The PDC World Championship's History
The
World Darts Championship, which takes place during Christmas and New Year's at
the Alexandra Palace in London, is the climax of the PDC year.
Only
ten players have claimed the world title since it was initially hosted at the
Circus Tavern in 1994. Following the much-publicized departure from the British
Darts Organisation, thanks primarily to darts superstar Phil Taylor winning it
no fewer than 14 times throughout his incredible career.
Dennis
Priestley defeated Taylor 6-1 in the inaugural final before The Power's reign
of dominance began with eight consecutive global titles before Canada's John
Part memorably upset him 7-6 in a classic in 2003, much to the relief of the
bookies!
Taylor
won three more titles before Raymond van Barneveld defeated him 7-6 in another
spectacular final. At the same time, Part's victory against Kirk Shepherd in
2008 was the first time the Stoke thrower had failed to reach the last in the
tournament's history.
It
was also the year when the event moved to Alexandra Palace. A resurgent Taylor
won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010 until Adrian 'Jackpot' Lewis burst
onto the international stage by defeating Gary Anderson in 2011 final and
repeated the feat 12 months later against Andy Hamilton.
The
Power convinced critics that he could still win world titles by winning his
14th title against Michael van Gerwen, who won the trophy in 2014 against Peter
Wright. Mighty Mike was the hot betting favorite to win again a year later.
Still, he didn't even make the final as Anderson kept his nerve to overcome
Taylor 7-6 for his maiden world championship title, which he repeated in 2016
by overcoming Lewis.
Van
Gerwen reclaimed his world title in 2017 after defeating the Flying Scotsman
but suffered one of the biggest all-time upsets in the semi-finals the
following year at the hands of newcomer Rob Cross.
The
voltage then capped off an extraordinary fairytale by beating Phil Taylor in
the Power's final match before retirement.
Van
Gerwen won the title for the third time a year later, but Peter Wright, at the
age of 49, accomplished a lifelong goal by defeating the Dutchman in the 2020
final - an edition that also made news owing to Fallon Sherrock's exploits.
Even
though there were no fans present for most of the 2021 edition, there was no
shortage of drama as Gerwyn Price defeated Gary Anderson to win world champion
and world number one.
In
the 3rd round of the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship in Alexandra Palace in
London, defending champion Gerwyn Price might play Fallon Sherrock.
Sherrock
makes her World Championship comeback two years after her historic run to the
third round. She plays veteran Steve Beaton in the first round, earning his
21st consecutive appearance in the PDC's main tournament.
Price,
36, of Wales, will face either Ritchie Edhouse or Lihao Wen in the second
round, and if victorious, he will face the winner of Kim Huybrechts vs. Sherrock
or Beaton.
The
winner of Ryan Meikle and 16-year-old German Fabian Schmutzler will face the
number two seed and recent Players Championship Finals champion, Peter Wright.
Gary
Anderson, a fellow Scot and last year's runner-up might face two-time World
Champion Adrian Lewis or Canada's Matt Campbell.
Three-time
World Champion Michael van Gerwen will face the winner of Chas Barstow and John
Norman Jnr, who has not won a significant ranking championship in a full
calendar year for the first time in 10 years.
Lisa
Ashton will compete in the event for the third time and face Ron Meulenkamp in
the first round.
Jonny
Clayton of Wales, who has four majors this year, will meet the winner of Keane
Barry and Royden Lam.
Former
world champion Raymond van Barneveld will also compete after returning from
retirement, and he might meet another former world champion, Rob Cross, in the
second round.
A
total of 31 nations will be represented, two more than in the previous event in
2021.
Austrian
brothers Rowby-John and Rusty-Jake Rodriguez and Australian father-and-son Raymond
and Ky Smith will compete.
A
record five Welsh players will compete in Ally Pally for the first time.
The
World Championship begins on December 15 and goes through January 3.
PDC World Darts Championship betting: Price in pole
position
For
the 2nd year in a row, Gerwyn Price is the 7/2 favorite to win the PDC World
Championship.
Last
year, the Welshman breezed through the first round before defeating Daryl
Gurney in the quarter-finals, Stephen Bunting in the semi-finals, and Gary
Anderson 7-3 in the final.
This
will be his ninth appearance at Alexandra Palace, and after winning the Grand
Slam of Darts earlier this month, he will be hopeful of collecting a second
global championship.
Michael
van Gerwen is the 4/1 second favorite to win the PDC World Championship for the
fourth time, having won it in 2014, 2017, and 2019, when he defeated Michael
Smith in the final 7-3.
Peter
Wright and Jonny Clayton are the joint-third favorites at 6/1. Scotsman Wright
defeated Van Gerwen to win the title in 2020, but Clayton has never advanced
past the round of 32 at Ally Pally.
The
top six in the betting for the largest tournament on the darts calendar are
two-time quarter-finalist Dimitri van den Bergh (18/1) and 2018 world champion
Rob Cross (20/1).
Get To Know How to watch on television and listen on
the radio
Every
session's throw will be televised live on a dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel.
In addition, to live coverage of every dart thrown, there are highlights of
great games from the past, famous rivalries, and profiles of our icons. You may
also tune in to talkSPORT 2 to hear the action.
Are tickets for the World Darts Championships still
available?
Over
75,000 tickets have been sold for the holiday spectacle as people return to
London's famous Alexandra Palace. If you are a tourist from other countries,
you could try your luck by playing other sporting activities in the region such
as
casino
and if you are lucky enough you will win big.