PDC World Darts Championship 2015: Dates, Draw, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview
The PDC World Darts Championship is always a fascinating spectacle upon which to end one sporting year and move briskly into the next.
All eyes will be on the Alexandra Palace oche when this year’s tournament gets underway, and with interest in the sport growing all the time, expect a compelling few weeks as the world’s finest marksmen look to start 2015 in style.
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The thrills and spills typically begin in this competition from the word “go” however, and after the first-round draw churned out some intriguing ties, expect drama aplenty from Round 1 all the way up until the final on Jan. 4, 2015.
Here’s the first-round draw in full, all the information you need on where to catch the action live, and a closer examination at some of the players who look set to take the Alexandra Palace by storm this year:
| Michael van Gerwen (1) | vs. | Joe Cullen |
| Stuart Kellett (32) | vs. | Kim Viljanen or Sascha Stein |
| Terry Jenkins (16) | vs. | John Webber |
| Justin Pipe (17) | vs. | Lawrence Ryder |
| Dave Chisnall (8) | vs. | Ryan de Vreede |
| Paul Nicholson (25) | vs. | Benito van de Pas |
| Robert Thornton (9) | vs. | Andrew Gilding |
| Ronnie Baxter (24) | vs. | Scott Mackenzie or Daryl Gurney |
| Peter Wright (5) | vs. | Gerwyn Price |
| Andy Smith (28) | vs. | Ronny Huybrechts |
| Andy Hamilton (12) | vs. | Dave Richardson |
| Steve Beaton (21) | vs. | Kyle Anderson |
| Gary Anderson (4) | vs. | Mark McGrath or Scott Kirchner |
| Jelle Klaasen (29) | vs. | Christian Kist |
| Wes Newton (13) | vs. | Christian Perez or Cristo Perez |
| Kevin Painter (20) | vs. | Boris Kolstov or Haruki Muramatsu |
| Phil Taylor (2) | vs. | Jyhan Artut |
| Mark Webster (31) | vs. | Ron Meulenkamp |
| Ian White (15) | vs. | Jani Haavisto or John Michael |
| Kim Huybrechts (18) | vs. | Mickey Mansell |
| Simon Whitlock (7) | vs. | Darren Webster |
| Dean Winstanley (26) | vs. | Wayne Jones |
| Mervyn King (10) | vs. | Max Hopp |
| Vincent van der Voort (23) | vs. | John Henderson |
| James Wade (6) | vs. | Jamie Lewis |
| Stephen Bunting (27) | vs. | Jermaine Wattimena or Robert Marijanovic |
| Brendan Dolan (11) | vs. | Nolan Arendse or Alex Hon |
| Michael Smith (22) | vs. | Mensur Suljovic |
| Adrian Lewis (3) | vs. | Dave Pallett |
| John Part (30) | vs. | Keegan Brown |
| Raymond van Barneveld (14) | vs. | Rowby-John Rodriguez |
| Jamie Caven (19) | vs. | Jason Hogg |
| Dates | December 18 2014 - January 4 2015 |
| TV Info | Live on Sky Sports Darts HD |
| Live Stream | Sky Go App, LivePDC.tv |
Phil “The Power” Taylor Looking for 17th World Title
The man from the Stoke-on-Trent will be looking to win an unprecedented 17th world crown when he gets his tournament underway. The Power remains the biggest draw in the sport, and after a prosperous year he’s looking primed to recapture the title he let slip last in 2014.
Indeed, Taylor didn’t feature in the shake-up last year, as he lost to Michael Smith in Round 2. But he seems focused coming into this tournament and has insisted that getting the requisite recuperation time leading up to the tournament will be vital to his chances of success, per Craig Swan of the Scottish Daily Record:
"I’m confident this year because I feel as though I’ve had to prepare correctly.
I’ve had time to rest, time to get my sleep and do things properly as opposed to running around the country. In the past few years, I have been here, there everywhere but this year the mobile has been off, the house phone has been off and I’m doing things right for the first time in ages.
"
In the build-up to the tournament, the PDC Twitter account paid tribute to Taylor by looking back at one of his many world-title wins:
The 54-year-old has all the qualities to take another crown here. Not only is he playing well, but he knows what it takes to bounce back from heartache in these championships and you can bet the failure of last year will act as a major incentive as he looks to surge toward another final. But the man most likely to be standing in his way is likely to be just as motivated.
That’ll be Mighty Michael van Gerwen, the defending champion and world No. 1. Taylor may boast a career record of 26-11 over the Dutchman and indeed, a 7-2 win record over his great rival in 2014, but Van Gerwen will be confident heading into this one, especially after he beat the 16-time champ 7-0 in the Premier League earlier in the season.
Ahead of the tournament, the reigning world champion has insisted Taylor remains his fiercest rival and that he’s hoping his maiden triumph last year will pave the way to further glories, per Donald McRae of The Guardian:
"Definitely. He’s always my main rival.
But we both have a long way to go before this next final. They say the most difficult one to win is the first world title and I really hope it is because I’d like to become a three-time world champion in the next four or five years.
"
Sky Sports Darts took an in-depth look at Van Gerwen's recent rise, a preview of which can be seen here:
There are other players who will fancy their chances of success here, too. Adrian Lewis is the current world No. 3 and, having triumphed in this competition in 2011 and 2012, there’s no denying he has the quality to launch another bid for the crown.
Raymond van Barneveld is another who always seems to raise his game for the big tournaments. The popular Dutchman won the 2014 Premier League title and is a five-time world champion in the sport, so don’t expect him to become a shrinking violet before the bright lights of the Alexandra Palace, even if his recent form has been far from his best.
But everyone is hoping the tournament climaxes with a Taylor-Van Gerwen final and, given the form of both players throughout the course of the year, it'd be a major surprise if it ended up otherwise. Given his record over Van Gerwen this year and his incomparable levels of experience when it comes to playing on the biggest stage, Taylor should just about have enough to edge it this time.
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