Luke Humphries heads into the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship as one of the favourites for the title and the reigning champion.
Russ Bray believes Humphries will win the World Championships this year.
Humphries won the World Championship last year after beating Luke Littler in the final, and this year, he heads into the tournament as the number one seed for the first time ever.
Of course, heading into the tournament as the number one seed comes with its advantages, in theory, you’re supposed to have an easier draw.
However, Humphries’ run to the title last year was rather straightforward as he didn’t play a single top-10-ranked player on his way to the Sid Waddell Trophy.
| Luke Humphries’ route to the 2024 World Darts Championship | Opponent | Score | Humphries’ average | Opponent’s average | Opponent seeding |
| Second Round | Lee Evans | 3-0 | 93.58 | 92.33 | Unseeded |
| Third Round | Ricardo Pietreczko | 4-3 | 91.38 | 91.02 | Unseeded |
| Fourth Round | Joe Cullen | 4-3 | 99.23 | 98.66 | 14th seed |
| Quarter-final | Dave Chisnall | 5-1 | 103.65 | 97.51 | 11th seed |
| Semi-final | Scott Williams | 6-0 | 108.74 | 94.93 | Unseeded |
| Final | Luke Littler | 7-4 | 103.67 | 101.13 | Unseeded |
Humphries was shocked by how hard winning the Worlds was last year, and, based on this year’s draw, he may be be in for another rude awakening
Indeed, when you look at Humphries’ likely route to the final, it’s a lot harder than it was 12 months ago.
- READ MORE: Gary Anderson sends ‘safety net’ warning to Luke Littler ahead of the World Darts Championship
Second Round – Thibault Tricole
In theory, this is Humphries’ easiest game of the tournament, but Thibault Tricole is a player who shouldn’t be underestimated.
Just last month, Tricole beat Gerwyn Price at the Players’ Championship Finals, and in this short format game, Humphries could easily trip up here.
A first to three sets match can be over before you know it, so Humphries needs to be on the ball here.
Third Round – Raymond van Barneveld
The third round usually sees the world number one face off against the world number 32, and, this time around, it’s Raymond van Barneveld who’s seeded in the so-called nightmare spot.
You don’t need us to tell you about Barney’s pedigree. The Dutchman is a five-time World Champion for a reason, he’s one of the best players to ever pick up a set of tungsten, and, on his day, he can beat anyone.
Even in his second game, Humphries is facing a player with a greater CV than his own, and he will have to bring his A-game to win here.
Fourth round – James Wade
If all goes as the form book suggests, James Wade ought to beat Peter Wright in the Third Round in order to set up a clash with Cool Hand in Round Four.
Humphries knows how good Wade is. Humphries called for Wade to return to the Premier League earlier this year, and it’s only a few months ago that these two were meeting in a World Matchplay semi-final.
The Machine is arguably the best player to never win a World Championship, and he’ll want to put that right this year.
Quarter-final – Stephen Bunting
Another major winner may await Humphries in the quarter-finals, and this isn’t an easy game at all.
Stephen Bunting and Humphries faced off at the World Grand Prix in October, and Humphries was just 40 points away from losing that game at one point.
Bunting has had some serious runs at the World Championships in recent years, and he could cause Humphries some serious problems here.
Bunting has been practising with Humphries recently, and that could give The Bullet an edge here.
Semi-final – Luke Littler
The blockbuster match that everyone is waiting for, Humphries and Littler are on a crash course to face-off in the semi-finals of this year’s World Championships after their epic encounter in last year’s final.
Littler pushed Humphries to his limits last year, and both players averaged over 100 in that game.
| 2024 World Darts Championship Final | Sets won | Legs won | 180s hit | Highest checkout | Checkout percentage | Three-dart average |
| Luke Humphries | 7 | 25 | 23 | 170 | 43.1% | 101.13 |
| Luke Littler | 4 | 23 | 13 | 170 | 36.51% | 103.67 |
Humphries may have won 7-4, but he only won two legs more than Littler on the night.
These two are the biggest names in darts these days, and this match could well decide who ultimately wins the World Championships.
Semi-final clashes are often the best games of the tournament – Rob Cross vs Michael van Gerwen in 2019 is perhaps the best game in darts history, and this one is set up to be an absolute firecracker.
If Humphries wants to get to the World Championship final this year, he may well have to get past Littler.