PDC World Champs – just three weeks away!

I kid you not, the 2019 PDC World Championship starts in just three weeks time and I can’t wait! It runs from December the 13th right through to the new champion being crowned on January the 1st 2020 (with a few days off in between). The bookies have MVG (Mighty Michael van Gerwen) the favourite at $2.30 to retain his title and to take the fourth World Champs title of his career. No surprises there. Can he do back-to-back titles like Gary Anderson, Adrian Lewis and Phil (the Power) Taylor have done before him? You’d need good odds to bet against him!

Following his remarkable run earlier this month where Gerwyn Price beat Gary Anderson, MVG and Peter Wright (in that order) to win the 2019 Grand Slam of Darts. It should come as little surprise that he has jumped to the second favourite spot at the bookies for the World Camp title. Really? From pro-rugby player to World Darts Champ? Why not? I mean those three players he beat are currently ranked 5th, 1st and 7th in the world, so never say never I say!

Here’s a PUI (Piece of Useless Information) for you that I found interesting. The 14th favourite at the local bookies to win these World Champs is……..….Phil Taylor. Yes, Phil (the Power) Taylor. The 16-time Champion of the World who is currently retired and hasn’t played on the PDC circuit since losing the 2018 world champs. The reason? Well he’s 16 times world champ and I would struggle to think of any sportsperson in any sport that has won 16 world championships. The second reason, he was quoted a couple of months back as saying “I’m going to practice with these (darts) and if I get good, I’m going to come back, trust me.” This in response to him practising with his new “Generation 6” target darts. Hmmm, we’ll see.

A special mention must go out to Damon Heta, the roofer from Perth, Australia who makes his world champs debut. Many will remember him from earlier this year as he beat James Wade, Gary Anderson, Simon Whitlock and Rob Cross to take the 2019 Brisbane Darts Masters in early August. And our local NZ player Ben Robb, the 31 year old from Rangiora who also makes his debut. We wish the “Big Rig” all the very best as he takes on the world’s best.

Straight arrows everyone.

Paul Webber

Owner – Bullseye Darts