Overview
Background
The 2025 World Grand Prix is the 28th edition of the tournament to be staged by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) since the 1998 edition. The tournament is unique as it is the only event in the darts calendar that uses the "double in, double out" format, in which players must start on a double or the bullseye to start scoring and do the same to win a leg. [1] The inaugural edition in 1998 featured matches consisting of sets played to the best of three legs, with Phil Taylor winning the final 13–8 against Rod Harrington. [2] After first serving as host venue for the 2001 event, the Citywest Hotel in Dublin became the regular home of the tournament. [3] In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Grand Prix was relocated to England due to the Citywest being used for health services, with the event being held in Leicester since 2021. [4] [5] Brendan Dolan became the first player to hit a double-start nine-dart finish, achieving the feat in his match against James Wade at the 2011 World Grand Prix; Wade and Robert Thornton both hit nine-darters in their match at the 2014 event. [6]
The 2025 edition will take place from 6 to 12 October 2025 at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester. [7] Irish gambling company BoyleSports continued its sponsorship of the event, having extended its partnership with the PDC until 2027. [8] Mike De Decker will enter the tournament as defending champion after defeating Luke Humphries 6–4 in the 2024 final to win his first PDC major title. [9]
Format
The tournament will feature 32 players; the top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit are seeded and will be drawn to compete against the 16 qualifiers from the PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit in the first round. All matches are in set play format, with each set being played to the best of five legs (first to three); it is one of three PDC tournaments that uses set play, along with the World Championship and the World Masters. [10] As per the "double in, double out" format, players must begin a leg by hitting a double or the bullseye and do the same to win a leg. The amount of sets required to win a match increases as the tournament progresses: [11]
| Round | Best of (sets) | First to (sets) |
|---|---|---|
| First | 3 | 2 |
| Second | 5 | 3 |
| Quarter-finals | 5 | 3 |
| Semi-finals | 9 | 5 |
| Final | 11 | 6 |
Prize money
The prize fund remained at £600,000, with £120,000 going to the winner. The prize fund breakdown is: [12]
| Position (num. of players) | Prize Money (Total: £600,000) | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (1) | £120,000 |
| Runner-up | (1) | £60,000 |
| Semi-finalists | (2) | £40,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | £25,000 |
| Second round | (8) | £15,000 |
| First round | (16) | £7,500 |
