Two Lukes set to light up Ally Pally for World Darts Championship

The 2024/25 World Darts Championship gets under way at London's Alexandra Palace on Sunday evening, as reigning champion Luke Humphries opens his defence of the title.

The 32nd staging of the event will see 96 players competing for the coveted Sid Waddell Trophy from Sunday through to the final on Friday, 3 January.

The festive feast of darts will see 14 debutants and 28 countries represented in the £2.5 million showpiece, as number one seed Humphries aims to emulate Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson by winning back-to-back titles.

Humphries ran out a 7-4 winner against Luke Littler in a record-breaking final back in January, in a contest watched by a staggering audience of 4.8 million viewers - the highest ever non-football peak in Sky Sports history.

The 29-year-old has enjoyed a terrific 2024 season, lifting maiden World Cup of Darts and World Matchplay titles, before retaining his Players Championship Finals crown in Minehead last month.

Humphries, who won the Premier League event in Dublin last March, kicks off his campaign against Thibault Tricole or Joe Comito.

"I’m quite proud of the way I’ve handled myself as the World Champion," said Humphries, also a UK Open, Premier League and World Grand Prix runner-up in 2024.

"For me, it’s been the most amazing year, but it’s a year you want to go and do again next year.

"I know what it feels like to be a World Champion now, and that makes me dangerous, because there’s nothing left for me to prove.

"I feel like I’ve got another 20 years left at the top level hopefully, and now I’m setting my goals on trying to win as many World Championship titles as I can."

There are seven Irish dartists in action with Meath man Keane Barry (above) the first to toe the oche. The 2022 UK