Sadly, it is, and while presents are unwrapped and festive food served up, a piece of our hearts will remain at the Alexandra Palace. Before that darting drought, we've got a packed day of third round action in hand. And hoping to give themselves the gift of a last 16 spot are the first duo on the oche,
Vincent van der Voort and
Chris Dobey.
Van der Voort has lost just one set so far;
Dobey has conceded zero sets, and a mere four legs. The winner will certainly earn their fourth round berth, which brings with it a World Championship last 16 date with two-time
PDC world champion Gary Anderson.
Brendan Dolan and
Mervyn King both have a massive opportunity this year.
King scraped by Jan Dekker, but is now incredibly the top seed in his quarter of the draw. Dolan, who
obliterated Joe Cullen, might feel that he's the favourite to contest the quarter-final from his side of the draw. One player will go into Christmas feeling hugely positive. One will surely be kicking themselves. Unlike Christmas, a chance like this doesn't come round once a year.
The final tie of the afternoon could attract a fair deal of acrimony.
Keegan Brown was slated in places for his slow play in a win over Jelle Klaasen. After the game, Brown explained that personal concerns had affected his outlook on the match. The same can be said for
James Wade, clearly suffering the side-effects of bipolar disorder but also toeing the line of acceptable conduct. It's likely that Wade will be the Ally Pally's boo-boy, and he'll have to take it in his stride. Wade is the sort of player who will grind out a win at all costs and, given his current circumstances, Brown might not mind bowing out gracefully at this stage.
Click here for more information about the PDC
World Darts Championship, including schedules and the prize fund breakdown.