Michael van Gerwen can pounce on World Championship carnage to end world title drought and close on Raymond van Barneveld

Carnage has reigned at the World Darts Championship this year.

And one man is uniquely placed to take advantage at Alexandra Palace as the big names have perished.

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Michael van Gerwen has gone surprisingly under the radar in north London – and it might just play to his advantage.

The brilliant Dutchman has been out of sorts this season and is without a major title for more than a year and his wait for a fourth world title will stretch to five years by the time of the final on January 3.

“A lot of people were talking about Michael pre-World Championship, maybe as being someone who was vulnerable,” talkSPORT expert Paul Nicholson said.

“MVG would possibly try and refute that, but we have to look at the games that he’s had, the stats he’s putting in.

“One of the intangible things is his drive to succeed, you can’t measure that, we always know what’s going to be there.

“But form is something that you can’t touch. It’s something you have to have evidence of and the evidence in 2024 hasn’t been there.

“We know what’s happened before in previous tournaments. He knows in his own heart that it’s not what he’s wanted. So we then say, well, what can you do next?

Four titles would place MVG behind only Phil Taylor’s 16, Raymond van Barneveld’s six and Eric Bristow’s five in the all-time list. Barney has long been van Gerwen’s target.

After the record-breaking chaos of the pre-Christmas shenanigans at Alexandra Palace, the biggest party of the season will stir back into life on Friday when the race to be crowned world champion resumes.

14 of the 32 seeds have fallen by the end of the second round, the most in PDC World Championship history – and that includes six of the top 16.

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Van Gerwen is the man in the field who has been to more finals than anyone else, and won more titles than anyone else.

Rob Cross and Dave Chisnall fell on the final night before the Christmas break, joining Gary Anderson, James Wade, World Grand Prix champion Mike de Decker and second seed Michael Smith in crashing out early.

For all the chaos, huge threats remain, including the two men who have dominated planet darts in 2024.

Luke Humphries and Luke Littler are on a semi-final collision course in the top half of the draw, while in the bottom half, MVG has a pathway back to the Ally Pally showpiece.

Van Gerwen has won three world titles, but since his last crown he has also lost in Ally Pally two finals.

It’s six finals in total for the Dutchman, no-one else left in the draw can do better than one.

 “At this World Championship, he’s here after Christmas, and we will continue to put him under the microscope,” Nicholson adds.

“Maybe more now that other talents have gone out.

“Even though Michael would love to go through everybody that’s in his way with a reputation – like Gary [Anderson] – which would maybe enhance his likelihood of winning the title, he probably doesn’t care.”

MVG’s last major ranking crown was the Players Championship Finals of 2022.

The Premier League and World Series of Darts Finals followed in 2023 – but he is due a big one.

There would no bigger stage to end the wait.

“Michael’s year has not been brilliant, he hasn’t won very much at all but if he’s world champion at the end of it, he’ll feel really good,” Nicholson believes.

“He’s definitely trying to massage his inner confidence, which he’s always had from a young age.

“I think he understands the complexity of the situation he’s in, but I don’t think there are many fragilities mentally with Michael.

“That is probably his biggest strength at this point in time.”

Brendan Dolan is up next for Van Gerwen in the third round on Saturday night, and beyond that the draw has opened up.

Anderson was the major threat in his quarter, but he was stunned by Jeffrey de Graaf.

Dimitri Van den Bergh is now the highest seed in his section while Chris Dobey, Josh Rock and Gerwyn Price loom as the most likely semi-final foe.

Good players all, but on his day, Van Gerwen’s class would set him apart – and maybe that day is about to return.

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.