Who do Luke Littler, Michael Smith, Gary Anderson keep one eye out for at the World Darts Championship?
Who do the likes of Luke Littler, Michael Smith, Stephen Bunting, and Gary Anderson keep a sneaky eye on at the World Darts Championship?; watch every session of the World Darts Championship from December 15-January 3 live on Sky Sports
Thursday 12 December 2024 14:49, UK
When every player turns up for the World Darts Championship, they like to say they are only focused on themselves. But is this really the case?
Well, we put that theory to the test to see who some of the big-name players may keep an eye out for, want to do well, or fear facing when the Worlds rolls around each December...
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Gary Anderson: 'A lot of young faces storming through'
"I like seeing the underdogs or newcomers that have not been seen.
"I've seen a lot of that last year. We knew Luke Littler was a good player. He just had a fantastic run, and you can see what he's done for his career, putting through the rafters.
"It's nice to see that, and I think over the next few years you're going to see a lot of that happening. A lot of young faces coming through and just storming through. We've got so many good young players now.
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"Anyone can win this tournament now. Anyone can win."
Luke Littler: 'Anderson is always there'
"Obviously you look at the World Champs, Luke Humphries, but you've always got to keep an eye on Gary Anderson, he's always there.
"But that's it, just them two obviously, and I know Michael van Gerwen, he's always there as well.
"I'll be looking at them as well and I'll be looking at my little section of the draw."
Stephen Bunting: 'Littler is the name on everyone's lips'
"I think you'd say Luke Littler, to be honest. He's the name on everyone's lips.
"He's such a great player. He's a really nice guy as well. People don't see, obviously, what we see in the back rooms and stuff.
"He's very, very shy, but what a player, and yeah, I'd definitely like to see him. It'd be great to be able to play him in a final.
"A local lad to me as well, not too far away, he's a nice lad, and that would be a good final for me."
Michael Smith: 'There is something with Dobey'
"There's something with Chris Dobey this year, he's been playing amazing. I know he didn't qualify for the Grand Slam, but he should have. He'd won three Pro Tours.
"He was number one, he finished number one in the Pro Tour ranking.
"He'd be one I'd be keeping an eye on."
James Wade: 'I prefer watching the rankings'
"No, I never, that's one thing I've never really done to concentrate on what other players are doing, really.
"I've shown more interest in, not darts, but rankings this year than I've ever shown, because I just, it's kind of been enjoyable to watch myself catch up."
Gian van Veen: 'I want my friend to go on a run'
"I think I've got a lot of good friends, like Danny Noppert.
"I really want to see him do well in the World Championship. I think over the last couple of years, he's played phenomenally but in the World Championship, it didn't really click for him.
"So I hope for him that he can turn it around this year and have a deep run in the World Championship."
Mike De Decker: 'Doing it for Belgium'
"I have a couple of friends on tour that have been close for the last couple of years.
"But other than that, just Dimitri (Van den Bergh). Because it's for Belgium and me and Dimitri are close as well. So hopefully Dimitri and me are doing well in the tournament."
Noa-Lynn van Leuven: 'Sherrock can beat a few good players'
"Well, I hope Fallon (Sherrock) has a good run again, that she can get that feeling in again and beat a few good players.
"I think Gian van Veen will do really well.
"I think he's definitely one to watch. For sure."
Martin Lukeman: 'My mucka'
"Probably my mucka, Ritchie Edhouse, because we're good mates. Our wives are good mates. Or Humphries as well.
"I've known Humphries since we were playing Challenge Tours together. I'll just keep an eye on it. I don't watch a lot of darts though."
Ritchie Edhouse: 'I will keep an eye on my two mates'
"I'm good mates with Mike Lukeman, so I'll always keep an eye out on him and see how it goes, and Conor Scutt, just because we're mates, obviously, we play each other, we want to beat each other. Yeah.
"Yeah, it'd be, them two are probably the only two I'll sort of look at."
When will the World Darts Championship take place?
The tournament gets under way at Alexandra Palace on Sunday December 15, with three first-round matches and one second-round match on the opening evening.
There will be live darts over each of the following eight days, including seven afternoon sessions, with the usual three-day break from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day before returning with the third round and a double session on December 27.
The third and fourth rounds will be completed by December 30 before a night off on New Year's Eve, with the quarter-finals held across two sessions on New Year's Day ahead of the semi-finals on January 2 and the final on Friday January 3.
The full day-by-day schedule for this year's tournament can be found here.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live from December 15-January 3 on Sky Sports' dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
