A night at the PDC World Championship: How the darts took over Christmas and New Year
It’s 8pm on the opening night of the World Darts Championship and Michael van is sinking a pint to raucous roars at Alexandra Palace. It’s not Michael van Gerwen, admittedly, although from a distance there is the same pink bald head, the same iconic lime green shirt, and if you discount the slightly smaller, rather rounder frame it makes for a convincing double. Van Gerwen, the three-time world champion and last year’s beaten finalist, does not play here until Tuesday but as the man wearing his costume finishes his beer and the room erupts to chants of “Oooooh, Michael van Gerwen!”, the party at Ally Pally is underway. It is utter carnage already.
