The Winmau World Masters is one of the most highly anticipated events in the early stages of the darts calendar, allowing fans to get an idea of how each player is performing before the Darts Premier League gets underway. Our PDC Darts odds feature superstars Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Michael Van Gerwen, alongside new players who will qualify through the preliminary rounds.
In this preview, we take a look at the dates for the upcoming Winmau World Masters, while also covering the players, format, darts betting markets, and more!
Overview of the Winmau World Masters Darts Tournament
Before discussing the ins and outs of the tournament, let’s start with some of the basic details for the 2025 Winmau World Masters event.
Venue and Dates
The Winmau World Masters takes place at Arena MK in Milton Keynes, with the prestigious event running from the 29th of January to the 2nd of February 2025.
Punters and fans from around the world can bet on darts throughout the course of the tournament, while also getting a good indication of how players may perform in the Darts Premier League, which starts next week (Thursday 6th of February 2025).
Key Players and Defending Champion
This year’s Winmau World Masters features a strong field, including the World No. 1 Luke Humpries, World Champion Luke Littler, and the defending Champion Stephen Bunting.
Five-time Masters champion Michael van Gerwen also aims to reclaim the trophy, while World No. 4 Rob Cross will be looking to start his 2025 off in style by winning one of the biggest televised events towards the start of the darting calendar.
Confirmed Players For The Event
The top 24 players in the PDC order of merit have all been invited to the Winmau World Masters championship, with the following players all being confirmed:
- Luke Humphries
- Luke Littler
- Michael van Gerwen
- Rob Cross
- Stephen Bunting
- Dave Chisnall
- Jonny Clayton
- Damon Heta
- Gerwyn Price
- Chris Dobey
- Nathan Aspinall
- Peter Wright
- Danny Noppert
- Gary Anderson
- James Wade
- Josh Rock
- Michael Smith
- Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Ryan Searle
- Andrew Gilding
- Ross Smith
- Martin Schindler
- Joe Cullen
- Mike De Decker
Favourites to win the 2025 Winmau World Masters
Coming hot off the back of his successful 2025 PDC World Darts Championship campaign, Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler is the overwhelming favourite to win the 2025 Winmau World Masters, with darts betting tips all pointing in his direction.
Littler is followed by another Luke, PDC Darts odds second favourite Luk Humphries, who is currently ranked as the No. 1 player according to the PDC order of merit. Next up is Michael van Gerwen, the runner-up in the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship, and Stephen Bunting, the reigning Winmau World Masters champion.
Here’s a look at the current favourites to win the Winmau World Masters Tournament outright, according to the current PDC darts odds:
- Luke Litter
- Luke Humphries
- Michael van Gerwen
- Stephen Bunting
- Gary Anderson
- Gerwyn Price
- Wessel Nijman
- Callan Rydz
- Chris Dobey
- Michael Smith
- Mike De Decker
- Nathan Aspinall
First-Round Matchups and Notable Matches
The first-round matches for the 2025 Winmau World Masters have been announced already, with a variety of high-profile players facing off against one another to kickstart the main tournament.
Notable Players and Matchups
The first round promises exciting clashes to set the precedent for the rest of the tournament. Here are a few contests to look out for in the first round:
- Luke Humphries vs Joe Cullen – This is the most anticipated match of the first round, featuring two aggressive, high-scoring players who are bound to put on a show.
- Luke Littler vs A Qualifier – Of course, all eyes will be on World Champ Luke Littler in this tournament. He starts his campaign against a qualifier, which suggests that a quick match may be in order for The Nuke.
- Danny Noppert vs Michael Smith – This is a repeat of the 2022 UK Open final, with Smith seeking revenge against Danny ‘Noppie’ Noppert.
- Gary Anderson vs Dimitri Van den Bergh – Many darts betting tips suggest that Gary Anderson will be a real contender in this event. He starts off against 2024 UK Open winner Dimitri Van den Burgh.
Full First-Round Matchups
In addition to the matches mentioned above, there are plenty of other interesting encounters scheduled for the first day of the main tournament, which gets underway on Wednesday the 29th of January 2025:
- (1) Luke Humphries vs Joe Cullen
- (16) Josh Rock vs Qualifier 6
- (8) Damon Heta vs Ross Smith
- (9) Gerwyn Price vs Qualifier 4
- (4) Rob Cross vs Qualifier 8
- (13) Danny Noppert vs Michael Smith
- (5) Stephen Bunting vs Qualifier 5
- (12) Peter Wright vs Qualifier 1
- (2) Luke Littler vs Qualifier 3
- (15) James Wade vs Mike De Decker
- (7) Jonny Clayton vs Martin Schindler
- (10) Chris Dobey vs Ryan Searle
- (3) Michael van Gerwen vs Qualifier 2
- (14) Gary Anderson vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
- (6) Dave Chisnall vs Qualifier 7
- (11) Nathan Aspinall vs Andrew Gilding
Winmau World Masters Tournament Schedule
The Winmau World Masters features a handful of different sessions between January 29th and February 2nd 2025:
- January 29th: Preliminary rounds.
- January 30th (19:00 GMT): First-round matches begin.
- January 31st (19:00 GMT): First-round matches conclude.
- February 1st (12:45 GMT): Second-round matches commence in the afternoon session.
- February 1st (19:00 GMT): Second-round matches continue in the evening session.
- February 2nd (12:45 GMT): Quarter-final matches take place in the afternoon session.
- February 2nd (19:00 GMT): Semi-finals and the final occur in the evening session.
Winmau World Masters 2025 Tournament Format
The 2025 Winmau World Masters follows the same format as previous years, with a preliminary round offering upcoming players a chance to join the main event.
Main Event and Preliminary Rounds
The main event includes 32 players, eight of which will come from the preliminary round. Preliminary rounds occur on 29 January 2025. These rounds determine which players advance.
The main televised events run from 30 January to 2 February 2025, with the winner being crowned on the evening of February 2nd.
Qualification and Seeding
Players earn their spots through qualification and seeding, in the following ways:
- PDC Order of Merit: The top 24 players from the PDC Order of Merit gain automatic entry into the Winmau World Masters. This ensures the presence of established, high-ranking players.
- Seeded Players: The top 16 players from the PDC Order of Merit receive seeded positions in the tournament.
- Preliminary Rounds: Eight remaining spots in the main event are available. Players compete in preliminary rounds to secure these spots.
Prize Money
The Winmau World Masters offers substantial prize money, featuring a total prize pool of £500,000. Of course, the largest chunk, which in this case is £100,000, goes to the champion, while the runner-up is given £50,000. Other cash prizes are awarded to players reaching further stages as well:
- Semi-Final Losers – £30,000 each
- Quarter-Final Losers – £17,500 each
- Second-Round Losers – £10,000 each
- First-Round Losers – £5,000 each
- Prelim Last 16 Losers – £2,500 each
- Prelim Last 32 Losers – £1,000 each
- Prelim Last 64 Losers – £750 each
Bet on the Winmau World Masters Online with BetVictor
If you want to bet on darts online, BetVictor is the place to be. We have an extensive range of Winmau World Masters odds to choose from, including outright betting options and markets for all matches.
As soon as each game gets started, you can live PDC Darts odds on the in-play betting page, with all statistics and odds being updated in real time. Before placing a wager, you can also check out the offers page for a variety of bonuses, many of which can be used across all sports betting markets.
Frequently Asked Questions about PDC Darts Odds
The 2025 Winmau World Masters will begin with the preliminary rounds on Wednesday the 29th of January and conclude on Sunday the 2nd of February 2025.
The favourite to win the 2025 Winmau World Masters is the World Champion, Luke Littler. He is followed by Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, and Stephen Bunting, who is the current reigning Winmau World Masters champion.
The best place to bet on the Winmau World Masters is right here at BetVictor. We have a huge number of darts betting markets to choose from, alongside a variety of offers for both new and existing players.
