert (Netherlands) vs. Cameron Menzies (Scotland)
Luke Humphries (England) vs. Gian van Veen (Netherlands)
Nathan Aspinall (England) vs. Wessel Nijman (Netherlands)
Sunday 20th July (1.00pm to 5.00pm – Afternoon Session): First Round
Damon Heta (Australia) vs. Andrew Gilding (England)
Rob Cross (England) vs. Dirk van Duijvenbode (Netherlands)
Peter Wright (Scotland) vs. Jermaine Wattimena (Netherlands)
Dave Chisnall (England) vs. Mike De Decker (Belgium)
Sunday 20th July (7.00pm to 11.00pm – Evening Session): First Round
Gary Anderson (Scotland) vs. Luke Woodhouse (England)
Jonny Clayton (Wales) vs. Martin Schindler (Germany)
Luke Littler (England) vs. Ryan Searle (England)
Stephen Bunting (England) vs. Ryan Joyce (England)
Monday 21st July (7.00pm to 11.00pm): First Round
Chris Dobey (England) vs Ricardo Pietreczko (Germany)
Gerwyn Price (Wales) v Daryl Gurney (Northern Ireland)
Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands) v Raymond van Barneveld (Netherlands)
Ross Smith (England) v Josh Rock (Northern Ireland)
Tuesday 22nd July (7.00pm to 12.00am): Second Round
Luke Humphries/Gian Van Veen v Danny Noppert/Cameron Menzies
Nathan Aspinall/Wessel Nijman v James Wade/Joe Cullen
Stephen Bunting/Ryan Joyce v Gary Anderson/Luke Woodhouse
Jonny Clayton/Martin Schindler v Dave Chisnall/Mike De Decker
Wednesday 23rd July (7.00pm to 12.00am): Second Round
Luke Littler/Ryan Searle v Peter Wright/ Jermaine Wattimena
Damon Heta/Andrew Gilding v Rob Cross/Dirk van Duijvenbode
Michael van Gerwen/Raymond van Barneveld v Ross Smith/Josh Rock
Chris Dobey/Ricardo Pietreczko v Gerwyn Price/Daryl Gurney
Quarter-finals onwards - Thursday 24th July to Sunday 27th July
Thursday 24th July (8.00pm to 11.00pm): Quarter-finals
Friday 25th July (8.00pm to 11.00pm): Quarter-finals
Saturday 26th July (8.00pm to 11.00pm): Semi-finals
Sunday 27th July (1.00pm to 5.00pm – Afternoon Session): Women’s Final
Sunday 27th July (8.00pm to 10.00pm): Men’s Final
Prize money
Since 2022, each edition of the World Matchplay has carried an £800,000 prize pot. The winner receives £200,000 of this purse, with the remaining sum distributed on a sliding scale to the other 31 participants. The further a player progresses in the tournament, the larger their reward.
Prize money breakdown
Champion: £200,000
Runner-up: £100,000
Semi-finalists: £50,000
Quarter-finalists: £30,000
Last 16 (exiting at second round): £15,000
Last 32 (exiting at first round): £10,000
Ticket prices
Due to the increasing popularity of this event (and others on the PDC circuit), all standard tickets are now sold out across each of the nine days of play.
There is a selection of hospitality packages still available, but none of these provide access to the second weekend of the tournament when the semi-finals and final take place. To purchase a hospitality pass, visit the PDC’s internal ‘See Tickets’ platform or the darts regulator’s trusted third-party provider, Sport and Music.
Where to watch the 2025 World Matchplay
Sky Sports is the home of darts in the UK, with the network televising all major tournaments including the World Championships, the World Grand Prix, the Premier League, and this month’s World Matchplay.
Subscribers will be able to watch comprehensive live coverage of every session, with footage from the Winter Gardens provided via a combination of Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports+ (click here for more information), and Sky Sports Action. Programming commences ahead of the day’s opening throw, and wraps up after all scheduled matches have concluded.
International audiences (excluding Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) can catch the action on PDCTV, while DAZN and Viaplay have acquired broadcasting rights in a handful of territories each.
Past winners
As is the case with many of the PDC’s showpiece events, Phil Taylor is the most successful player in the short history of the World Matchplay. The Stoke-born legend won the tournament on an eye-watering 16 occasions, triumphing in all but one of his final appearances. This solitary defeat came in 2016, losing to three-time champion Michael van Gerwen.
Taylor possesses an extensive suite of World Matchplay records, while the tournament’s trophy was renamed in his honour following his retirement in 2018. As well as being accountable for delivering the five highest overall averages and seven of the top ten single match averages, the ‘Power’ also boasts the World Matchplay’s longest unbeaten run. Between the first round of the 2008 edition and 2015’s semi-final loss to James Wade, Taylor recorded a staggering 38 consecutive victories.
The 14-time PDC World Champion is also the only competitor to register two nine-dart finishes in this event, reaching zero in the shortest time possible in a quarter-final meeting with Chris Mason in 2002 before repeating the feat 12 years later against Michael Smith.
Largely thanks to Phil Taylor’s heroic exploits, the World Matchplay has been won by an Englishman on more occasions than representatives from any other country. A total of eight players have triumphed on home soil, resulting in a cumulative tally of 24 titles. The next closest nation is the Netherlands, with all three triumphs coming courtesy of modern-day icon Michael van Gerwen. However, the deadly Dutchman narrowly missed out on a fourth title last year, succumbing to Luke ‘Cool Hand’ Humphries in the final.
Favourites
A host of familiar faces dominate the betting markets, with Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price allocated the shortest odds of the 32 participants. This talented trio has swept up most major honours over the last two years, with the Welshman in this contingent experiencing somewhat of a revival in recent months.
Although a number of players are very much capable of claiming this year’s World Matchplay title, it would take a brave man to bet against Messrs Littler, Humphries, or Price. We briefly analyse the chances of each of the top three favourites, touching on their past achievements and current form.
Luke Littler
Despite falling at the first hurdle last year, Luke Littler is the red-hot favourite to win the 2025 edition of the World Matchplay. His opening round loss to Michael van Gerwen came just over five months before becoming the youngest world champion in history, ironically breaking the Dutchman’s previous record by more than six full years.
After his heroics at the Alexandra Palace, the Warrington-born teenager landed his third European Tour success by securing the Belgian Open title for the second year in a row. Littler then hammered James Wade in the 2025 UK Open final, before becoming the first archer to register five event triumphs in a single Premier League season thanks to a commanding Night 13 performance at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena.
Luke Humphries
Luke Humphries endured a disappointing start to the 2025 campaign, exiting at the fourth round of the World Championships following a heated confrontation with Scottish veteran Peter Wright. However, the 30-year-old bounced back in sensational fashion, lifting two major titles in the subsequent six months.
A first PDC World Masters crown came in February, after narrowly defeating Welsh hero Jonny Clayton in a tense final at the Marshall Arena. The current world number one then avenged last year’s Premier League play-off final loss to increasingly familiar foe Luke Littler, as he became only the fourth player in history to secure darts’ revered triple crown. Humphries joins Gary Anderson, Phil Taylor, and Michael van Gerwen in an extremely exclusive club.
Having failed to progress beyond the last sixteen in each of his first two appearances at the World Matchplay, the two-time Players Championship winner was eliminated at the semi-final stage in 2023. He would finally hoist the Phil Taylor trophy aloft the following year, having overcome several of the world’s highest-ranked players throughout the competition.
Priced at a generous 4/1 to defend his World Matchplay title, we believe these odds offer tremendously good value.
Gerwyn Price
After winning the World Championships, the World Grand Prix, two World Series Finals, and an unbelievable three Grand Slam of Darts titles in a scintillating four-year period, Gerwyn Price suddenly found himself struggling to reach the latter stages of any majors.
However, the popular Welshman appears to have turned a corner in recent months, delivering a string of positive performances to propel himself back up the PDC Order of Merit rankings. Having narrowly lost to an in-form Chris Dobey in the last eight of the 2025 World Championships, Price took his revenge on the former World Masters champion in the final of the second Pro Tour event of the calendar year.
Things got even better as the new season began to take shape. The Iceman became the new record holder for the most nine-dart finishes in Premier League history, a feat that helped him reach the tournament finale at London’s O2 Arena. A heartbreaking end to a highly impressive World Cup Campaign then came at the end of last month, as he and his partner Jonny Clayton lost out to Northern Irish duo Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney in a nail-biting showpiece.
Nevertheless, Price would recover to win the Poland Masters less than three weeks after his crushing defeat in Frankfurt, before claiming his first European Tour crown in two years by beating Gary Anderson in the final of the Baltic Sea Open.
Having finished runner-up at the 2022 World Matchplay, the 40-year-old will be hoping to leverage his improved form to go one better this time around.
Odds, correct at the time of publication, are subject to change