Winmau World Masters Darts: Schedule, Draw, Results, Format as Title Luke Littler, Luke Humphries 2025 Edition | News darts
World No.1 Luke Humphries will meet 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 against 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 before the main event which will be televised 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.
The tournament will be played in a set format, with each set being best of three legs, with the winner of the Winmau World Masters taking home £100,000 in prize money and £50,000 available to the runner-up.
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 – appearing in his first ranking tournament since his heroics at Alexandra Palace – faced one of the eight qualifiers in his opening.
Five-time Masters champion Michael van Gerwen and defending champion Stephen Bunting will also face qualifiers, as will world No.4 Rob Cross, while Scottish icon Gary Anderson faces reigning UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Dutch No. 2 Danny Noppert takes on 2023 world champion Michael Smith in a repeat of the 2022 UK Open final, with other notable matches including Chris Dobey v Ryan Searle and 10-time TV title winner James Wade v 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 in a battle of former UK Open champions, while Dave Chisnall, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright and Josh Rock will also reveal their opponents after the preliminary round ends.
Winmau World Masters 2025 Draw
First round (number of holders in brackets)
- (1) Luke Humphries v 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 vs 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 v Andrew Gilding
Winmau World Masters: Full day-by-day schedule
Wednesday, January 29
Preliminary rounds
Thursday 30 January (19:00 GMT)
First round x8 – TB match schedule
- 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 vs Qualifier 5
- Peter Wright vs Qualifier 1
Friday 31 January (19:00 GMT)
First round x8 – Match schedule to be announced
- 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 v Andrew Gilding
Saturday, February 1
Afternoon session (12:45 GMT)
Second round x4
Evening session (19:00 GMT)
Second round x4
Sunday, February 2
Afternoon session (12:45 GMT)
Quarterfinals
Evening session (19:00 GMT)
Semi-final
Final
How will the preliminary rounds work?
Tour Card holders and representatives of PDC’s secondary tours, affiliate tours and Junior Darts Corporation will participate in the preliminary round, and it will be played on the best of three sets and the best of three legs per set.
The 32 seeded players advance to the last 64 (players 25-56 on the PDC Order of Merit, if all players enter), and they will be joined by the 32 group winners from the group stage of the round-robin competition.
In the group stage, 32 players will be seeded as one seed per group (players 57-88 on the PDC Order of Merit, if all players enter), while the remaining players will be randomly drawn into groups.
What is the format?
Preliminary rounds – Best of three sets, best of three legs per set
First round – best in five sets, best in three legs per set
Second round – best in seven sets, best in three legs per set
Quarterfinals – best in seven sets, best in three sections per set
Semifinals – best in nine sets, best in three sections per set
Final – Best in 11 sets, best in three sections per set
The top half of the draw will play their first round matches on January 30 and the bottom half of the draw on January 31. The match schedule will be confirmed after the conclusion of the preliminary rounds on Wednesday, January 29.
How can I watch Premier League Darts 2025?
Sky Sports will once again be the home of the Premier League in 2025, every night exclusively live with World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and more! Didn’t get Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream without a contract on NOW.
