The darts circus is rolling back into Frimley Green – and the iconic Lakeside stage is primed for another ten-day tungsten soap opera.
Reigning champ Shane McGuirk will have the honour (and pressure) of closing out opening night at the 2025 WDF World Championship, taking on Finland’s Petri Rasmus in the last match of Friday’s session. The Irishman begins his defence a year after shocking the darting world – and he won’t get an easy start.
The first arrow of the tournament, however, will be chucked by Dennis Nilsson, the 2023 semi-finalist, as he faces Canadian debutant Shane Sakchekapo to get things underway. That’s one of six first-round clashes on the Friday night menu, with a fresh batch of eight male debutants making their Lakeside bows. Among them: Alex Williams, Romeo Grbavac, Clint Clarkson, Boris Krcmar, Haruki Muramatsu (below), Vince Tipple, and the aforementioned Rasmus.
In total, 85 players from across the globe will descend on the legendary venue, battling across 15 sessions and four tournaments – the Open, Women’s, Youth, and Girls’ – in the sport’s most nostalgic cathedral of chaos.
The Women’s Championship will throw first blood when Japan’s Mayumi Ouchi meets Nina Lech-Musialska on Friday night – a cultural clash between precision and passion. Then, the returning queen herself, Mikuru Suzuki, takes the stage on Saturday evening against Finland’s Kirsi Viinikainen, as the two-time world champ hunts another crown for her cabinet.
Saturday afternoon brings the first seeded men’s action, as James Beeton steps up to face the winner of the Nilsson–Sakchekapo opener. Later that night, new World Masters champ Jimmy van Schie, the tournament’s top seed, begins his campaign against either Williams or Grbavac. Meanwhile, Belgium’s Brian Raman will go toe-to-toe with Jeffrey Sparidaans, the reigning Dutch Open winner, in what promises to be a belter.
Sunday opens with a healthy dose of nostalgia – Marko Kantele returns to Lakeside for the first time in two decades, facing Czech hopeful Dalibor Smolik. That evening, eyes will turn to Scotland’s teenage sensation Mitchell Lawrie, who becomes the youngest player ever to compete in a senior world championship when he meets Japan’s Tomoya Maruyama.
Monday night brings a star-studded session, with women’s top seed Lerena Rietbergen in action alongside four male seeds – including 2022 world champ Neil Duff and the always-entertaining Aussie, Raymond Smith.
By Tuesday, the spotlight turns to newly crowned Women’s World Master Lorraine Hyde, who faces either Paula Murphy or Emine Dursun, while the rest of the women’s Last 16 plays out over the next couple of days. Expect darts royalty on show, with Deta Hedman, Sophie McKinlay, Aileen de Graaf, and Rhian O’Sullivan all stepping into the oche limelight.
On Thursday, the Youth Championship begins – and fittingly, it’s led by the prodigy himself, Mitchell Lawrie, who faces Hungary’s Adam Sepsi in the opener.
The business end of the tournament arrives on Friday, December 5, with all the Open and Women’s Quarter-Finals plus the last two Youth matches, featuring defending champ Archie Self. Then it’s Semi-Final Saturday – a full-throttle line-up across all divisions, including Paige Pauling, who starts her Girls’ title defence against Turkey’s debutant Zehra Gemi.
Finally, all roads lead to Finals Day, Sunday, December 7, when the Lakeside stage once again crowns four world champions – and the darting world collectively holds its breath, pints in hand, for that magical phrase: Game on!
Full Schedule
Friday 28th November, 6pm GMT
Open Round 1: Dennis Nilsson v Shane Sakchekapo
Open Round 1: Alex Williams v Romeo Grbavac
Women’s Round 1: Mayumi Ouchi v Nina Lech-Musialska
Open Round 1: Cliff Prior v Clint Clarkson
Open Round 1: Kevin Luke v Boris Krcmar
Open Round 1: Vince Tipple v Haruki Muramatsu
Open Round 1: Shane McGuirk v Petri Rasmus
Saturday 29th November, 12:30pm GMT
Open Round 1: Caleb Hope v Darren Johnson
Women’s Round 1: Joanne Hadley v Eve Watson
Open Round 1: Ben Robb v Johan Engstrom
Women’s Round 1: Jitka Cisarova v Maud Jansson
Open Round 2: James Beeton (4) v Nilsson/Sakchekapo
Saturday 29th November, 6pm GMT
Open Round 1: Ryan Hogarth v Jonas Masalin
Women’s Round 1: Kirsi Viinikainen v Mikuru Suzuki
Open Round 1: Karl Schaefer v Daniel Bauerdick
Women’s Round 1: Irina Armstrong v Maria Carli
Open Round 1: Brian Raman v Jeffrey Sparidaans
Open Round 2: Jimmy van Schie (1) v Williams/Grbavac
Sunday 30th November, 12:30pm GMT
Open Round 1: Marko Kantele v Dalibor Smolik
Women’s Round 1: Priscilla Steenbergen v Ouchi/Lech-Musialska
Open Round 1: Jim McEwan v Stephen Rosney
Women’s Round 1: Paula Murphy v Emine Dursun
Open Round 2: Liam Maendl-Lawrance (13) v Hope/Johnson
Sunday 30th November, 6pm GMT
Open Round 1: Jenson Walker v Jiri Brejcha
Women’s Round 1: Aletta Wajer v Aaja Jalbert
Open Round 1: Bradley Kirk v Jeff Springer Jr
Women’s Round 1: Paige Pauling v Lisa Zollikofer
Open Round 1: Mitchell Lawrie v Tomoya Maruyama
Women’s Round 2: Stefan Schroder (9) v McGuirk/Rasmus
Monday 1st December, 6pm GMT
Open Round 2: Paul Krohne (16) v Kantele/Smolik
Women’s Round 2: Nicole Regnaud (4) v Armstrong/Carli
Open Round 2: Raymond Smith (11) v Prior/Clarkson
Open Round 2: Corne Groeneveld (8) v Hogarth/Masalin
Women’s Round 2: Lerena Rietbergen (1) v Wajer/Jalbert
Open Round 2: Neil Duff (3) v Robb/Engstrom
Tuesday 2nd December, 6pm GMT
Open Round 2: Benjamin Pratnemer (5) v Schaefer/Bauerdick
Women’s Round 2: Lorraine Hyde (2) v Murphy/Dursun
Open Round 2: Francois Schweyen (10) v Raman/Sparidaans
Open Round 2: Matt Clark (7) v Tipple/Muramatsu
Women’s Round 2: Tracy Feiertag (7) v Steenbergen/Ouchi/Lech-Musialska
Open Round 2: David Pallett (12) v Luke/Krcmar
Wednesday 3rd December, 6pm GMT
Open Round 2: Thomas Junghans (14) v McEwan/Rosney
Women’s Round 2: Sophie McKinlay (6) v Pauling/Zollikofer
Open Round 2: Andy Davidson (15) v Kirk/Springer Jr
Open Round 2: David Fatum (6) v Walker/Brejcha
Women’s Round 2: Deta Hedman (3) v Viinikainen/Suzuki
Open Round 2: Jason Brandon (2) v Lawrie/Maruyama
Thursday 4th December, 12:00pm GMT
Open Round 3: Beeton/Nilsson/Sakchekapo v Maendl-Lawrance/Hope/Johnson
Open Round 3: Clark/Tipple/Muramatsu v Schweyen/Raman/Sparidaans
Youth Quarter-Final: Mitchell Lawrie (1) v Adam Sepsi
Open Round 3: Pratnemer/Schaefer/Bauerdick v Pallett/Luke/Krcmar
Women’s Round 2: Rhian O’Sullivan (5) v Cisarova/Jansson
Open Round 3: Groeneveld/Hogarth/Masalin v Schroder/McGuirk/Rasmus
Thursday 4th December, 6pm GMT
Open Round 3: Van Schie/Williams/Grbavac v Krohne/Kantele/Smolik
Youth Quarter-Final: Kaya Baysal (4) v Thees Kogelnik
Open Round 3: Duff/Robb/Engstrom v Junghans/McEwan/Rosney
Women’s Round 2: Aileen de Graaf (8) v Hadley/Watson
Open Round 3: Fatum/Walker/Brejcha v Smith/Prior/Clarkson
Open Round 3: Brandon/Lawrie/Maruyama v Davidson/Kirk/Springer Jr
Friday 5th December, 12pm GMT
2 x Open Quarter-Finals
2 x Women’s Quarter-Finals
Youth Quarter-Final: Mason Teese (3) v Benedek Szabo
Friday 5th December, 6:30pm GMT
2 x Open Quarter-Finals
2 x Women’s Quarter-Finals
Youth Quarter-Final: Florian Preis (2) v Archie Self
Saturday 6th December, 12pm GMT
Girls’ Semi-Final: Ruby Grey (2) v Rebecca Allen
1 x Youth Semi-Final
1 x Women’s Semi-Final
1 x Open Semi-Final
Saturday 6th December, 5:30pm GMT
Girls’ Semi-Final: Paige Pauling (1) v Zehra Gemi
1 x Youth Semi-Final
1 x Women’s Semi-Final
1 x Open Semi-Final
Sunday 7th December, 2pm GMT
Girls’ Final
Youth Final
Women’s Final
Open Final
Full information on the format, prize money and broadcast arrangements for this year’s tournament can be found on the WDF website.
—–ENDS—–
Images: Chris Sargeant / WDF ( Unless labelled)
