It’s the most wonderful time of the year – the PDC World Darts Championships are back at the Ally Pally to brighten up our Christmas all over again.
The game’s ultimate pantomime villain Gerwyn Price is the early favourite to defend his title at 4/1 with bet365.
The Iceman was unstoppable when taking down his first world title in front of an empty Alexandra Palace twelve months ago and will now be keen to prove himself in front of a packed house come January the 3rd.
Despite pleas from the world number one to go easy on him and “chill out a bit”, the boo boys will likely be out for the Welshman who has admitted he doesn’t enjoy the hostility he generates when he throws.
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Pantomime Villain
In the past, he has turned the noise into fuel for throwing some tremendous darts and the sad likelihood he will probably need to do so again.
If he does, he will be near invincible over the next few weeks in North London.
As is typical of him, Price’s form was so so during the first half of the year but in the second half, and in the run up to the worlds, he always seems to see things pick up for him.
Since the beginning of September, the Iceman has won 25 of his 30 matches including last month’s Grand Slam Final against Peter Wright.
That was the third time in four years Price has won that event and this time it came about after beating his Welsh countryman Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals.
When he is in form, and he looks red hot right now, he is near imperious at the oche and is back to looking like the best player in the world.
The Iceman has everything required to become the first back-to-back champion since the man he beat in last year’s final, Gary Anderson, in 2016.
The Year Of The Ferret
The two World Cup winning partners could face off in the last eight in a match which could very well determine the eventual winner given the year they have both had.
No one in darts has had a better 2021 than the Ferret.
Since the pair won the 2020 World Cup of Darts together with Wales, Clayton has been on a heater like no other.
One that has seen him pick up televised tournament wins in the World Grand Prix, Premier League, Masters and the World Series Finals and a win in the Ally Pally could very much be on the cards.
He will need to do better than the last time they met though where Price dismissed him with ease in Wolverhampton.
12 months ago, Clayton wasn’t in the reckoning for this title and was still basking in his world cup win, but now he is up to eight in the world with plenty of scope to climb much higher still.
Clayton is definitely one of the top three in the world on current form and comes into the Ally Pally event as the eighth seed and priced at 13/2 with bet365 which if he makes it past the world number one will look like very generous odds indeed.
You Can’t Beat A Bit Of Bully Boy
The Welsh pair have been drawn into a fairly tough quarter which also features Michael Smith.
One of the most talented and quickest throwers on the circuit, it seems incredible that Bully Boy is still searching for his first major title.
He recently made light work of Michael van Gerwen in the last eight of the Grand Slam to show what he is capable of and is still inside the world’s top 10 so the 25/1 bet365 have placed on his head looks tempting.
He is definitely in contention.
In the second quarter of the draw, things look a little more open and a tiny bit softer.
To that end, the likes of Joe Cullen and Krzysztof Ratajski have an excellent opportunity to progress to the latter stages of the tourney.
The Queen of the Palace Fallon Sherrock is in there too and takes on The Bronze Adonis Steve Beaton in the opening round where she will certainly back herself.
Beaton has been around forever and is one of the game’s greats reaching the last 16 here in 2002, 2004 and 2020.
He is also a former BDO World Champion winning the Lakeside event in 1996 making him a legend in the sport which means that the boozed-up crowd, which often given Sherrock’s opponents a little bit of stick, should give him an easier ride.
Snakebite Is Back
Peter Wright has to be favourite to come through the third quarter of the draw.
The incredibly streaky Snakebite won the World Matchplay in July and looked as sharp as ever where his mark of 110.37 was the highest average in semi-final history and the seventh-highest Matchplay average of all time.
Naturally, this being Peter Wright, he spent the next few months chucking some of the worst darts of his career before storming back into form last month when he won the Players Championship Finals at Butlins Resort in Minehead.
He then reached the final of the Grand Slam which suggests he has timed his return to form to perfection given that the biggest event in darts is just around the corner.
bet365 have priced Peter Wright up at 13/2 to become a two-time world champion.
Best Of The Rest
2018 World Champion Rob Cross is another who seems to have rediscovered his winning formula.
Voltage had shown signs earlier in the season that he might be getting back to his best but had to wait until October to claim another title when he landed the European Championship.
Cross can certainly put together a deep run and can be picked up for 28/1 at bet365.
Three-time world champ Michael van Gerwen is of course another very obvious threat.
Mighty Mike will be looking to cap an underperforming year and the basic truth is that you can never rule out MVG even when he is out of form.
Everyone, apart from Price who has finally broken his hoodoo over him, will want to avoid the Dutchman who is available as the second favourite at 4/1 with bet365.
Other stellar names who can go deep are Gary Anderson who, while not the player he once was, knows how to win here and made the final last year.
At 35/1 The Flying Scotsman is definitely worth an each-way punt.
The other name to watch out for is Belgium’s former World Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh.
The DreamMaker has been handed a more than kind draw, landing in the weakest section of the tournament.
His entertaining style and high averages make him a popular member of the field and, having reached the quarter finals at Ally Pally twice before, he can definitely do better than that this year.
He could even finally pin that nine dart finish he always looks like threatening.
bet365 have placed a 14/1 price on the head of the Belgian.
2021 PDC World Championships Schedule
Wednesday December 15
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
- Ritchie Edhouse v Lihao Wen (R1)
- Ricky Evans v Nitin Kumar (R1)
- Adrian Lewis v Matt Campbell (R1)
- Gerwyn Price v Edhouse/Wen (R2)
Thursday December 16
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
- Steve Lennon v Madars Razma (R1)
- Scott Mitchell v Chris Landman (R1)
- Chas Barstow v John Norman Jnr (R1)
- Daryl Gurney v Evans/Kumar (R2)
- William O’Connor v Danny Lauby (R1)
- Ryan Meikle v Fabian Schmutzler (R1)
- Ron Meulenkamp v Lisa Ashton (R1)
- Gary Anderson v Lewis/Campbell (R2)
Friday December 17
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
- Ryan Joyce v Roman Benecky (R1)
- Keane Barry v Royden Lam (R1)
- Jermaine Wattimena v Boris Koltsov (R1)
- Krzysztof Ratajski v Lennon/Razma (R2)
- Joe Murnan v Paul Lim (R1)
- William Borland v Bradley Brooks (R1)
- Ross Smith v Jeff Smith (R1)
- Peter Wright v Meikle/Schmutzler (R2)
Saturday December 18
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
- Jamie Hughes v Raymond Smith (R1)
- Callan Rydz v Yuki Yamada (R1)
- Darius Labanauskas v Charles Losper (R1)
- Ian White v Mitchell/Landman (R2)
- Adam Hunt v Boris Krcmar (R1)
- Ted Evetts v Jim Williams (R1)
- Rowby-John Rodriguez v Nick Kenny (R1)
- Michael van Gerwen v Barstow/Norman Jnr (R2)
Sunday December 19
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
- Maik Kuivenhoven v Ky Smith (R1)
- Jason Heaver v Gordon Mathers (R1)
- Alan Soutar v Diogo Portela (R1)
- Stephen Bunting v Ross Smith/J Smith (R2)
- Martijn Kleermaker v John Michael (R1)
- Florian Hempel v Martin Schindler (R1)
- Steve Beaton v Fallon Sherrock (R1)
- Jonny Clayton v Barry/Lam (R2)
Monday December 20
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
- Luke Woodhouse v James Wilson (R1)
- Rusty-Jake Rodriguez v Ben Robb (R1)
- Raymond van Barneveld v Lourence Ilagan (R1)
- James Wade v Kuivenhoven/K Smith (R2)
Tuesday December 21
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
- Lewy Williams v Toyokazu Shibata (R1)
- Jason Lowe v Daniel Larsson (R1)
- Mervyn King v Joyce/Benecky (R2)
- Dave Chisnall v Labanauskas/Losper (R2)
- Vincent van der Voort v Hunt/Krcmar (R2)
- Michael Smith v Meulenkamp/Ashton (R2)
- Dimitri Van den Bergh v Hempel/Schindler (R2)
- Devon Petersen v Hughes/Raymond Smith (R2)
Wednesday December 22
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
- Ryan Searle v Borland/Brooks (R2)
- Glen Durrant v O’Connor/Lauby (R2)
- Luke Humphries v Rowby-John Rodriguez/Kenny (R2)
- Joe Cullen v Evetts/J Williams (R2)
- Nathan Aspinall v Murnan/Lim (R2)
- Dirk van Duijvenbode v Wattimena/Koltsov (R2)
- Kim Huybrechts v Beaton/Sherrock (R2)
- Simon Whitlock v Kleermaker/Michael (R2)
Thursday December 23
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
- Damon Heta v Woodhouse/Wilson (R2)
- Brendan Dolan v Rydz/Yamada (R2)
- Mensur Suljovic v Soutar/Portela (R2)
- Jose de Sousa v Lowe/Larsson (R2)
- Danny Noppert v Heaver/Jose Francisco Rodriguez (R2)
- Gabriel Clemens v L Williams/Shibata (R2)
- Rob Cross v Van Barneveld/Ilagan (R2)
- Chris Dobey v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez/Robb (R2)
Monday December 27
Third Round (Best of 7 sets)
- 6 matches
Tuesday December 28
Third Round (Best of 7 sets)
- 6 matches
Wednesday December 29
Third/Fourth Round (Best of 7 sets)
- 6x matches
Thursday December 30
Fourth Round (Best of 7 sets)
- 6x matches
Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 sets)
- 4x matches
Sunday January 2
Semi-Finals (Best of 11 sets)
- 2x matches
Monday January 3
Final (Best of 13 sets)
- Winner Semi Final 1 v Winner Semi Final 2
QUICK GLANCE AT THE WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2022
Venue: The Alexandra Palace, London
Dates: 15 December 2021 – 3rd January 2022
Format: Best of 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 sets
Current Champion: Gerwyn Price
Where To Watch: Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Arena
When To Watch: 12:30, 19:00 (UK)