2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship - round one schedule confirmed

Luke Littler will begin his defence of the Paddy Power World Darts Championship on the opening night of the 2025/26 tournament, with the round one schedule confirmed ahead of next month’s showpiece.

Following the expansion of this year’s £5m tournament, round one will take place across nine days of action from December 11-19, as all 128 players feature in a festive feast of darts at London’s Alexandra Palace.

Reigning champion Littler is bidding to become the fourth player to win back-to-back World Championship titles, and the world number one will kick off his title defence on December 11 against Lithuania’s Darius Labanauskas, a quarter-finalist in 2019/2020.

2022/23 World Champion Michael Smith will also star on Thursday’s opening night, as the St Helens star goes head-to-head with Women’s World Matchplay champion Lisa Ashton.

The first double-session at this year’s World Darts Championship will take place on Friday December 12, as 2017/18 World Champion Rob Cross goes up against Norwegian newcomer Cor Dekker in the afternoon’s finale.

European Champion Gian van Veen and Australian number one Damon Heta then headline Friday’s evening session, with Van Veen pitted against Spanish star Cristo Reyes, who returns to the sport’s biggest stage following a six-year hiatus.

Heta, who famously landed a nine-darter at Alexandra Palace 12 months ago, plays Ireland’s former World Cup finalist Steve Lennon, while former European Champion Ross Smith and Grand Slam quarter-finalist Ricky Evans also enter the fray.

Two former World Champions take centre stage on Saturday December 13, with Scottish icon Gary Anderson opening his bid for a third World Championship triumph against his former protégé Adam Hunt in the afternoon session.

Andrew Gilding locks horns with Winmau Development Tour winner Cam Crabtree in another eye-catching tussle, before 2023/24 World Champion Luke Humphries meets former World Youth Champion Ted Evetts in the evening’s stand-out tie.

Gabriel Clemens - a semi-finalist in 2022/23 - features alongside emerging Dutchman Wessel Nijman on Saturday evening, while Singapore’s 71-year-old darting sensation Paul Lim opens the evening’s action against Sweden’s premier player Jeffrey de Graaf.

Sunday’s double session will see a quartet of televised title winners enter the fray in the capital, with 2024 European Champion Ritchie Edhouse and former Masters winner Joe Cullen up against Jonny Tata and Bradley Brooks respectively.

Dimitri Van den Bergh marks his return to action against Scottish debutant Darren Beveridge in the evening session, as world number four Stephen Bunting sets his sights on a showdown against Poland’s number two Sebastian Bialecki.

Two-time World Champion Peter Wright will be among the star attractions on Day Five at Alexandra Palace, as the colourful Scot takes on Women’s Series qualifier Noa-Lynn van Leuven in the final match of the afternoon session.

Fifth seed Jonny Clayton begins his challenge against debutant Adam Lipscombe, with 2009/10 runner-up Simon Whitlock and a resurgent Dirk van Duijvenbode also heading up a bumper line-up.

Gerwyn Price will dominate the headlines on Tuesday December 16, as the 2020/21 World Champion tackles Czech qualifier Adam Gawlas for a place in round two.

World number six Danny Noppert plays his compatriot Jurjen van der Velde earlier in the evening, as German duo Ricardo Pietreczko and Niko Springer complete a blockbuster Day Six line-up alongside former semi-finalists Chris Dobey and Scott Williams.

Day Seven is headlined by four-time semi-finalist James Wade and German number one Martin Schindler, while five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld marks his record-equalling 33rd World Championship appearance with a tie against Switzerland’s Stefan Bellmont.

The penultimate day of round one action takes place on Thursday December 18, as Dutch superstar Michael van Gerwen opens his challenge for a fourth World Championship crown in a session which also includes an intriguing clash between Dave Chisnall and Fallon Sherrock.

Belgian number one Mike De Decker takes the spotlight in Thursday’s afternoon session, and the former World Grand Prix champion will meet debutant David Munyua, who is set to become the first Kenyan to compete at Alexandra Palace.

Round one draws to a close on Friday December 19, as Women’s Series champion Beau Greaves makes her highly-anticipated World Championship return against three-time TV title winner Daryl Gurney.

Gurney’s World Cup partner Josh Rock will open his campaign against another Women’s Series qualifier Gemma Hayter earlier in the day, while two-time semi-finalist Nathan Aspinall collides with PDC Asian Championship winner Lourence Ilagan.

The schedule of play for round two - which will be held from December 20-23 - will be confirmed in due course.

Following a three-day Christmas break, rounds three and four will then take place from December 27-30, before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are contested in a blockbuster start to 2026 from January 1-3.

The 2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).

2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship
Session Schedule & Round One Schedule
Thursday December 11 (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Kim Huybrechts v Arno Merk
Michael Smith v Lisa Ashton
Luke Littler v Darius Labanauskas
Madars Razma v Jamai van den Herik

Friday December 12
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Niels Zonneveld v Haupai Puha
Ian White v Mervyn King
Ryan Searle v Chris Landman
Rob Cross v Cor Dekker

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Ross Smith v Andreas Harrysson
Ricky Evans v Man Lok Leung
Gian van Veen v Cristo Reyes
Damon Heta v Steve Lennon

Saturday December 13
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Mario Vandenbogaerde v David Davies
Andrew Gilding v Cam Crabtree
Luke Woodhouse v Boris Krcmar
Gary Anderson v Adam Hunt

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Jeffrey de Graaf v Paul Lim
Wessel Nijman v Karel Sedlacek
Luke Humphries v Ted Evetts
Gabriel Clemens v Alex Spellman

Sunday December 14
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Ritchie Edhouse v Jonny Tata
Dom Taylor v Oskar Lukasiak
Richard Veenstra v Nitin Kumar
Joe Cullen v Bradley Brooks

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Lukas Wenig v Wesley Plaisier
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Darren Beveridge
Stephen Bunting v Sebastian Bialecki
James Hurrell v Stowe Buntz

Monday December 15
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Brendan Dolan v Tavis Dudeney
Cameron Menzies v Charlie Manby
Mensur Suljovic v David Cameron
Peter Wright v Noa-Lynn van Leuven

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Martin Lukeman v Max Hopp
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Andy Baetens
Jonny Clayton v Adam Lipscombe
Connor Scutt v Simon Whitlock

Tuesday December 16
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Alan Soutar v Teemu Harju
Nick Kenny v Justin Hood
Scott Williams v Paolo Nebrida
Chris Dobey v Xiaochen Zong

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Ricardo Pietreczko v Jose de Sousa
Danny Noppert v Jurjen van der Velde
Gerwyn Price v Adam Gawlas
Niko Springer v Joe Comito

Wednesday December 17 (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Matt Campbell v Adam Sevada
Raymond van Barneveld v Stefan Bellmont
James Wade v Ryusei Azemoto
Martin Schindler v Stephen Burton

Thursday December 18
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Callan Rydz v Patrik Kovacs
Thibault Tricole v Motomu Sakai
Ryan Joyce v Owen Bates
Mike De Decker v David Munyua

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
Jermaine Wattimena v Dominik Gruellich
Dave Chisnall v Fallon Sherrock
Michael van Gerwen v Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
Krzysztof Ratajski v Alexis Toylo

Friday December 19
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round One x4
Kevin Doets v Matthew Dennant
Ryan Meikle v Jesus Salate
Mickey Mansell v Leonard Gates
Josh Rock v Gemma Hayter

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round One x4
William O’Connor v Krzysztof Kciuk
Daryl Gurney v Beau Greaves
Nathan Aspinall v Lourence Ilagan
Keane Barry v Tim Pusey

Saturday December 20
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Two x4

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Two x4

Sunday December 21
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Two x4

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Two x4

Monday December 22
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Two x4

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Two x4

Tuesday December 23
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Two x4

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Two x4

Saturday December 27
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Three x3

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Three x3

Sunday December 28
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Round Three x3

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Round Three x3