Christmas is awesome. Cold weather, seemingly unlimited quantities of beer, food as far as the eye can see (something something family family). Andy Williams (not The Butcher) famously described it as ‘the most wonderful time of the year’, and who am I to disagree with the Iowa crooner? Our boy Andy knew what he was talking about, and he was clearly warbling about maximums, ton-plus checkouts, niners and the Sky commentary team debating whether Adrian Lewis is back to his best. That’s right, it’s PDC World Championships time.

Over the next however long (I’m in Bosnia & Herzegovina at the moment) I’ll be going through the whole draw, quarter by quarter, previewing the greatest darts, nay, sporting tournament on the planet. This year’s championship has the strongest field in history, and there are a vast array of dartists looking to wrestle the crown from the shiny bonce of ‘Mighty Mike’ himself. Without further ado, onto quarter number one. (For ease of understanding, seeding is denoted in parentheses).

Michael van Gerwen (1) is the favourite to win the whole tournament. Michael van Gerwen is the favourite to win any tournament he is entered in. It hasn’t quite got to Phil Taylor levels of predictability yet, but it generally takes something special to beat MVG in the World Championships. In fact, it is quite astounding that the Gherk is only a three-time champion, but one only needs to look at the list of men who have defeated him since his first victory to get the idea; Gary Anderson, Raymond van Barneveld, Rob Cross. All world champions, all top players (at one point), all capable of special darts. MVG’s off days are better than the best days of almost everyone in the sport.

Last year, MVG was faced with what looked to be a bit of a stinker of a draw. His route to the final theoretically took him through past world champs in the shape of Barney and Lewis, along with a last 32 showdown with (what was then) an improving Max Hopp, a potential quarter-final with James Wade and a last four meeting with Anderson. It looked fraught with danger, but the only time the Dutchman looked flustered was when an idiot threw a drink over him at the beginning of the tournament. MVG lost only five sets in getting to the final. A dominating victory, it certainly was.

What is in front of MVG in 2020? Well, a much easier draw, to say the least. Every step of the way looked tricky last year, but van Gerwen’s quarter is seemingly less dangerous this year. That isn’t to say he won’t come up against good players — he clearly will — but it feels as though it will take something incredible to defeat him, and that can only happen in the shorter format of the first few rounds. A second-round match against Jelle Klassen looks tricky on paper, but Klassen has underperformed for years now. Elsewhere in his section, Ricky Evans (32) has pushed on a bit this year but is still capable of imploding, while former BDO number one Mark McGeeney has stagnated somewhat since a strong start to the year. Jonny Clayton (16) and Stephen Bunting (17) are capable of special darts, but the two are likely to face in round three in what could be a dark horse for the match of the early stages, and will thus take a lot out of either man. I’m punting for a Bunting/MVG last 16 encounter, with the reigning champ breezing through.

The second half of the quarter looks far more interesting. James Wade (8) has had another good year, but his form in the last few months has tapered off somewhat. ‘The Machine’ won more Players Championships events than any other player in 2019, but those successes have been overshadowed by early exits in the European Championships, Players Championships Finals and the Grand Slam of Darts. Wade is often considered the best player to never win the Worlds, and it’ll take something special for him to right that wrong in 2020.

Ian White (9) is a curious case, although the floor/stage discussion is getting quite tired. One of the cheeriest characters on the tour, White is capable of beating the best on his day, and it wouldn’t be a massive shock to see him emerge from this half of the quarter. White should have no issues dispatching Darius Labanauskas or Matthew Edgar in round two, but a bigger roadblock might be waiting in round three.

Every tournament has its dark horses, and I’m going to put my pound on an unseeded player making it to the quarter-finals to lose to MVG. Gabriel Clemens is scheduled to face German number one Max Hopp (24) in round two, that is if Clemens can overcome Benito van de Pas in round one. The all-German affair could be tasty to say the least, and recent form suggests the ‘German Giant’ would be the favourite. It’ll be quite the match (if it happens), but my pound is going on the man from Saarlouis, giving us at least one unseeded quarterfinalist. There is always at least one unseeded quarterfinalist.

Hopp might have something to say about that, as might the underachieving Kyle Anderson and icon Steve Beaton (24), although you won’t see any notes about ‘rolling back the years’ here. We all have something to say, but it will take a brave man to bet against MVG coming through this quarter with little worries. I’m going to go with an MVG/Clemens quarter-final, with the reigning champion coming through 5-1.

John Bills writes books about Eastern Europe, tomes covering history, travel, booze and the rest. These magical pieces of literary competency can be purchased at this link, so get yourself over there and do the right thing. Pay attention to the discounts.