PDC World Darts Championship: Glen Durrant can win the big one at the Ally Pally

It’s finally here – and no, I’m not talking about Christmas. Forget the mince pies, the tree, and Santa. Don’t worry about Rudolph or presents or snow. December is all about the World Darts Championship at the mecca that is the Alexandra Palace.

The stage every tungsten-loving, double-hitting, treble-scoring, darting-darling dreams to play. There is no place better.

And as we count down the days till the first arrow is thrown, here are the best bets for the PDC World Darts Championship.

Main Bet: Glen Durrant

Let’s get rid of the elephant in the room straight away. If Duzza is going to win this tournament, he is going to have to do it the hard way as his draw is not favourable. His likely route is a Second Round clash with veteran Steve Beaton, a Third Round match with two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis, then onto a Fourth Round battle with 2018 World Champion Rob Cross.

If he navigates those dodgy waters, he’ll probably meet another two-time World Champ Gary Anderson or World No. 4 Michael Smith in the Quarter-Final. Then three-time World Champ and the second-most successful player in darting history Michael van Gerwen would potentially await in the semi-final.

It’s a hell of an ordeal, but this is the PDC World Darts Championship, and to be the best you have to beat the best.

Durrant has shown he can do that. A three-time World Champion himself in the BDO, Duzza made the switch to toss tungsten in the PDC in January 2019. Since then he has established himself as a serious force in the big league, reaching the semi-final of the World Matchplay twice, the semi-final of the World Grand Prix, and the semi-final of the Grand Slam of Darts.

His greatest achievement though was topping the Premier League table and going on to win the trophy in the final. Durrant lost just three of his 18 matches against the top players in the world – and two of those losses came when he had already guaranteed top spot.

That was a notable triumph on the big TV stage because a best of 14 or 16 legs format doesn’t suit Durrant’s game at all. He isn’t going to have those explosive four or five leg runs where his average soars and he can’t miss a double like Van Gerwen or Peter Wright do. But he will be a constant thorn in the side of opponents. He is ultra-consistent, scores well and hits his out-shots. Over the set-format in the World Champs, his game is perfectly suited to grinding out wins.

Last year Durrant came into the World Champs and suffered a 4-1 defeat to Gerwyn Price. Price was No. 3 in the world at the time, and coming into the tournament fresh off the back of winning the Grand Slam of Darts. Duzza, on the other hand, was in his rookie year in the PDC and still finding his form on the big stage. Let’s not underestimate how comfortable he has become in the 12 months since.

He’s not as flashy as some of the other players on the circuit, he doesn’t showboat or get fired up on the oche, but Durrant goes about his business and has the game to be king of the world.

The other contenders: Michael van Gerwen

Michael van Gerwen’s form leaves plenty to be desired this year, finishing sixth in the Premier League, losing in the opening couple of rounds of The Masters, The European Championships, and the World Matchplay. Last month in the Grand Slam of Darts he uncharacteristically missed doubles to let Simon Whitlock off the hook as he crashed out in the Quarter-Final.

However, the Green Machine got back to winning ways in the Players Championship Final, is in a soft quarter of the draw, and is still one of the G.O.A.T's of the sport. I wouldn’t blame you if you backed him at the Ally Pally.

Dimitri Van den Bergh

Dimitri Van den Bergh is in that soft quarter with MVG and the two could be on a collision course to meet in the Quarter Finals. If you were pushing me for a bet, I prefer "The DreamMaker" here, and have backed him each-way.

The Belgian darting dancer was stuck in the UK during lockdown and ended up moving in with reigning World Champion Peter Wright – not a bad housemate and practice partner. Van den Bergh raved about how much he learned, and how much his game improved during that enforced stay with Snakebite, and Van den Bergh went on to win the World Matchplay in June – his first major title.

Last month he made the semi-final of the Grand Slam of Darts and the experience he has gained on-and-off the oche from Peter Wright makes him a fascinating bet.