Christmas is coming and that can only mean one thing – the PDC World Darts Championship is fast approaching and now is an excellent time to preview the biggest tournament in the world.
Anyone who is anyone on the PDC circuit will be involved in this tournament, one that promises to be the best renewal the event has ever seen.
Stars of the game from Michael van Gerwen to Raymond Barneveld, from Phil Taylor to Dave Chisnall and everyone in between will grace the Alexandra Palace stage over the 15 days of the tournament and we’re set for a fantastic event.
Michael van Gerwen begins the event as a short priced favourite to regain the title and that is entirely justified after one of the best years the sport has ever seen but it must be said the Dutchman hasn’t been given the easiest draw in the world.
Van Gerwen could have to face Raymond Barneveld in the last 16 and then potential clashes with Michael Smith and either Peter Wright or Adrian Lewis could await him before he even gets to the final so the Green Machine will have to win this the hard way.
Phil Taylor will be aiming for a 17th world title in the New Year and he has avoided much of the danger in terms of the draw with a comfortable first round draw and winnable matches through to the quarter final.
At some point though you get the feeling that Taylor will run into someone too good. He doesn’t currently hold a major title which highlights that he has run into some players in better form than him this year and the concern for taking a short price is that this will happen again.
Gary Anderson is the defending champion and he’s in the right half of the draw in that he wouldn’t meet Michael van Gerwen until the final but the last man to defend this title was Adrian Lewis in 2012 which shows how hard it is becoming to defend. Only two men have ever defended at Ally Pally and the other was Phil Taylor so Anderson will have to be special to retain the title.
Anderson followed up his world title with the Premier League title but since that night at the o2 his form in the bigger events has been patchy at best. It would be a surprise if Anderson wasn’t at his best for this tournament but the extra demands on his time could take its toll.
Those three men are the only players at single figures in the outright betting but this year of all years has a more open feel about it so it would be wrong to limit the preview to just three men.
Adrian Lewis is a two time winner of this tournament and is coming into good form at the right time ahead of this one and he can’t be ruled out. James Wade hasn’t won this title but he’s had a great year on the PDC Tour and he’s another not without a chance. Peter Wright is a former finalist playing better than ever so there is a genuine case to be made for this being his time.
Those aren’t the only men with genuine chances here though. Michael Smith, Dave Chisnall, Robert Thornton and Kim Huybrechts have all been involved in big matches in the big events this season and know how to peak for the big events.
A look through the recent winners of this tournament though suggests the cream rises to the top here. Only John Part, Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson have ever won this title at the Alexandra Palace so we’ve got to think an elite player is who we’re looking for here.
Usually I would dissect a draw and pick out where the weak section lies but this tournament is a bit different. Everyone peaks for this event and the longer matches generally suit the better players so I’m just going to pick the man I believe is the best value and that is Adrian Lewis.
Lewis has been building up to this tournament nicely and his run to the final of the Players Championship Finals showed that his game is in good order. I think Jackpot is much more suited to the set play format because he can have a few sloppy legs and they don’t cost him as much in sets while the wonderful spells of form can see him reel off two or three sets in no time.
Lewis has it tough in the draw but not many don’t in a tournament of this type but if he can appear at his best that is good enough to get the job done. Last year was the first time since 2009 Lewis hasn’t made the quarter finals or beyond here and only he’ll know how he lost to Barneveld in the last 16 last year in a match he thoroughly dominated. That shows he peaks for this event and at 18/1 he looks a solid bet.
While the winner tends to come from the elite list this tournament has a habit of throwing up surprise finalists. Kirk Shepherd, Simon Whitlock, Andy Hamilton and Peter Wright will all have been unfancied before their respective runs to the final and would all have been big prices.
With that in mind I think it is worth having a dabble on a couple of big prices for this tournament to see how close they get to rewarding us with a payout. Given the names in the top half and the general weaker look about the bottom half I’ll take a couple in the bottom half at three figure prices.
Simon Whitlock is a former finalist here and he knows how to get the job done here. It might be that in his present state set play will benefit his game. He has a tough first round match but if he comes through that the draw could open up enough for him to pick up some confidence boosting wins.
The 2010 runner up has been to the semi-finals on two occasions since then so this is a tournament he plays well in. He will need to improve his consistency but we know Whitlock can play he just needs the confidence. A couple of wins will soon have that confidence back so Whitlock is worth a go here.
Another player who has been in the doldrums in recent times but who has shown signs of a revival in the last couple of months is Mark Webster and I think he is worth a chance at a three figure price too.
Webster was a semi-finalist in the World Grand Prix recently, further adding ammunition to my belief that he is better in set play and he was a quarter finalist in the Grand Slam of Darts where he beat Gary Anderson along the way.
Webster is scoring strongly but the difference is that he is now bang on it on his doubles again and in a weak looking quarter aside from Phil Taylor I think the Welshman has the draw and the form to produce another strong run in a tournament he has twice been a semi-finalist in.
Back A.Lewis to win PDC World Championship (e/w) for a 2/10 stake at 19.00 with Betfair (1/2 1-2)
Back S.Whitlock to win PDC World Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with BetVictor (1/2 1-2)
Back M.Webster to win PDC World Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Bet365 (1/2 1-2)
Blog darts YTD: +3.14pts
