It's the most wonderful time of the year, per Andy Williams. The late crooner was not talking about Christmastime, though, as many wrongfully assumed. No, no. He was of course spreading the word of the World Darts Championship — the greatest sporting event on the planet that comes every December.
Many of the participants look like they could be your plumber or your drunk uncle…which is because many of them actually are plumbers and drunk uncles. They just happen to be some of the best tossers of tungsten in the world, too. Their pear-shaped figures don't exactly scream "elite athlete", but they are. They are.
Whether you watch the dahts on a regular basis or dust off your fancy dress for the Ally Pally just once a year, here are 10 storylines you need to know as we gear up for Day 1 on Dec. 15.
1. Is Luke Humphries is the Best Player on Planet Darts?
For the first time in a very long time, the pre-tourney favorite for the World Darts Championship is not the likes of Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright or Phil Taylor. Instead, Cool Hand Luke Humphries (+333) looks to continue his dominant stretch of play and add onto an already incredible year of darts.
He won his first major at the Grand Prix, picked up a second at the Grand Slam and just won the Players Championship Finals with a late-match comeback against Michael van Gerwen.
However, the World Championship is a different beast altogether. Humphries has yet to make it past the quarterfinals and there are a couple of other superstars with a bit more of a track record who aren't exactly slouches.
2. Not if Michael van Gerwen or Gerwyn Price Have Anything to Say About it
The aforementioned MvG (+400) and The Iceman, Gerwyn Price (+450), are looking to add more World Championship hardware to their trophy rooms. Mighty Mike had actually moved into the favorite position mid-match on Sunday when he had a decent lead against Humphries, but saw his odds slip as he wilted away at the end of the match.
For a stretch earlier this year, it was Price who was playing the best in the world. He's suffered some early round defeats as of late, but at his best, he's certainly capable of beating Humphries, van Gerwen or anyone else who gets in his way. Prepare for the trademark Gezzy roar!
3. Can Michael Smith Find Last Year's Form in his Title Defense?
We're a decent way into this article and last year's winner, Michael Smith, has yet to be named.
The Bully Boy produced the most amazing leg of darts you will ever see in your life in last year's final en route to his first world title. Since then, though, he's faffed around a bit and has not exactly produced world champ results throughout the 2023 season. This year, he's 15th in terms of prize money won and around that same mark in terms of his three-dart average.
He's still No. 1 in the PDC's two-year ranking system and is the number one seed in this tournament as a result, but at +900, has the fourth-best odds to win it. Perhaps some will buy low on Smith in hopes of finding value away from the top three favorites, but he needs to dig deep and find some bottle in what seems to be a tougher field this year.
ESPN BET has officially launched launching their new sportsbook. Register with Action’s ESPN BET promo code TANBONUS for a welcome offer!
4. Which Peter "Snakebite" Wright are We Going to See?
Another previous champion has also had an interesting season to say the least. Darts' most flamboyant character, Peter "Snakebite" Wright (+1600), is known for his crazy costumes and hairdo. What other sport do you see an elite player actually participating while wearing a full blown Grinch outfit?
Wright, who won this tournament in 2020 and 2022, has just a 53% win rate this year — his lowest in a season since 2008 by a far cry. His average has sharply fallen from the upper 90s to sub-94. While he did pick up a major at the European Championship, he's also produced some horrid performances. What he does at the Worlds this year is anyone's guess.
5. The Draw: Is Q1 Up for Grabs?
With the 2nd quarter boasting Wright, Price and Gary Anderson (+1200), the third being held down by MvG and the 4th headlined by Luke Humphries, the top quarter of the draw is looking like the most wide open.
Reigning champ Michael Smith, hot hands in Rob Cross (+1400) and Ross Smith (+6600), as well as the likes of Hollywood Chris Dobey (+5000), Jonny Clayton (+4000) and even Krzysztof Ratajski (+15000) will all fancy their chances at a deep run. Only one can prevail, but you might be able to find some betting value on these names.
6. Green Treble 20?? Is This for Real?!
Update: They FOOLED me, Jerry! The green treble 20 is not for real, but instead part of a charitable hoax to raise money for prostate cancer. At least it is for a good cause and not just to make me look silly.
As part of their World Championship sponsorship, Paddy Power has somehow convinced the PDC to allow for a dark green treble 20 bed. Is this a very, very late April Fool's prank?
"Research has shown the colour green sits at the centre of the visual spectrum while red and blue are at either end of the scale and harder to see. Green is the colour that humans perceive more accurately which leads to improved precision and decreased eye fatigue."
Yeah, that's all very well and good, but it's called the red bit for a reason. These players have been aiming for the lipstick their whole entire lives and now you're going to mess with that in the Worlds? Rest assured, some players are going to be complaining about this.
7. PDC Rule Leads to Beau Greaves Not Participating: A Loss for Everyone
Women's darts has taken a big step forward in recent years. It just took a big step backwards.
Thanks to a recent rule change, players are not allowed to compete in two world championships in one year, and while 19-year-old darts wunderkind Beau Greaves qualified for the PDC World Championship, she's elected to play in the WDF Women's World Championship, instead.
Though that might be the right decision for "Beau 'n' Arrow" at this point in her career, it's a blow for darts fans and the PDC alike, which appears to have shot itself in the foot with this rule.
We just watched Greaves play against the men in the Grand Slam of Darts in October, where, in the group stage, she defeated a recent European Tour champ in Ricardo Pietrezcko (+12500) and put up some gritty performances in narrow 5-4 defeats to Nathan Aspinall (+2800) and Damon Heta (+6600) — accomplished winners and contenders this year. I reckon she'd be favored against many of her potential first round opponents had she opted to play, but I guess we won't know. Thanks, PDC.
8. A Trio of Youngsters Look to Make their Mark
Josh Rock (22-years-old, +3000), Gian van Veen (21-years-old, +4000) and Luke Littler (16-years-old, +6600) are all looking to make a name for themselves this year.
Rock was a big story heading into last year's Worlds and reached the 4th round before losing to Johnny Clayton. The market had such high hopes for him this year, in fact, that he could be found in +1500 range in the early part of the season. However, Rocky's game has mostly been flat in terms of average and he's had trouble winning when it matters.
The Dutchman van Veen has more or less been this year's "Rocky" equivalent and has even posted some better results. He recently beat Michael van Gerwen in the quarters of the European Championships before narrowly losing to James Wade in the semis. Rock, on the other hand, has yet to make it that far in a major. As a non-seeded player, van Veen will play in the first round against Man Lok Leung in the fourth quarter in what should be a fairly easy win before reaching the "German Giant" Gabriel Clemens — a pretty good draw all things considered.
The final young dartist will still be doing homework in between matches. Do they read Of Mice and Men in English high schools?
Luke Littler, who beat van Veen this past weekend in the World Youth Finals with a 102 average, is just 16-years-old and already has seriously cracking stuff. Last year, he won a match with an average of over 120 (if you're new, that's umm … pretty good). Littler takes on Christian Kist in round 1 before a potential tie against Andrew "Goldfinger" Gilding — also not a bad draw.
These three all have a bright future and should be among the favorites if we fast-forward five years, but can one or more of them put their career on the fast-track with a deep run this year?
Check out the new user BetMGM bonus code offer before placing your bets on darts.
9. The Flying Scotsman Flies Again?
Former two-time champ Gary Anderson (+1200) hasn't been wracking up any big titles lately and doesn't play in as many tournaments as his fellow arrowsmiths, but he's quietly been the best player this year in terms of averages, just shy of 99.
A spry 52, the Flying Scotsman has looked much better this year than the prior couple of seasons. If all goes according to plan, he would play Gerwyn Price in what could be a fourth-round cracker.
10. Can Any Longshots Make a Run or are the Top and Mid Tiers too Deep?
Part of the fun of the Worlds is taking a dart throw on an outsider. Year in and year out, we see non-seeded players make Cinderella-esque runs and it's quite the thrill to be on one from the get-go.
However, there are so many seeded players and top studs playing good darts right now that it might be harder than ever for players in the 100-1 or longer range to make it more than a couple of rounds. I won't try and dissuade you from betting on some of these players outright, as you can still hedge your way out and make some money if they do make a run, but don't be afraid of taking some players to win their quarter rather than to host the Sid Waddell Trophy.
First round action is still a few weeks away, but stay tuned for more World Championship content at The Action Network.
