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A lot of the sport around the UK has been cancelled or postponed due to the adverse weather gripping Great Britain and Ireland. As fun as it is to step outside and build snowmen and throw snowballs at younger siblings, the one downside to the sub-zero temperatures and snow fall that has befallen the UK, is that it causes havoc with the sporting calendar. Already on Wednesday, the Carling Cup Semi Final First Legs between Blackburn v Aston Villa, and the much anticipated Manchester City v Manchester United clashes got wiped out, along with Bolton’s trip to the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League. Generously, Arsenal have said that they will pay the costs incurred by Bolton fans who had travelled south for the match, as the game was not officially called off until five hours before kick off. Some plucky travellers had already made their way to London, and the Gunners have admirably stepped up to the plate to reimburse the hardened Bolton fans.

Premier League Matches Off
The Premier League fixture list is leading the way in cancellations, a lot of the major safety concerns over the fans’ collective safety in making their way to football stadia across the nation. League leaders Chelsea have had their game against Hull called off, along with Burnley v Stoke, Fulham v Portsmouth and Sunderland v Bolton. This will give Manchester United the chance to race to the top of the league, if they can win at Birmingham in their match. The St Andrews pitch is fine, and staff have been working around the clock to keep the surrounding areas clear, but there still remains the chance of it being called off if overnight ice plagues the area too much. This is much the case with other matches.

The big Sunday afternoon showdown between Liverpool and Tottenham has also definitely fallen foul of the terrible weather though, and the game between Wigan v Aston Villa is in some jeopardy because of some failing under-soil heating. There will be a morning inspection at the DW Stadium to see if the game goes ahead or not.

Championship, League One and League Two Matches Off
The Premier League, is of course, not the only league affected. The Championship has been hit just as hard, with seven matches called off already, including leader’s Newcastle’s visit to Reading. Such is the chaos, only three matches remain in the Championship at the moment, and these are Cardiff v Blackpool, Coventry v Barnsley and Derby v Scunthorpe.
There are just two games in League One which have survived so far, and they are games involving the top two teams, Leeds v Wycombe and Norwich v Exeter.
If you are the supporter of a League Two team, then you may as well just stay in bed with a hot chocolate, as all matches in the league have been cancelled already. All FA Trophy games have also been cancelled.

Horse Racing Matches Off
The meetings at Ffos Las, Punchestown, Sedgefield and Wincanton have all been called off for Saturday, so you will probably need to get online and play some virtual racing at your online bookmakers, like SportingBet provide, if you need to fill the void. There will definitely be no snow there! Alternatively you can seek out some horse racing from across the pond, as providers like Stan James offer good coverage on US and Canadian meetings. Sunday’s meetings at Hereford and Leopardstown have also been cancelled, as well as Monday’s cards at Taunton and Ayr. Newcastle’s meeting for Tuesday has already been cancelled too. That all pretty much puts an end to the National Hunt racing for the weekend.
Incidentally, Lingfield (which ran on Friday) and Kempton will hold inspections on Saturday morning, and Catterick will be checked on Monday ahead of Thursday’s race card.

Rugby Union Matches Off
Yep, even those hardened, rugged, tough Rugby players get to miss out on their sporting action this weekend, and can sit at home sipping tea in their gown and slippers. Leaders Saracens will get a break this weekend, as their match with Sale was called off, more due to the safety of spectators than anything to do with the pitch. It will be a quiet weekend in the Guinness Premiership as there is only one surviving fixture there so far, and that is the meeting of Leicester v Wasps (if you’re looking for a good bet on this, then Leicester -7 Handicap with BetFred at 4/5 looks pretty decent). Note that this match has been brought forward to a 3.30pm kick off from its scheduled 5.15 start.

With all this disruption for the weekend ahead, the punter in you need not fret. There is plenty of action still going on around in the British Isles and across the World. Why not take advantage of this, as it a great time to stay indoors and feast your eyes over some indoor sports. It is times like this when it is perfectly acceptable to be an armchair fan.

Snooker On!
The Snooker Masters start on Sunday, with Jimmy White playing Mark King. As a big snooker fan, I want to see him win, but remember to bet with your head and not your heart. King should win it (1/2 at Ladbrokes best price). Tough to call a winner for the tournament from outside Ronnie O’Sullivan (11/4 at SkyBet), but personally I fancy Mark Selby at an each way bet at 10/1 with BetFred).

Darts On!
The BDO Darts Championship is at the semi final stages. Sadly it doesn’t have that precious darting factor of having Sid Waddell’s awesome commentary on the games, as he takes care of the PDC Darts coverage, but all the same, it is a chance to enjoy some top flight darts. Martin Adams (11/8 at Boylesports) is favourite but do not discount top seed Tony O’Shea who is out at a very generous 3/1 also with Boylesports.

Tennis On!
No bad weather down under, or out in the middle East, where all of the new season of Tennis is getting underway on the WTA and ATP Tours. There’s a Rafael Nadal v Nikolay Davydenko final, Andy Murray and Laura Robson taking on Spain in the final of the Hopman Cup, Andy Roddick charging towards the Brisbane Open title, and a dream final in the WTA Brisbane final between Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin. Clijsters. A nice double would be Clijsters and Nadal to win their respective Final matches (both 8/11 at Stan James).

So, Keep the laptop handy, as this is the perfect opportunity to play with live in-play match betting with your online bookmaker. They should all provide that service, as with Virtual Sports as well (which Bet365 incidentally run a great service of). If you need a bookmaker, then have a quick look around at any of the links on this website, and take advantage of some excellent sign up offers, many of which will involve you receiving some kind of free bet.

Phil Taylor v Simon Whitlock
PDC Darts World Championship Final
Sunday, January 3rd

The darts powerhouse that is Phil Taylor has done it again. He has reached the final of the PDC Darts World Championship as goes I search of his 15th World title. After beating his protégé Adrian Lewis, and then destroying Mark Webster 6-0 in the semi finals, Taylor cruised his way through Sunday’s final. Everything was looking on course for a Phil Taylor v  Raymond van Barneveld final, but it was not to be, as there was a big  shock in the other semi final.

The big Dutchman, Raymond van Barneveld, who has apparently been struggling with diabetes through the tournament, could not quite pull through his semi final match. Despite being in a strong position of being four sets to two up, Simon Whitlock (aka The Wizard – if you want to know why, take a look at a picture of him), who is making his debut in the PDC Darts World Championships, staged a massive comeback to take the match 6-5. He himself had to hold off a late comeback by Barneveld, but held on a nail-biter.

Maybe the result should not have been as much as a surprise, as Australian Whitlock also knocked out third seed James Wade in the Quarter Finals, so he’s certainly doing things the hard way. So, now it will be Sunday’s showcase in which Whitlock has to take on and try and beat the best in the World. Phil Taylor has “been there and done it” several times over, and having one lost one set in the whole of the tournament, looks in some staggeringly impressive and inspirational form. With nerves coming into play in the big final, Taylor will also have the edge there as well. In terms of maximums, Taylor has hit ten 180’s, while Whitlock has mustered up just the one.

Phil “The Power” Taylor, will start as overwhelmingly strong favourite in the two horse race, and it is hard to raise any argument against him taking his 15th World Title. The bookies have him all at short odds against the debutant, and Whitlock, looking nervous in his semi final, will really have his work cut out as he steps up to the oche.

Phil Taylor to win: 1/10 at Paddy Power
Simon Whitlock to win: 11/2 at SkyBet

BDO Darts World Championships
January 2nd – 10th, 2010
Lakeside, Surrey

While the showcase of the one man darting machine Phil Taylor continues to grab the headlines of the PDC World Darts Championships at Alexandra Palace, Dart’s other main body gets their equivalent of the World Championships under way on January 2nd. Probably the most famous Darts venue in the world, Surrey’s Lakeside, hosts the 2010 tournament with the winner looking to net themselves a £100,000 prize. The BDO may not have as many of the big names competing, certainly household names like Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, John Part, Kevin Painter and Adrian Lewis don’t crop up as often in the BDO World Darts Championships, but there is still a wealth of talent participating.

Ted Hankey will be the name on everyone’s lips as the 32 competitors go head to head in the televised tournament. Who doesn’t recall at some point in their life, sitting down and watching the action from the Lakeside on BBC2 at the turn of the new year? The BDO Darts World Championships run from January 2nd to January 10th, with a men’s field which is predominantly Englishmen. Of the top sixteen men, only five are not from England. There were these three Scotsman, a Swede and a Dutchman, see…

It is England’s Ted Hankey who is the current reigning BDO World Darts Champion, and he kicks off the defence of his title against his friend Gary Robson.  Despite being the current holder, there is a lot of money going on Martin Adams, who is favoured heavily by the Bookmakers. This will be Adams’ 17th consecutive year at the Lakeside, having put in more appearances than any other player. Despite having only ever won the championship once in 2007, he has consistently put in good performances and reached has reached the semi final stage for the past two years. That will always make him a threat.

Other high contenders at the Lakeside will be Scott Waites and Tony O’Shea (who is ranked number 1), and Darryl Fitton is seriously playing his way into contention after winning the last BDO tournament in Holland, bagging himself a coveted 9 nine dart finish along the way.

Top Sixteen Ranking and outright odds for BDO Darts World Championships:
1 – Tony O’Shea (Eng) – 9/2 at Totesport
2 – Scott Waites (Eng) 4/1 at Boylesports
3 – Martin Adams (Eng) 7/2 at Bet365
4 – Darryl Fitton (Eng) 12/1 at Victor Chandler
5 – Ted Hankey (Eng) 12/1 at Blue Square
6 – Ross Montgomery (Sco) 22/1 at Ladbrokes
7 – Dave Prins (Eng) 50/1 at Ladbrokes
8 – Alan Norris (Swe) 100/1 at BetFred
9 – Joey Ten Berge (Ned) 40/1 at Ladbrokes
10 – Martin Atkins (Eng) 33/1 at Bet365
11 – Steve West (Eng) 150/1 at SportingBet
12 – John Walton (Eng) 50/1 at Extrabet
13 – Mark Barilli (Sco) 150/1 at Bet365
14 – Scott Mitchell (Eng ) 150/1 at BetFred
15 – John Henderson (Sco) 66/1 at Coral
16 – Ian White (Eng) 25/1 at SportingBet

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

PDC World Championship of Darts 2010
December 18th – January 3rd
Alexandra Palace

World Champion Phil “The Power” Taylor will open the defence of his crown at Alexandra Palace against Colin Monk. Taylor throws on Friday the 18th of December, which is the opening night of the Ladbrokes.com World Championship. Raymond van Barneveld, who Taylor beat 7-1 in the 2009 and Final, kicks off his challenge against Warren Perry from New Zealand. Canadian John Part takes on youngster Toon Greebe, a Dutchman in his opening match. This is the PDC World Championship, which is a separate event from the BDO Tournament which starts early in the new year.

Phil Taylor, who has won collectively 14 World Championships, will again start the tournament as strong favourite. Taylor recently won the Grand Slam of Darts, which was a big event bringing together players from the two main darts organisations for one tournament. In that final, he trounced Scott Waites by 16 legs to 2 in what can only be described as a rout. If you are ever thinking of great World Champions at their sport, then Taylor has to be one of them. Maybe it is not the most glamorous of sports, still seen in large circles as nothing more than a pub game, Taylor has been everywhere and done it all.

The strength of Phil Taylor is all in the stats. Not only has he won the tournament 14 times (including twice before the split in darts organisations), he reached 15 of the first 16 finals, failing only to get there once in 2008. That year was the turn of John Part to claim the honours, and is the only man aside from Taylor to have won the World Championship more than once in its current incarnation. This year sees the prize money at the highest it has ever been. Sponsored by Ladbrokes.com, the PDC World Darts Championship has a prize of £1 million for the first time ever. This is somewhat of a big leap up from last year’s tournament’s prize money of around three quarters of a million. The winner this year, will take home a cool £200,000.

As sponsors, online bookmakers Ladbrokes have a host of betting fields for the tournament. First and foremost for the World Championships, is the Outright Winner Market, and there is no surprise who is way out in front as favourite. From such a big field, for one man, Phil “The Power” Taylor to have such short odds says a lot about just how good this man is.

PDC World Championship Outright Winner
Phil Taylor – 4/11
J Wade – 8/1
R Van Barneveld – 10/1
G Anderson – 12/1
M King – 33/1

Incidentally, Taylor’s first opponent, Colin Monk is out at 1000/1, primarily because he has to play Taylor and will therefore likely be leaving the competition. There is a preliminary competition to be played, and that is why below, there are some matches with opponents as yet to be determined.

First round draw: (seeds in brackets)
Phil Taylor (1, Eng) v Colin Monk (Eng)
Roland Scholten (32, Ned) v Steve Hine (Eng)
Robert Thornton (16, Sco) v Per Laursen/Christian Perez
Wayne Mardle (17, Eng) v Jyhan Artut (Ger)
Adrian Lewis (8, Eng) v Aodhagan O’Neill/Les Francis
Wes Newton (25, Eng) v Jarkko Komula/Roman Konchikov
Dennis Priestley (9, Eng) v Kevin McDine (Eng)
Jelle Klaasen (24, Ned) v Barrie Bates (Wal)

Mervyn King (5, Eng) v Matt Clark (Eng)
Co Stompe (28, Ned) v Steve Maish (Eng)
Alan Tabern (12, Eng) v Ken MacNeil/Norman Madhoo
Mark Dudbridge (21, Eng) v Andree Welge (Ger)
John Part (4, Can) v Toon Greebe (Ned)
Kirk Shepherd (29, Eng) v Scott Burnett (US)
Mark Walsh (13, Eng) v Mark Webster (Wal)
Peter Manley (20, England) v Andy Jenkins (Eng)

Raymond van Barneveld (2, Ned) v Warren Parry (NZ)
Tony Eccles (31, Eng) v Brendan Dolan (NI)
Kevin Painter (15, Eng) v Mensur Suljovic (Aut)
Vincent van der Voort (18, Ned) v Dylan Duo (Gib)
Ronnie Baxter (7, Eng) v Haruki Muramatsu/Krzysztof Kciuk
Jamie Caven (26, Eng) v Gary Anderson (Sco)
Colin Lloyd (10, Eng) v Magnus Caris/Francisco Ruiz
Denis Ovens (23, Eng) v Tomas Seyler/Shi Yongsheng

Terry Jenkins (6, Eng) v Paul Nicholson (Aus)
Andy Smith (27, Eng) v Darin Young (US)
Colin Osborne (11, Eng) v Simon Whitlock (Aus)
Wayne Jones (22, Eng) v Alex Roy (Eng)
James Wade (3, Eng) v Steve Brown (Eng)
Michael van Gerwen (30, Ned) v Peter Wright (Sco)
Andy Hamilton (14, Eng) v Phillip Hazel/Osmann Kijamet
Steve Beaton (19, Eng) v Carlos Rodriguez (Spa)

A trip over to Ladbrokes.com will present you with odds on other markets, such as 180 Specials, Player Specials, Checkout Specials and Quarter Specials on which you can make selections on who will win each of the four sections of the draw itself. Go to Labdrokes.com and open an account today, and when you make your first bet of £10, Ladbrokes will match it with a Free £10 Bet!

The Ladbrokes World Championship of Darts 2010, start on December the 18th and draws to a conclusion on January 3rd with the Final.

November 14-22 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall

The Partypoker Grand Slam of Darts is the contest between the two major darting organisations, the PDC and the BDO. The tournament is organised by the Professional Darts Corporation, but it invites the best players over from its rival body, the British Darts Organisation. It was originated in just 2007, which was to bring together the major players for a big showdown. It brings together the best in the World, as the tournament works on an invitation basis, welcoming players who have made it to the semi-final or final of major tournaments through the year, or have been sitting atop the rankings of their own country. This is for the best of the best to ply their trade on a big stage, and as tournaments by each organisation are kept apart, this is the rare occasion when players from the PDC square off against the BDO.

History.
Just into its third year this year, there has only been one winner so far. That is the irrepressible Phil Taylor, who is hailed as the world’s greatest darts player ever. This year alone Taylor has won 22 out of the 28 PDC tournaments which he has played in, and has won the World Championships twelve times alone since his first tournament in 1990. At odds of 125/1 Taylor in his inaugural year beat the other darting great, Eric Bristow in the final.

Format:
There is a lot of prestige hanging around the Partypoker Grand Slam of Darts tournament, simply because of the rarity of facing darters from the other organisation, including the 2008 BDO Women’s World Champions Anastasia Dobromyslova. The format of the competition is a Champions League style group stage of four players per group, which houses the 32 competitors. Everyone plays each other in the group stage one, in a round-robin format with the top two from each moving through to the second round. For any players finishing on the same amount of points as well as having the same leg-difference (darts are played over legs, there is the potential of a nine-dart shoot out to confirm qualifiers.

Group Highlights:
Group A: Phil Taylor was drawn in Group A along with Dobromyslova and men’s 2008 BDO World Champion Mark Webster, plus Holland’s Vincent van der Voort. Taylor demolished Dobromyslova 5-0 in his opening match, before the young Russian fought back in her second game, to earn herself a famous win over van der Voort, becoming only the second woman to beat a man on television in a PDC event. Dobromyslova, although believing that should could have done a lot better on the PDC tour, has been making waves by matching her male opponents, and certainly not being any kind of a pushover.

The only other female competitor in the competition is current Women’s World Champion Francis Hoenselaar. She almost achieved the same feat as Dobromyslova, as she gave Canadian John Part a good run for his money in Group D. Another familiar name in Group D, is that of Raymond Van Barneveld, seeded fourth, and the big Dutchman, scrapped his way past Kevin Painter for a 5-4 victory. This is a supremely tough group, as the competitors have eight World Championship (men and women) between them.

Ted Hankey, who is the current BDO World Champion has been drawn against Scott Waites, Wayne Mardle and Simon Whitlock in his group, and Hankey has been seeded as number two for the tournament, behind Phil Taylor of course. He didn’t get off to a great start though, a Britain’s Scott Waites took him down five sets to three.

Partypoker Grand Slam of Darts Tournament Seeded Rankings (along with odds):
1) Phil Taylor – 4/11 at Bet365
2) Ted Hankey – 125/1 at Boylesports
3) James Wade – 10/1 at Totesport
4) Raymond van Barneveld – 16/1 at Totesport
5) Mervyn King – 25/1 at Ladbrokes
6) Terry Jenkins – 22/1 at SkyBet
7) Gary Anderson – 11/1 at Ladbrokes
Tony O’Shea – 50/1 at Totesport

Tournament Group Draw:
GROUP A
Anastasia Dobromyslova
Phil Taylor (1)
Vincent van der Voort
Mark Webster

GROUP B
Colin Lloyd
Colin Osborne
Tony O’Shea (8)
Brian Woods

GROUP C
Darryl Fitton
Mervyn King (5)
Steve Maish
Kirk Shepherd

GROUP D
Raymond van Barneveld (4)
Francis Hoenselaar
Kevin Painter
John Part

GROUP E
Ted Hankey (2)
Wayne Mardle
Scott Waites
Simon Whitlock

GROUP F
Gary Anderson (7)
Steve Beaton
Kevin McDine
Co Stompe

GROUP G
Terry Jenkins (6)
Adrian Lewis
Denis Ovens
Darin Young

GROUP H
Andy Hamilton
Gary Mawson
Robert Thornton
James Wade (3)

Dates
The Group stages take place over four days, between November 14 and 18
Second round takes place on November 19th and 20th.
Quarter Finals: November 21st
Semi’s and Final November 22nd

With Phil Taylor looking to make it a hat trick of wins, it will be hard to see anyone stopping the big man aiming for that £100,000 Partypoker Grand Slam of Darts title prize money, and the honour of winning the tournament of course. While the tournament may be still gaining ground in terms of popularity and reputation amongst more established title champions, this is some kind of glamour tournament. Although it has happened on other occasions, it is not very often that all of the biggest names from the BDO and PDC are seen battling it out on the same ochy. With all the big names coming together, it makes the interest even higher. Phil Taylor is keen to get that third title under his belt, and to let his supremacy rule across both organisations, and it could all come to a head in the final of the tournament. If all goes as expected, the draw will see PDC World Champion Phil Taylor and BDO World Champion Ted Hankey come together in the final of the 2009 PartyPoker Grand Slam of Darts.

It was my grandad that first got me interested in darts. With numbers painted on with an old can of white gloss, he fashioned a dartboard out of a slice of tree trunk and hung it on a nail outside his back door. Grandad was no mean player but wasn’t a tall man which was why, he explained, he concentrated on the 19 and 17 instead of the 20 which was above his eye-level. There’s a certain logic to that if you think about but it won’t be a problem for the big names lined up to take part in the PDC World Championship, which gets under way at London’s Alexandra Palace this week.

Phil Taylor, inevitably, is the strong favourite (a best 4-7 with Skybet) having swept virtually all before him since a disappointing quarter-final exit in the PDC World Championship 12 months ago. Among his successes in 2008, ‘The Power’ can list the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Las Vegas Desert Classic, US Open and Grand Slam. He remains, undoubtedly, the class act in the sport and is the one to beat but, despite his 13 world titles, this tournament has eluded him in recent years (remember his epic defeat to Raymond van Barneveld in the final at the Circus Tavern in 2006) and there may be better value elsewhere.

Van Barneveld (10-1 with Betdaq) is second best on most lists but has struggled for consistency this year and is easily overlooked on this occasion. ‘Barney’ also has a tough draw with an in-form Andy Hamilton (a general 50-1) his likely quarter-final opponent. The Ladbrokes-sponsored event is breaking new ground this year with Women’s World Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova earning an invitation to compete against the elite men for the first time. The Russian (2000-1 with betdirect, Stan James and Skybet) must overcome Dutchman Remco van Eijden before taking her place in the first round proper at the ‘Ally Pally’. I don’t know what my grandad would have made of it but her promotion ahead of higher ranking players hasn’t gone down well with everyone and Anastasia will be under pressure from the outset to justify her inclusion. Holder John Part is 66-1 with sportingbet and Mervyn King (a generous-looking 50-1 with the same firm) looks to have a good draw and has been well-touted in some quarters but I think Adrian Lewis has a big future in the sport and this tournament could be his defining moment.

Beginning to find the consistency to match his undoubted talent ‘Jackpot’, who won’t be 24 until next month, has the ability to better two previous quarter-final appearances in the PDC World Championship and at 35-1 on Betfair and Betdaq is the stand-out bet.