In the three days after the turn of the year, the quarter and semi-finals as well as the final for the title will take place at the Darts World Cup. Beforehand, the stars pull out all the stops verbally.
The last day of 2024 is the last opportunity for the eight remaining darts professionals at the World Cup in London to take another breath. The tournament continues with the quarter-finals on New Year’s Day, the semi-finals a day later, and the new champion will be crowned on January 3rd. Four contenders have already won a world title, for four others it would be a first. Before the fight at the window begins, things get heated verbally.
Price is already thinking about the semi-finals
The sessions in the round of eight begin with Chris Dobey and Gerwyn Price, two players that hardly anyone expected at the end of the World Cup. But both have had to deal with situations that give them the tools to go into the final phase of the tournament with a lot of self-confidence.
Dobey won his round of 16 against Kevin Doets 4-3 despite failing to end a leg with a throw for a double 45 times during the match. And Price survived a dramatic match against Joe Cullen in the third round, when he first squandered a 3-0 lead, but then held his nerve in the final set when the players only broke each other.
Price has already won the world title in 2021, but has not been in this form recently. Nevertheless, he is already extremely confident looking ahead to the semi-finals, where he could face his favorite opponent in Michael van Gerwen. “I’ve played against Michael six or seven times in the last few months and I’ve destroyed him every time, so hopefully when I play him in the semi-final he’ll remember that.”said Price.
Darts player Gerwyn Price cheers
Van Gerwen with a tip against Peter Wright
Provocations are the order of the day at the World Cup, and the more the tournament progresses, the more there are of them. Van Gerwen himself is considered a specialist in this field – and he proves that before his quarter-final against the previous World Cup surprise Callan Rydz. Old master Peter Wright recently praised the 26-year-old: “I want to play like Callan Rydz. He just goes up there, has fun and plays fantastic darts. He should be the favorite for this tournament. He plays great darts, may it continue.”
Nice for Rydz, but apparently absurd for van Gerwen. He then practically portrayed Wright as the fool of darts: “It’s just Peter Wright. He just talks nonsense every year at the World Cup. He’s allowed to talk nonsense all the time. Nobody on the tour takes him seriously anymore.”
Van Gerwen back in form before the duel with Rydz
Van Gerwen himself is definitely something to be taken seriously in terms of sport. In the round of 16 against Jeffrey de Graaf, van Gerwen showed that he is back with a three-dart average of 102 and a 46 percent double rate. “A lot is possible if I keep playing like this, but there is still a lot to do. Don’t underestimate Callan, but I feel comfortable and think that anything is possible from now on.”said the Dutchman.
Darts player Callan Rydz in the game against Dimitri van den Bergh
However, this also applies to Rydz, who played the best averages so far in this tournament with 107 and 105 and who also gave Martin Schindler (0:3) no chance in the second round. “It’s unbelievable, I still can’t quite believe I’m in the quarter-finals”said the world number 43, who now wants to do better than two years ago when he was eliminated by Wright at this point in the tournament. “I definitely have more experience now, even though I haven’t actually done much in the last few years.”
Wright gets inspired, Bunting dreams
Wright became world champion in 2022 after winning against Rydz, having already won the title in 2020. “I am a two-time world champion and would like to be a third time”said the 54-year-old, after the last edition at Ally Pally had already looked as if it could have been his farewell performance. But Wright came back – spurred on by his young colleagues, as he explained after his win against last year’s champion Luke Humphries.
“I know I can beat the likes of Humphries and Luke Littler. But I also said that these two guys inspire me to keep playing darts. I’m not ready to go to the seniors yet because I can still play this game”said Wright, who had previously verbally attacked Humphries – but now seems to be more on the cuddling path.
His next opponent Stephen Bunting is staying out of it anyway. The secret favorite in the field is also one of the world champions. In 2014, the now 39-year-old achieved this with the rival association BDO, after which he switched to the PDC, which is organizing the World Cup in London. Bunting is an ardent supporter of Liverpool FC and already has a title fantasy: “I would love nothing more than to stand at Anfield with this trophy.”
Littler king of the 180s but under pressure
But the top favorite for this trophy is last in line on New Year’s Day – like every time he plays. Luke Littler was the big riser last year when he made it to the final, and the 17-year-old is now the superstar of the sport. The fans are expecting him to make a big splash after winning a string of titles this season.
Darts player Luke Littler
But in the round of 16 against Ryan Joyce (4:3) Littler wobbled. He said afterwards that he had “no doubt” had, but he seems quite stubborn and tense. He has lost some of his lightness, but his exceptional class was enough to stay in the tournament. Littler throws by far the most 180s, but he also has the problem that he is now the hunted one – he is the one everyone is desperate to overthrow.
Aspinall “can play freely”
Nathan Aspinall, Ricardo Piertreczko’s conqueror, will try to do just that in the quarterfinals. “He was very good against Ricardo, let’s see”said Littler. Aspinall starts the game much more relaxed than his opponent because his goal has already been achieved. “I wanted to reach the quarter-finals. Now that that’s done, I can play freely. Luke is of course the favorite, but maybe I can cause a surprise.”said the 33-year-old.
Above all, he wants to prove it to those who also rail against him – on the Internet. Aspinall: “According to social media, I’m not playing very well and I’ve been lucky with my opponents. But I’m still in the quarter-finals. And I can do a lot better.” It’s the time of mind games – it’s good that the screens are back on New Year’s Day.