Defending Champion Snakebite Heads into PDC World Championship as Fourth Favourite

Very soon the most prestigious tournament in the darts calendar will begin. The PDC World Darts Championship will unfold over the course of two and a half weeks in London, with the best players in the sport vying for the coveted title. Scottish World No.2 Peter Wright, known to his fans by the moniker ‘Snakebite,’ enters the tournament seeking to defend his title and currently sits fourth in the bookies’ odds to win.

Understanding the PDC World Darts Championship

Held annually and known as the Cazoo World Darts Championship for sponsorship purposes, the PDC World Darts Championship is the date every darts fan has circled in their calendar.

It is one third of the hallowed Triple Crown in darts and sees its winner awarded the Sid Waddell Trophy each year. Since 1994 it has been held every year, and is currently hosted at the Alexandra Palace in London. The event has traditionally been dominated by Englishman Phil Taylor, who has won it 14 times including eight consecutive titles from 1995 to 2022.

Recent years, however, have seen the field become a little more competitive, with Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen all winning the event in the past four years.

Peter Wright Seeking to Defend Title

The schedule for this December’s event has been released, and it will see Peter Wright in action on the opening night as he seeks to defend his title.

The 52-year-old Peter Wright has won the PDC World Darts Championship twice in the past three years, having only ever made one final prior to 2020. Now, the World No.2 is looking to defend his title and become the first man since Gary Anderson in 2016 to successfully win back-to-back PDC World Darts Championship titles. As of now, the Scotsman sits at fourth in the odds to win the event at 10.00, with Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith all ahead of him.

Wright will be hard to miss on the tournament’s opening night, with his trademark colourful mohawk separating him from the rest of the pack. In fact, Wright has become such a popular cult figure in the sport, that there’s even a slot based on the legendary darts player 'Snakebite' that can be found on CasinoHawks.com. The game will keep you aiming for the BullsEye and finding a picture of the legendary mohawk on top of Snakebite so you can take home the jackpot.

Michael van Gerwen Looking to Spoil Party

Wright’s toughest competition to defend his PDC title will likely come from World No.1 Michael van Gerwen.

Currently, van Gerwen leads the bookies’ odds ahead of the tournament, with major bookmakers putting the Dutchman at 3.75 to win the event. This is significantly ahead of Wright’s 10.00 odds, showing how big of a mountain the 52-year-old has to climb if he is to be successful in his title defence.

Michael van Gerwen knows what it is like to win the PDC World Darts Championship himself, having collected the title in 2014, 2017 and 2019. Most recently, the Dutch darts professional lost in the 2020 final to Peter Wright, and will no doubt be eager to gain his revenge over the Scotsman this year.