The PDC World Darts Championship is fast approaching as the best players head to the Alexandra Palace to compete for the Sid Waddell Trophy.

It is an event not only loved by darts fans but has become one of the highlights of the sporting year.

Luke Humphries is the reigning champion after beating Luke LittlerGetty

Last year saw the emergence of teenage sensation Luke Littler, with the then-16-year-old making it all the way to the final during his debut appearance.

Littler stunned everyone, but he couldn’t quite get over the line, with Luke Humphries proving to be too good for the Warrington-born player.

However, he’ll be back and will be determined to go that one step further, while Humphries will be out to defend his title.

But they won’t be the only attractions, with all of darts best players set to take their place on the oche in north London.

PDC World Darts Championship 2024/25: Dates and how to follow

This edition of the World Darts Championship is set to get underway on Sunday, December 15, and will end on Friday, January 3.

It is being held in north London at the famous Alexandra Palace, or Ally Pally as it’s commonly known.

There are set to be seven rounds until the final.

talkSPORT will have live commentary of the World Darts Championship action across the network.

We will announce details about our team in due course.

talkSPORT.com will also be right across the action with reaction and all of the latest news.

To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

The action will also be streamed on Sky Sports Main Event and Arena.

Littler’s rise to prominence was one of the sporting stories of the yearX: @OfficialPDC / ITV

PDC World Darts Championship 2024/25: Tournament format

There are set to be 96 players involved at the PDC World Darts Championship.

Last year, there was a prize pot of £2.5million up for grabs, with the winner taking home £500,000.

However, the prize money for this edition has yet to be revealed.

In terms of the 96 players, the top-ranked 32 in the world automatically qualify and enter at the second round.

Another 32 are made up of the PDC Tour Order of Merit, and the rest are qualifiers.

Each match in the first round sees a qualifier take on a PDC Order of Merit player.

Prize money won across the season is what determines a player’s ranking, and the cut-off point is November 25.

All matches are played as single in, double out – requiring players to score 501 points to win a leg, finishing on either a double or the bullseye.

For all rounds except the first, the deciding set has to be won by two clear legs unless the set score goes to 5–5, in which case a sudden-death leg will be played. There would be no throw for the bull in any sudden-death legs.

The matches get longer as the tournament progresses, with the first and second rounds being best of five and working up to the final which will be best of 13.

Michael van Gerwen is a three-time winner at Ally Pally, and he’ll be determined to claim glory hereRex

PDC World Darts Championship 2024/25: What has been said?

Former PDC chairman Barry Hearn believes that Littler has the chance to become one of the greatest darts players ever.

Speaking on the Barry Hearn Show, he said: “He has the potential to be one of the greats of all time.

“That is the sacrifice he has to make. Does money spoil him along the way?

“No one really knows the answer, will he be or won’t he be? It will largely depend on him and how he copes with his new world.

“I think he will surprise a lot of people with his maturity as he already has. The way he handles himself. He’s excellent.

“Let’s hope he keeps like that. We are being entertained by greatness. There are a dozen or so players that have the potential from 12 years up.

“We need to be able to tell a story, set the scene. We need to involve everybody, get people talking. Luke Littler did that. By the way, he’s still got a long way to go.

“I think he’s a sensible boy, I think he knows that. He’s pacing himself and he’s going to get beat as well, he’s not going to suddenly blow everybody away.”

Hearn is a huge Littler fan and backs the prodigy to become very specialGetty

PDC World Darts Championship 2024/25: Competitors

Subject to change

PDC Order of Merit

Luke Humphries

Michael Smith

Michael van Gerwen

Rob Cross

Dave Chisnall

Damon Heta

Johnny Clayton

Stephen Bunting

Gerwyn Price

Dimitri van den Bergh

Nathan Aspinall

Chris Dobey

Peter Wright

Luke Littler

Josh Rock

Ryan Searle

James Wade

Danny Noppert

Andrew Gilding

Gary Anderson

Ross Smith

Joe Cullen

Martin Schindler

Gabriel Clemens

Daryl Gurney

Dirk van Duijvenbode

Brendan Dolan

Krzysztof Ratajski

Gian van Veen

Raymond van Barneveld

Ricardo Pietreczko

Luke Woodhouse

Bunting is one of the most popular players on the tourGetty

PDC Tour Order of Merit

Subject to change

Ritchie Edhouse

Mike De Decker

Cameron Menzies

Wessel Nijman

Jermaine Wattimena

Ryan Joyce

Alan Soutar

Callan Rydz

Kevin Doets

Madars Razma

Martin Lukeman

Niels Zonneveld

Scott Williams

Richard Veenstra

Dom Taylor

Karel Sedlacek

Stephen Burton

Connor Scutt

Wesley Plaiser

Thibault Tricole

William O’Connor

Ian White

Ricky Evans

Mensur Suljovic

Nick Kenny

Jim Williams

Ryan Meikle

Florian Hempel

Robert Owen

James Hurrell

Kim Huybrechts

Maik Kuivenhoven