A brief look towards the PDC World Championships

Posted: 13.05.15 in Darts Performance Centre Blog category

Who will be the 2016 Champion?

As it stands, Michael van Gerwen, Phil Taylor and Gary Anderson are the top three players in the world according to the PDC Order of Merit – and it would be difficult to argue against this. Anderson won last year’s World Championship, while van Gerwen is currently top of the Premier League and Taylor is, well... Taylor. We take a look at each player’s chances of winning this year, and discuss who we think will be crowned world champion at the Alexandra Palace in January 2016.

Michael van Gerwen

The Dutchman is currently ranked number one in the world, despite losing his grip on the world championship last year. However, van Gerwen currently sits top of the Premier League and appears concentrated on regaining that title after Raymond van Barneveld won last year’s competition. The 25-year-old is in the form of his life and it would be foolish to rule him out of seriously challenging for the World Championship in December. He is likely to remain the world number one until the main event at the end of the year and so, in theory, he should have an easier route to the final.

Phil Taylor

The evergreen Phil Taylor is still competing at the highest level, and remains one of the best darts players in the world. The 16-time world champion certainly isn’t the dominant force he once was, but he is still more than capable of winning yet another PDC world title at the end of the year. The 54-year-old should reach the semi-finals of the tournament with relative ease, but he will be focused on upsetting the likes of Van Gerwen and Anderson in the race for Premier League glory beforehand. Although Taylor said he would ‘slow down’ this year, there seems to be no sign of that as the veteran hunts more trophies and titles.

Gary Anderson

The ‘Flying Scotsman’ won his first PDC World Championship title in January after beating Taylor 7-6 in the final. Anderson has taken his form into the Premier League season and remains one of the most consistent players in the world of darts. Although he may not win the Premier League title, he should reach the playoffs and won’t be too concerned as long as he continues to play well. The 44-year-old should focus all of his efforts towards defending his world title and it would be brave to back against the reigning champion on current form.