PDC World Championship 2023 Tips: Who should you back in the Darts?

You know it is nearly time for Christmas celebrations when the PDC World Championship rolls into town! Get ready for jubilation, tears, plenty of 180s and a noisy crowd at the Alexandra Palace from Thursday, December 15. 

The inaugural edition of the premier darts competition was in 1994 and Phil Taylor largely dominated all the way until 2013, during which time he racked up an impressive 14 victories and three runner-up finishes. Since his regression and retirement, and the emergence of Michael Van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Peter Wright among others, this tournament has proved a little harder to predict.

Wright is the reigning champion - he beat Michael Smith in the final last year with a 7-5 scoreline - but he has been completely overlooked in this year’s competition due to a poor run of form, which can largely be attributed to personal issues. Perhaps ‘Snakebite’ bounces back in the biggest competition of all? That could well happen, but I wouldn’t want to put my hard-earned money on it.

The aforementioned Michael Van Gerwen heads the market despite being the third-seed. The Dutchman has won ten (yes, ten!) titles this year, which includes the Premier League and World Matchplay event. At 33 years of age, Van Gerwen is still a relative youngster, yet he has been established in the sport for well over a decade and will look to regain his World Number One ranking with victory here.

Van Gerwen, who will face either Niels Zonneveld or Lewy Williams in the first round, has been drawn in quarter four and looks to have an easy-ish route through to the quarter-finals. If he has to play the highest seed at every possible point, Van Gerwen will face Mensur Suljovic, Dirk Van Duijvenbode and Rob Cross - he’s had tougher routes before. At 3.75, I’m willing to bank on MVG going all the way.

Quarter one looks the toughest section with Gerwyn Price (second seed) heading the way. Raymond Van Barneveld, Ryan Searle, Jose De Sousa, James Wade, Danny Noppert and Daryl Gurney all feature on that side of the draw, so there is more than enough ammunition for an upset or two. I’m happy to stay clear. 

Fourth-seed Michael Smith tops quarter two, but it’s Luke Humphries who I fancy to progress to the quarter-finals. Don’t forget that ‘Cool Hand Luke’ made the last eight in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and has clearly progressed into one of the best players in the world this season - he has racked up five titles in 2022.

Humphries has reached the semi-finals of his last two major tournaments and is known for his scoring ability. He can prove relentless at his best, and should have no issue wiping the floor with some of his early opponents. His composure in the latter stages of the competition has dramatically improved and he’s much more likely to win than his price suggests.

Finally, I’m keen to part with a few quid on massive outsider Krzysztof Ratajski with the idea of trading out later in the competition. The 45-year-old Pole has been playing career-best darts in the last 12 months and has a knack of progressing deeper than you would expect in major competitions.

Ratajski made the quarter-final of this competition in 2021, and could upset a few big names by doing so again this year. He will face either Danny Jansen or Paulo Nebrida in his first game, while the likes of Dimitri Van Den Bergh and Peter Wright await in his section.

PDC World Championship 2023 Tips

Michael Van Gerwen @ 3.75
Luke Humphries @ 17
Krzysztof Ratajski @ 280