First round (pictured) defeated
Sebastian Białecki 3–2 in the first match of the tournament to enter a
tie-break. The first round (best of five
sets) took place from 11 to 19 December.
Michael Smith, the
2023 world champion, defeated
Lisa Ashton 3–0 in what he deemed "not a great game". German debutant
Arno Merk won the opening match of the tournament by beating
Kim Huybrechts 3–1, while
Madars Razma closed the opening day by defeating Dutch debutant
Jamai van den Herik by the same scoreline.
Rob Cross, the
2018 world champion, hit a
170 checkout in the final
leg of his 3–0 win against
Cor Dekker. In his third World Championship appearance,
Gian van Veen, the reigning
European champion, earned his first win at the tournament by defeating
Cristo Reyes 3–1. Twelfth seed
Ross Smith was the first seeded player to be eliminated, losing 3–2 to Swedish debutant
Andreas Harrysson. Smith missed six
match darts in the fourth set to win 3–1, allowing Harrysson to level the score and win the deciding set.
Luke Humphries, the
2024 world champion, won his opening match 3–1 against
Ted Evetts. Already the oldest player to compete at the event, 71-year-old
Paul Lim became the oldest player to win a PDC World Championship match by defeating
Jeffrey de Graaf 3–1; he beat the previous record held by
John MaGowan, who was 67 when he won a match at the
2009 World Championship. Humphries and Lim's wins set up a match between the pair in the second round—a rematch of their
2021 World Championship meeting, which Lim won 3–2. Lim praised Humphries's ability in his post-match interview but claimed that he "can be beaten", World number 84
Adam Hunt took a 2–1 lead against two-time world champion
Gary Anderson, but Anderson claimed the next two sets to win 3–2. "That's probably the best Adam [Hunt] has played all season," said Anderson afterwards.
Dimitri Van den Bergh, a semi-finalist at the 2023 World Championship, missed 16 out of 17 attempts at
double as he lost 3–0 to Scottish debutant Darren Beveridge. while
Sky Sports commentator
Glen Durrant called the match "one of the greatest games [he had] ever commentated on". The
2024 European Championship winner
Ritchie Edhouse lost 3–0 to
Jonny Tata, who was the first player from New Zealand to win at the event since the
2019 World Championship. Number 26 seed
Cameron Menzies led 2–1 against 20-year-old English debutant
Charlie Manby, but Manby came back to claim a 3–2 victory. He was subsequently taken to hospital. Menzies later apologised for his behaviour, revealing that his uncle had recently died but that it was "no excuse for what [he] did on the stage".
Dirk van Duijvenbode and
Andy Baetens also went to a deciding set, where Van Duijvenbode hit a 170 checkout in the first leg and went on to win the set and the match.
(pictured in 2022) achieved his first win at the tournament since the
2022 World Championship by defeating Ryusei Azemoto 3–0.
Gerwyn Price, the
2021 world champion, began his campaign by defeating
Adam Gawlas 3–0. Price thanked the crowd for cheering him on and said that he "[doesn't] usually get this [crowd support]". Sky Sports pundit
Wayne Mardle stated that Price's scoring during the match was "outrageous" and that he looked like "a million dollars". Following losses in his opening match at the previous two World Championships, sixth seed
Danny Noppert was a 3–1 winner over Dutch compatriot
Jurjen van der Velde.
Chris Dobey defeated
Xiaochen Zong by the same scoreline. Australia's Joe Comito earned an 3–1 upset victory against
Niko Springer.
Alan Soutar and
Teemu Harju missed a total of 19 match darts—15 from Soutar and 4 from Harju—on their way to the first
sudden death leg of the tournament, where Soutar hit double 16 to prevail. The
2020 Grand Slam champion
José de Sousa officially lost his
PDC Tour Card following his 3–1 loss to
Ricardo Pietreczko.
Raymond van Barneveld, the
2007 world champion and four-time
BDO World Championship winner, lost 3–0 to
Stefan Bellmont, who become the first Swiss player to win a match in the event's history. Three-time world champion
Michael van Gerwen lost the opening set of his match against Japanese debutant Mitsuhiko Tatsunami, but won the next three to claim a 3–1 victory. "It was really difficult, I don't know what happened," commented Van Gerwen, who remarked that Tatsunami made him "work really hard" for the win. African qualifier
David Munyua, the first Kenyan representative in PDC World Championship history, earned a shock victory against the
2024 World Grand Prix champion and 18th seed
Mike De Decker. After winning the first two sets, De Decker missed three match darts to win 3–1 and Munyua capitalised by levelling the score at 2–2. In the deciding set, Munyua landed a 135
checkout before completing a 3–2 comeback win. Japanese debutant Motomu Sakai defeated
Thibault Tricole 3–0 in another upset win. Sky Sports pundit
Mark Webster said that the debuting players had "done themselves more than justice" with their performances, stating that Munyua's victory was "what the World Championship is about".
Fallon Sherrock, the first woman to win a PDC World Championship match, lost 3–0 to
Dave Chisnall. Gurney converted a 144 checkout in the third leg of the set before winning the next leg to seal a 3–2 victory, despite Greaves winning more legs throughout the match. Gurney praised Greaves after the match and called her "the best woman darts player on the planet".
Nathan Aspinall won 3–1 against
Lourence Ilagan after losing the opening set, completing the victory with a 170 checkout.
William O'Connor produced the highest
three-dart average of the first round as he averaged 102.36 to defeat
Krzysztof Kciuk 3–0.
Second round (pictured in 2019) eliminated the
2021 world champion
Gerwyn Price in the second round. The second round (best of five sets) took place from 20 to 23 December and was the final round before the Christmas break. Four of the six seeded players that competed on 20 December were eliminated. The 28th seed Michael Smith was beaten 3–1 by
Niels Zonneveld, who said "I think this is the biggest victory of my life" in response to defeating the former world champion.
James Hurrell also won in a deciding set, earning a 3–2 upset win over 29th seed Dirk van Duijvenbode. Seeded players Stephen Bunting and
Ryan Searle were 3–0 winners over Nitin Kumar and Brendan Dolan, respectively. Ninth seed Gerwyn Price suffered a shock 3–0 loss to world number 92
Wesley Plaisier. Plaisier stated that it was "by far [his] biggest win ever" and that he "couldn't imagine beating" Price.
Mensur Suljović went 1–0 down against 32nd seed
Joe Cullen, who hit a 170 checkout, but Suljović won the next three sets for a 3–1 victory. Suljović denied accusations of cheating, claiming he "never, ever [plays slowly] as a provocation". Stefan Bellmont led 1–0 and 2–1 against
Damon Heta but Heta ultimately won 3–2. Humphries professed that he did not want to "destroy" Lim 9–0 in legs and he was happy to see Lim avoid a full
whitewash defeat. Alan Soutar missed a dart to go 2–0 ahead against Gian van Veen, who hit a 170 checkout on his way to winning 3–1 with a three-dart average of 108.28. Nathan Aspinall defeated
Leonard Gates 3–0 in a rematch of their meeting the previous year.
Ricky Evans reached the third round for the third consecutive year by beating seventh seed James Wade 3–2. Wade converted a 170 checkout but fell 2–1 behind to Evans, before a successful fourth set from Wade saw the match go to a deciding set. Evans missed seven match darts and Wade missed one as the pair went to a tie-break, where Evans won the set 6–4 in legs with a 99 checkout. "My sister hit that double for me there" said Evans, whose sister died in March 2025. Danny Noppert trailed English debutant and world number 86
Justin Hood 2–0, but won the next two sets after Hood missed the
bullseye for a 3–0 victory. In the deciding set, Noppert missed a match dart but landed checkouts of 157 and 127 as the pair entered a sudden-death leg, which Hood won with a 78 finish. The match, in which both players averaged over 102, was noted for its high quality and dramatic play. Gary Anderson registered a three-dart average of 105.41 and hit nine maximums in his 3–1 victory over Connor Scutt. When asked about Wright's defeat, Van Gerwen commented that he was not surprised and believed it was "time for [Wright] to retire anyway", while Anderson said his fellow Scottish world champion needed to be given "a bit of time". Luke Littler dropped three legs as he defeated Mensur Suljović 4–0, not allowing Suljović to have a dart at double in the first seven legs of the match. Littler recorded a three-dart average of 107.09 and converted 71 per cent of his double attempts. Speaking after the match, he said that he was settled and believed it was the best he had felt at the World Championship. Hurrell called it "the biggest win of [his] career", later saying "I've just beaten the number four in the world. I'm not bothered who I face next" when asked about his potential fourth-round opponents. Krzysztof Ratajski recovered from 3–1 down to complete a 4–3 comeback victory over Wesley Plaisier, who missed three match darts in the sixth set. Clemens had the opportunity to take the match to a deciding set but squandered three darts at double. Humphries halted his opponent's comeback with an 81 checkout on double 13 to win 4–2. Humphries expressed his surprise at his opponent's "onslaught", calling him "the better player in the last three sets". Anderson joked that he was "getting palpitations, never mind flashbacks" Nathan Aspinall, the 15th seed, landed his second 170 checkout of the tournament to take a 3–2 lead against Kevin Doets, but Doets responded by winning the last six legs of the match for a 4–3 victory—his sixth straight win against Aspinall. Charlie Manby and Justin Hood continued their respective debut campaigns, with Manby defeating Ricky Evans 4–2—Evans's seventh loss in the round of 32—and Hood beating Ryan Meikle 4–1. "It's crazy to be in the last 16" stated Manby, who progressed to a fourth-round tie against "good mate" Van Veen. Littler, who ended the match with a three-dart average of 106.58 and 17 maximums, laughed off boos from the crowd that occurred during and after the match, saying: "You guys pay for tickets and you pay for my prize money so thank you for my money, thank you for booing me." Hood admitted that he only felt nervous when throwing to win the match. In a rematch of the
2017 World Championship final, Michael van Gerwen faced Gary Anderson in the pair's 77th meeting. Anderson won the first two sets of the match in deciding legs, dropping the third set as Van Gerwen brought the score back to 2–1. From there, Anderson won six of the next eight legs to seal a 4–1 win. Van Gerwen's defeat marked the first time he had been eliminated from the World Championship before the quarter-finals since
2016. Anderson exclaimed that he and Van Gerwen were "rotten", stemming from the pair missing a number of doubles during the match. Luke Humphries conceded two
breaks of throw in the opening set of his match with Kevin Doets, who took a 1–0 lead. "It was a decent performance" said Humphries, who believed there was "another level" in him that he needed to win the championship. Competing in his first World Championship quarter-final, Ryan Searle extended his streak of consecutive sets won to 17 as he took a 3–0 lead against Jonny Clayton. Although Clayton won the fourth set of the match to end this run, Searle captured the fifth set with a 111 checkout before completing a 5–2 victory. Speaking after the match, Searle discussed his genetic eye condition,
dominant optic atrophy, and said: "Other people who try to play darts, if they can't see particularly well, try not to let that hold you back." The first set went to a deciding leg, which Littler won with a 170 checkout. He won the first three sets and survived missed darts at double from Ratajski to claim the fourth in another deciding leg, also taking the fifth for a 5–0 win. Searle and Van Veen both featured in their first World Championship semi-final, Anderson contested his first semi-final since 2022 and eighth in total, Searle described his tie against Littler as "potentially the toughest game of them all" and one he was "probably not expected to win". Littler called himself "the next man in Ryan [Searle]'s way" and hoped to have a good match. while Anderson asserted that the difference in experience between him and Van Veen made little difference in their match. Searle claimed the opening set of his match with Littler, despite the defending champion producing a 10-dart leg and registering a set average of 105. Littler responded with two breaks of throw on his way to winning the second set, soon taking control of the match and establishing a 4–1 lead. He completed a run of 10 consecutive legs won to extend his lead to 5–1, and although Searle capitalised on a failed nine-darter attempt from his opponent to land a 170 checkout, Littler added another set to win 6–1. The win extended Littler's unbeaten record in major ranking semi-finals to 11. The final was officiated by referee
George Noble, who announced his intention to retire following the World Championship along with
John McDonald, the PDC's full-time
master of ceremonies since 2007. The duo were subsequently inducted into the
PDC Hall of Fame. Littler contested his third successive final, with his only previous defeat on the
Alexandra Palace stage being against Luke Humphries in the 2024 final. Van Veen contested his first final, becoming the third Dutch player to reach a PDC World Championship final, after Raymond van Barneveld and Michael van Gerwen. A rematch of the
2023 PDC World Youth Championship final that Littler won 6–4, Van Veen entered the match having beaten Littler in three of their five meetings in 2025. Van Veen landed a 116 finish to win the opening leg of the match before claiming the set to take a 1–0 lead. He converted checkouts of 145 and 127 to win the first two legs of the second set, but Littler rebounded and hit his own 116 finish to level at 1–1. He hit his second 170 checkout of the tournament to win the third set and lead 2–1. After winning both the sixth and seventh sets 3–0 in legs, Littler finished the match, his 20th straight win in all competitions, In all, Littler won 21 of the last 24 legs in the final. Littler won the PDC World Championship for the second time, having only lost four sets across the tournament. He became the fourth player to win back-to-back PDC world titles—after Taylor,
Adrian Lewis and Anderson—and the first player to retain the title since Anderson at the 2016 World Championship. Littler was the first recipient of the £1,000,000 top prize, extending his lead at the top of the PDC Order of Merit. Van Veen, who earned £400,000 for his runner-up finish, said he "would have liked to lift up the title" and "would have liked to have given Luke [Littler] a game", ultimately calling Littler "unplayable" and admitting that it "doesn't feel great" to "get smashed" in the final. Speaking about Littler on Sky Sports, Wayne Mardle claimed there was "nothing he can't do on a dartboard", adding: "The format doesn't matter any more. He's just the best." ==Schedule==