It has been a whirlwind year for darts player Luke Humphries. He began 2024 by lifting his first PDC World Darts Championship, the biggest prize in the sport. That was the springboard to a huge amount of success on the PDC circuit.
Humphries is now set to end 2024 as the world number one in the sport following another big year. He will be hoping to cap it off with more glory at the PDC World Darts Championship.
Top seed In the Draw
“Cool Hand Luke” is the top seed in the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship draw. He will bid to become the first player since Gary Anderson in 2016 to defend his crown at the Alexandra Palace in London.
Humphries began his tournament with a 3-0 win against Thibault Tricole in the second round. If you are looking to bet on World Darts Championship odds, Humphries is currently 3/1 to lift the trophy once again this season. He has been drawn in the same half of the draw as former winners Raymond van Barneveld, Peter Wright and Rob Cross, and he may need to defeat all three of those players to reach the final.
Previous world number one Michael Smith sits at 25/1 in the Paddy Power darts betting to become the winner. However, with just over £1.8 million in prize money in the PDC two-year Order of Merit, almost £1 million more than Smith, whatever happens at the latest renewal of the PDC World Darts Championship, Humphries will remain the world number one going into 2025.
The world champion has ambitions of being one of the greatest players in history, and a second world title will help him take a step closer to that goal. Only six players have won the event more than once, so he would join an exclusive club.
World Matchplay and Player’s Championship Wins
One of the biggest triumphs of 2024 for Humphries was his victory in the World Matchplay in Blackpool back in July. He was at the top of his game, averaging over 100 in every round of the tournament.
The world number one had comfortable victories over Ricardo Pietreczko, Stephen Bunting, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Wade, before reaching the final. He faced the number two seed, Michael van Gerwen, in the final, and it was his finishing that proved to be the difference in an 18-15 success.
Humphries’ victory in Blackpool ensured he became just the second player in history, after Phil Taylor, to win the World Darts Championship and World Matchplay in the same year.
The man from Cheshire added to his major tally in the recent Players Championship Finals. The event in Minehead is the last big tournament before the World Darts Championship. Humphries showed his rivals he has peaked at the right time of the year.
His Players Championship Finals win was the first time that Humphries has defended a major title. He averaged 103.69 in the final, saving his best performance of the tournament for the trophy match.
Smith Handed Number Two Seed at Ally Pally
In the bottom half of the draw of the World Darts Championship, 2023 champion Michael Smith is the number two seed. He partnered with Humphries to win the World Cup of Darts for England back in June.
“Bully Boy” was the runner-up in the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam earlier this year. That’s his best performance of the season so far in an individual major tournament. Whatever happens in the World Championship, he is just inches away from the £900,000 prize money barrier in the PDC ranking.
Van Gerwen is another player who will be bidding to reach the final from the bottom half of the draw. With three victories in the tournament, the Dutchman is the second most successful player in the history of the World Championship.
Mighty Mike’s last triumph in the biggest tournament in the sport came in 2019 when he beat Smith in the final. He was runner-up in 2020 and 2023, losing to Wright and Smith respectively in two close finals.
The final of the 2025 World Darts Championship takes place on the 3rd of January, and it will be the 32nd edition of the tournament with the PDC.