It’s been the year of the underdog in darts.
While Luke Littler’s spectacular run to the World Championship final last year surprised many, The Nuke and world no. 1 Luke Humphries have dominated on the circuit in 2024.
But opportunity has knocked for others.
Mike De Decker claimed the World Grand Prix and Ritchie Edhouse shocked everyone to win the European Championship.
At Alexandra Palace before Christmas, 14 of the 32 seeds have crashed out before the third round and in the bottom half of the draw both Michael Smith and Gary Anderson have fallen.
Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen is a heavy favourite to make a seventh Ally Pally final but the rest of the third and fourth quarters are wide open.
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Josh Rock and Callan Rydz sit in that half and both men have had their moments over the last couple of years, to hint at what might be possible.
Rock burst onto the scene with the same reputation Littler had on the circuit, and a televised nine-darter on his Grand Slam of Darts debut and a Pro Tour title in his first year were followed by a quarter final run at the Slam the following year.
2024 has seen him deliver his three senior titles with a European Tour crown and two Pro Tour successes and he has talked up his chances in north London.
Ricardo Pietreczko is in the tougher top half of the draw, when any hope of a final would likely see him have to knock off both Humphries and Littler but he has developed a knack of rising to the occasion on the biggest stage.
Rydz is a three-time winner on the Pro Tour, but in 2024 has struggled to find the consistency that has taken him to the last eight of the World Matchplay, World Championship and Players Championship Finals in his career to date.
talkSPORT’s Paul Nicholson runs the rule over three of the brightest names left in the tournament, who may be slightly under the radar but could enjoy their own Littler moment on the biggest darting stage of them all.
Josh Rock
Order of Merit: 18
Third Round: v Chris Dobey
In this immediacy that we crave for young stars, almost in a ‘Wayne Rooney, get him on the pitch and score right from the off’ style. Wayne did that.
Josh was scoring his first season but if anything, he’s a more effective dart player now than he was then because he’s winning more frequently.
He’s doing things the right way, he wants to be a more consistent player and he is because his results reflect that.Winning the Dutch Darts Championship, he’s in floods of tears because he knows how hard it is to win a European Tour event – some people don’t.
He’s got one and he’s got loads of time to get more. Winning on the floor, done it twice now, so it’s all good for him.
When he beat Johnny Clayton in a Players Championship final, it was probably the best final of the season.
His game is in a pretty good place but is it in the same sort of place where it had that explosive nature when he was hitting the nine-darter or against Van Gerwen at the Grand Slam?
Maybe not. But there’s going to come a time, I would hope for Josh, where it will kick on and everything will knit together and he’ll be the top 10 player that he wants to be.
Ricardo Pietreczko
3
Order of Merit: 34
Third Round v Scott Williams
Ricardo is a stage player. And his two best results came in Belgium, losing in two semi-finals, including against Luke Littler in Wiese.
European Tour darts, maybe outside of Germany, suits him better.
He didn’t play badly in this tournament 12 months ago, he gave Luke Humphries one mighty scare. So I just figured that certain places agree with Ricardo.
He is nowhere near the player that I think he can be. There’s a lot to iron out. But he’s raw, he’s talented and he’s a stage player.
There’s a lot to work with but he doesn’t seem afraid, he fronts up, finds the formula that works. In my case, I didn’t quite get it right [reacting to the crowd].
I didn’t strike the balance. I went across the line and wasn’t able to rein it back. And I think that’s something that Ricardo is still trying to do.
He obviously got headlines for the wrong reasons after the Belgian Darts Open, when he said some things on social media about Luke Littler, which is probably not the right thing to do at any point. But I hope he learns from that.
Callan Rydz
3
Order of Merit: 43
Third Round: v Dimitri van den Bergh
He’s made the quarterfinals before in a very strong 2022 tournament and only just lost out to the eventual champion in the quarters. So we know what Callan can do. He’s had a few superlatives thrown at him over the years, but the right one is raw.
The talent is right there in front of him. And I think inner self-esteem and maybe exterior confident, positive influences are what are going to push him forward.
His granddad, Blake, is an incredible guy, been around darts for decades. I know he’s a positive influence. I know that Chris Dobey is an influence and he has to be a positive thing but the other people have got a responsibility as well.
Callan has got to take the responsibility on himself. Do the things that are right for him in regards to how much energy he’s got, his health, his readiness for all of these challenges as well. Whether that’s make sure he’s got the right equipment, the right rhythm with his play, because that’s been a bit erratic over the last two or three years.
But the talent has never been in question. It’s always been something else. And he’s spoken to us candidly recently about how his personal life is in a positive place. And he’s dangerous when that’s the case.
Make sure that your personal life is as positive as it can be and go out there and flaunt your thing because he’s got flair. He’s got a burgeoning brand. And I see him having a massive following if he gets everything right.
Tune into talkSPORT 2 for coverage of the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship, as we bring you exclusive live commentary from Alexandra Palace. Listen via our web player, app, on DAB, or through your smart speaker.