EPAMichael van Gerwen during his walk-on in ‘Ally Pally’
NOS Sport•vandaag, 06:19
It has never been so difficult to identify a top favorite for the Darts World Cup. Starting tonight, the best 96 darts players in the world will decide who will walk away with the PDC world title. The field of participants is closer together than ever.
Six players are participating who have recently won the tournament: Michael van Gerwen (2014, 2017 and 2019), Peter Wright (2020, 2022), Gary Anderson (2015, 2016), Rob Cross (2018), Gerwyn Price (2021). ) and Michael Smith (2023).
But are they also the big favorite? Van Gerwen won two major tournaments this year with the Premier League and the World Series Finals, but was often out early in other major tournaments. Price regularly shows good form, but his last major title was more than two years ago. Smith has not won a major since his world title last year.
Man in shape
The man coming to London in the best shape is Luke Humphries. The 28-year-old Englishman managed to win three of the last four major tournaments. Another contender who has not won a World Cup before is Nathan Aspinall. He was the best this summer at the World Matchplay, sometimes called the ‘summer World Cup’.
Pro ShotsLuke Humphries with the Grand Slam of Darts trophy
In addition, a number of old heroes also return. Raymond van Barneveld won four world titles with the darts association BDO and one with the PDC and he is also back.
This also applies to Steve Beaton, Stephen Bunting and Christian Kist, who each triumphed once at the BDO. For Beaton it will be his 33rd World Cup in a row (first BDO, then PDC). These men are not among the favorites, but in particular Barney and Beaton make the fans’ hearts beat faster.
What about those darts associations?
When the Netherlands was introduced to darts in the late 1990s, the Lakeside (also known as Embassy) was the most important tournament of the year. It is the unofficial World Cup of the darts association BDO. As time goes on, the PDC is gaining on the BDO in terms of popularity, prestige and professionalism. Nowadays the PDC World Championship is the most important tournament of the year. The winner will receive 500,000 British pounds.
The BDO is now bankrupt. The Lakeside tournament has been taken over by the WDF (World Darts Federation), but in terms of level it can no longer be compared to the PDC.
But there is more to pay attention to during the 31st edition of the tournament. A total of twelve players will participate on behalf of the Netherlands in the Alexandra Palace (Ally Pally). In addition to Van Gerwen and Van Barneveld, Danny Noppert and Dirk van Duijvenbode also have a seeded status.
The promising talent Gian van Veen had an excellent debut season and is also making an appearance. We also see Richard Veenstra, Kevin Doets, Jermaine Wattimena, Niels Zonneveld, former BDO champion Kist, Berry van Peer and Wessel Nijman appear on stage.
Pro ShotsGian van Veen in action during the Grand Slam of Darts
There is even more Dutch input this year, albeit with a different passport. Jeffrey de Graaf has already played twice for the Netherlands at the PDC World Cup, but this year he is throwing on behalf of Sweden, where he has lived for several years. Limburger Jules van Dongen participates under the flag of the United States, where he moved for love in 2013.
First Frenchman
There are also a number of notable participants. Thibault Tricole is the first Frenchman ever to participate in the PDC World Championship. Two women are also participating again: Fallon Sherrock and Mikuru Suzuki. Sherrock surprised friend and foe four years ago by reaching the third round.
The best player of last season has chosen not to get involved. 19-year-old Beau Greaves won the world title last week at the Lakeside tournament, where a separate World Cup for women was held.
2023-12-15 05:19:17
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