THE 29TH STAGING of the William Hill PDC World Darts Championship starts on Wednesday and runs over the festive period.
After last year’s Covid-19 disruption, fans will once again be in attendance at Alexandra Palace to see if world number one Gerwyn Price can defend his crown.
To look ahead to one of the most highly-anticipated events in the calendar, Carl Fletcher has picked out his five major talking points and tips with the latest odds from William Hill…
Sherrock to smash the glass ceiling… again
Fallon Sherrock is currently setting the standard when it comes to the women’s game and is arguably the most marketable asset in world darts at the moment.
When Sherrock appeared in this event two years ago, she became the first female player to win a match in PDC World Championship history. With hindsight, this was probably a precursor for what was to come from the ‘Queen of the Palace’.
As a result of these escapades, she was invited to take part in the 2020 Nordic Darts Masters. That event was delayed until 2021 but boy, was it worth the wait. She reached the final and only came up short against Michael van Gerwen.
If that was impressive, the 27-year-old’s recent Grand Slam of Darts run was even better, reaching the quarter-final and pushing world number two Peter Wright all the way before losing out 16-13.
A winnable opening round sees her face off against ‘The Bronzed Adonis’ Steve Beaton – a match she is favourite to progress from – before a potential meeting with a resurgent Kim Huybrechts or even the defending champion Price if we look further ahead.
William Hill Odds: Fallon Sherrock to be eliminated in the second round @ 7/4
Welsh dominance?
There’s pretty much always been a good Welsh darter amongst the elite — Leighton Rees, Mark Webster and Richie Burnett immediately spring to mind but now they also have the current PDC world number one and world champion, Gerwyn Price.
After winning in the recent Grand Slam of Darts for the third time in four years, he’ll be fully confident of retaining his title here. The Welsh don’t have just one of the best in the current crop, they now have two and Price is drawn in the same quarter as his compatriot and 2020 World Cup-winning partner Jonny Clayton.
Clayton has arguably been the Player of 2021 ahead of the showpiece on the PDC calendar. He has won The Masters, Premier League, World Grand Prix and World Series of Darts finals this year.
Unfortunately, the pair are scheduled to meet in the quarter-final and the winner of this tie would be strong favourite heading into the last four.
While you can get 2/1 for a Welsh winner this year, better value would be for the winner to come from Quarter One, where these two are drawn along with the most likely player to scupper their ambitions, Michael ‘Bully Boy’ Smith.
William Hill Odds: Winner to come from Quarter One @ 6/4
The Irish contingent
This year, there are five Irishmen in the field and there is genuine belief that all can come through their opening encounters.
Three enter at the first round as Limerick’s William O’Connor faces American Danny Lauby Jnr, Meath teenager Keane Barry meets Royden Lam of Hong Kong and Carlow’s Steve Lennon takes on Latvian Madars Razma.
Brendan Dolan and Daryl Gurney, both from Northern Ireland, are seeded and don’t begin until the second round. Dolan is scheduled to play the winner of Callan Rydz versus Yuki Yamada, while Gurney faces the winner of Ricky Evans and Nitin Kumar.
Of these, ‘The History Maker’ Dolan has had the best year and looked much more at ease with his slightly quicker throw. A winner of the fifth Players Championship event of the year, he has also fared well on stage.
A respectable last-16 run in the UK Open, Dolan was a quarter-finalist in both European Tour events and a semi-finalist in the most recent event — the Players Championship finals.
He has been drawn in Quarter Three, which is headlined by Wright, and if ‘Snakebite’ falters he would have a live chance of coming through that quarter.
William Hill Odds: Brendan Dolan to win Quarter Three @ 14/1
New kid on the block
The youngest player this year is 16-year-old Fabian Schmutzler, who remarkably qualified through the European Development Tour despite only being eligible to play the final six events of the twelve due to his age.
That was no barrier for the German teenager, however, as he reached three finals in those six events, winning two to rise up the order of merit and gatecrash the party. He appears to be another fearless youngster who could flourish on the big stage, much like his compatriot Nico Kurzdid did a couple of years back.
Sixteen-year-old Fabian Schmutzler has secured his place at the 2021/22 William Hill World Darts Championship, as he finished second on the European Development Tour Order of Merit - securing his second title in as many days!
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 7, 2021
Full story 👉 https://t.co/uWAZK0KTRz pic.twitter.com/Jua1itPSmR
Schmutzler’s opening match is certainly winnable as he faces the more experienced Ryan Meikle, who himself looked excellent at the recent Players Championship finals — averaging 108 to beat Dirk van Duijvenbode.
However, that performance has been surrounded by six averages below 90 and the draw could have been a lot worse for Fabian.
William Hill odds: Fabian Schmutzler to beat Ryan Meikle in the first round @ 21/10
Two of the best
After winning his third Grand Slam of Darts title in November, Price suggested that when he plays his A game, Van Gerwen doesn’t have a chance.
Van Gerwen himself was quick to rebuff this remark, claiming that all the other players know that no one can match him when he’s at his best.
On recent history, it’s the Welshman who holds sway and for the first time in a decade MVG has failed to win a major ranking title within the calendar year.
Statistically, these two are averaging the highest throughout 2021 with Price at 99.23 and Van Gerwen at 99.34.
Whilst both Clayton and Peter Wright might have something to say about this there’s no doubt that neither Price nor Van Gerwen lack self-belief.
‘The Iceman’ has suggested he’d love to win this year by defeating Van Gerwen in the final. That’s certainly a possibility as they are in opposing halves of the draw and can only meet at that stage.
If their recent European Championship encounter is anything to go by it would be a mouth-watering prospect and quite a fitting way to bring the curtain down on the current campaign.
William Hill odds: Gerwyn Price v Michael van Gerwen final @ 8/1
William Hill odds above correct at the time of writing. New online customers get €30 in free bets when they bet €10 with William Hill. Just use the promo code H30. For all the latest prices, visit williamhill.com. 18+, always gamble responsibly. For more information, see gamblingtherapy.org
