A number of PDC Order of Merit rules were changed at the start of the 2025 season.[1]
The amount of seeded players at the World Grand Prix was increased from eight to sixteen.
The seeding for the European Tour was reformed; the top sixteen players in the PDC Order of Merit received byes to the second round of each tournament, while the sixteen qualifiers from the PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit played the remaining sixteen qualifiers in the first round.
The 2025 PDC World Masters was the first edition of the tournament, previously known as simply the Masters, under its new rebrand. The rebrand saw the event name changed to mirror the World Masters organised by the British Darts Organisation and later the World Darts Federation, adopting the tournament's format of set play over the best of three legs per set. It also became a ranked premier event for the first time, and preliminary rounds were introduced to determine eight qualifiers for the tournament, who joined the top 24 in the PDC Order of Merit.[2] The tournament was won by Luke Humphries.[3]
Broadcasting deals
The PDC and Sky Sports extended their partnership to broadcast darts in the United Kingdom and Ireland until 2030.[4] The organisation also agreed to a broadcasting deal with NBC Sports and its streaming service Peacock, starting from the 2025 Premier League Darts final.[5]
Increases to prize money and World Championship field in 2026
On 31 March, the PDC announced an mass increase in prize money for tournaments, starting from the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship, where the champion will receive a doubled top prize of £1,000,000 from a total prize fund of £5,000,000. The field for the World Championship also expanded from 96 to 128 players. The total amount of prize money on offer in PDC events in 2026 went up £7,000,000 from the 2025 season, along with increases for the PDC's secondary tours and a 50% rise in funding for PDC Global Affiliate Tours.[6]
Premier Events
The PDC Premier Events are a series of major professional darts tournaments organised by the PDC. These events are considered the most prestigious in the sport and contain the largest prize funds in the PDC.
Ranked
These events contribute to a player's ranking on the PDC Order of Merit. The prize money won in these tournaments is added to the player's total earnings over a two-year period, which determines their ranking.
The 2025 World Series of Darts is a series of televised darts tournaments organised by the PDC, consisting of seven World Series events and one finals.[16]
All eight events remained the same from the previous year, with the only change being the Nordic Masters being held before the US Masters.
The 2025 PDC Pro Tour is a series of darts tournaments organised by the PDC, made up of 34 Players Championship events and 14 European Tour events.[24]
Leighton Bennett's Tour Card was removed as he had received an eight-year ban from competing in events sanctioned by the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA).
Wessel Nijman, the other highest qualifier from the 2023 Development Tour, was in the top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit, and therefore, one extra Tour Card was awarded to a Q-School qualifier.
Afterwards, the playing field was complemented by the highest qualified players from the Q-School Order of Merit until the maximum number of 128 Pro Tour Card players was reached. In 2025, a total of 21 additional players qualified this way.[26][27]
The 2025 PDC Secondary Tours are series of darts tournaments organised by the PDC predominantly participated in by players without a Tour Card. There are three secondary tours – the Challenge Tour (for players who unsuccessfully participated in the 2025 Q-School), Development Tour (for players aged 16–24) and Women's Series (for female players). All three offer qualification to the 2025 Grand Slam of Darts and 2026 World Championship, while the Challenge and Development Tours offer 2026–27 PDC Tour Cards.
Provisional qualifications earned through secondary tour (as of 7 September 2025)
2025 Grand Slam of Darts and 2026–27 PDC Tour Card
2026 PDC World Championship and 2026–27 PDC Tour Card
2025 Grand Slam of Darts
2026 PDC World Championship
2026–27 PDC Tour Card
^ abcdeProvisionally qualified for the 2026 PDC World Championship through a different qualifying route.
^Ineligible to receive 2026–27 Tour Card while in the first year of a two-year (2025–26) Tour Card.
^ abProvisionally qualified for the 2025 Grand Slam of Darts through a different qualifying route.
Global Affiliate Tours
The PDC Global Affiliate Tours are a series of regional darts competitions organised by the PDC in collaboration with various local darts organizations around the world.[41]
Under PDC Order of Merit Rule 3.9,[42] first-year Tour Card holders can participate without restrictions, in their second year they may only qualify for a major event if at the entries' closing date they are outside the top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit, and beyond the second year of being a Tour Card Holder they can play but not qualify for any PDC Premier Event via this route.
Asian Tour
The PDC Asian Tour is the PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from Asia. The 2025 calendar originally consisted of 24 events organised over six weekends.[43] On 17 June, it was announced that four more events in Qingdao, China on 11–12 September were added to the calendar.[44]
The PDC Asian Championship features 48 players – national qualifiers and players from the Asian Tour Order of Merit – and is taking place on 13–14 September in Qingdao. The winner will qualify for the 2025 Grand Slam of Darts.[44]
The PDC Nordic & Baltic (PDCNB) Tour is the PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. On 30 August 2024, the 2025 calendar was announced, originally consisting of five weekends in five different countries.[74] On 8 October 2024, a sixth weekend in Norway with four events was added.[75] On 23 January 2025, the weekend in Iceland was moved from September to April due to a scheduling conflict with the European Tour.[76]
The newly-established PDC Nordic & Baltic Darts Championship will be held on 3 and 4 October and will feature the top 24 players in the PDCNB Tour Order of Merit.[91][92]
The PDC Europe Next Gen is the PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. The 2025 calendar consists of 15 events organised over seven weekends. Players who are over 16 years of age who do not hold a PDC Tour Card are eligible to compete. The top players will qualify for the 2025 PDC Europe Super League.[93]
The ANZ Premier League (known for sponsorship reasons as the Dabble Darts PDC ANZ Premier League)[107] was announced by the PDC in December 2024.[108] The tournament will consist of eight nights, held in arenas across Australia and New Zealand every Saturday between 4 October and 22 November. In a format similar to the PDC's Premier League Darts, the first seven nights of the ANZ Premier League will see a knockout bracket featuring the eight participants take place. The top four players will then progress to Finals Night, where they will compete in a round-robin tournament, with the top two players advancing to the final.[109]
The tournament will include 2010 PDC World Championship runner-up Simon Whitlock, as well as seven other qualifiers from the DPA, DPNZ and ADA tours. The winner will qualify for the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship.[110]
The Dartplayers Australia (DPA) Pro Tour is the PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from Australia. The 2025 calendar consisted of 15 Pro Tour events organised over five weekends.[113] Events 1, 2 and 3 were held in September 2024 as part of the final weekend of the 2024 DPA Pro Tour.[114] The last weekend was moved to August due to an initial overlap with the World Series Finals.[115]
The Dartplayers New Zealand (DPNZ) Pro Tour is the PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from New Zealand. The 2025 calendar consists of 12 Pro Tour events organised over six weekends.[131]
The Australian Darts Association (ADA) Tour is the newly-established PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from Oceania.[142] The 2025 calendar consists of 12 events organised over three weekends.[143]
The Championship Darts Circuit (CDC) is the PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from North America. The 2025 calendar consists of 16 events organised over six weekends.[156]
The Cross-Border Darts Challenge featured eight players from both Canada and the United States. The event took place in Simi Valley, California on 11–12 April.[170] The winner earned a spot at the 2025 US Darts Masters, but with Leonard Gates already qualified as the winner of the 2024 CDC Continental Cup, the spot was awarded to the top-ranked non-qualified player from the CDC Order of Merit.[171]
The North American Championship featured eight players from both Canada and the United States. The event took place in the Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City on the afternoon of 28 June, in conjunction with the US Darts Masters.[172]
The China Premier League featured eight players: the top six players from the China Online Tour Order of Merit and two qualifiers. Seven events were held from 18 to 20 April 2025, followed by the play-offs which determined the champion.
The China Championship featured 24 players: the top 16 players on the China Pro Tour Order of Merit and 8 qualifiers from online Chinese events.[183] It took place on 24 August and consisted of a group stage (eight groups of three) and a knockout stage. The results of the knockout stage are shown below.[192]
Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean (CDLC) Tour
The Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean (CDLC) Tour is the PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from Latin America and the Caribbean. The 2025 calendar consists of six events organised over three weekends in Panama, the Bahamas and Chile – an expansion from four events in 2024.[156]
The African Continental Tour is the PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from Africa. The tour is split into two regions: Southern African and East & Northern Africa. Both regions have four events on the 2025 calendar.
The Japan Tour, also known as the Steel Darts Japan Tour, is the PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from Japan. The 2025 calendar consists of twelve events organised over three weekends, followed by the Japan Tour Finals.[204] The top 32 players on the Japan Tour Order of Merit after event 12 will compete in the Japan Tour Finals in Tokyo on 16 November.[205][204]
The 2026 PDC World Darts Championship field features 40 players who qualified for the event through various international qualifiers. They were invited in the following order.[210]
Originally a qualification route
Back-up qualification route
List of international qualifiers for the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship
^The tournament is held across 17 different venues, with the finals being played in The O2 Arena.
^ abThe tie between Teemu Harju and Oskar Lukasiak was broken based on whoever achieved the better result in the last tournament.[78]
^ abMatt Campbell was ineligible to take the World Championship spot via the North American Championship due to PDC Rule 3.9, which states that players who have held a Tour Card for more than two years, or are inside the top 64 in the world, cannot use affiliate qualifiers to qualify for PDC events. The spot was awarded to the top-ranked non-qualified player from the CDC Pro Tour.[42][211]