PDC World Championship Darts – Phil Taylor Powers On

There is nothing quite like a throw of the arrows over Christmas and the New Year, and that is exactly when the world of Darts explodes into the public spotlight. Up first is the PDC World Championship, which is well underway, and then it will be the turn of the BDO equivalent, which kicks off in the beginning of January. Phil “The Power” Taylor is the true genius star of the Darting world, as he just racks up title after title, and will be looking to add to his collection of World Championship crowns with victory again this year in the PDC World Championship of Darts.

Taylor plays fellow England player Steve Hines in his second round match, after being first round opponent Steve Monk 3-0. This is all happening in the first quarter of the draw, where Hines, unseeded, beat the 32nd ranked player Rolan Scholten 3-2 in the first round. It will be a major surprise if Phil Taylor does not make it through as winner of his quarter. He is the ultimate powerhouse in the world of sport, as he completely dominates. He is at short odds with the bookmakers, and that is just the sheer class of the man, who personifies the word ‘consistency’.

Of course, all of the bookies have Taylor at the shortest odds, simply because he is such a strong favourite, even in such a large field, to take the title again. It is not often that you will see such an overwhelming favourite walk into a tournament in any sport. Taylor recently won the Grand Slam of Darts for the third time in a row, which was a showdown tournament between the players from the two main darting organisations. He triumphed in the final of that, 16-2 over Scott Waites, as he strode on in his darting prowess, looking as imperious as ever.

Taylor’s hunger simply never seems to wane, and if he can win again, it will be the fifteenth time he has triumphed in the pusuit of a world title. The closest challenger he has in the top quarter of the PDC World Championship draw, is eighth seed Adrian Lewis. All four of the top seeds safely negotiated their way into the second round of the tournament. Raymond Van Barneveld (2) and John Part (4) will take their place in the second round, while James Wade (3), remains the one many are tipping to be the one who can end Taylor’s reign of ultimate power.

Last year’s semi finalist, Wade made his 3-1 first round victory look a lot more hard work than maybe it should have been, and now he moves on to meet Michael van Gerwen in the second round. Wade won the darts Premier League this year and is why there is a lot of outside money going on him to stop Taylor somewhere along the line. There is still a distance to go before the two of them could come together, with them being in separate halves of the draw, with the top four seeds all being kept separate. Everyone going into the PDC World Championships know though, that Taylor is the one to beat, and that is what will be driving on his nearest competitors.

PDC World Championship Darts Second Round Draw
Phil Taylor v Steve Hine
Robert Thornton v Jyhan Artut
Adrian Lewis v Wes Newton
Kevin McDine v Barrie Bates
Mervyn King v Co Stompe
Alan Tabern v Mark Dudbridge
John Part v Kirk Shepherd
Mark Webster v Peter Manley
Raymond van Barneveld v Brendan Dolan
Kevin Painter v Vincent van der Voort
Ronnie Baxter v Gary Anderson
Colin Lloyd v Denis Ovens (23, Eng)
Terry Jenkins v Darin Young
Simon Whitlock v Wayne Jones
James Wade v Michael van Gerwen
Andy Hamilton v Steve Beaton

PDC World Championship Outright Winner Prices (top six)
Phil Taylor – 4/11 at Boylesports
James Wade – 9/1 at BetFred
Raymond Van Barneveld – 10/1 at SkyBet
Gary Anderson – 16/1 at Ladbrokes
Simon Whitlock – 28/1 at Boylesports
Adrian Lewis – 33/1 at Stan James