2024 World Darts Championship preview
The festive calendar always delivers plenty of great sports to watch, but the real party is always at Alexandra Palace for the World Darts Championship.
Just over 10,000 people cram into the Palace each year, most in fancy dress to quench their thirst with an alcoholic beverage (or seven) and watch some darts too. The party atmosphere rubs off on the viewers at home, fully engaged in what’s happening on the stage from their sofas.
Review of 2023 World Darts Championship
Last year’s events lived up to the expectation, with Michael Smith managing to clinch victory.
Having lost the final in 2019 and 2022, winning the Sid Waddell trophy last year was especially sweet for ‘Bully Boy’.
There were, as always, plenty of viral moments last year. Standout moments include Gerwyn Price’s peculiar decision to wear ear defenders on stage in his quarter-final defeat, the debut of crowd entertainer Leonard Gates, Mensur Suljović’s 161 checkout against an arrogant van Gerwen and *that* unforgettable leg in the final.
Humphries heads in as the favourite
Looking forward to this year’s competition, the bookmaker’s favourite to win the trophy is Luke Humphries. Nicknamed ‘Cool Hand Luke’, the 28-year-old goes into the biggest darts tournament of the year in impressive style.
Victories in the World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and most recently, the Players Championship Finals showcase Humphries’ hot run of form. The world number three will look to better his fourth-round exit last year, losing to new fan favourite, Stephen Bunting.
van Gerwen gunning for revenge
Michael van Gerwen has reached the World Darts Championship final in four of the last seven years, winning the title in 2017 and 2019. The world number two heads into the tournament with more desire than ever, losing narrowly to Humphries in the Players Championship Finals last month.
Humphries came back from 9-5 down, winning six consecutive legs to beat van Gerwen 11-9. The Dutchman hit a nine-darter in the final and looks a good bet to do so this year at Alexandra Palace. ‘Mighty Mike’ will look to avenge this defeat with a huge victory of his own, which would likely take ‘MvG’ top of the world rankings.
Can Smith retain the trophy?
No player has retained this trophy since Scotsman Gary Anderson in 2016. No Englishman has done so since the great Phil Taylor in 2010, meaning Smith has big shoes to fill.
The world number one beat Gerwyn Price in the final of the Bahrain Darts Masters in January, his only televised event victory since winning the World Darts Championship.
Having collected an estimated £500,000 for last year’s victory, Smith will no doubt be craving that success once more. Smith will have to defy his 14/1 odds, playing as he did against van Gerwen last year in what some call ‘the greatest leg of darts ever.’
Can Price keep cool?
Price’s 5-1 defeat against Gabriel Clemens in the quarter-final last year highlighted the divisive nature of the Welshman’s personality.
He was passionate with his loud shouts of celebration after checkouts, but blocked out the noise with ear defenders when things weren’t going his way.
Price’s biggest victory this year came in the PDC World Cup of Darts in June, teaming up with Jonny Clayton to win in Frankfurt. However, losses in the World Grand Prix and Premier League Darts final means Price hasn’t won a solo televised PDC event this year.
The last World Darts Championship Price won came in 2021, ironically with nobody in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Can ‘The Iceman’ keep his cool this year?
Other notable names
There are plenty of worthy competitors for the world crown that are perhaps outsiders.
Rob Cross, Peter Wright (below), Raymond van Barneveld and Gary Anderson are all past champions and competitors in the field this year.
Crowd favourites Stephen Bunting and Dirk van Duijvenbode will look to make it their year, with ‘Queen of the Palace’ Fallon Sherrock MBE in action at the place which made her famous worldwide back in 2019.
Major absentees
There are a few big names that will not be competing at the World Darts Championship, with Adrian Lewis the most significant absentee. The two-time former world champion has played in every tournament since 2006, but decided earlier this year to temporarily stop playing darts.
Both Mervyn King and Vincent van der Voort will not be present at the big event for the first time in 14 years after failing to qualify. The aforementioned Mensur Suljović is not at Alexandra Palace this year, with Alan Soutar being the highest-ranked player at 34 to not be playing this month.
Paddy Power’s PR
The event is shaping up to be a marvellous watch, with the prize pot bigger than ever.
Paddy Power, the main sponsor of the championship, are already taking their marketing to the next level as they usually do to create conversation.
After joking about changing the triple 20 marker from red to green, they unveiled the ‘BALLON D’ART TROPHY’, given to the player who gets the most 180s in the tournament. They are also donating £1,000 to Prostate Cancer UK for every maximum scored during the tournament as part of ‘The BIG 180 campaign.’
https://www.pdc.tv/news/2023/11/30/big-180-paddy-power-reveal-prostate-cancer-uk-partnership
Get ready for fantastic fixtures, a boisterous crowd and a hotly contested competition that awaits. The competition starts this Friday live on Sky Sports.
