PDC World Championship: Quarter 4 Preview
Two former world champions are the stand-out names in quarter four of the World Darts Championship draw – but that doesn't necessarily mean they will be the last two standing.
Indeed, three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen and two-time winner Gary Anderson are seeded to meet in round four, which means at least one of them won't be seeing in the New Year at Alexandra Palace.
But to focus on those two legends would mean ignoring class acts of the calibre of Dimitri van den Bergh, Dave Chisnall, Ross Smith and one or two eye-catching qualifiers who will fancy they can upset the odds in a tantalising section.
We take a look at how the bottom section of the draw might unfold at the Palace.
World Darts Championship Quarter 4 Tip - Martin Schindler to win Quarter 4 @ 14/1
Van Gerwen is the highest seed in the bottom quarter, a three-time winner and six-time finalist, and will rightly go down as one of the greatest darts players of all time.
Anderson is a two-time world champion and has been enjoying another fabulous year, producing sky-high averages to prove that, just days shy of his 54th birthday, he can still compete with all the young guns emerging in the game.
Anderson, seeded 14, is 15/8 to win the fourth quarter while Van Gerwen is 9/4. Both ooze class when they are firing – but both can be left alone.
A far better prospect at a much fancier price is Martin Schindler at 14/1, one of a barrage of progressive Europeans making strides in the game and starting to show they belong on the biggest stages.
The first thing in Schindler's favour is that he is in the opposite half of the section to both Van Gerwen and Anderson, who are seeded to meet in round four.
The German is seeded 22 and there are question marks over all three of the seeds in his part of the draw. Chisnall has been dealing with a back problem, Van den Bergh seems to be battling inner demons while Schindler's fellow countryman Gabriel Clemens has gone off the radar since reaching the semi-finals two years ago.
If Clemens doesn't match his run to the last four he almost certainly drops out of the world's top 32 – and that's pressure.
The first round may produce one or two dark horses with Niels Zonneveld tipped to beat Robert Owen and give Clemens a game while Ricky Evans should beat Gordon Mathers and will fancy he can trouble the ailing Chizzy.
Schindler would have his work cut out against either Callan Rydz or Romeo Grbavac but ‘the Wall’ is a far sterner obstacle now that he has started challenging in big events.
This year the German number one has won two European Tour events – the second, the Swiss Darts Trophy, was as recently as September.
Schindler has to like his section of the draw and if he comes through that the market says he probably meets Anderson, maybe Van Gerwen, to land the fourth-quarter odds.
For that to happen Van Gerwen needs to improve on his recent form because he looks as close to the crisis point as he has done for years.
As for Anderson, he could be seriously tested by prolific Nordic winner Jeffrey de Graaf and certainly Ross Smith, who the Scot is slated to meet in round three.