For so long darts has been considered a sport largely played in bar or pub and mainly popular in the UK. However, over the last couple of decades, the game has grown enormously, to the point that the PDC World Darts Championship is a huge global event.
The sports' most prestigious tournament takes place at the Alexandra Palace in London, England, with players competing from the likes of the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia.
In the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship odds, Gerwyn Price is the +333 favorite to defend his title. The Welshman, who once was a professional rugby player, lifted the trophy for the first time in 2021.
Price is one of the biggest storylines in the sport. His form over the last two years has been exceptional, which is why he is one of the leading darts predictions for the 2022 event.
There are not many similarities between rugby and darts, so it was not an obvious choice that Price made to switch sports. It has proved a smart decision as the Welshman is now at the top of the world in his current sport.
Crowds Filling Arenas Around the World
The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) now stage events in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The sport is progressing well in those continents, and in the majority of cases, darts is relatively new to them.
In North America, darts has been around a while. Canadian John Part is a three-time world champion after successes in 1994, 2003 and 2008. Americans Larry Butler, Dan Lauby and Darin Young have also all been highly ranked in the sport. The PDC will be hoping more players from the continent will feature on their tour in the future.
There is now a highly successful Championship Darts Corporation (CDC) Pro Tour in the USA. The PDC also holds a number of events on their annual calendar in the States. All of the best players in the world have travelled across, which has helped improved the profile of the sport further.
Fallon Sherrock Proving Darts Is Not a Male Sport
Although the traditional image of darts is that it is predominantly a male-dominated sport, Fallon Sherrock has proven that female players can have success against the opposite sex.
Sherrock is now one of the top players with the PDC. In 2021 she reached the final of a televised final, eventually losing to three-time PDC world champion Michael van Gerwen in a close final in Denmark.
The Queen of the Palace, as she is now known, has had a lot of success at the PDC World Darts Championship. In the 2021 event, she beat number 10 seed Mensur Suljovic on the way to the third round.
Unfortunately for Sherrock, she was unable to get beyond the first round in 2022, however, she is set for a big year in 2022. If she continues to play the standard she is doing, a maiden major success may arrive.
Darts has been on an incredible journey over the last 20 years. The sport's growth does not look to be slowing so the best may yet still be to come.
