Darts fans have been treated to a fabulous nine days at the Ally Pally with a host of talking points and storylines from the Paddy Power Wold Championship.
Record Sport’s Craig Swan has been there for the duration, bringing you all the drama in our daily live blog from London.
As the tournament takes a break for Christmas, our man picks out the key points from chapter one of this year’s story.
Littler has a lot to deal with
It’s easy to forget that Luke Littler is just 17 years old. His first game at the Ally Pally was a timely reminder. The Nuke has done incredible things, not just for himself, but for the game. Darts has exploded again on the back of his astonishing exploits with a whole new generation of fans involved. And, incidentally, it’s not just media hype. There are senior players on the circuit openly discussing how he’s changing the game for them, bringing added riches. He’s got plenty on his young shoulders and he’s not even old enough to have a drink or a bet.
Littler is having to deal with a lot and, for a brief moment, it just became overwhelming. You get the trappings of fame, but not without the strain. He’s handled himself brilliantly so far, but it’s not always going to be plain sailing and he deserves understanding and warmth whenever he has a blip or another moment in the future. Incidentally, it was wonderful to see the reception afforded to Luke Humphries on night one.
Littler’s effect meant that, in some respects, Cool Hand has never got as much attention and adulation as he should have done through the past 12 months as World Champ. It felt as though that wrong was being emphatically righted when he stepped back into the Ally Pally for the first time as champion and he fully deserved it. He’s a fabulous player and ambassador for his sport.
Van Gerwen can’t be discounted
Michael Van Gerwen was barely mentioned ahead of this tournament due to the massive interest in Littler and Luke Humphries. Tie into that the fact his form leading into the Championship wasn’t magical and that’s where the 12/1 pre-tournament odds came from.
But the Green Machine has three World titles under his belt and having him creep under the radar is dangerous for the big two.
Van Gerwen’s half of the draw has opened up massively with some shock exits elsewhere and he now has a wonderful chance of making the Final. He kicked-off his bid for a fourth crown with a convincing 3-0 win over James Hurrell and spoke with authority, plus a deal of confidence, afterwards.
There’s a feeling that Van Gerwen might just be about to nuke the Lukes. He’s a huge figure in darts. He filled the superstar void after Phil Taylor quit. He might just be about to reclaim his place at the top of the Ally Pally tree.
Rise of Asia
The PDC have done a superb job in spreading the game across the world and the evidence of that has been on show again with the performance of the Asian players. Standards just keep lifting and the days of the top guns turning up for a first game and having a virtual bye against anyone from any country are long gone. Just ask Wessel Nijman, who was put through the mill before overcoming the outstanding South African Cameron Carolissen. Bahamas boy Rashad Sweeting was also a breath of fresh air and played well. Anyone in this field can deliver and the boys from the Far East have been the shining example of that.
Philippines star Paulo Nebrida is into the third round and his compatriot Alexis Toylo performed with huge credit, taking out Richard Veenstra. Hong Kong’s Lok Yin Lee was brilliant in the way he took apart Chris Landman in his first game and there was a notable show in defeat to Mickey Mansell by Tomoya Goto. The only sadness was the hospitalisation of Sandro Eric Sosing, which took the shine off it all. Get well soon, Sandro.
Old guard falter to leave Premier League puzzle
Gary Anderson is out. James Wade is out. Michael Smith is out. Rob Cross is out. Dave Chisnall is out. Raymond van Barneveld is out. Not one of them, perhaps with the exception of Chizzy, could have any complaints as they simply didn’t show up in their matches. The competition is fierce with the young breed emerging and there’s a host of faces in the last 32 whom many casual fans won’t know about. The PDC faces a stiff job picking an eight for the 2025 Premier League.
Individuals such as Smith and Chisnall have done themselves no favours on that front and there are now some others hammering at the door for one of the four picks available for those outside of the Top Four in the rankings. Grand Prix champ Mike De Decker is another who had a shot and blew it with an early Ally Pally exit. The door is open for fresh guys to step into the picture. Ryan Searle would be one of those and there’s plenty more who could enter the equation over the next 11 days.
Ally Pally creaking but classy
The World Championship and the Ally Pally go hand-in-hand. It’s hard to imagine the Championship being anywhere else and it’s a big debate here. Has been for ages. The PDC did not get as big by standing still. They keep pushing the boundaries and making the sport bigger and bigger.
In that sense, it feels like a switch is going to be inevitable. It’s a simple case of supply and demand. They have thousands more people wanting to attend and they can’t get tickets. It was amazing to see touts outside buying and selling ahead of Littler’s Saturday’s blockbuster. It’ll be the same this weekend.
Bigger venues will have to come into the equation, but the notion of taking the Championship abroad feels a non-starter. It surely has to stay in London. The UK at the very least. But when Ally Pally’s time is up, it will be heartbreaking. It’s been at its brilliant best over the first nine days, absolutely electric. When Littler played last weekend, it was off the scale. It’s a place with so many memories for everyone who loves the sport, inside and out of it.