World No.1 Luke Humphries will take on Joe Cullen in the first round of the 2025 Winmau World Masters, while world champion Luke Littler will have to wait to find out who he plays in Milton Keynes.
The new-look Winmau World Masters will be played at Arena MK in Milton Keynes, with preliminary rounds taking place on Wednesday 29 January ahead of the televised main event from Thursday 30 January to Sunday 2 February.
The top 24 players from the PDC Order of Merit automatically qualify for the 32-man main event, with the world's top 16 seeds in the draw, while the remaining eight spots will come from the preliminary rounds.
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Emma Paton, Mark Webster and Richard Ashdown discuss whether Littler can break Phil Taylor's World Darts record of 16 titles
The tournament will be played in a sets format, with each set being best of three games, with the Winmau World Masters champion winning £100,000 in prize money and £50,000 in runner-up prize money.
Who will Humphries and Littler face?
Humphries will begin his title challenge against former Premier League runner-up Cullen, who won the Masters at Milton Keynes in 2022, while Littler – who was in his first major since his hero at Alexandra Palace – was up against one of eight qualifiers in their opening.
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Look back at the World Darts Championship, where Littler became the youngest world champion ever
Five-time Masters champion Michael van Gerwen and defending champion Stephen Bunting will also face qualifiers, as will world number four Rob Cross, while Scottish icon Gary Anderson faces reigning UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Dutch number two Danny Noppert takes on 2023 world champion Michael Smith in a replay of the 2022 UK Open final, with other notable matches including Chris Dobey v Ryan Searle and 10-time TV title winner James Wade taking on world grand prix champion Mike De Decker.
Australian No.1 Damon Heta will face former European champion Ross Smith and Nathan Aspinall with Andrew Gilding taking on the former UK Open champions, while Dave Chisnall, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright and Josh Rock will also reveal their opponents after the preliminary round ends.
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Another look at how the Alexandra Palace crowd went wild for Damon Hetta's nine darts at the World Darts Championship
Winmau World Masters Draw 2025
First round (seed number in parentheses)
- (1) Luke Humphries vs Joe Cullen
- (16) Josh Rock vs Qualifier 6
- (8) Damon Heta vs Ross Smith
- (9) Gerwyn Price v Qualifier 4
- (4) Rob Cross vs Qualifier 8
- (13) Danny Noppert vs. Michael Smith
- (5) Stephen Bunting v Qualifier 5
- (12) Peter Wright v Qualifier 1
- (2) Luke Littler vs Qualifier 3
- (15) James Wade vs. Mike De Decker
- (7) Jonny Clayton vs Martin Schindler
- (10) Chris Dobey vs Ryan Searle
- (3) Michael van Gerwen vs Qualifier 2
- (14) Gary Anderson vs. Dimitri Van den Bergh
- (6) Dave Chisnall v Qualifier 7
- (11) Nathan Aspinall vs Andrew Gilding
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Check out some of the highlights from this year's World Darts Championship, including Littler's record set, several Barriokes and two nine-darts
Winmau World Masters: Full schedule day by day
Wednesday, January 29
Preliminary rounds
Thursday 30 January (19:00 GMT)
First round x8 – Schedule of matches TB
- Luke Humphries vs Joe Cullen
- Josh Rock vs Qualifier 6
- Damon Heta vs Ross Smith
- Gerwyn Price vs Qualifier 4
- Rob Cross vs Qualifier 8
- Danny Noppert vs Michael Smith
- Stephen Bunting v Qualifier 5
- Peter Wright vs Qualifier 1
Friday 31 January (19:00 GMT)
First round x8 – Match schedule TBC
- Luke Littler vs Qualifier 3
- James Wade vs Mike De Decker
- Jonny Clayton vs Martin Schindler
- Chris Dobey vs Ryan Searle
- Michael van Gerwen vs Qualifier 2
- Gary Anderson vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Dave Chisnall vs Qualifier 7
- Nathan Aspinall vs Andrew Gilding
Saturday February 1
Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)
Second round x4
Evening Session (19:00 GMT)
Second round x4
Sunday February 2
Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)
Quarterfinals
Evening Session (19:00 GMT)
Semi-final
The final
How will the preliminary rounds work?
The preliminary round will feature Tour Card holders and representatives from the PDC's secondary tours, affiliated tours and the Junior Darts Corporation, which will be played in a best-of-three sets and best-of-three legs per set.
The 32 seeds advance to the last 64 (players 25-56 on the PDC Order of Merit, if all players enter), and will be joined by the 32 group winners from the group stage.
In the group stage 32 players will be seeded one per group (players 57-88 on the PDC Order of Merit, if all players enter) and the remaining players will be randomly drawn from the groups.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Check out some of the highlights from this year's World Darts Championship, including Littler's record set, several Barriokes and two nine-darts
What is the format?
Preliminary rounds – Best of three sets, best of three legs per set
First round – Best of five sets, best of three legs per set
Second round – Best of seven sets, best of three legs per set
Quarterfinals – Best in seven sets, best in three legs per set
Semifinals – Best of nine sets, best of three legs per set
Final – Best in 11 sets, best in three legs per set
The top half of the draw will play the first round matches on January 30, and the bottom half of the draw on January 31. The fixture list will be confirmed after the preliminary rounds on Wednesday, January 29.
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