World Grand Prix 2025 | Day One Preview and Order of Play

The 2025 BOYLE Sports World Grand Prix gets under way in Leicester on Monday with eight unmissable first round ties.

The historic double-start tournament sees 32 players competing for the prestigious trophy and £120,000 top prize at the Mattioli Arena.

The top 16 players from the main PDC Order of Merit are joined by the next 16 highest ranked players from the ProTour Order of Merit.

Two former champions are in action on opening night, including world number one Luke Humphries – who faces a blockbuster tie against Nathan Aspinall.

Humphries famously clinched his first major ranking title here two years ago courtesy of a 138 checkout, and the rest is history, with a further seven major titles having followed.

World Masters and Premier League champion this year, Humphries came close to retaining this title in 2024, narrowly losing out to Mike De Decker in the final.

Humphries, who is defending £120,000 in prize money against his Order of Merit tally, faces a formidable opener against 2022 runner-up Aspinall – who remains outside of the world’s top 16 and thus unseeded in the draw.

Another stand-out fixture sees multiple World Champions Gary Anderson and Raymond van Barneveld go head-to-head.

Anderson finished runner-up in this event in Dublin back in 2016 but has not been beyond the second round in each of his last four appearances.

Van Barneveld was runner-up to his nemesis Phil Taylor in 2008 and 2009 and is looking to register his first win in a major ranking event this year, as well as end a seven-year wait for a victory at the World Grand Prix.

James Wade, one of only three players to have lifted this trophy on multiple occasions, starts out with a clash against Joe Cullen.

Wade triumphed in Dublin in 2007 and 2010 and also finished runner-up in 2014 – notably hitting a nine-darter during that event.

The 42-year-old has underlined his incredible longevity by reaching back-to-back major ranking finals at the UK Open and World Matchplay this season, only to be denied by Luke Littler on both occasions.

Cullen is defending £40,000 in prize money from his run to the semi-finals two years ago and marked a timely return to form by securing his second Players Championship title of the season last month.

World number four Stephen Bunting faces a tricky opener against Niko Springer – one of two debutants in this year’s competition.

Bunting reached the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix in 2014 and 2021 and has enjoyed a sensational season so far, picking up two European Tour titles, two Players Championships and two World Series titles.

German star Springer has also enjoyed the best year of his career to date, with his breakthrough triumph at the Hungarian Darts Trophy last month sealing his spot in this event and provisionally moving him in to the world’s top 64 in his first season as a Tour Card holder.

Springer’s fellow countryman Martin Schindler opens up with a tie against Polish number one Krzysztof Ratajski earlier in the evening.

Schindler secured his first Players Championship title in March before adding the Austrian Darts Open to his European Tour haul the following month.

Ratajski is making his sixth appearance in the World Grand Prix, having reached the quarter-finals in 2021, and landed his eighth Players Championship title in Hildesheim back in May.

A mouth-watering curtain-raiser sees former World Champion Rob Cross take on Dutch debutant Wessel Nijman.

Cross is looking to improve on a poor record in this unique event, with last year’s run to the quarter-finals marking his best performance in eight attempts.

Dutch Masters champion at the beginning of the year, Cross has also claimed a Players Championship title this term but suffered first round exits in both the World Masters and World Matchplay.

Nijman warmed up for his debut double-start appearance in dream fashion by winning Players Championship 30 last week, adding to his two semi-final runs on the European Tour and a Last 16 spot at the World Matchplay following victory over Aspinall.

Eighth seed Chris Dobey starts out with a tie against maverick Scotsman Cameron Menzies.

Dobey enjoyed a dream debut run to the semi-finals of this event in 2019 and reached the semi-finals of the World Championship this year before going on to add a further brace of ProTour titles.

Menzies, meanwhile, has endured a rollercoaster of a year, winning a Players Championship event and reaching a further two finals, but also suffering disastrous early exits at the World Matchplay and World Series Finals with averages of 81 and 66 respectively.

An all-Dutch showdown sees former UK Open champion Danny Noppert take on 2024 European Championship finalist Jermaine Wattimena.

Noppert was a semi-finalist here in 2021 and recently reached the final of the Hungarian Darts Trophy with victory over Littler along the way.

Wattimena, meanwhile, reached his first major quarter-final at this event six years ago and returns for his first appearance since 2020, having claimed a first ProTour title in July.

The action gets under way from 6pm BST, with first round ties to be contested over the best of five sets.

All sets are the best of five legs and there will be no tie break in any set. All legs must begin and end with a double, meaning that a player must hit a double before they can begin scoring in each leg.

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BOYLE Sports World Grand Prix 2025 Day One Schedule

Monday October 6

First Round

6pm-11pm
Rob Cross v Wessel Nijman
Martin Schindler v Krzysztof Ratajski
Chris Dobey v Cameron Menzies
James Wade v Joe Cullen
Danny Noppert v Jermaine Wattimena
Luke Humphries v Nathan Aspinall
Gary Anderson v Raymond van Barneveld
Stephen Bunting v Niko Springer