As much a festive staple as turkey and crackers, the 2014 PDC World Championship starts on December 13 and Sky Sports will have all the darting drama covered from Alexandra Palace over the festive period.
The £1 million tournament sees 72 players competing for a record £250,000 first prize and the coveted Sid Waddell Trophy, named in honour of the legendary Sky Sports commentator who passed away in 2012.
All the big names and faces from PDC darts will line up on the oche with the aim of becoming the first sporting world champion of 2014.
Featuring 72 players from across the globe, the Ladbrokes World Championship is the biggest televised darts tournament in the world and this year’s event looks set to be one of the hardest fought in its 20-year history.
Dutch superstar Michael van Gerwen will be out for revenge in 2014 having narrowly losing out to 14-time winner Phil Taylor in last year’s epic final.
After several years of under-achievement since moving to the PDC circuit, van Gerwen enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2012, winning the World Grand Prix and finishing runner-up in the Grand Slam before his world title tilt at Alexandra Palace.
‘Mighty Mike’ has continued that fine vein of form this season, adding the Premier League crown to his trophy cabinet with a narrow win over the Power, as well as making the semi-finals of the World Matchplay and European Championship.
He also beat him in the recent Player Championship final in Minehead, the last televised tournament before the World Championship, where he produced a dazzling display of arrows to ruthlessly dismiss Taylor in sensational fashion.
Van Gerwen did finish runner-up in the Championship League, where Taylor struck back, and ‘The Power’ has shown this term his appetite for success remains unquenched.
The legendary figure of the sport, now 53, has also added the 2013 UK Open, World Matchplay and World Grand Prix titles to his astonishing record.
Two-time champion Adrian Lewis and 2007 PDC champion Raymond van Barneveld will hope to upset last year’s finalists and prove they can still outfox the Power in the games’ biggest tournament.
Meanwhile, regular PDC major winners and finalists James Wade, Simon Whitlock, Gary Anderson and Andy Hamilton will also aim to make their mark at this prestigious event, now in its 21st year.
Whoever emerges on top, the competition will no doubt provide plenty of festive fun and drama.
Sky Sports will be the only place to see all the drama unfold as it happens over the festive period with exclusive coverage of all 16 days from Ally Pally.
The action begins starting on Friday, December 13, and concluding with the showpiece final on New Year’s Day 2014.
Dave Clark hosts Sky Sports’ exclusive live coverage from north London across the Christmas period, with expert analysis and commentary being provided by some of the most recognised names in darts, including Eric Bristow, Rod Harrington and Wayne Mardle.
Leading the commentary teams will be Sky Sports regulars Rod Studd, Stuart Pyke and Nigel Pearson.
Three-time world champion John Part will join the Sky Sports team for the first time at the Ally Pally this year, in what will be the popular Canadian’s first commentary stint at a World Championship since commentating on the BDO version for the BBC between 1995 and 2007.
Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft, who also covered the Lakeside tournament for the BBC, will also present and provide commentary on selected sessions.
As in the past three years, both the semi-finals and the final will be screened in stunning 3D on the Sky 3D channel.
Sky Sports’ darts website has all the latest news, features, video and information about the 2014 World Championships, and Twitter users can get behind-the-scenes pictures, news, live commentary and statistics by following the official Sky Sports Darts account – @SkySportsDarts.
Sky Sports subscribers can also watch online streaming of every session via Sky Go, available on PCs, laptops, mobiles and tablet devices.
A special half-hour preview show setting the scene for this year’s darting extravaganza will been broadcast on Thursday, December 12, with its first showing at 7.00pm on Sky Sports 3.
In addition, darts fans can catch episodes of World Darts Championship Years, a nostalgic trip down memory lane through 20 years of PDC world finals, presented by Dave Clark, throughout the Sky Sports schedules in the build-up to the tournament or via On Demand.
Dennis Lindskjold 1-4 Colin Osborne (Prelim)
Raymond van Barneveld 3-0 Jamie Lewis
Brendan Dolan 3-0 Colin Osborne
Jamie Caven 3-1 Jelle Klaasen LIVE: 7.00pm-11.30pm Sky Sports 1 Monday 16th December DAY 4 – First Round (Best of 5 sets) Evening Session Ronnie Baxter 0-3 Ricky Evans
Devon Petersen 4-1 Mohammed Latif Sapup (Prelim)
Kim Huybrechts 3-1 Ronny Huybrechts
Steve Beaton 1-3 Devon Petersen
Mervyn King 3-0 Darin Young LIVE: 7.00pm-12.00am Sky Sports 1
Tuesday 17th December DAY 5 – First Round (Best of 5 sets) Evening Session Colin Lloyd 2-3 Beau Anderson Zoran Lerchbacher 4-1 Ben Ward (Prelim)
Vincent van der Voort 3-1 Matt Clark
Michael van Gerwen 3-0 Zoran Lerchbacher
Simon Whitlock 3-0 Ross Smith LIVE: 7.00pm-12.00am Sky Sports 2 Wednesday 18th December DAY 6 – First Round (Best of 5 sets) Evening Session Andy Smith 3-1 Steve Brown Morihiro Hashimoto 4-2 Paul Lim (Prelim)
Justin Pipe 3-0 Arron Monk
Michael Smith 3-1 Morihiro Hashimoto
Adrian Lewis 3-0 Dennis Smith LIVE: 7.00pm-12.00am Sky Sports 2 Thursday 19th December DAY 7 – First Round (Best of 5 sets) Evening Session Mark Webster 3-2 Mensur Suljovic Gino Vos 1-4 Royden Lam (Prelim)
James Wade 3-2 Darren Webster
Wes Newton 3-1 Royden Lam
Kevin Painter 3-0 Tomas Seyler LIVE: 7.00pm-12.00am Sky Sports 1 Friday 20th December DAY 8 – Second Round (Best of 7 sets) Evening Session Peter Wright 4-2 Per Laursen
Raymond van Barneveld 4-3 Jamie Caven
Phil Taylor 3-4 Michael Smith LIVE: 7.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 1 Saturday 21st December DAY 9 – Second Round (Best of 7 sets) Evening Session Andy Hamilton 1-4 Richie Burnett Robert Thornton 4-0 Beau Anderson Kim Huybrechts 3-4 Ian White LIVE: 7.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 2 Sunday 22nd December DAY 10 – Second Round (Best of 7 sets) Afternoon Session Brendan Dolan 1-4 Gary Anderson
Kevin Painter 4-0 Paul Nicholson
Simon Whitlock 4-0 Jarkko Komula LIVE: 12.30pm-4.30pm Sky Sports 2 Evening Session
Wes Newton 4-0 John Part
John Henderson 3-4 Mark Webster
Michael van Gerwen 4-1 Kevin McDine LIVE: 7.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 1 Monday 23rd December DAY 11 – Second Round (Best of 7 sets) Evening Session James Wade 4-3 Andy Smith Mervyn King 4-2 Ricky Evans
Adrian Lewis 4-1 Vincent der Voort LIVE: 7.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 2 Friday 27th December DAY 12 – Second Round (Best of 7 sets) / *Third Round (Best of 7 sets) Afternoon Session Justin Pipe 1-4 Devon Petersen Wes Newton 4-1 Robert Thornton* Richie Burnett 3-4 Ian White* LIVE: 12.30pm-5.00pm Sky Sports 1 Evening Session Simon Whitlock 4-0 Kevin Painter* Michael Smith 3-4 Peter Wright* Mark Webster 4-3 Raymond van Barneveld* LIVE: 7.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 1 Saturday 28th December DAY 13 – *Third Round (Best of 7 sets) / Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 sets) Afternoon Session Adrian Lewis 4-1 Mervyn King* James Wade 4-0 Devon Petersen* Michael van Gerwen 4-3 Gary Anderson* LIVE: 12.30pm-4.30pm Sky Sports 3 Evening Session Peter Wright 5-4 Wes Newton
Ian White 4-5 Simon Whitlock
LIVE: 7.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 3 Sunday 29th December DAY 14 – Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 sets) Michael van Gerwen 5-3 Mark Webster James Wade 1-5 Adrian Lewis LIVE: 7.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 1 Monday 30th December
Semi-Finals (Best of 11 sets) Peter Wright v Simon Whitlock Michael van Gerwen v Adrian Lewis LIVE: 7.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 1 / Sky 3D Wednesday 1st January
PDC World Darts Championship Final 2014 (Best of 13 sets) LIVE: 8.00pm-11.00pm Sky Sports 1 / Sky 3D . .
