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The 2025 PDC World Darts Championship was a huge success, especially in terms of both engagement and sponsorship.
Following Luke Littler’s 7-3 win against Michael Van Gerwen in the final on Friday, main partner Paddy Power revealed that its 180 initiative impressively raised over £1m for Prostate Cancer UK.
Speaking of the sponsorship’s performance, Jack Wilson, Paddy Power Head of Content, said: “We thought the first Paddy Power World Darts Championship last year was big but 2025 went into a whole new stratosphere.”
A total of 907 maximums were thrown altogether as well as two nine-dart finishes; one by Christian Kist and the other by Damon Heta, which brought the final tally to just over £1.027m.
The two perfect nine-dart legs each triggered the £180,000 bonus split between the charity, the player and a randomly selected fan in the crowd – something that added even further excitement to the tournament.
Wilson continued: “Darts really is the people’s sport. TV viewing figures have gone through the roof and for those lucky enough to attend, it really is the hottest ticket in town.”
In detail, the final was watched by 3.1 million people, whilst Sky revealed that the overall tournament had an average audience of 2.7 million. 
Meanwhile, Wilson went on to explain how the company views being sponsor of the event as a privilege – and with it comes great expectation to make sure everyone going to Ally Pally has the ‘greatest night of their year’.
The brand – having now completed the initiative for the second year in a row – also expressed the importance of the charity, informing that prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the country, with one in eight men being diagnosed during their lifetime. You can check your risk here.
The bookmaker also joined forces with Sky Sports to call on 180,000 men to check their risk for prostate cancer. “More than 150,000 have done so so far,” Wilson noted. “And with Sir Chris Hoy leading the calls as a campaign ambassador, that number continues to rapidly rise.
“It’s been a huge few weeks for darts and men’s health, and everyone at Paddy Power is excited to see where it goes next.”
Aside from the campaign, during the championship Paddy Power also placed a lot of focus on fan experiences, with its fan village attracting a lot of attention at the Palace such as with its spinning dartboards and ‘beat the pro’ challenges. 
The brand also launched several engaging darts-related posts on social media throughout the three weeks; all contributing to the atmosphere of the event.
Wilson concluded: “But while the night out is important – and it really, really is – our BIGGER 180 campaign with Prostate Cancer UK is what makes this a sponsorship like no other.” “If there was a 9 darter tonight and you won the £60k, what would you do with it?”
“If there was a 9 darter tonight and you won the £60k, what would you do with it?”
Take it away, Ally Pally… pic.twitter.com/wosPH7omGo
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) January 3, 2025
