Welcome to our store Learn more
Darts Corner’s Top 5 Moments from the 2024/25 PDC World Darts Championship

Darts Corner’s Top 5 Moments from the 2024/25 PDC World Darts Championship

Alex Moss |

What are the most memorable moments from the 2024/25 PDC World Darts Championship?

The 2024/25 PDC World Darts Championship reached its conclusion on Friday night, with the teenage star Luke Littler writing his name in the record books once again. The 17-year-old defeated Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in the final to get his hands on the Sid Waddell Trophy for the first time, and as a result also broke van Gerwen’s record as the youngest champion in the tournament’s history.

A total of 96 players from 28 different countries took part in the sport’s biggest tournament at London’s Alexandra Palace, with the three weeks of action featuring plenty of memorable moments on the oche. Darts Corner has picked out our five favourite moments from the 2024/25 edition of the PDC’s flagship event...

@dartscorner.co.uk 🌍🎯🏆 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟓 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 - 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒/𝟐𝟓 𝐏𝐃𝐂 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 - The Weekly Dartscast's Alex Moss picks out his top five moments from the 2024/25 PDC World Darts Championship. Agree? Disagree? Let us know your favourite moments in the comments! 👇 #WeGetDarts #darts #dartscommunity #dartsfamily #dartsaddict #pdc #pdcdarts #lovethedarts #dartsnews #sports #worldchampionshipdarts #fyp #lukelittler #dartsworldchampionship ♬ original sound - Darts Corner

5. Rashad Sweeting’s 180 celebration

Of all the 14 debutants in this staging of the PDC World Darts Championship, Rashad Sweeting was arguably the most unknown. ‘The Candyman’ was making history as the first player from the Bahamas to play at Ally Pally after topping the Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean (CDLC) Order of Merit.

On day three of the tournament, Sweeting made his big-stage debut in the first round against Jeffrey de Graaf. The Dutch-born Swede had enjoyed a promising first season back on the PDC tour, reaching the final of Players Championship 10 and pocketing £40,000 in ranking money.

The unheralded Sweeting was the clear underdog but made a strong start by claiming the first set 3-1. With the second set locked at 2-2 and the deciding leg finely poised, Sweeting returned to the oche on 194 and hit two treble 20s. With 74 left, the usual shot would be treble 14 or treble 18 to leave a nicer double but, buoyed on by the Ally Pally crowd, Sweeting sent his last dart into the treble 20 for a 180. The Bahamian would then celebrate by copying the England and Chelsea footballer Cole Palmer’s ‘cold’ celebration, before going on to lose 3-1 in sets. However, his 180 celebration gained him a legion of new fans who will all hope to see him back on the Ally Pally stage again next year!

4. Gerwyn Price and Joe Cullen’s third-round thriller

The 2024/25 PDC World Darts Championship featured five matches which went all the way to a sudden-death leg. One leg of 501 to determine the winner and loser, the stakes could not be higher. Earlier on in the tournament, Wessel Nijman survived a valiant comeback from South Africa’s Cameron Carolissen to win his first-round tie in a deciding leg, whilst in round two Ricky Evans came through in a sudden-death thriller against the number six seed Dave Chisnall.

The last of the sudden-death legs came in the third round at the end of an epic clash between former champion Gerwyn Price and Joe Cullen. ‘The Iceman’ had raced into a 3-0 lead in sets and looked on course for a comfortable passage into the last 16. Cullen had other ideas as he reeled off three straight sets to send the match into a seventh and deciding set.

A back and forth final set saw Price lead 5-4 and miss match darts, and Cullen made the Welshman pay with an incredible 170 finish to force a sudden-death leg. The 2021 champion held his nerve in the decider with a 45 checkout to progress to the fourth round, but Cullen’s show-stopping 170 and comeback will be remembered for years to come.

3. Peter Wright ends the reign of Luke Humphries

One of the most surprising results of this World Championship came in the fourth round, as Peter Wright rolled back the years to dethrone the top seed and defending champion Luke Humphries – and in emphatic fashion. ‘Snakebite’, a two-time world champion and multi-time major winner had endured a serious dip in form over the last two years, form which had seen him finish bottom of the Premier League in each of the last two seasons and slip to number 16 in the world rankings.

Meanwhile, Humphries has opened up a healthy lead at the top of the PDC Order of Merit, having won the previous World Championship, along with the World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts, World Matchplay and the Players Championship Finals (twice). ‘Cool Hand’ was a big favourite to continue his world title defence and knock out Wright in the last 16.

What transpired went against the script as Wright produced a vintage performance on the Ally Pally stage. The 54-year-old averaged over 100 and hit 70 per cent of his doubles, beating Humphries 4-1 in sets to book his spot in the quarter-finals and end the world number one’s reign as world champion.

2. Damon Heta strikes perfection

Who doesn’t love a nine darter? The stakes were raised at this year’s World Championship as title sponsors Paddy Power offered a prize of £60,000 for any player that could produce perfection on the Ally Pally stage during the tournament. Along with £60,000 for the player, the bookmaker would also donate £60,000 to Prostate Cancer UK and £60,000 to one lucky fan in the crowd for every nine-dart finish.

Former Lakeside champion Christian Kist hit the first nine-dart leg of the tournament in the first round, before Damon Heta joined him with a perfect leg of his own in the third round. In what was the first match following the Christmas break, ‘The Heat’ threw a nine darter during the second set of his clash with Luke Woodhouse, sparking wild scenes on the stage and in the crowd.

The Australian’s exuberant celebration after the double 12 went in was matched by his opponent Woodhouse, who also joined in on the celebrations despite losing the leg! It is a nine darter that is sure to be watched back and replayed many, many times!

1.Luke Littler becomes the youngest ever world champion

What else could it be? Luke Littler became an almost-overnight star with his run to the final on debut of the 2023/24 PDC World Darts Championship. Then aged just 16, ‘The Nuke’ was the youngest player to win a match at the tournament and reach the final, where he lost out 7-4 to Luke Humphries. Undeterred by his world final defeat, the teenager would go on to win 10 titles over the next 12 months including the Premier League and Grand Slam of Darts.

Those titles saw Littler installed as the pre-tournament favourite by the tournament sponsors Paddy Power for the 2024/25 World Championship. In his opening match, ‘The Nuke’ set a new record for the highest average in a set at the World Championship, posting an astonishing average of 140.91 in the fourth set against Ryan Meikle.

Littler’s run continued with victories against Ian White and Ryan Joyce, the latter in a last-set decider, before the 17-year-old cruised to another world final with one-sided wins over Nathan Aspinall and Stephen Bunting. A mouth-watering final against Michael van Gerwen saw Littler race into a 4-0 lead before crossing the finish line a 7-3 winner. The win saw Littler become the youngest champion in the tournament’s history.

Let us know your favourite moments

What do you think of our top 5 moments? Agree? Disagree? Get in touch with us via our social media channels on X (Twitter) and Facebook and let us know your favourite moments from the tournament.

Have you caught the darts bug? Darts Corner is your one-stop shop for all your darts essentials. Browse our range of dartboards and steel tip darts and explore the signature darts and accessories used by the sport’s professional players too!

Pictures: PDC

Alex Moss is a content creator for Darts Corner and the co-host of the Weekly Dartscast podcast. Alex co-founded the Weekly Dartscast in 2017 and has helped produce 350+ episodes of the podcast, with their list of previous guests on the show a who’s who in the world of darts.

Alex also writes content for the Darts Corner blog, including the weekly darts news round-ups and how-to guides.

Choose Your Location

Confirm Location Trade Customers