A look to the PDC World Darts Championship

Darts fans, be ready to mark your calendars for the 15th of December as it is the official date the 2021/22 PDC World Darts Championship is scheduled to commence, with the world’s most elite names ready to do battle in front of what should be a raucous crowd. It’s an event that no one wants to miss.

This year’s instalment of the event will the 29th since its inception and establishment following on from the initial split from the British Darts Organisation by the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation).

The top 96 ranked players from across the globe will square off in a series of encounters to decide who walks away with the coveted Sid Waddell trophy.

Last year’s event saw Welsh star Gerwyn Price (1) walk home with the trophy, defeating Scottish starlet Gary Anderson (6) with ‘the Iceman’ picking up his first ever world championship after winning the World Grand Prix in 2020 and back-to-back Grand Slam’s in 2018 and 2019.

Heading into this year’s event, unsurprisingly Price is ranked as the world’s number one for the championship tournament with a top five ranking of Peter Wright, Michael Van Gerwen, Dimitri Van Den Bergh and James Wade, all of whom will believe that they are in with a strong chance to take home the world championship trophy.

The event itself will be held from the 15th of December up until the 3rd of January from which a winner will be crowned at the premier darts venue that is the Alexandra Palace that has since hosted the championship from 2008 onwards.

Darts fans will be sure to be gearing up for an excellent period of action and with crowds ready to send the Palace into complete bedlam, it should be another phenomenal few weeks of action that will most likely culminate in a tremendous finale.

The biggest names to watch out for

It’s a tournament that has seen that game’s most historic and greatest ever names take to the floor and complete on the biggest stage in professional darts.

Everyone knows of the legacy left behind by Phil Taylor (the sport’s most successful competitor), yet there are now even more names who are ready to carve out their own legacies and become the world’s most commendable darts player, reigning as the world number one.

Perhaps the most familiar name to most casual sports fans is Michael Van Gerwen who is on the prowl to take home his fourth world championship, with Gerwen currently occupying second on the all-time winners list.

Gerwen himself has defeated the likes of Peter Wright in 2014, Gary Anderson in 2017 and Michael Smith in 2019 as well as making it to the finals on five separate occasions with his most recent appearance being a 7-3 defeat to Wright in 2020.

Gerwen was shockingly swept by Dave Chisnall (14) last year a 0-5 blowout which resulted in arguably the biggest upset in the entirety of last years event, with Gerwen now potentially looking gain some vengeance and once again make an impressive sixth trip to the finals and avenge his loss in 2020.

Fans who are interested in placing their bets on names such as Gerwen can choose from a wide variety of available darts bookies for the latest darts odds, with Gerwen likely to be one of the odds-on favourites at this year’s event.

Alongside Van Gerwen, his former adversary Peter Wright will also be looking to win another World Championship following on from his 2020 win over the Dutchman.

Wright was eliminated in the third round by German competitor Gabriel Clemens (24) in another shocking upset which left the previous year’s finalist’s out of the tournament at a much earlier stage than originally expected.

World number four Dimitri Van Den Bergh may also be a potential candidate to win it all this year as the Belgian reached the Quarterfinals in 2020 but is still yet to win his first world championship.

Gary Anderson is also looking to avenge his loss in the finals last year but has since plummeted down the rankings to number six after testing positive for the virus which has delayed his start at the Alexandra Palace.

Fan favourite Michael Smith will always remain a likely candidate with many now believing that he is finally due his course to win a world championship this year despite the stiff competition.

However, it will certainly take a lot to dethrone the current world champion Gerwyn Price who will certainly have the fullest of intentions to continue his reign of dominance over the world darts scene and become the first name since Gary Anderson in 2015 and 2016 to win the competition on a consecutive basis, becoming a two-peat champion in the process.

While fans will continue to bicker amongst themselves on who they truly believe will be lifting the Sid Waddell trophy, they will certainly be ready to tune into the championship’s contests with more competitors soon to be added in the coming weeks including further international names from Southern Europe and from the Youth Championship.

The event will be televised to a number of eager audiences and given that it draws in millions of viewers every single year, it will most certainly be an event that no sporting fans will want to miss, whether they are true fans of darts or not, as we expect this year’s tournament to a true showdown for the ages.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Unlock your ultimate darts experience—subscribe today for exclusive access to top stories.

Subscribe