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 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 will be 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 organized 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 organized 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 organized by the PDC, made up of thirty-four Players Championship events and fourteen European Tour events.[24]
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).
The PDC Global Affiliate Tours are a series of regional darts competitions organized 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 twenty-four events organized 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]
Following the final events, 48 players – national qualifiers and players from the Asian Tour Order of Merit – will compete in the Asian Championship on 13–14 September in Qingdao, where the two finalists will qualify for the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship.[44] Alongside the two finalists, five additional players from the Asian Tour Order of Merit will also qualify.[45]
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.[70] On 8 October 2024, a sixth weekend in Norway with four events was added.[71] On 23 January 2025, the weekend in Iceland was moved from September to April due to a scheduling conflict with the European Tour.[72]
The top two players on the PDCNB Tour Order of Merit at the end of the season qualified for the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship.[45]Andreas Harrysson confirmed his place in the top two and World Championship qualification after winning his third title of the year at event 10.[73] After winning the final event of the season, Teemu Harju also secured qualification.[74]
The newly-established PDC Nordic & Baltic Darts Championship will be held from on 3 and 4 October and will feature the top 24 players in the PDCNB Tour Order of Merit, with the winner also qualifying for the 2026 World Championship.[89][90]
The PDC Europe Next Gen is the PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. The format of play is rotated event by event. These formats include: seeding, 'double in, double out' (DIDO), FA Cup (no seedings, random draw at the start of each round) and 'master out' (players can win a leg on a treble or double). The 2025 calendar consists of fifteen events organized over seven weekends. Players who are over 16 years of age who do not hold a PDC Tour Card are eligible to compete.
The Dartplayers Australia (DPA) Pro Tour is the PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from Australia. The 2025 calendar consists of 15 Pro Tour events organized over five weekends.[105] Events 1, 2 and 3 were held in September 2024 as part of the final weekend of the 2024 DPA Pro Tour.[106] The last weekend was moved to August due to an initial overlap with the World Series Finals.[107]
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 organized over six weekends.[120]
The Australian Darts Association (ADA) Tour is the newly-established PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from Oceania.[131] The 2025 calendar consists of 12 events organised over three weekends.[132]
The new ANZ Premier League was announced by the PDC in December 2024.[141] 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 (playoffs), where they will compete in a round-robin tournament, with the top two players advancing to the final.[142]
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.[143]
The Championship Darts Circuit (CDC) is the PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from North America. The 2025 calendar consists of sixteen events organized over six weekends.[144] Certain events use a different format of play, similar to the Next Gen tour.
The top-ranked American and top-ranked Canadian on the CDC Tour Order of Merit will qualify for the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship.[45] After the results of the North American Championship, it was determined that another place at the World Championship will be awarded to the top-ranked non-qualified player on the CDC Tour Order of Merit.[145]
The Cross-Border Darts Challenge featured 8 players from both Canada and the United States. The event took place in Simi Valley, California on 11–12 April.[159] 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.[160] This win also qualified Gates for the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship.[45]
The North American Championship featured 8 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.
The tournament was initially a qualification route for the 2025 Grand Slam of Darts and the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship. However, due to Matt Campbell winning the title, who was on his fourth year as a PDC Tour Card holder, he was ineligible to qualify for both events in accordance with PDC Rule 3.9.[161][162]
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, which was first held in 2024,[182] featured 24 players: the top 16 players on the China Pro Tour Order of Merit and 8 qualifiers from online Chinese events.[163] It took place on 24 August and consisted of a group stage (eight groups of three) and a knockout stage.[183]
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 that was launched in 2023.[184] The 2025 calendar will consist of six events organised over three weekends in Panama, the Bahamas and Chile – an expansion from four events in 2024.[144]
The African Continental Tour is the PDC Global Affiliate Tour for players from Africa. The tour is split in the regions Southern African and East & Northern Africa. Each region will 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 that was launched in 2024.[195] The 2025 calendar consists of twelve events organised over three weekends, followed by the Japan Tour Finals.[196]
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, where the winner will qualify for the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship.[195][196]
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