This is it then. The final time that legend Phil Taylor will be seen at the PDC Darts World Championships. It is going to be an emotional farewell to the fourteen time champion. Will he make it to fifteen and bow out in the greatest fashion that he could possibly do so? Emotions are bound to be running high for him at the event so he is going to have a challenge keeping himself in check throughout. This will be the 25th edition of the PDC Darts World Championships and while the action starts this December, the final itself will be played on January 1st, 2018 with the winner walking off with £400,000. Will Phil Taylor be there in that showcase match?
Qualification
The field is made up for 72 players and sixteen and 16 of those go through a preliminary round and the eight winners from those matches join up with the other 56 competitors in the first round of action of 64 players. The top 32 on the Order of Merit get their places at the event along with the top 16 from the Pro Tour Order of Merit and then 24 players get invites from International qualifiers and a PDPA qualifiers. The seedings will be based on the order of merit.
Seedings
1 Michael van Gerwen, 2 Peter Wright, 3 Gary Anderson, 4 Daryl Gurney, 5 Mensur Suljovic, 6 Phil Taylor, 7 Adrian Lewis, 8 Dave Chisnall
PDC Darts World Championship Betting Odds
Michael van Gerwen 4/6, Gary Anderson 6/1, Peter Wright 11/1, Phil Taylor 11/1, Rob Cross 12/1, Adrian Lewis 33/1, Daryl Gurney 40/1, Mensur Sljiva 50/1, Raymond van Barneveld 50/1, bar 100/1
First Quarter
No player will have wanted to have landed in the same quarter of the draw as the outright favourite Michael van Gerwen. His fellow countryman Raymond van Barneveld got that short end of the stick and with Van Gerwen back to his winning ways then it is MVG who is the clear 1/8 odds on favourite to get out of the quarter as the winner. He should be relatively unopposed and there is no guarantee that he would even go against Van Barneveld in the quarter finals at all because Dave Chisnall is in there as a challenge to Barney.
Second Quarter
This should be a really competitive quarter of the draw because you have the three serious dark horses in the tournament all piled together here with a couple of extra threats thrown in. Rob Cross and Daryl Gurney are the rising next generation in the PDC and it is Cross who is 13/8 favourite at William Hill to get the quarter final ahead of Gurney. There is also Mensur Suljovic who surprisingly took this season’s Champions League of Darts title as well. Throw in Michael Smith and Kelle Klasson and this is a great quarter. At 3/1 though it is Gurney, who has been tremendously consistent in the big tournaments this season who can edge it.
Third Quarter
Peter Wright who was rushed to the hospital at the end of November with gallstones is still going off as even money favourite to win this third quarter. It would be a blow if he wasn’t fit to compete because he should be a serious challenger in this one. But just because he has been in recovery mode there could be a big door opener for Adrian Lewis at 5/2 with William Hill to waltz through and actually win the quarter. He’s a two time World Champion and could be a great value option.
Fourth quarter
Phil Taylor may not have the easiest of tasks in trying to get out of this quarter at all. He is the second favourite to win the fourth quarter at 7/4 as Gary Anderson in there heading the section at 5/6 odds-on. Taylor also has his old buddy James Wade knocking around his section for a potential third round clash. As much as it would be a fantastic story for Taylor to go all the way, Anderson takes supremacy in this quarter to win out.
Michael van Gerwen
He is the world number one and going to take some stopping. He has really stormed back into form after hitting a little bit of a patchy steak and he has wrapped up the European Championship, the Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship Final titles heading in the World Championship and he is the reigning champion at this event as well, winning the tournament for the second time in January last year. He is the tour de force on the PDC Tour and has every chance of coming out on top again. It’s pretty hard to oppose him.
Gary Anderson
Scotland’s Gary Anderson hasn’t had the most productive of the season as he hasn’t got a major title under this belt throughout the season but did claim three runs up spots in events. He hasn’t won a title in any tournament since successfully defending his World Championship title in 2016. So he is a player who has come up just a little bit short and he will have to contend with battling Phil Taylor to get out of the fourth quarter of the draw as well. It is questionable as to whether or not he is at his best this season because he has had some disappointments like his first round exit at the recent Players Championship Finals. He is a big performer at the Ally Pally though having reached the final in the last three editions and is great for an even money fancy at 6/1 in the outright.
Peter Wright
What level of fitness is Wright going to be at for the tournament? There’s no confirmation at the time of writing that he is even going to take part. He had his health issue at the end of November but he has to get a pretty decent season under his belt. He won the UK Open and was runner up at three other tournaments throughout the course of the season and he was a semi finalist here as well last season. His main challenger is going to be Adrian Lewis in the quarter.
Phil Taylor
The greatest of the greats? Can he handle the pressure and go all the way to bring his career to a stunning close? He is a big price to win the event this year and that won’t put punters off at all though. He hasn’t won the World Championship since 2013 and there’s little question that he is nowhere near the force that he once was. He hasn’t played with a really great drive for some time and of course, he will be amped up but keeping emotions in check is going to be tough in his World Championship swansong.
Other Contenders
Daryl Gurney, who recently got into a spat with Phil Taylor over the Northern Irishman not serving The Power a glass of water, is one of the leaders of the new generation of players. He took a win at the World Grand Prix and reached three other semi finals across the season at the UK Open, the World Matchplay and the European Championship. He’s on the up and a dangerous floater. So too is England’s Robb Cross who recently went to the semi’s of the Players Championship. His best result of the season though was his appearance in the final of the European Championship where he missed out on the title. He has improved over the second half of the season and he competes with Gunnery in the same quarter. Whoever comes out on top in that quarter battle will be running as the dangerous outsider for the title. The other big outsider and worth a flutter each way, is Adrian Lewis. He has no great form to speak off, but in 2016 he went into the World Championships with pretty much the same non-form as he has now and still reached the final. He is worth backing to at least get to the semi finals were he would have to produce a stunning performance to beat MVG, but he’s a decent outside flutter nonetheless.
Nine Darts Finish
It is worth having a crack at there being a nine dart finish at this year’s PDC World Championships which is an 8/13 quote at William Hill. With the likes of Cross and Gurney coming through the tournament probably has more genuine talent it in that it has done for a while. Someone can pull out a nine-darter.
Predictions
It’s hard to imagine MVG not reigning at the Alexandra Palace once again. This is the one title he wants most of all and he has made that clear. He is the top man, the one to beat and it is hard to see anyone doing that. He has come back into form at the right time to mount a serious challenge and he is value to sweep it.
