Darts’ Winmau World Masters Returns Following PDC Revamp
The Masters, one of the Professional Darts Corporation’s most significant televised events, will return to the Darts calendar in 2025 with a radical rebrand. The competition, won last year by Stephen Bunting, will become the Winmau World Masters – adopting the name of the showcase tournament first held in 1975.
Stephen Bunting is the defending Masters champion. © PDC
The original Winmau World Masters competition was won by a host of darts legends, including Eric Bristow, Dennis Priestley and Phil Taylor. The PDC had already confirmed that the ITV4-televised ‘Masters’ tournament – introduced to the calendar in 2013 – was to become a full-ranking event in 2025. The new-look Winmau World Masters will feature the top 24 players on the PDC Order of Merit following the 2024/25 World Darts Championship. Eight more players who have progressed from a series of preliminary rounds will join them in the expanded field.
Sets Format Returns for Revamped Masters
In keeping with the tournament’s traditional structure, all World Masters games will be played in a sets format over the best of three legs per set. Taking place at Milton Keynes’ Marshall Arena on January 29, the Preliminary Rounds will see up to 180 players from around the world competing for eight spots in the televised stages.
“We are delighted to share our exciting plans for reintroducing the Winmau World Masters to the darts calendar, which I’m sure will excite darts fans and players alike”, said PDC Chief Executive Matthew Porter when announcing the news.
“Since the beginning of our working relationship with Winmau, we have discussed the idea of reviving this historic event, which in its heyday was one of the biggest prizes in the sport.”
“We have worked closely with Winmau to adopt as many characteristics of the original format as is practical too, and in keeping with its global nature, the Preliminary Rounds will provide an opportunity for players around the world to play on one of the sport’s biggest stages.”
“This event’s expansion and change to a ranked event was another positive step for players on the PDC circuit, and with tickets selling out in record time, they can look forward to getting an opportunity to shine in front of a packed crowd at the Marshall Arena next year.”
Decade Deal for the Great and Good of Darts
Winmau, the official equipment provider to the PDC since January 2022, has signed an impressive ten-year deal as the title sponsor of the Winmau World Masters. Failed online car retailer Cazoo backed the competition in 2023 and 2024 when it featured a £275,000 prize fund.
Vince Bluck, Managing Director of the revamped Masters sponsor, commented: “The Winmau World Masters has been at the core of competitive darts for over half a century, and the PDC’s plans to restore the spirit of this iconic event will bridge the generations of darting excellence.”
“The Winmau World Masters embodies everything that is great about our sport; by combining this with the PDC’s showcase arena atmosphere, broadcast to millions of fans around the world, we will be able to captivate brand new audiences and create unrivalled opportunities for more dart players in this rapidly growing sport.”
BUNTING HAS FINALLY DONE IT! 🏆
STEPHEN BUNTING DEFEATS MICHAEL VAN GERWEN TO WIN HIS FIRST EVER PDC TELEVISED TITLE!
IT'S TIME TO GO BUNTING MENTAL! pic.twitter.com/umVO7RJ3jJ
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 4, 2024
A Sixth Masters Winner in Six Years?
The PDC says the 2025 event will enjoy 2,500 sell-out crowds in Milton Keynes next year, with almost all tickets sold during the first two days of a ‘priority sale’ in September. On current form, the UK’s leading sports betting sites would likely make Luke Humphries their competition favourite.
However, the Masters, while played using a legs format since 2013, has not been kind to the formbook. Five individual players have won the last five renditions: Peter Wright, Jonny Clayton, Joe Cullen, Chris Dobey and Stephen Bunting. Another five individuals finished as runner-up each time.
Michael van Gerwen is The Masters’ most successful player. The Dutchman won the competition for five consecutive years (2015-2019) when the sportsbook arm of Ladbrokes Casino and Unibet were title sponsors. He also won it at the age of 17 when the competition was on the BDO calendar.
