It’s the most wonderful time of the year, as the PDC World Darts Championship returns to our screens once more.
The best that the darting landscape has to offer will once again battle it out for the biggest prize in the sport without a live crowd in attendance, as this unprecedented calendar year draws to a close.
In this piece I will be predicting which players make it into the quarter finals and also the eventual winner of the World Championship. Without further ado, and in no particular order, here are my predictions.
Peter Wright
All eyes will be on Snakebite as he looks to make it back-to-back world titles after a mixed bag of a year.
The world number two won the Ladbroke’s Masters and the European Championship against Michael Smith and James Wade respectively, but expressed his disappointment after his loss to Devon Peterson at the Grand Slam of Darts which saw him eliminated at the group stage.
The World Champion later said in an interview that he could have walked away from the sport altogether. His dismay stems from not being able to perform in front of a live crowd and it looks to be the same old story at Alexandra Palace, with London moving into Tier 3 from Wednesday onwards.
However, I think that Snakebite will put in an admirable effort to defend his crown, making it to the last 8 at the very least.
Michael van Gerwen
Darts fans and pundits alike have described this year as an off-year for the world number one, which is a testament to how good he is considering he still managed to win the UK Open in March as well as the recent Players Championship Final, against Gerwyn Price and Mervyn King respectively.
Mighty Mike’s decline in form has been in large part due to him adjusting to his new darts having signed a deal with Winmau earlier this year, as well as his ever-growing responsibilities as a father.
Despite this being a lacklustre year by his standards he still emerges as the tournament favourite, with the bookies backing him to claim his fourth World title. It would not come as a surprise to many fans if he went all the way, which is why I think he also makes it into the last eight.
Gerwyn Price
The Iceman was eliminated from last year’s tournament by eventual winner Peter Wright, and his 2020 season in response to that defeat has been excellent.
After a successful summer series, he won the World Series of Darts Finals in September where he defeated Rob Cross for the trophy. He then claimed his first ever World Grand Prix title, seeing off Belgian underdog Dirk Van Duijvenbode in the final.
Soon after, he and Johnny Clayton became the first Welshmen to lift the World Cup of Darts trophy after convincingly defeating England in the final, with Price listing it as his biggest achievement in the sport to date.
For the second year running, the world number three emerges as the bookies’ second favourite to win the trophy, and his form so far in 2020 suggests he could even go all the way.
In my opinion, he is a guaranteed quarter finalist in this year’s event.
Rob Cross
Many fans and critics have stated that Voltage peaked too early in his career, having won the World Championship in 2018 on his first attempt, in what was Phil Taylor’s last ever match.
By all accounts he has had a poor year, as he was eliminated early from this year’s premier league and, following that, failed to win a TV major. He came closest in the aforementioned World Series of Darts finals against Gerwyn Price.
It is not often you get to say that the world number five is an underdog to win a tournament of any sport, but such is the case with Rob Cross.
Class is permanent however, and his ruthless finishing of yesteryear has appeared in some tournaments, albeit inconsistently.
This pick is arguably the first risky pick, as he will have to fend off Adrian Lewis, Premier League champion Glen Durrant and Dirk Van Duijvenbode to get there.
Devon Peterson
Every World Championship event has a dark horse. A player that steps up on the big occasion after a promising run in the months before. This year, I believe that player is Devon Peterson.
The African Warrior has had a decent calendar year at the oche, having won his first ever ranking title in September after beating Johnny Clayton at the German Darts Championship.
Going into Alexandra Palace, he is listed as a seeded player for the first time and will be looking to go one further than last year where he made it to the last 16 before falling to Nathan Aspinall.
Within his segment of the draw, he will need to go further than the likes of Mensur Suljovic, two-time World Champion Gary Anderson and the world number four Michael Smith. However, each of those players have had quiet campaigns this year, and I think an upset is on the horizon in favour of Devon Peterson.
Dimitri Van Den Bergh
The DreamMaker has certainly made his mark during the 2020 campaign. He claimed his first ever televised ranking title after defeating Gary Anderson at the World Matchplay in a dominant display.
An impressive performance at the Grand Slam of Darts followed, as he set the new record average at the tournament of 114.85 in a 5-1 victory over Ricky Evans. He then steamrolled through to the semi-finals where he was narrowly beaten by James Wade.
The Belgian made it to the last eight in last year’s event, with history looking to repeat itself given the year that Dimitri has had.
Thanks to the draw, the only stiff competition he may have to face on his way there is Johnny Clayton, who has also had a successful year winning the previously mentioned World Cup of Darts for Wales.
However, I think this is Dimitri’s year to push on and seriously make his mark at the World Championship.
James Wade
The Machine has had a slight resurgence this year and whilst he has always proved his quality, 2020 has been the year where he has reminded everyone just how good he is.
Not the flashiest or the loudest of players, James Wade has stayed in and around the PDC Ranking’s top ten for well over a decade and has won almost everything there is to win in the sport.
He came close to ticking the Grand Slam of Darts off of that checklist this year, as he made it to the final of the event before losing to Jose de Sousa.
The other PDC Major to elude him? The World Championship. Wade has been widely regarded as one of the greatest players to have never won the trophy, or even get to the final for that matter.
His missed opportunity arguably came in the 2012 semi-finals against then-champion Adrian Lewis, where he missed a match dart whilst 5-2 up in sets. From then on, the Machine failed to win a single leg and left the stage with his head in his hands.
Unlike previous years, players are once again becoming fearful of facing James Wade, and I believe this resurgence will carry him to the quarter finals of the competition and beyond.
Nathan Aspinall
The year looked promising for The Asp after impressing early on in the Premier League, his debut year in the competition.
The world number six would eventually reach finals night, defeating Peter Wright to set up an all-debutant final with Glen Durrant, which he later lost.
From then on Nathan has had somewhat of a quiet year, having not reached another televised final. His performances have hardly been lacklustre though, with him reaching the quarter finals of the World Series Finals and the Grand Slam of Darts, as well as the semi-finals of the Masters.
He has enjoyed solid stints at Alexandra Palace having reached the semi-finals in the previous two years of the competition, both times falling to the eventual runner-up of the tournament in Michael Smith and MVG.
Whilst I am not sure he’ll reach the same stage this year, he has shown the quality and consistency of a player worthy of the last eight, which is where I think he will reach this year.
Eventual Winner: Gerwyn Price
The stars look as if they have aligned for the Iceman, and I think so long as he overcomes the mental block of not being able to feed off of the crowd’s energy, he will lift the trophy.
Now is arguably his best chance, with him playing better darts than he has ever played previously and other seeded players such as MVG and Peter Wright somewhat underperforming.
He intimidates players in a way that only MVG can when he brings his A game and has proved his maturity as a player over the last few years by frequently coming back from large deficits to win on big occasions.
Barring any major upsets at his expense, I think that Gerwyn Price will be the new World Champion in January.
The World Championship starts tomorrow at 6pm and will be aired on Sky Sports at the Alexandra Palace.
Owen Gardner's Sports Blog 