What a PDC World Championship we had this year at Alexandra Palace, as the New Year was ushered in with a new world champion and also a world no 1 as Michael van Gerwen got his hands on the Sid Waddell trophy.
Hottest ticket in town
The darts over Christmas is now a big tradition amongst fans, and almost every session was sold out at Alexandra Palace as more than 50,000 fans attended the event from the first round to the final. As always, fancy dress was the order of the day and there were plenty of weird and wonderful costumes to enjoy, along with plenty of songs and banter. Throw in the dancers on stage and the wonderful walk-on girls and you've got everything needed for a fantastic night out, which is why tickets sell out in minutes every year.
Brotherly battle
It was a difficult game for both Ronny and Kim Huybrechts
as two brothers met in the World Championship for the first time, and younger brother Kim took no joy in coming out on top in their emotional match-up. Older brother Ronny had looked far more assured early on but he could not hit his doubles as Kim scrapped to a 3-1 win despite being largely outplayed in what was a clearly difficult game for both Belgians.
Dutch destroyer
His performance in the final was patchy, but van Gerwen showed all of his ability and plenty of bottle during two key games in his triumphant run. Firstly, he had to show his character to come from 3-1 down to
beat former finalist Gary Anderson 4-3 just to reach the quarter-finals, needing a 102 average to see off the Scot. MVG then showed his enormous talent in the last four, making a mockery of what should have been a huge showdown with
Adrian Lewis to dispatch 'Jackpot' 6-0 and go marching into the final with a 103 average and an eye-watering 58 percent checkout stat on the doubles.
Pieman smiling
Andy 'Pieman' Smith is one of the most popular players on the circuit, but he has not had the best of luck in recent times as he had failed to win a match on TV for three years heading into his first round match against Steve Brown. He'd also had a dreadful run at the World Championships, suffering five first round defeats in the last six years, but
he finally found that winning formula with a 3-1 success against Brown. Smith was beaten in the second round but the relief of finally winning on TV was evident as he spoke to Sky Sports afterwards.
