PDC World Championship darts: Sunday evening preview and best bets

The waiting is over! 

Sunday night sees “game on” at the 2025 PDC World Championship and right throughout the tournament, our top darts tipster Matt Hill (@Matt_Hill93) will be on hand to preview every session and offer up his best betting tips!

He kicks off with a whistle-stop run through of opening night, featuring 7/4, 23/20 and 13/8 fancies.

PDC World Championship 2025 betting tips

Thibault Tricole (1/4) vs Joe Comito (4/1)

Opening the show is a daunting task for anyone at Ally Pally — and this year, that honour goes to French tour card holder Thiabult Triocle and Australian qualifier Joe Comito.

Tricole is appearing here for a second straight year, having navigated a tricky Western Europe qualifier last term before impressively beating Mario Vandenboegarde 3-1 in his opener.

A second-round whitewash loss to Rob Cross was nothing to be ashamed of and the 35-year-old has garnered plenty more big stage experience since then too, including a triumph over Gerwyn Price in the Players Championship Finals at Minehead last month.

Logic would suggest that stands him in strong stead against the 43-year-old qualifier, who sneaked into his nation’s qualifying spot by winning two of the last three DPA Pro Tour events.

Unfortunately for Comito, the form book suggests he has his work cut out. He has appeared on the World Series three years running and won just one leg, failing to average above 75 in those outings.

His average of 93.39 in his final “qualifying” game suggests he’s capable of better but that was over just four legs, while a seasonal average of 83 back home suggests he maybe finds the added lights and pressure of a big stage somewhat daunting.

That makes Tricole worth a bet to win 3-0 — particularly with some money coming for his opponent, which I can only describe as speculative at best.

7/4 looks well worth a poke.

Best bet - Thibault Tricole 3-0 Joe Comito correct score @ 7/4 (Ladbrokes)

Jermaine Wattimena (1/4) vs Stefan Bellmont (7/2)

Dutch thrower Jermaine Wattimena arrives at Alexandra Palace in arguably career-best form, having reached the European Championship final and a Grand Slam of Darts quarter-final in the last three months.

That breakthrough had been coming, as those who pay attention to the sport’s year-round Pro Tour will attest. The Machine Gun has averaged north of 95 for the season and made three Euro Tour quarter-finals from seven outings — a model of consistency.

He is a warm favourite to overcome Stefan Bellmont, a World Cup regular and the first ever Swiss player to grace the PDC World Championship.

Belmont has also had an impressive 12 months, albeit operating on the secondary Challenge Tour. 

The 35-year-old has yet to gain a tour card but certainly has the ability to do so. Perhaps attending 24 of the 30 Pro Tour events this term as one of the regular stand-ins will have given him the requisite confidence to excel at Q-School this January.

I think Wattimena could’ve had kinder draws. Belmont wasn’t at those Pro Tour events simply making up the numbers — he made two quarter-finals and took plenty of scalps along the way.

The prices suggest this will be a fairly comfortable night’s work for the favourite but I’m not entirely convinced. Bet365’s new darts Bet Builder tool offers Bellmont to hit over 2.5 180s and win one set at an odds-against 23/20, which seems a tad generous.

Best bet - Stefan Bellmont to win at lest one set and hit over 2.5 180s @ 23/20 (Bet365)

Kim Huybrechts (4/5) vs Keane Barry (6/5)

The tightest-priced affair of the night sees veteran arrowsmith Kim Huybrechts take on the somewhat forgotten Keane Barry, in what feels a huge game for both.

Huybrechts, who reached the semi-finals of the World Cup of Darts alongside his friend/ enemy Dimitri Van den Bergh, otherwise endured a largely forgettable 2024.

That was, of course, until the Hurricane swept into a first Euro Tour final in seven years at the Czech Darts Open two months ago, having only qualified for the tournament as a reserve.

It was a timely reminder, similar to his out-of-the-blue Pro Tour win in February 2023, of what the polarising 39-year-old can do when at his best — a level he can and has produced here at Ally Pally.

Barry, meanwhile, has also had an underwhelming 12 months and will need much better next term if he is to avoid slipping off the tour. 

At 22, Dynamite still has his best years well ahead of him but the Irish youngster will no doubt be disappointed with his recent sticky patch, having been on a steep upward curve during his formative years.

The seasonal stats don’t have much to separate these two but I think Huybrechts’ superior form at the venue is the decisive factor here.

He went out in the second round 12 months ago to Richard Veenstra but prior to that, was on a five-year streak of reaching at least the last 32 — a stage Barry has failed to reach in five attempts.

If the Belgian needed further motivation, a second round clash with Gerwyn Price awaits the winner. He and the Ice Man played out an all-time Ally Pally classic two years ago and I’m sure he’d love a chance to reverse the form, having painfully lost in a sudden death leg.

Money for Barry is fair but that only makes Huybrechts more appealing and I have to take a bit of the 13/8 on offer for him to win 3-1 or better (i.e. -1.5 sets).

Best bet - Kim Huybrechts -1.5 sets @ 13/8 (Bet365)

Luke Humphries vs Thibault Tricole/ Joe Comito

As is tradition with this opening session, the winner of the night’s opening match will also have the honour of closing the night against defending champion Luke Humphries.

Viewers of our outright betting preview will know I’m backing Cool Hand to retain his title at 7/2 and I don’t foresee Tricole or Comito causing him too many issues.

As suggested above, Tricole is the man I’m expecting him to face and while he’s capable of possibly nicking a set (largely due to having already warmed up on the stage), I wouldn’t be wagering on it.

The advice is to give this one a watching brief. As long as Humphries brings his C game, he will be able to stick his feet up for a couple of weeks and switch focus to his Christmas dinner.

Best bet - No bet

Matt's best PDC World Championship bets for Sunday, December 15, 2024

• 2pts - Thibault Tricole 3-0 Joe Comito correct score - 7/4 (Ladbrokes)
• 1pt - Stefan Bellmont +2.5 sets and over 2.5 180s - 23/20 (Bet365)
• 1pt - Kim Huybrechts -1.5 sets vs Keane Barry - 13/8 (Bet365)