The 2020/21 PDC World Darts Championship is here.

After a year like no other, it’s time for the biggest event in the sport. Can Peter Wright defend his title that he won 12 months ago, or will someone else take the crown?

Here, we’ll let you know:

• where and when it will take place
• who’s involved
• the schedule of play
• the prize money
• the favourites for the title
• how you can follow it with us

Where and when will the event take place?

The World Darts Championship will happen from Tuesday 15 December 2020 to Sunday 3 January 2021. It will take place at the Alexandra Palace, London, England.

The event will see fans attend on the opening night. However, due to London moving into tier three restrictions on Wednesday 16 December, no fans will be allowed in from that date until Wednesday 23 December.

There is hope that fans can still attend the post Christmas dates.

A full statement is on the PDC website.

Who’s involved in the World Darts Championship?

The top 32 on the main PDC Order of Merit are seeded for the event. This means they get a bye into round two.

the top 32 players on the PDC Order of Merit qualify for round two automatically. They make up the 32 seeds for the event.

The top 32 players on the Pro Tour Order of Merit, who are not already on the main Order of Merit, qualify for round one, as do 32 international qualifiers. The Pro Tour players and the qualifiers play each other to take on a seed in round two.

View the full schedule of play.

What’s the prize money and what are players defending?

Michael van Gerwen won his third World Championship back in 2019. The PDC’s ranking system sees the money a player has won come off their Order of Merit winnings, so the Green Machine will be defending £500,000 on his ranking.

Michael Smith came runner up in that event, and will be defending £200,000. The two semi finalists from two years ago, Gary Anderson and Nathan Aspinall, will defend £100,000 respectively.

In addition, if either:

• Michael van Gerwen
• Peter Wright or
• Gerwyn Price

Win the World Darts Championship, they will be the world number one on Monday 4 January 2021.

The prize money will remain the same as the last two World Championships. It’s broken down like this:

• Winner – £500,000
• Runner Up – £200,000
• Semi Finalists – £100,000
• Quarter Finalists – £50,000
• Fourth round – £35,000
• Third round – £25,000
• Second round – £15,000
• First round – £7,500

Who are the favourites for the title?

Michael van Gerwen, after his Players Championships Finals victory, is now favourite for the World Darts Championship.

He’s currently 9/4 to lift his fourth Sid Waddell Trophy with our official betting partner BoyleSports. Gerwyn Price is next at 9/2, while defending champion Peter Wright is 11/2.

Runner up from two years ago Michael Smith will be looking for his first major televised title. He’s fourth favourite at 14/1, with Grand Slam of Darts winner Jose De Sousa at 16/1.

World Matchplay champion, and former World Championship quarter finalist Dimitri Van den Bergh, is 22/1, as is Nathan Aspinall. Three time BDO World Champion Glen Durrant is 25/1.

View the full BoyleSports outright betting market.

How can I follow the World Darts Championship?

The World Darts Championship will be live on Sky Sports in the UK. You can also watch it outside the UK via the PDC’s broadcast partners, such as RTL or DAZN.

You can also live stream the event. Find out more here.

We’ll have you covered here at Online Darts, with reaction with every winner of every game direct from Coventry. Head over to our YouTube channel and hit subscribe so you don’t miss a video. You can watch our preview show now below: