Xiaochen Zong will make his fifth Paddy Power World Darts Championship appearance in December, after retaining his PDC China Championship title last weekend.

Zong has been the dominant force in Chinese darts for much of the last decade, and he continued his monopoly of the domestic circuit with a 3-1 victory over Qingyu Zhan in Sunday’s showpiece.

The 27-year-old suffered a shock deciding-leg defeat to Tianxiao Cao in the round-robin phase, although he still progressed to the quarter-finals courtesy of his whitewash win against Junlong Yin in Group C.

Zong then recorded straight-sets victories over Jiepeng Xuan and former World Championship qualifier Xicheng Han to set up a winner-takes-all showdown against Zhan for the title and a place at Alexandra Palace.

Zong seized the early initiative before Zhan hit back with a clean sweep in set two to level up proceedings, only for China’s premier player to convert clinical 89 and 121 finishes on his way to glory.

The five-time World Cup of Darts qualifier is yet to win a match on the sport’s biggest stage, but he will make his third successive appearance in the expanded 128-player event following his home soil exploits.

Zong will also now headline October's PDC Asian Championship, which will take place in China from September 11-14, as the biggest names in Asian darts compete for the coveted title across four days of action in Qingdao.

2025 PDC China Championship
Sunday August 24
Quarter-Finals (Set-Play Format)
Qingyu Zhan 2-0 Kehua Wang
Bin Zheng 2-0 Tong Xu
Xicheng Han 2-0 Jizhou Li
Xiaochen Zong 2-0 Jiepeng Xuan

Semi-Finals
Qingyu Zhan 2-0 Bin Zheng
Xiaochen Zong 2-0 Xicheng Han

Final
Xiaochen Zong 3-1 Qingyu Zhan