2024 PDC World Darts Championship guide: Who to watch, how to watch, why we love Snakebite and more
The biggest tournament in darts is currently underway, with 96 of the world’s best players set to battle for the title of World Champion and the £500,000 first prize. The event, taking place at the Alexandra Place, or “Ally Pally,” in London, is certain to produce some of the best moments and scenes in the world of darts for the upcoming year.
Here are some key things to note as the field begins to slowly whittle down from 96 players to 1 champion.
Tournament Format
For those unfamiliar with professional darts, the game these competitors will be playing is 501 (I wrote an intro guide a couple years ago that includes a deeper explanation of all the different variations). While the strategy and math associated with 501 can be nuanced at times, the main idea is fairly simple — players begin at 501 and continue scoring until they reach zero. This includes one major caveat: the players must finish the game hitting a double — which requires hitting one of the sections on the outer ring of the board — or the red center of the bullseye.
In the World Championship, matches consist of legs and sets. To win a leg means to win a game of 501. To win a set, players must win three legs. During the early stages of the tournament, matches are a best-of-five, or race to win three sets. As the tournament progresses, the number of sets players need to win the match gradually increases, with the World Championship final match being a best-of-thirteen sets.
Notable Players
In this the 31st iteration of the PDC Darts World Championship, seven former champions are in the field seeking to add another title to their resumes.
Michael “Bully Boy” Smith
The one-time winner, current world No. 1, and reigning world champion gave us an all-time great darts highlight last year when he landed a perfect nine-dart finish after his opponent had narrowly missed an opportunity of their own. Since winning the 2023 world title, the Bully Boy has added a televised title in January, a ranked title in June, and reached a major semifinal back in October.
Peter “Snakebite” Wright
The two-time world champion (2022 and 2020) and current world No. 4 is one of the most popular characters on the PDC tour with his outlandish outfits and eccentric hair. In 2023, Wright snagged a couple of televised titles at the Nordic Darts Masters and European Championship tournaments. Despite these wins, Wright himself has stated he’s had a “rubbish year,” though he attributes much of his poor play this season to lack of focus due to taking a fair bit of time off. Wright has also been quoted as saying he is happy there is no pressure on him this year — making him a potentially dangerous opponent.
Gerwyn “Iceman” Price
The 2021 World Champion, former world No. 1, and current world No. 5 is often viewed as one of darts’ greatest villains due to his loud roars or fist pumps when celebrating a big shot. The Iceman, who currently has seven televised perfect nine-dart finishes, picked up a televised title at the World Cup of Darts this season, as well as adding six PDC ProTour titles. Often at odds with and facing boos from the Ally Pally crowd, Price wore noise-cancelling headphones in this tournament last year. Price is always someone worth watching, and if he can overcome a potentially difficult crowd, he is certainly capable of making a deep run.
“Mighty” Michael van Gerwen
Three-time world champion (2014, 2017, 2019), current world No. 2, and winner of seemingly every tournament in professional darts, Michael van Gerwen is arguably the scariest player in the tournament. Mighty Mike, or MVG as he is often referred to, has been a force in professional darts dating back as far as 2006. And he is only 34 years old. Van Gerwen is the proud owner of 65 televised PDC titles, 88 non-televised PDC titles, and 10 televised perfect nine-dart finishes. He also took down a major at the World Series of Darts back in September.
Rob “Voltage” Cross
The 2018 world champion and current world No .8, Cross kind of flies under the radar a bit, likely due to his generally calm demeanor and smaller winning resume than most of the other names on this list. Despite that, Cross has shown he is capable of winning on the big stage. In his 2018 world title run, Cross was a big underdog in the final, as he faced Phil “The Power” Taylor, the most decorated player in the history of darts. Seemingly unfazed, Cross cruised to a 7-2 victory, averaging 107.67, the third highest total in the history of the world championship finals, along the way. Anybody who can produce numbers like that absolutely has a chance to win this tournament.
Gary “The Flying Scotsmen” Anderson
The two-time world champion (2015 and 2016) and current world No 21 is a darts legend and generally one of the fan favorites due to his sense of humor and quick playing style. Anderson, or Ando, does own 19 televised PDC titles and has won many of darts’ biggest titles at points throughout his career. But at 54 years of age and on the tail end of his career, Anderson has not won a televised title since 2019. Despite the lack of big wins over the past few years, Anderson still always seems to be in the mix. Just last month at the Grand Slam of Darts, one of the biggest majors on the professional tour, Anderson reached the quarterfinals, losing 14-16 in a cracker of a match against eventual champion “Cool Hand” Luke Humphries.
Raymond “Barney” van Barneveld
The 2007 champion, current world No. 29, and one of the last remaining OGs of professional darts, van Barneveld is taking another shot at claiming this year’s world title. Aside from a trio of World Cup of Darts titles in 2018, 2017, and 2014, Barney has not won a televised darts title since 2010. I think it may be fair to say the 56-year-old Barney’s best darts are behind him at this point, though I hope he proves that statement to be wrong.
Tournament Information
On December 20 and 21 the tournament will conclude the first round and shift into the second round, with the skill gap getting tighter and tighter as each round progresses.
The second round will conclude at the end of the day on December 23, at which point the tournament will pause for a brief holiday break, resuming with third round action on December 27. Matches will then take place during morning and afternoon sessions each day following, with a champion ultimately being crowned on Wednesday, January 3.
The 2024 PDC World Darts Championship will be televised on Sky Sports, with afternoon and evening sessions being televised on Sky Sports Arena, and several sessions also being televised on Sky Sports Main Event. Live tournament coverage may also be available on YouTube or Twitch, though no guarantees.
