TheOche.com

NOTE: The following article was written and submitted by Phill Catterick, a freelance writer based in Staffordshire. Phill may be contacted by email.

The Alexandra Palace will once again play host to the World Darts Championship this year, with Phil Taylor yet again favourite to clinch his, what would be historic 14th title.

`The Power`, has had a highly successful year even by his standards, becoming Premier League champion for a fourth time, winning the Las Vegas Desert Classic, The Grand Prix, the World Matchplay, the European Championship, and most recently the Grand Slam of Darts.

In fact, only James Wade at the UK Open has prevented a clean sweep for the season.

And Taylor is confident of clinching the biggest prize in Darts on January 1st after missing out on a final place last year after defeat to Wayne Mardle in the quarter finals, and then being beat at the final hurdle in 2007 to arch rival Raymond Van Barneveld, saying: “The win (Grand Slam) puts me in good stead for the World Championship and I’m really up for it.

“For the next month I’ll be practicing so hard and I’ve turned down a few things so I can concentrate solely on it.”

Last year provided an unlikely final with John Part becoming PDC champion for the second time after defeating an unknown player in Kirk Shepherd, but Taylor wants to ensure there are no surprises this year, adding:

“The World Championship is more important than anything and I’d give every title I have right now to win this again.

“It’s not about the money, but the trophy and being world champion once again.”

The Power was relentless in his victory against Terry Jenkins in the Grand Slam Final, succumbing `The Bull` to his sixth televised final defeat in as many attempts, and since then has narrowly missed out on defending his German Open title, losing out to Co Stompe 4-2 in the final to give the former BDO player his first PDC tournament victory.

Taylor was pleased to have reached the final but admitted that Stompe deserved the win, saying after the match:

“Obviously I’m gutted but I lost to a better player in the final. I was over the moon just to be in the final and thought I was going to win it after my performances over the last couple of days.

“But I didn’t win and Co played better than me to be honest.

“I put a lot of darts on the wire and not in trebles and I was pushing to win sets and when he won the fifth set, that was a killer.”

He added: “The defeat won’t do me any harm and it’s given me a big punch in the mouth. I’ll be locking myself away and getting ready now for the World Championship.”

It would appear that the man from Stoke-on-Trent is fully focused in his quest to once again be the cream of the crop, but will face tough competition if that is to happen.

None more so than from the World number two, Raymond Van Barneveld. The Dutchman has had a poor season by his high standards, and will want to finish it in style by claiming the top prize.

He shocked the darting world two years ago by defeating Taylor in what has since been known as the best final the world has ever seen, and the thousands that pack the palace would give an awful lot for a repeat final.

Then there’s James Wade. His first full season as a pro has been a decent one, claiming his first rankings tournament victory over Gary Mawson in the UK open, and became one of very few men to record a 9-darter live on Television, hitting one against Gary Anderson in the quarter finals of the Grand Slam.

Terry Jenkins will also be looking for a strong conclusion to his season. He has been unlucky in losing all of the televised finals he has contested and will be out to prove a point in the capital. He is a consistent performer, always one to fear and will no doubt be in the mix come the closing stages.

And then there’s the reigning champion John Part. Although inconsistency has cost him in 2008, he is always one to watch and is more than capable of keeping his crown if he’s on top form.

Kevin Painter, Mervyn King, Adrian Lewis, Andy Hamilton, Michael Van Gerwen, Wayne Mardle, Jelle Klaasen, and Peter Manley are just a handful of the players who will be looking to cause an upset when they visit the `Ally Pally` in two weeks, but it’s uncertain if they have the form to pressure the elite.

One thing is for certain though. Whatever sort of performances they produce; it will take something special to switch off the power.