2025 PDC WC Sunday Preview & Tips

It’s Darrrrrrtttttsssssmas! The PDC World Championship begins this evening and James Punt is hoping to get off to a strong start. In case you missed them, his outright winner preview and quarter betting previews have already been posted. You can check out his 2025 PDC WC Sunday preview and tips below.

Format

The first round matches are played in a best of five set format. That is a maximum of fifteen legs, and of course, the set format means you can win the most legs, but still lose the match.

Some of the matches are very uncompetitive, some feature little known players, and there are likely to be a lot of no bet matches. That is better than putting a bet on just for the hell of it. This is a marathon, not a sprint. There will be plenty of opportunities along the way.

Thibault Tricole vs. Joe Comito

Joe Comito is the Australian Pro Tour qualifier. He comes here full of confidence having won fourteen of his last fifteen matches Down Under. In the last block of tournaments, he reached all three finals and won two.

The standard of the Aussie Pro Tour is more like our Challenge tour, a step or two down from the Pro Tour. His seasonal average is 83.61, but in the last three months 85.46, which reflects that good run of form in the last block of DPA Tour matches.

The one question mark I have with him, are his two appearances in World Series events. That is the chance for the Aussie pros to get a go at playing the top PDC pros, albeit in an exhibition style event. Comito has played in two.

He lost his first match back in 2023, a 0-6 loss to Damon Heta, and he averaged just 73.50 in that. He played Luke Humphries this year and at least got a leg on the scoreboard but lost 1-6 and averaged just 70.11.

Clearly, he massively underperformed in both. Maybe he didn’t cope with being on TV? If so, he could be in bother. The good news is that Tricole is no Damon Heta, or Luke Humphries.

First French Winner

Tricole became the first Frenchman to win a match at Ally Pally, when he beat Mario Vandenbogaerde 3-1 here last year. He averaged 85 in that, and also in his second round, 0-3 defeat by Rob Cross. His win rate in 2024 is 53% and his seasonal average is 90.24, but in the last three months it has been 91.32. He has won seven of his last ten matches but played with no great consistency.

This a tricky one to call. If Comito gets stage fright, he loses. If he can play up to his recent standard, and Tricole has one of his many mid 80 averages, then he has a realistic chance of at least making a match of it. It is actually one of the better draws that he could have got.

Tricole is the 1.22 favourite, Comito 4.80, which looks a bit harsh on the Aussie. Last year’s DPA qualifier was Darren Penman and he beat Jules van Dongen 3-1 in the first round. This has a similar feel to it. The last four DPA representatives have twice won their first round matches. I will have a go with the Aussie at decent odds.

2025 PDC WC Sunday Tip: 1 point Joe Comito to win @ 4.80 with Ladbrokes

Jermaine Wattimena vs. Stefan Bellmont

We have a small bet on the Dutchman to win the quarter, just in case Humphries stumbles. This is a decent opening match for him.

The Swiss number 1, Stefan Bellmont, has been around for a while. He was the first Swiss player to win a match on the Euro Tour, at the seventh attempt. He plays on the Challenge Tour and gets invites to Pro Tour events.

Bellmont won CT4 back in January, reached a Players Championship quarter final in April, beating Michael Smith, Mensur Suljovic and Rob Cross. He reached another quarter final in July and had wins against Pietreczko and Menzies in that one.

Western Europe Qualifier

Bellmont reached a couple of Challenge Tour quarter finals in November, before winning the Western European qualifier to get his place in the World Championship. This is his debut.

Bellmont won seven qualifying matches to get here, and he played well, averaging 94.40 across those seven matches, so he can play.

Wattimena is in good form, winning seven of his last ten matches. He was runner up in the European Championships, was a quarter finalist in the Grand Slam of Darts and made the last sixteen at the Players Championship finals. He is in the form of his life and will be feeling confident ahead of this, and that has not always been the case with Wattimena.

Wattimena is the 1.22 favourite, and he is a proper 1.22 favourite. Bellmont has been backed and is now a 4.50 shot. The odds look bang on to me and that means…. No bet.

2025 PDC WC Sunday Tip: No Bet

Kim Huybrechts vs. Keane Barry

Two tour card holders drawn together and a more competitive match, on paper. They have met four times before, and Keane Barry has won the lot.

Barry has won six of his last ten matches but hit five sub 90 averages. He can play, but his lack of consistency is holding him back.

Kim Huybrechts did well to come back from a bad shoulder injury which could have ended his career, but he is the ultimate Weeble. He even looks like one.

Huybrechts was runner up in the Czech Darts Open in October, grinding his way to the final, only to be thumped 1-8 by Luke Humphries, but it was still a big confidence booster for him. However, since that final, Huybrechts has played six and lost four, hitting just two 90 plus averages, and two sub 80s. Like Barry, consistency is not a strong point.

First Round Nerves?

This will be Huybrechts’ fourteenth World Championship and he has won nine of his opening matches. Keane Bary has played in five World Championships and won two of his opening matches, beating Royden Lam 3-2 in one and Reynaldo Rivera 3-1 last year, both with mid 80 averages. He played better in his second round matches but lost both despite 95 averages. First round nerves? If so, Huybrechts is likely to get his first win over the young Irishman.

These two have played once in a Major, with Barry beating Huybrechts 10-6 in this year’s UK Open. Barry likes the UK Open, having reached the semi-final in 2022, and the sixth round this year. Ally Pally? I am not so sure.

Two inconsistent players rarely makes for a good betting match. Huybrechts is the 1.73 favourite, Barry 2.10.

Six of Huybrechts’ last seven first round matches here have been under 3.5 sets and I will have a minimum bet on another.

2025 PDC WC Sunday Tip: 0.5 point Under 3.50 sets @ 3.25 with Ladbrokes

The final match of the night sees the defending champion, Luke Humphries, playing the winner of the Tricole vs. Comito match. Humphries has played both and beaten both and should do so again, but maybe not to nil.

He is coming out cold, his opponent has already been on stage and won on the night. Of the last six defending champions, only Peter Wright has won an opening match to nil. That was in the 2023 championship, when he beat Mickey Mansell 3-0. Four of the defending champions dropped one set, and last year Smith dropped two.

Without knowing his opponent, my crystal ball is telling me to back Humphries to win 3-1. Sadly, there are no odds available at the time of writing.

-JamesPunt