While we dedicate a lot of our time to covering the great and the good of grassroots sport, we cannot help but get a little bit excited about Christmas…especially with the start of the PDC World Darts Championship!
Since the inception of the PDC in the 1990s, following the much-documented split from the BDO, the World Darts Championship has become a staple of the festive period. Hardcore and casual fans alike all look forward to the biggest tournament in the darting calendar, being held over the holidays with a world champion crowned in the new year.
Alexandra Palace has hosted the tournament since the 2008 edition, taking over from the Circus Tavern, when Canadian John Part defeated the unseeded Kirk Shepherd in the final to win a third world title. The ‘People’s Palace’ has since seen darting drama of the highest order over the 15 years it has been the home of the PDC World Darts Championship, and 2023’s tournament will be no different.
When Does the Darts World Championship Start?
The tournament kicks off tonight (Thursday 15 December) at 7pm, with defending champion Peter Wright playing the winner of Mickey Mansell and Ben Robb, who will contest the opening match of the tournament.
Who is the Favourite to Win the World Darts Championship?
According to bookmakers, Michael van Gerwen is the favourite to lift a fourth world title – and what would be a first since 2019. ‘Mighty Mike’ has not been half as dominant as he once was a few years ago, when he looked likely to recreate the years of dominance the sport had seen Phil Taylor for more than two decades.
Van Gerwen has won four major events this year in the World Matchplay, Premier League, World Grand Prix, and the Players Championship Finals. He is, though, still only ranked third in the world behind defending champion Wright and the reigning world number one, Gerwyn Price.
Price, a former rugby player, is arguably one of – if not the best – crossover sportsmen of all-time. The Welshman has not yet been a pro for 10 years yet has already achieved so much in a sport where so many play their entire lives with so little to show for it. Not bad for a relative beginner to the sport. Price lost the World Matchplay final to Van Gerwen at the Winter Gardens, but is still seen to be the second-favourite to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy on 3 January.
Third-favourite, Wright, has had a difficult run-up to the World Darts Championship with his wife, Joanne Wright, having to undergo a stay in hospital following a complication from a gallbladder removal operation. ‘Snakebite’ withdrew from the Players Championship Finals last month, but with a clean bill of health for Mrs Wright means that he can now focus his full attention on winning a third world title.
After finally winning a big television event at the Grand Slam of Darts in November, Michael Smith is now being fancied to add the big one to his collection. Beforehand, Smith had lost eight major finals before hammering Nathan Aspinall 16-5 at the Grand Slam and, now that the monkey is off his back, many experts feel the time is now for ‘Bully Boy’, who has already reached the final at Alexandra Palace on two occasions.
PDC Q School
The World Darts Championship is the final tournament before the fun starts all over again ahead of Q School in January. If you are not already familiar with Q School, it is a qualifying event to earn a PDC tour card, enabling players to compete on tour for a minimum of two years.
Q School has seen big names enter and fail to earn a tour card over the years, such is the talent pool and competitive nature of the event. Anyone can enter, though it will set you back £450, but it means that if you feel that you have the game to compete then you can try your hand at earning a place on the tour.
In the event of being unsuccessful, players will be invited to participate in the PDC’s secondary tour, the Challenge Tour, which featured 24 events across five weekends in 2022. In 2023, there will again be 24 events with the prize fund for each event increased from £10,000 to £15,000, with the winner of each Challenge Tour event taking home £2,500. The top two players in the Challenge Tour Order of Merit at the end of the year will earn a PDC tour card.
That means if you are a keen thrower and think that you have the game to compete whilst watching the arrows at Alexandra Palace, why not get yourself to Q School? If, though, you are much better watching darts than throwing them, sit back and enjoy the festivities!
