2025 PDC World Masters

Luke Humphries won the World Masters for the first time in his career.
2021 Masters champion Jonny Clayton was defeated in the final.

The 2025 PDC World Masters (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2025 Winmau World Masters) was a professional darts tournament that took place at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England, from 30 January to 2 February 2025. It was the 13th Masters to be organised by the Professional Darts Corporation and the first under the World Masters rebrand. It was the first time the tournament was ranked and was using set play.

Stephen Bunting was the defending champion after beating Michael van Gerwen 11–7 in the 2024 final. However, he lost 4–3 to Danny Noppert in the quarter-finals.

Luke Humphries won the tournament, defeating Jonny Clayton 6–5 in the final.

Dimitri Van den Bergh hit a nine-dart finish during his second round victory over Michael van Gerwen.

Overview

Background

The preliminary rounds and main tournament were held at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England.

The inaugural edition of The Masters, the 2013 Masters, was held by the Professional Darts Corporation from 1–3 November 2013 at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland and broadcast live on ITV4. Phil Taylor won the first final, defeating Adrian Lewis 10–1. Since 2015, the tournament has been held in Milton Keynes. The tournament initially featured the top 16 players in the world before increasing to the top 24 in 2021.

In August 2024, it was announced that for the 2025 event, the field would expand to 32 players and it would be the first edition where the tournament was ranked. However, this preceded a bigger announcement that was made on 28 October. The PDC announced a complete revamp of the competition, rebranding it from The Masters to the World Masters (sponsored by Winmau), emulating the World Masters which was first held in 1975 and organised by the British Darts Organisation and later the World Darts Federation. The revamp saw a change in format from leg play to classic World Masters set play (best of 3 legs in a set), and saw preliminary rounds introduced for players outside of the top 24 and players from the PDC's affiliated tours to determine who would join the top 24 in the main competition.

The 2025 event was held from 30 January to 2 February at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. The defending champion was Stephen Bunting, who won his first PDC televised title by defeating Michael van Gerwen 11–7 in the 2024 final.

Format

All matches were played as straight in (player begins scoring with their first throw no matter what section is hit), double out (a segment on the outer ring or the bullseye), requiring the players to score 501 points to win a leg, finishing on a double. The matches were played in set format, with a minimum of two sets required to win a match. All sets were played to the best of three legs.

Prize money

The prize money for the tournament was £500,000 in total. The winner's prize money was £100,000.

Qualifiers

Stephen Bunting was the defending champion going into the tournament.

The World Masters featured the top 24 players in the PDC Order of Merit after the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship automatically qualifying for the first round, while the 2025 Tour Card Holders ranked outside the top 24 competed in preliminary rounds held on 29 January 2025 alongside players from affiliated tours to determine the last eight players in the main field. The top sixteen players on the Order of Merit were seeded for the tournament.

The list of participants was as follows:

Preliminary rounds

The preliminary rounds began with a group stage, with one seeded player per group (the players ranked 57–88 were seeded). The winner of each group progressed to the last 64 where they faced players ranked 25–56. The eight winners of the last 16 matches qualified for the main tournament.

Raymond van Barneveld (ranked world number thirty-four) did not enter the preliminary rounds. Dylan Slevin therefore received a bye to the last 64.

The following players participated in the last 64 of the preliminary rounds:

Number 25–56 on the PDC Order of Merit (seeded players)

Group winners

  1.  Joshua Richardson
  2.  William Borland (qualified)
  3.  Aden Kirk
  4.  Darius Labanauskas
  5.  Adam Hunt
  6.  Jeffrey de Graaf
  7.  Nick Kenny
  8.  Owen Bates
  9.  Cam Crabtree
  10.  Nathan Girvan
  11.  Ryan Meikle
  12.  Jitse Van der Wal
  13.  Andreas Harrysson
  14.  Berry van Peer
  15.  Jimmy van Schie
  16.  Andy Boulton
  17.  Radek Szagański
  18.  Brett Claydon
  19.  Karel Sedláček
  20.  Andy Baetens (qualified)
  21.  Tom Bissell
  22.  Marvin van Velzen
  23.  Oskar Lukasiak
  24.  Bradley Brooks (qualified)
  25.  Thibault Tricole
  26.  Thomas Lovely
  27.  Danny Lauby
  28.  Mensur Suljović
  29.  Adam Lipscombe
  30.  Pero Ljubić
  31.  Henry Coates
  32.  Ryan Branley

The draw for the preliminary rounds was made on 29 January 2025.

All matches were played to the best of three sets (the first player to win two sets wins the match).

The knockout phase results are shown below.

Section 1

Last 64
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 32
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 16
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
         
25 Daryl Gurney 92.582
 Joshua Richardson 88.461
25 Daryl Gurney 93.061
56 Dylan Slevin 92.292
56 Dylan Slevin 88.752
 Ryan Branley 89.660
56 Dylan Slevin 87.090
40 Kevin Doets 91.092
40 Kevin Doets 92.462
 Andy Boulton 93.200
40 Kevin Doets 91.692
 Radek Szagański 88.091
41 Madars Razma 88.181
 Radek Szagański 80.822

Section 2

Last 64
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 32
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 16
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
         
32 Krzysztof Ratajski 91.482
 Owen Bates 91.230
32 Krzysztof Ratajski 100.192
49 Keane Barry 92.671
49 Keane Barry 83.582
 Thibault Tricole 82.471
32 Krzysztof Ratajski 89.430
 Bradley Brooks 96.602
33 Luke Woodhouse 95.501
 Cam Crabtree 89.052
 Cam Crabtree 83.700
 Bradley Brooks 91.892
48 Ian White 92.100
 Bradley Brooks 91.962

Section 3

Last 64
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 32
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 16
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
         
28 Ritchie Edhouse 70.330
 Darius Labanauskas 70.732
 Darius Labanauskas 97.922
53 Matt Campbell 89.011
53 Matt Campbell 85.112
 Adam Lipscombe 84.340
 Darius Labanauskas 97.550
 Andy Baetens 100.872
37 Martin Lukeman 76.762
 Andreas Harrysson 80.701
37 Martin Lukeman 86.180
 Andy Baetens 96.042
44 José de Sousa 83.701
 Andy Baetens 85.942

Section 4

Last 64
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 32
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 16
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
         
29 Ryan Joyce 94.722
 Adam Hunt 85.520
29 Ryan Joyce 90.120
52 Florian Hempel 92.192
52 Florian Hempel 110.572
 Mensur Suljović 96.821
52 Florian Hempel 87.732
36 Gabriel Clemens 88.060
36 Gabriel Clemens 80.162
 Jitse Van der Wal 71.570
36 Gabriel Clemens 88.182
45 Kim Huybrechts 81.930
45 Kim Huybrechts 87.032
 Tom Bissell 77.130

Section 5

Last 64
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 32
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 16
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
         
26 Dirk van Duijvenbode 89.801
 William Borland 101.632
 William Borland 81.162
55 Alan Soutar 87.531
55 Alan Soutar 89.652
 Henry Coates 89.551
 William Borland 92.182
42 Mickey Mansell 87.911
39 Callan Rydz 100.761
 Jimmy van Schie 95.292
 Jimmy van Schie 92.081
42 Mickey Mansell 92.852
42 Mickey Mansell 87.962
 Brett Claydon 80.161

Section 6

Last 64
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 32
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 16
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
         
31 Brendan Dolan 89.891
 Nick Kenny 85.452
 Nick Kenny 91.422
50 Jim Williams 84.531
50 Jim Williams 87.742
 Thomas Lovely 83.311
 Nick Kenny 95.221
34 Jermaine Wattimena 95.972
34 Jermaine Wattimena 95.812
 Nathan Girvan 71.560
34 Jermaine Wattimena 99.002
47 Niels Zonneveld 93.300
47 Niels Zonneveld 98.972
 Oskar Lukasiak 84.281

Section 7

Last 64
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 32
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 16
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
         
27 Gian van Veen 92.292
 Aden Kirk 90.080
27 Gian van Veen 106.012
54 Wessel Nijman 100.711
54 Wessel Nijman 101.902
 Pero Ljubić 92.940
27 Gian van Veen 94.370
38 Cameron Menzies 106.162
38 Cameron Menzies 92.952
 Berry van Peer 86.051
38 Cameron Menzies 92.492
43 Ricky Evans 87.810
43 Ricky Evans 81.092
 Karel Sedláček 90.400

Section 8

Last 64
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 32
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
Last 16
(best of 3 sets)
29 January
         
30 Ricardo Pietreczko 80.380
  Jeffrey de Graaf 88.412
 Jeffrey de Graaf 77.631
51 William O'Connor 91.972
51 William O'Connor 93.942
  Danny Lauby 90.350
51 William O'Connor 86.452
46 Richard Veenstra 85.740
35 Scott Williams 90.490
 Ryan Meikle 95.582
 Ryan Meikle 78.590
46 Richard Veenstra 81.312
46 Richard Veenstra 96.622
  Marvin van Velzen 90.081

Schedule

Thursday, 30 January
Friday, 31 January
Saturday, 1 February
Sunday, 2 February

Main draw

The draw for the televised stages was made on 21 January.

First round
(best of 5 sets)
30–31 January
Second round
(best of 7 sets)
1 February
Quarter-finals
(best of 7 sets)
2 February
Semi-finals
(best of 9 sets)
2 February
Final
(best of 11 sets)
2 February
               
1 Luke Humphries 98.623
 Joe Cullen 92.501
1 Luke Humphries 94.634
16 Josh Rock 94.780
16 Josh Rock 98.163
Q Jermaine Wattimena 94.751
1 Luke Humphries 104.244
8 Damon Heta 97.781
8 Damon Heta 92.323
 Ross Smith 96.811
8 Damon Heta 94.584
9 Gerwyn Price 96.373
9 Gerwyn Price 97.493
Q Florian Hempel 92.080
1 Luke Humphries 99.715
13 Danny Noppert 88.332
4 Rob Cross 103.191
Q William O'Connor 98.753
Q William O'Connor 88.160
13 Danny Noppert 96.274
13 Danny Noppert 97.323
 Michael Smith 96.991
13 Danny Noppert 97.584
5 Stephen Bunting 101.283
5 Stephen Bunting 95.033
Q William Borland 92.062
5 Stephen Bunting 93.674
12 Peter Wright 94.842
12 Peter Wright 101.283
Q Kevin Doets 97.422
1 Luke Humphries 100.426
7 Jonny Clayton 98.255
2 Luke Littler 104.333
Q Andy Baetens 95.940
2 Luke Littler 105.474
15 James Wade 91.420
15 James Wade 92.613
 Mike De Decker 91.762
2 Luke Littler 108.502
7 Jonny Clayton 103.964
7 Jonny Clayton 112.773
 Martin Schindler 105.051
7 Jonny Clayton 93.544
 Ryan Searle 93.873
10 Chris Dobey 91.831
 Ryan Searle 90.933
7 Jonny Clayton 90.515
 Dimitri Van den Bergh 85.192
3 Michael van Gerwen 95.873
Q Bradley Brooks 91.171
3 Michael van Gerwen 98.633
 Dimitri Van den Bergh 97.704
14 Gary Anderson 100.031
 Dimitri Van den Bergh 102.433
 Dimitri Van den Bergh 100.354
11 Nathan Aspinall 93.871
6 Dave Chisnall 90.691
Q Cameron Menzies 87.743
Q Cameron Menzies 83.751
11 Nathan Aspinall 90.844
11 Nathan Aspinall 103.773
 Andrew Gilding 101.260

Highest averages

This table shows all averages over 100 achieved by players throughout the tournament. For players with multiple high averages, this is indicated by the number in brackets.

The three-dart average is the most cited statistic in darts matches as it gives a rough estimate of a player's form. For comparison with previous years, see the highest ever recorded averages in the World Masters.

The preliminary draw had 129 players participating. 16 different players achieved over 100 on three-dart average during the preliminaries. The preliminaries were only available to watch on PDCTV, which makes these averages non-televised.

Media coverage

The main tournament was broadcast on ITV4 in the United Kingdom, DAZN in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Viaplay in the Netherlands, FanDuel in the United States, Fox Sports in Australia. The preliminary round was offered on the PDC.tv live streaming platform.

References

Uses material from the Wikipedia article 2025 PDC World Masters, released under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.