The new format for the Winmau World Masters concluded yesterday with World number 1, Luke Humphries becoming the first PDC player to win the Winmau World Masters title.
The final couldn’t have been closer. Jonny Clayton came from behind to push Luke Humphries to a deciding set and deciding leg.
Humphires would go on to win 6-5, secure the £100k in prize money and get his 2025 campaign up and running with his first major title.
From the fan comments across social media and online, the new format Winmau World Masters has gone down incredibly well!
This is going to be a must watch tournament each year moving forward and below we’ve had a look at 5 key things we’ve learned following the tournament…
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Winmau World Masters Is Going to Be One of the Most Anticipated Tournaments Each Year
There was some excitement coming into the Masters this year.
First it was announced that The Masters would be a ranking event in 2025 and that the field would be opened up to more participants through preliminary rounds offering eight qualifying places.
Then, the PDC agreed a deal with Winmau to sponsor their version of the event. The ‘Winmau World Masters’ was previously a BDO branded tournament and was the longest running tournament in darts.
Related – PDC announce return of Winmau World Masters
The new partnership had long-term dart fans excited to see a legacy tournament being reintroduced to the sport and also had players excited to be the first to add their name to the trophy.
The tournament didn’t disappoint and one of the key reasons for this was the format.
The introduction of set play and best of three legs made for incredibly easy watching.
There were very few matches that you could consider boring to watch and even when a player was well ahead, you felt that with the format a comeback was always possible.
As shown by Jonny Clayton in the final!
The only criticism is that with a fast and short format, the breaks felt like they were ruining the momentum of certain matches.
Regardless, the format and tournament made for great viewing. Being on ITV meant it was accessible to more people so we see this being a highly anticipated tournament going forward..
Darts Players Are Playing Through Injuries
A first round exit has meant that Michael Smith has now fallen out of the top 16 in the Order of Merit rankings.
The 2023 World Champion has had campaigns to forget since lifting the title a few years ago.
He’s now lost his first game in both major tournaments in 2025.
People have been talking about his downfall but he’s now come out to say that he’s been suffering with arthritis and playing through injury.
His reason for keeping it private was for fear that the PDC would exclude him from invitational events if they knew but now that he’s not been selected for the Premier League or World Series of Darts, he’s come out to admit this.
— Michael Smith (@Michael180Smith) January 31, 2025
The reason this is an interesting statement is because Nathan Aspinall himself missed a large chunk of the 2024 season due to an elbow injury.
This not only impacted his earning potential but also led to his criticism for being selected in the 2025 Premier League.
The Asp has since come out to support his close friend Smith in stating that there are many players on the Tour suffering with injuries and has said that players are “afraid to take time off”.
With a busy calendar, players are scared to take time off for fear that they will fall down the rankings. Without guaranteed income, it’s hard to see how this can be resolved in the short term either.
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Players Are Publicly Calling Out the PDC More
After Mike De Decker was left out of the Premier League line-up for 2025, the Belgian would publicly criticise both the PDC and some players selected calling the organisation ‘scandalous’ for their decision making.
See more – Mike De Decker calls PDC ‘scandalous’ following Premier League snub
That outburst will arguably hinder his future consideration for invitational events. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you comes to mind…
During the World Masters though, some other players would use the platform to also openly criticise the PDC.
Both William O’Connor and Ryan Searle blasted the PDC for changes they’ve made to the European Tour which essentially ‘protect’ the top 16 players.
"It's SOUL DESTROYING…We haven't a chance. How do you break into the top 32?"
— Darts Now (@DartsNow_) January 30, 2025
Willie O'Connor opens up on changes to European Tour and relentless nature of life on Tour pic.twitter.com/sgtD3Qp8bZ
Ryan Searle who was on the verge of a top 16 place said it would even benefit him but felt it was a “kick in the teeth” for everyone outside the top 16.
It’s rare to see players speaking out so publicly against what is essentially their employer but players are clearly unhappy with the direction the Tour is going and it will be interesting to see if the likes of Matt Porter (PDC Chief Executive) respond to these criticisms.
Players Are Going to Raise Their Game Against Luke Littler
Luke Littler registered 104.33, 105.47 and 108.50 averages in his three games at the Winmau World Masters but his highest average game at 108 was the match he lost…
Losing with a 108 average is going to be hard for any player. Jonny Clayton, the man to beat him had a more than respectable 104 average himself, but his 60% on checkouts proved critical.
The verdict after the match was clear, Luke Littler has a target on his back and players are going to raise their game to beat him.
This isn’t a secret. Aspinall has said this in an interview previously, the best players don’t want an 18 year old embarrassing them.
For some it’s too hard to stop, Littler is a phenomenal talent but he doesn’t have the fear factor that Phil Taylor or MVG carried.
Players actually WANT to beat him.
Littler doesn’t really seem fazed by it but to truly dominate the sport (like he has the ability to), he’ll need to go from being someone that players want to beat, to someone that they fear playing against.
Luke Humphries Isn’t Going to Give Up His Number 1 Spot
For any player looking to challenge for the World number 1 position (Luke Littler 👀), Humphries is NOT going to give it up easily.
It was no secret that Luke Humphries would have a lot of money to defend in 2025, after a dominant display at the back end of the 2023 season.
His form last year meant he’ll be top 3 for at least a couple of years, but after a fourth round exit at the World Championship and a tournament win for Luke Littler, there was a clear opportunity for the 18 year old to challenge Humphries at the top of the rankings this year.
Well, Humphries has shown that it will be easier said than done.
Humphries has now won two of the last three ranking majors (Players Championship Finals & Winmau World Masters).
The World Championship didn’t go his way but he’s still winning more major tournaments than any other player on the Tour and if his post game interviews are anything to go off, he only wants to get better and achieve more.
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