Wake Up Santa, The World Championship Darts is Here!

You know when it’s “officially” Christmas, cause you wake up with sweaty palms after a night of broken sleep, buzzing with the excitement knowing that…. THE DARTS IS ON TONIGHT!

I’ve seen that the entire tournament is as good as SOLD OUT, which is amazing because they’ve moved the seating around this year to be able to fit even more people in.  So if you’ve not got ticket (like me), get the sofa comfy, maybe treat yourself to a beer or three, and enjoy.

Don’t forget I’m running a small competition for the worlds, which I draw on Xmas day – free to enter, details here.

Yep the massive show which is the PDC 2016 World Championships is back in town, Alexandra Palace to be precise, and the world’s eyes turn to our humble game of throwing arras at a round board.    As with all things traditional, the worlds has it’s own, which means current world champ Gary Anderson plays on the opening night, with what will be a nervy tricky opening game against the winner of a pre-lim; England’s Andy Boulton or Denmark’s Per Laursen.  Scottish star Anderson enjoyed the greatest night of his career by defeating Phil Taylor 7-6 in last year’s final, lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy and being crowned as World Champion, but he’ll still be nervous going out there tonight.

“I don’t know what to expect!   Phil Taylor’s had it 15 or 16 times but I probably won’t know until I go to walk on. My worst moment is walking up to the walk-on; once I get on stage I’m fine. I’m really nervous, especially ahead of the first round. You just want to win and get through and you can relax and enjoy Christmas.

So I’m often asked, who is going to be crowned world champ this year?   

I’d be a fool to not see Michael van Gerwen as the favourite, as he’s been almost unstoppable the last couple of years, hoovering up TV and floor wins like a greedy green dyson.  He’s now at £1.2 million prize money over two years, which is as much, if not more than I saw Phil Taylor reach during him at his best.   A tough first round draw when the format is short is the best time for a favourite to go out, but with MvG taking on the winner of Thanawat Gaweenuntawong v Rene Eidams (P), I can’t really see him falling at the first hurdle.

So if we do have a shock and MvG fails to fire – WHO else has the game, and the form to win?   Obviously our current champ Anderson has the quality and now experience to be able to go all the way, I just worry that nerves could see him go out tonight … I hope not, but Gary does seem to be a player who can really suffer with those first round jitters.  He feels the expectation on his shoulders some times.  I think he’d prefer to be underdog than big favourite some times.

So we can’t ignore him… can Phil Taylor win once more and make it 17 titles?  This year’s form overall would say not.  I don’t know how long it’s been since we have been in the position were are at now, with The Power not holding a single TV tournament going into the worlds (actually it’s 21 YEARS! since Phil hasn’t been the holder of a TV title.. wow!).

“I haven’t lost my mojo, but I’ve had a lot of problems away from darts this year. They’re only the things a lot of people have to put up with, but it’s horrible when it happens to you and it’s affected me.  It’s been the worst year of my life. I lost my mum almost a year ago and I don’t feel as if I’ve grieved for her yet. I’ve struggled with that – ­sometimes your job is your escape, but it’s affected me.” – Phil Taylor talking to the Mirror newspaper.

I think that Phil, just like Gary, will suffer with nerves more than usual when he kicks off his tournament on Saturday against the winner of pre-lim Keita Ono v Alex Tagarao.  BUT again even with nerves I can’t see him losing against either of those players.  We all know Phil puts most of his effort and focus on the worlds – and he CAN still win the tournament, if MvG slips up.

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I think it’s all about MvG this year; it’s his tournament to lose.

Whatever happens, get your TV on Sky Sports tonight from 7pm, and enjoy the darting treats over the next three weeks.  Xmas is here!

The William Hill World Darts Championship is being broadcast live on the dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel from December 17-January 3, and will be shown worldwide through the PDC’s range of international broadcast partners.

William Hill World Darts Championship
Thursday December 17 (7pm) – 1st night!
Andy Boulton v Per Laursen (P)
Jamie Lewis v Daryl Gurney
Peter Wright v Keegan Brown
Gary Anderson v Boulton/Laursen

(P) denotes Preliminary Round
Preliminary Round – Best of three sets, best of five legs per set.
First Round – Best of five sets, best of five legs per set, with a tie-break in the fifth set (if required).

Fan Info

The Fans Village at Alexandra Palace is open from 90 minutes before play starts for each session with bars, food stalls, a William Hill betting shop, darts games, merchandise and plenty more so why not arrive early and get involved in all the fun before the darts starts!

Heightened security measures will be in place at the entrance for your comfort and safety. Please expect to be searched and allow extra time for your entrance to the venue. Please co-operate with event security staff, who are there for your benefit!

The arena layout has changed from previous years. Please pay close attention to the seat details on your ticket and follow the internal signage to your seat.

WATCH LIVE

The William Hill World Darts Championship will be screened live on the Sky Sports Darts channel, and worldwide through the following international broadcast partners.

Sky Sports Darts	UK & Ireland (Dedicated Darts Channel)
RTL7	Netherlands
Sport1	Germany
Fox Sports	Australia
Sky	New Zealand
OSN	Middle East & North Africa
Fox	Italy
Fox Africa	Across Africa plus Greece, Turkey, Malta, Cyrpus & Israel
Nova	Czech Republic & Slovakia
Viasat	Denmark, Norway & Bulgaria
Pragosport	Hungary
ESPN3	America
CCTV	China
www.LIVEPDC.TV	Live for International Pass Subscribers outside of UK, Ireland & Holland

A £15,000 bonus is on offer – on top of the record £1.5 million prize fund – for any player who achieves a nine-dart finish, and would be shared should more than one player land a perfect leg.

In addition, William Hill will be donating £9,000 per nine-darter hit over the course of this year’s event to the PDC’s official charity, the Donna Louise Children’s Hospice.

FORMAT

Preliminary Round	Best of three sets. No tie-break.
First Round	Best of five sets
Second Round	Best of seven sets
Third Round	Best of seven sets
Quarter-Finals	Best of nine sets
Semi-Finals	Best of 11 sets
Final	Best of 13 sets

All sets are the best of five legs.

PRIZE FUND

Winner	£300,000
Runner-Up	£150,000
Semi-Finalists	£70,000
Quarter-Finalists	£35,000
Third Round Losers	£22,000
Second Round Losers	£15,000
First Round Losers	£10,000
Preliminary Round  Losers	£4,250
Total	£1,500,000
Nine-Dart Bonus	£15,000

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