The World Darts Championship has become a permanent fixture in the sporting calendar around Christmas and New Year. At this edition in London, there is a new feature - and a farewell.
10.12.2025, 05:00
10.12.2025, 06:44
SDA
In future, the tournament will be set up like a Grand Slam in tennis, and the venerable West Hall will have an air of farewell before the last event. But otherwise, the first XXL edition of the World Darts Championship in London will be much the same as ever: fans will drink a lot of beer at Alexandra Palace and dress up as Super Mario, Teletubby or a ketchup bottle.
And on the biggest darts stage in the world, there will be thrilling one-on-one sport, stars like world champion Luke Littler and a great show. "The World Cup is something very special. If this tournament is no longer special to you, you should stop," said three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen about the cult darts spectacle in London.
The Christmas party, which has now been extended to three weeks, starts again this Thursday - it lasts until January 3 and traditionally takes place during the period around the turn of the year when there is little sport and no time for appointments. For the first time this year, the elite of the sport will also be available on Panini collector's cards, which is usually reserved for footballers.
Twice as much prize money for world champions
Also for the first time, 128 players - including another Swiss player, 36-year-old Stefan Bellmont from Zug - will compete for the Sid Waddell Trophy, which weighs more than 20 kilograms. There will no longer be free draws in round one for the stars; in future, Littler and Co. will have to win seven matches to win the World Championship title, just like the tennis stars at Grand Slam tournaments.
However, it is not only the field of participants that has grown, but also the prize money. In darts circles, the answer to the question "Who wants to be a millionaire" will be very simple in future: the new world champion, who will receive one million pounds (around 1.15 million euros) for the title, twice as much as before.
Around 70,000 additional tickets from 2027
"The prize money reflects darts' status as one of the most exciting and sought-after sports in the world," said association boss Matt Porter. Alongside Barry Hearn, the shrewd British sports manager has gradually turned the sport, which used to be played mainly in pubs, into a mass phenomenon. It is not only the media interest in the World Cup that is growing, but also the demand for tickets.
The World Championships will therefore be held for the last time in the West Hall at Ally Pally - and from next year in the significantly larger Great Hall, which, according to the PDC, should allow an increase in capacity of 70,000 people over the entire tournament. Any scenarios in which the PDC follows the big money and awards the World Championship to Saudi Arabia are therefore off the table until 2031.
"Alexandra Palace at Christmas is the tournament's flagship venue - its atmosphere is unrivaled in the entire sport," said Porter, explaining the contract extension and change of venue. The previously used West Hall had become too small over the years.
Participants from Kenya for the first time
Apart from tournament favorite Littler, the focus is also on the five women around England's Beau Greaves, who at the age of 21 is one of the world's elite and regularly beats men. As only the second woman in tournament history after Fallon Sherrock in December 2019, she could now also achieve this at the World Championships after having twice refrained from taking part.
Like the FIFA World Cup, where Uzbekistan and Curaçao will be represented for the first time in 2026, the number of participating darts nations is also growing. New Zealand and the Philippines have already become the norm. This year, a player from Kenya is also taking part for the first time in the person of David Munyua.
