World Darts Championship LIVE RESULTS: Action on NOW as Andrew Gilding and Rob Cross headline Day 9, Littler through

Ballon d’Art leaderboardHere’s how the leaderboard shapes up so far:

• Kevin Doets – 12
• Kim Huybrechts, Leonard Gates, Luke Littler, Connor Scutt – 10
• Scott Williams – 9
• Rhys Griffin, Keane Barry, Luke Woodhouse, Danny Noppert – 8
• Nick Kenny, Kai Gotthardt, Niko Springer, Wessel Nijman, Florian Hempel, Ryan Meikle, Jeffrey de Zwaan, Christian Kirst – 7
• Chris Dobey, Robert Owen, Wesley Plaisier, Cameron Carolissen, Noa-Lynn van Leuven, Jim Williams, Ricky Evans – 6
• Damon Heta, Niels Zonneveld, Cameron Menzies, Brendon Dolan, Stefan Bellmont, Madars Razma, Gordon Mahers, Michael van Gerwen, Alexander Merkz – 5

Afternoon sessionToday’s afternoon session is set to start shortly!

Here’s what’s coming up:

• Krzysztof Ratajski vs Alexis Toylo (R2)
• Andrew Gilding vs Martin Lukeman (R2)
• Josh Rock vs Rhys Griffin (R2)
• Jonny Clayton vs Mickey Mansell (R2)

Winners revealed Here is how the last ten world championships have ended.

World Darts Championship 2024/25 scheduleSunday, December 15
Evening Session (7pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round

• Thibault Tricole 3-1 Joe Comito (R1)
• Jermaine Wattimena 3-0 Stefan Bellmont (R1)
• Kim Huybrechts 1-3 Keane Barry (R1)
• Luke Humphries 3-0 Thibault Tricole (R2)

Monday, December 16
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round

• Wesley Plaisier 3-2 Ryusei Azemoto (R1)
• Luke Woodhouse 3-0 Lourence Ilagan (R1)
• Alan Soutar 1-3 Kai Gotthardt (R1)
• James Wade 0-3 Jermaine Wattimena (R2)

Evening Session (7pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round

• Niels Zonneveld 1-3 Robert Owen (R1)
• Connor Scutt 3-0 Ben Robb (R1)
• Cameron Menzies 1-3 Leonard Gates (R1)
• Gerwyn Price 3-0 Keane Barry (R2)

Tuesday, December 17
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round

• James Hurrell 3-0 Jim Long (R1)
• Kevin Doets 3-1 Noa-Lynn van Leuven (R1)
• Ryan Joyce 3-1 Darius Labanauskas (R1)
• Mike De Decker 1-3 Luke Woodhouse (R2)

Evening Session (7pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round

• Jeffrey de Graaf 3-1 Rashad Sweeting (R1)
• Ricardo Pietreczko 3-0 Xiaochen Zong (R1)
• Ryan Meikle 3-2 Fallon Sherrock (R1)
• Peter Wright 3-1 Wesley Plaisier (R2)

Wednesday, December 18 (7pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round

• Jim Williams 2-3 Paolo Nebrida (R1)
• Madars Razma 3-1 Christian Kist (R1)
• Ricky Evans 3-2 Gordon Mathers (R1)
• Nathan Aspinall 3-1 Leonard Gates (R2)

Thursday, December 19
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round

• Chris Landman 1-3 Lok Yin Lee (R1)
• Callan Rydz 3-0 Romeo Grbavac (R1)
• Martin Lukeman 3-1 Nitin Kumar (R1)
• Gabriel Clemens 1-3 Robert Owen (R2)

Evening Session (7pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round

• Nick Kenny 3-0 Stowe Buntz (R1)
• Mensur Suljovic 2-3 Matt Campbell (R1)
• Scott Williams 3-1 Niko Springer (R1)
• Michael Smith 2-3 Kevin Doets (R2)

Friday, December 20
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round

• Stephen Burton 0-3 Alexander Merkx (R1)
• Wessel Nijman 3-2 Cameron Carolissen (R1)
• Ian White vs Sandro Eric Sosing (R1) – White wins by walkover after Sosing withdraws
• Stephen Bunting 3-1 Kai Gotthardt (R2)

Evening Session (7pm)
2x First Round, 2x Second Round

• Mickey Mansell 3-1 Tomoya Goto (R1)
• Florian Hempel 3-1 Jeffrey De Zwaan (R1)
• William O’Connor 1-3 Dylan Slevin (R1)
• Michael van Gerwen 3-0 James Hurrell (R2)

Saturday, December 21
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
4x Second Round

• Karel Sedlacek 0-3 Rhys Griffin (R1)
• Richard Veenstra 0-3 Alexis Toylo (R1)
• Brendan Dolan 3-0 Lok-Yin Lee (R2)
• Chris Dobey 3-1 Alexander Merkx (R2)

Evening Session (7pm)
4x Second Round

• Danny Noppert 1-3 Ryan Joyce (R2)
• Raymond van Barneveld 1-3 Nick Kenny (R2)
• Luke Littler 3-1 Ryan Meikle (R2)
• Damon Heta 3-1 Connor Scutt (R2)

Sunday, December 22
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
4x Second Round

• Ryan Searle 3-0 Matt Campbell (R2)
• Dirk van Duijvenbode 1-3 Madars Razma (R2)
• Joe Cullen 0-3 Wessel Nijman (R2)
• Ritchie Edhouse 1-3 Ian White (R2)

Evening Session (7pm)
4x Second Round

• Martin Schindler 0-3 Callan Rydz (R2)
• Ross Smith 0-3 Paolo Nebrida (R2)
• Gary Anderson 0-3 Jeffrey De Graaf (R2)
• Dimitri van den Bergh 3-0 Dylan Slevin (R2)

Monday, December 23
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
4x Second Round

• Krzysztof Ratajski vs Alexis Toylo (R2)
• Andrew Gilding vs Martin Lukeman (R2)
• Josh Rock vs Rhys Griffin (R2)
• Jonny Clayton vs Mickey Mansell (R2)

Evening Session (7pm)
4x Second Round

• Gian van Veen vs Ricardo Pietreczko (R2)
• Daryl Gurney vs Florian Hempel (R2)
• Dave Chisnall vs Ricky Evans (R2)
• Rob Cross vs Scott Williams (R2)

Friday, December 27
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x Third Round

Evening Session (7pm)
3x Third Round

Saturday, December 28
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x Third Round

Evening Session (7pm)
3x Third Round

Sunday, December 29
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x Third Round

Evening Session (7pm)
1x Third Round, 2x Fourth Round

Monday, December 30
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3x Fourth Round

Evening Session (7pm)
3x Fourth Round

Wednesday, January 1
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
2x Quarter-Finals

Evening Session (7pm)
2x Quarter-Finals

Thursday, January 2 (7.30pm)
Semi-Finals

Friday, January 3 (8pm)
Final

Nightmare before Christmas Martin Schindler was one dart away from hitting a nine-darter during his clash with Callan Rydz.

But that was as good as it got for the German, with the North East native winning the second-round clash 3-0.

The shocks didn’t stop there, with Paolo Nebrida smashing World No 19 Ross Smith 3-0 – hitting three big checkouts in the process.

And the biggest upset came later on as two-time world champion Gary Anderson fell to a 3-0 defeat to Jeffrey de Graaf.

The Flying Scotsman was many people’s tip to take home the trophy this year, but it wasn’t to be for Anderson.

Credit: Rex

What is the World Darts Championship format?It will be the best of five sets in the first and second rounds of the tournament.

As the rounds progress, matches go to best of seven, then nine before reaching best of 11.

While the final will be the best of 13 sets.

The 32 highest-ranking darts players have already automatically qualified for the second round.

What TV channel is the World Darts Championship on and can it be live streamed?

• The 2024/25 World Darts Championship will be broadcast LIVE on Sky Sports in the UK.
• Fans in the UK can stream the entire action on NOW TV.
• Matches are also available to watch on PDCTV or their worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay.
• SunSport will also have a rolling LIVE BLOG that will cover every match and all the latest news from the tournament.

When is the World Darts Championship?

• The World Darts Championship got underway on Sunday, December 15 and will conclude on Friday, January 3, 2025.
• Afternoon sessions are scheduled to start from 12.30pm GMT while the evening sessions take place from 7pm GMT.
• Day 1 of the competition will only have an evening session, while there is no play from December 24-26.
• Alexandra Palace in North London is the chosen venue for this iconic competition.
• Luke Humphries pipped Luke Littler to the 2023/24 title with a 7-4 win.

Health scare A darts star who was forced to withdraw from the World Darts Championship has been diagnosed with GBS Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Sandro Eric Sosing was forced to withdraw from his first round match against Ian White at Ally Pally.

He experienced numbness and muscle pain and was taken to hospital.

Sosing is still undergoing treatment after being diagnosed with GBS Guillain-Barré syndrome – a neurological condition.

World Darts Championship – top stories

Ffrey shot Jeffrey de Graaf  takes on Filipino Paolo Nebrida in the third round after Christmas and he will fancy his chances of going further.

De Graaf, 34, said: “It’s great. Gary didn’t really show up as he usually does. I am very happy. I got very nervous after the first set.

“I was a bit lucky in the second set when he missed a lot of doubles. That gave me confidence in the third set.

“This has been my best year. I am happy to be here. I will keep on going. My checkouts were the difference.”

Credit: Rex

Sullen Cullen Joe Cullen stormed out of his World Championship press conference blasting that the media had shown him “no respect”.

The Bradford star beat Wessel Nijman 3-0 with a blistering opening performance at the Ally Pally.

But then moody Cullen, 35, lashed out at the press just minutes after booking his place in the third round.

Cullen, whose walk-on is Don’t Look Back In Anger, took questions for under three minutes before walking out in anger.

He said: “I’m over the moon. I played some of my best stuff. Proud? I’m 30 places ranked above him.

“I’m happy with the performance. I don’t know Wessel personally. I think surrounding the media I think probably led to his demise a little bit.

“I’ve struggled this year on the oche and off the oche. To find a performance like that.

“To be honest I’ve got to thank you guys because I don’t think I would have played like that if I hadn’t read the nonsense that I did beforehand.”

All the seeds knocked out of the World ChampionshipSome huge names and former winners of the Ally Pally showpiece are already out of the huge competition:

• Michael Smith (2)
• Danny Noppert (13)
• Gary Anderson (14)
• James Wade (16)
• Ross Smith (19)
• Martin Schindler (23)
• Mike De Decker (24)
• Dirk van Duijvenbode (25)
• Gabriel Clemens (27)
• Ritchie Edhouse (29)
• Raymond van Barneveld (32)

A night of shocks at Ally PallyMartin Schindler was one dart away from hitting a nine-darter during his clash with Callan Rydz.

But that was as good as it got for the German, with the North East native winning the second-round clash 3-0.

The shocks didn’t stop there, with Paolo Nebrida smashing World No 19 Ross Smith 3-0 – hitting three big checkouts in the process.

And the biggest upset came later on as two-time world champion Gary Anderson fell to a 3-0 defeat to Jeffrey de Graaf.

The Flying Scotsman was many people’s tip to take home the trophy this year, but it wasn’t to be for Anderson.

Credit: Rex

Monday’s matches

Double superstarDe Graaf’s doubles success was astonishing against Anderson.

De Graaf reactionJeffrey De Graaf has reacted after his shock win over Gary Anderson.

“It is great. Gary didn’t show up as he usually does but I am very happy with the win.

“I got very nervous after the first set and when I was 2-0 up I was thinking ‘what is going on now?’

“I am happy that I got through in the end.

“Yeah, it has been the best year definitely.

“I am happy to be here and let’s keep going.”

Sandro Eric Sosing updateThe Professional Darts Corporation can provide an update on the health of Sandro Eric Sosing, who withdrew before his first round match with Ian White at the World Darts Championship on Friday December 20.

Sosing had reported numbness and muscle pains while preparing for the game, and after assessment by on-site medical staff was taken to a local hospital for further tests.

He has subsequently undergone neurological assessment and been diagnosed with having GBS Guillain-Barré syndrome.

He remains under medical care in hospital but hopes to be able to travel home soon.

Sandro would like to thank everyone who has enquired after his wellbeing for their well wishes and kind messages.

Van den Bergh reaction

“I got better and better because I was getting more and more comfortable.

“I got better and better because I have been working really hard.

“I just have to say, thank you to you guys (the crowd). You have been in a very important position for me so thank you.

“I love that. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and the most important part. have a lovely Christmas dinner.

“Everyone has love in their stomachs, right?

“I am buzzing. This is for me, for my feeling, what I needed.”

Match statsThrilling performance from Van den Bergh.

Van den Bergh 3-2 Slevin (3-0)The Belgium bangs in the sixth maximum.

He then hits a 140, and he’s on a match winning finish with 124.

A great third dart leaves Van den Bergh double tops.

Slevin nails 140 to leave 16. Pressure is on.

Three darts. He needs just one! Double tops and he wins the match.

Van den Bergh 2-2 Slevin (2-0)Van den Bergh may not need the insurance policy of the first throw in the next leg.

Slevin’s got pressure on the 94, with Van den Bergh on 64. But Slevin only needs one on tops.

We’re going into a tiebreaker leg.

Van den Bergh 2-1 Slevin (2-0)Van den Bergh is within one.

He made a dog’s diner of splitting a 10, but he got there in the end.

His average in the third set is 105.

Van den Bergh 1-1 Slevin (2-0)93 whittles Van den Bergh down to 246.

But Slevin’s maximum gets him down to a ton.

However, he’s out the finishing range after his first dart and has to leave 32.

Van den Bergh’s 132 leaves 16 to checkout but Slevin gets the double 16 he needs to win the leg.

Van den Bergh 1-0 Slevin (2-0) Brilliant darts from Van Den Bergh to set up double 16 for a 156 finish.

But he just finishes the wrong side of the wire.

Slevin can’t punish him, and Van den Bergh cleans up.