Luke Humphries begins the defence of his world title on opening night

PDC World Darts Championship 2025: Day one predictions, betting tips, acca, order of play and TV time

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Sat December 14, 2024 · 1d ago

The 2025 Paddy Power World Darts Championship gets under way at the Alexandra Palace on Sunday night so check out Chris Hammer's match-by-match predictions, best bets and a suggested acca.

Darts betting tips: World Championship day one

1pt Keane Barry to beat Kim Huybrechts at 6/5 (BetMGM, Boylesports)

SL Acca: 1pt Under 5 180s in Tricole v Comito, Bellmont to win a set or more & Barry to win at 4/1 with Paddy Power

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Evening Session (1900 GMT)

TV Coverage: Sky Sports
Format: First round/second round, best of five sets

Thibault Tricole (1/6) v Joe Comito (7/2) (R1)

Three-Dart Average (2024): 90.08 - 83.61
180s per leg (2024): 0.14 - 0.11
Checkout % (2024): 40.7% - 34.51%

None of the 64 unseeded players would have wanted the 'honour' of opening the World Championship, especially when their reward for winning it is a probable exit at the hands of defending champion Luke Humphries a few hours later.

But that's the scenario that Thibault Tricole and Joe Comito face on Sunday night.

Tricole made history last year by becoming the first French player to win a game at this event thanks to an arduous 3-1 victory over Mario Vandenbogaerde before bowing out to Rob Cross.

Since earning his PDC Tour Card at the start of 2024, Tricole has enjoyed a pretty solid year and while he very rarely ventures north of 100 in the average department, he did pick up a win over Gerwyn Price in the Players Championship Finals and should be too strong for the debutant from Australia.

The 43-year-old qualified via the DPA Pro Tour and while he did post a 93 average in the match that sealed his spot, he's often in the low 80s while he only managed 70 during a heavy World Series defeat to Humphries back in August.

Neither are prolific 180 hitters and a combination of nerves should also keep the count low.

Scoreline verdict: 3-0

CLICK HERE to bet on Tricole v Comito with Sky Bet

Jermaine Wattimena (1/5) v Stefan Bellmont (10/3) (R1)

Three-Dart Average (2024): 95.01 - 88.37
180s per leg (2024): 0.25 - 0.18
Checkout % (2024): 39.57% - 36.74%

Jermaine Wattimena is a dangerous unseeded player in the top quarter of the draw for the likes of James Wade, Peter Wright, Raymond van Barneveld and even Luke Humphries to contend with - but first he must avoid slipping on his own potential banana skin.

The Dutchman has gained a lot of match-winning confidence over the past few months and defeated Wright, Wade and Humphries during his memorable run to the European Championship final, where he ultimately came up short to Ritchie Edhouse.

WATCH: ALL 93 TIES PREDICTED!

Predicting EVERY game in the PDC World Darts Championship in less than 4 minutes!

He followed that up with wins over Mike de Decker, Michael Smith, Mensur Suljovic and Dimitri Van den Bergh at the Grand Slam prior to his absolute mauling at the hands of Luke Littler in the quarter-finals.

Wattimena is generally a mid 90s average player but if the Machine Gun mis-fires, then don't be surprised to see Stefan Bellmont give him a scare.

Bellmont, who qualified via the West Europe Qualifier to become the first Swiss player to represent his country at the World Championship, may not have a Tour Card yet but his performances on the Challenge Tour and the Players Championship events he was able to compete in suggest he'll be a threat at Q School.

He averaged over 90 in all his qualifying games and if he can reproduce that kind of form, I fancy him to nick a set or two.

Scoreline verdict: 3-1

CLICK HERE to bet on Wattimena v Bellmont with Sky Bet

Kim Huybrechts (4/6) v Keane Barry (11/10) (R1)

Three-Dart Average (2024): 91.2 - 90.16
180s per leg (2024): 0.21 - 0.18
Checkout % (2024): 37.65% - 37.68%

Kim Huybrechts is preparing for his 14th consecutive PDC World Championship but it's the first time he's come in at the first round stage since the tournament was expanded to 96 players in 2019.

It's traditionally very hard to predict whether Huybrechts will blow hot or cold but this year it's mainly been cold, hence his slide down the world rankings.

ALSO WATCH: WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW SHOW

Huybrechts did enjoy an unexpected run to a European Tour final back in October, where he ended up being thrashed 8-1 by Luke Humphries, and pulled off a shock 6-1 victory over in-form Wessel Nijman at the Players Championship Finals, but he's still only averaged over 90 in four of his last 10 games and I feel he's a very vulnerable favourite.

Keane Barry may not have played his best darts at the Grand Slam but the 22-year-old has plenty of talent and has consistently posted more impressive numbers than Huybrechts over the past couple of months.

Scoreline verdict: 1-3

CLICK HERE to bet on Huybrechts v Barry with Sky Bet

Luke Humphries v Tricole/Comito (R2)

Three-Dart Average (2024): 98.54 - 90.52/86.92
180s per leg (2024): 0.34 - 0.23/0.16
Checkout % (2024): 41.29%/36.78%

Obviously we can't preview this match when we don't know who Luke Humphries is playing yet but whoever it is, I'd be firmly expecting a 3-0 whitewash.

Cool Hand experienced a few upsets in majors this winter - especially at the Grand Slam when he crashed out in the group stages - but he bounced back to win the Players Championship Finals at the end of last month.

He won't have left any stone unturned in his preparations to retain his world title and there will be zero signs of complacency either.