Darts World Championship 2025 – Schedule today 17.12.
The Darts World Championship 2025 is now in full swing. Every matchday until the Christmas break has eight games to offer. And darts fans can also look forward to exciting duels on the third day of the tournament.
From a German perspective, the focus will naturally be on Ricardo Pietreczko’s performance. “Pikachu” had already impressed at the Ally Pally last year, coming close to defeating the eventual world champion Luke Humphries in the third round.
The German number 3 will face the Chinese player Xiaochen Zong in the second match of the evening session and is the clear favorite in this duel. But Tuesday of course has a lot more to offer at the World Championship.
Darts WM 2025 – 17.12. Preview of Day 3
Two second-round matches are also on the agenda on the third day. The seeded players Mike De Decker (24) and Peter Wright (17) will get into the action. However, both professionals are not among the bookies’ favorites for the World Darts Championship title.
The “Queen of the Palace” will also receive special attention. The best woman on the darts scene, Fallon Sherrock, will be up against Ryan Meikle (PDC no. 62) in round 1.
After her sensational run into the third round at the 2020 World Championship, Sherrock was unable to build on her great successes. What’s in it for the 30-year-old this year?
Darts World Championship broadcast today: Where are the matches on 17.12.?
As in previous years, the 2025 World Darts Championship will once again be broadcast on Sport1 and DAZN. DAZN will show all matches of the World Championship live and in HD. The matches will be commentated by Elmar Paulke.
He will be assisted by various experts. However, the streaming service is subject to a fee. Sport1 will also be broadcasting the action live for the 21st time on free-to-air TV and streaming on Sport1.de and in the Sport1 app as well as on YouTube.
The stream can also be viewed on the Joyn platform. Commentator Basti Schwele will accompany the broadcasts with three-time World Cup participant Robert Marijanovic at the microphone. The two will also be supported by other experts.
Sport1 will show all 28 World Cup sessions with over 122 live hours on 19 days. On day 3, the afternoon session will begin at 1 pm. The evening session will then be shown live from 19:10.
Darts World Championship today 17.12.: James Hurrell – Jim Long (13:45)
In the first duel of the day, James Hurrell and Jim Long, two not so well-known professionals, will meet. Englishman Hurrell took pole position in the WDF world rankings in 2022 and has now arrived in the PDC as well.
The man from Banbury secured a tour card at Q-School in early 2024. And on the Pro Tour, the “Hillbilly” reached the quarter-finals three times this year.
Hurrell is now competing at the PDC World Championship for the first time. The English pro’s season average is just over 90 (91.2).
Jim Long is one of the few pros from Canada. “The Gentleman” is not listed in the PDC Order of Merit. Instead, the man from Ontario is number 2 in the American PDC CDC Tour Rankings.
Long already competed at the Ally Pally in 2019 and made it to the 2nd round. This year, three wins on the CDC Tour were enough to qualify for the World Championship for the second time.
However, with his annual average of 86.46, Long will not get far in London. Even against Hurrell, the Canadian will rightly go to the oche as the underdog.
Our expert tip: “Victory Hurrell” at odds of 1.75 at Interwetten
Darts World Championship today 17.12.: Kevin Doets – Noa-Lynn van Leuven (14:45)
There are again many players from the Netherlands at this year’s World Championship. In the first round, there will even be a direct duel between two professionals from Holland. Kevin Doets, who is ranked 51st in the world, is the favorite.
“Hawk Eye” has only been playing on the PDC Tour since 2022 and reached his first final on the Pro Tour last year after three successes on the Development Tour. Last year, the professional from Almere took part in the World Championship for the first time.
He put up a great fight against Michael Smith in round 2 but had to concede defeat in the deciding set. In September, Doets set an exclamation mark at the World Series of Darts Finals with a 110 average.
This year, a second woman will be in the spotlight at the Ally Pally. Noa-Lynn van Leuven is the first trans woman who can keep up with the male competition. The Dutchwoman is currently ranked 144th in the world rankings.
Van Leuven was the first woman to win an event on the Challenge Tour in March 2024 and secured her participation in the Grand Slam of Darts and the PDC World Championship by winning further titles in the PDC Women’s Series.
The participation of the trans woman from Heemskerk has also caused great debate. In sporting terms, the 28-year-old has only managed an average of 82.42 on the board over the past 12 months.
Our expert tip: “Over 3.5 sets” at odds of 1.58 at Bet365
Darts World Championship today 17.12.: Ryan Joyce – Darius Labanauskas (15:45)
Looking at the current world rankings, Ryan Joyce is the strongest player in the six first round matches on the third day of the competition. As the current number 33, the Englishman only just missed out on the seeding.
“Relentless” caused a stir at the 2019 World Championships when he reached the quarter-finals. The man from Newcastle also already has two Pro Tour titles (2020, 2023) to his name.
In the 2024 season, a semi-final at the World Grand Prix and a round of 16 at the Grand Slam of Darts were the highest of emotions. His average of 93.74 and checkout percentage of 43.92 are impressive, however.
Darius Labanauskas is regarded as Lithuania’s best darts player. While “Lucky D” has already been champion several times in his home country, he made it to a final on the PDC Pro Tour (2019).
The professional from Kaunas also played an exceptional World Championship in 2020, when Labanauskas reached the quarter-finals of the most important tournament of the year. This season, however, the 48-year-old remained without a tour card.
As number 2 in the PDC NordicBalticTour ranking, Labanauskas was able to secure another World Championship appearance. The Lithuanian has averaged 87.33 points in the last 12 months and is therefore the underdog in Round 1.
Our expert tip: “Under 3.5 sets” at odds of 2.45 at Bet-at-home
Darts World Championship today 17.12.: Jeffrey de Graaf – Rashad Sweeting (20:15)
Jeffrey de Graaf is a Dutch professional who has been playing under the Swedish flag since 2023. The world number 81 picked up his second tour card at the beginning of the year.
Last year, JdG competed at the World Championships for the third time and finally celebrated his first success against Ritchie Edhouse. This was followed by a win in round 2 against the No. 25 seed José de Sousa.
At the World Cup of Darts 2024, de Graaf reached the quarter-finals. As the clear number 1 in the PDC NordicBalticTour ranking, the 34-year-old once again booked his ticket for the Ally Pally.
The PDC World Championship has gained another attraction. Because Rashad Sweeting made history for his country in 2024. Sweeting was the first player from the Bahamas to qualify for the World Darts Championship.
The “Cobra” secured first place in the PDC CDLC Tour Rankings and thus secured his World Championship ticket. However, it will be difficult for the man from the Bahamas in the final round. The 34-year-old can only boast an average of 75.12.
He also has a checkout percentage of just 28.37 over the past 12 months. The exotic player from the Bahamas is therefore facing an early and clear exit against the very in-form Jeffrey de Graaf.
Our expert tip: “De Graaf over 2.5 180s” at odds of 1.82 at Betano
Darts WM today 17.12. : Ricardo Pietreczko – Xiaochen Zong (21:15)
In the second evening session, the time has finally come: Ricardo Pietreczko is the second German participant to start the World Championship 2025. “Pikachu” has reached a European Tour final this year.
The German number 3 also reached the quarter-finals of the European Championship. For a long time, it looked as if Pietreczko would travel to the Ally Pally as the seeded player. However, the Berlin-born player slipped to 34th place in the final few meters.
Compared to 2023, the Lower Saxony native’s win rate has also fallen from 60 to 43 percent. The season average was 90.27 (73rd place in the PDC). The double rate was 37.72% (86th place in the PDC).
Pietreczko’s opponent is the Chinese Xiaochen Zong, who won the PDC China Premier League in 2024. However, the “Pandaman” has not yet made an appearance outside of his home country.
Zong first competed at the World Championships in 2018. After three World Cup appearances, however, the man from Dandong is still waiting for his first victory. Last year, the Chinese player lost to Mickey Mansell in the opening match without winning a set.
Even though “Pikachu” did not play such a good 2024 season after his tournament victory in 2023, the German is the clear favorite in the duel with the Chinese player. A whitewash is even possible here.
Our expert tip: “Victory Pietreczko HC -2.5” at odds of 1.80 at NEO.bet
Darts World Championship today 17.12.: Ryan Meikle – Fallon Sherrock (22:15)
28-year-old Ryan Meikle already has six wins on the Development Tour. On the PDC Tour, however, his successes are still manageable. In 2022, the Englishman achieved his first victory on the World Championship stage at the third attempt.
At the 2023 World Championship, the “Barber” also had to play against a woman. The professional from Ipswich only managed to win against Lisa Ashton in the deciding set. However, it was always the end of the line for Meikle in the second round of the World Championships at the latest.
The English player is currently ranked 62nd in the PDC Order of Merit. However, his average in 2024 is only just above 90 (90.88). He also has 197 180s.
After a great 2020 World Championship, Fallon Sherrock’s career took a slight dip. The “Queen of the Palace” did not even compete at the 2021 World Championships after missing out on qualifying.
In the following two years, the 30-year-old was eliminated in the first round. What’s in it for her this year? Her average of 83.04 from the last 12 months doesn’t give her much hope.
In the duel with Meikle, however, she is still ahead in terms of 180s (239) and legs won (63.69% to 49.77%). She will also be cheered on frenetically by the crowd at the Ally Pally.
Our expert tip: “Win Sherrock HC +1.5” at odds of 2.20 at Winamax
In the last match of the evening, Peter Wright takes to the stage. “Snakebite” has been in a form crisis for some time and has slipped to 17th place in the world rankings. In Round 1, the 2020 and 2022 World Champion will face Wesley Plaisier
