Van Barneveld - can push Taylor all the way.

By Reece Killworth

Click here for latest odds

Betting Box Tipping Guide

BETTING BOX
FIXED ODDS
	4pts e.w. Raymond van Barneveld to win at 5/1 (totesport).	The main threat to Taylor and each-way angle sees us in profit if he makes final.
	2pts on James Wade to win 'Quarter Four' at 2/1 (Ladbrokes).	Rising star who has enjoyed a stellar 2006.

It may come as a surprise to the casual sporting observer that more than two players will be battling it out for the title when darts' PDC World Championship gets under way at the Circus Tavern on Monday.

So much of the pre-tournament coverage has been devoted to Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld (two of the sport's true giants, in more ways than one) that the underlying message seems to be that the other 62 competitors need not turn up.

And to some extent, while giving no disrespect to the rest of the field, it is easy to see why the media's focus has fallen on the shoulders of the 'Power' and 'Barney'.

The former (and the words barely do justice to the achievement) will be attempting to wrap up an unprecedented 14th world title in Purfleet, while the latter has the chance to join Taylor as a 'cross-code' world champion having taken the BDO crown four times before switching to the PDC in such controversial fashion earlier this year.

And while the old cliche that history counts for nothing on the day is true to some extent, a combined 18 world championships make Taylor and van Barneveld very much the men to beat as the eyes of the sporting public switch to the unlikeliest of gladiatorial arenas - a nightclub in deepest Essex.

Yet the draw has thrown up a tricky potential second-round ties for both, with either Matt Clark or Mick McGowan - the most impressive of those who came through qualifying - on the agenda for Taylor should he beat Anton Pein, and van Barneveld likely to face world number one Colin Lloyd if both get through their first-round matches (which 'Jaws' failed to do last year).

The draw saw Taylor eased out to a best-priced 3/4 for title number 14 and no doubt plenty of big hitters will steam in heavily at that price. It's more generous than the 8/15 he was chalked up at to win last year's title, a feat he duly achieved with a 7-0 hammering of old foe Peter Manley in the final.

Yet we're not willing to get involved at that price, particularly given Taylor's career-long reputation as a slow starter both in tournaments and matches. Of course, that shouldn't prove too costly against Pein but if McGowan can beat Clark and get a lead on 'The Power', the Irishman is in the sort of form (two titles this year; one just last month) that could see him match the greatest player of all time throw for throw.

Should Taylor go deep into the tournament, though, van Barneveld looks his only real contender.

Of the 32 tournaments since the Dutchman made his high-profile switch to the slicker and more high-profile PDC, Taylor (9) and van Barneveld (5) have won 14.

And as we're unwilling to get with Taylor, van Barneveld has to be the man for us.

Only the 'tournament of a lifetime' from countryman Jelle Klassen denied the 39-year-old former postman a fifth BDO title in January and Barney has settled well in his new surroundings, with impressive form in the regional tournaments having inched him up the rankings into 32nd place and with it automatic qualification for what will be his first PDC World Championship.

While a potential clash with the world number one may not be the dream ticket in van Barneveld's Circus debut, Essex boy Lloyd has never performed to his true potential in his home county and was sent spinning out in round one by the unheralded Gary Welding in last year's event.

Of the others in the Dutchman's half of the draw, only countryman Roland Scholten, Adrian Lewis and local favourite Wayne Mardle appear anything approaching a major threat so we're more than happy to take a slice of the 5/1 about van Barneveld taking the PDC title at his first attempt, dabbling on the each way terms (1/2 the price for a final appearance) in case, as is always the fear, Taylor does hit the ground running.

As well as van Barneveld we also want to get onside with James Wade.

Just 23, 'The Gladiator' burst to the attention of darts' cognoscenti with victory in the 2002 Swiss Open while still a teenager and has more than delivered on that promise.

Now ranked 11th in the world, Wade reached his first live televised final earlier this year in the World Matchplay and has fired in three nine-darters in what has been a stellar 2006.

Most recently (just last month, in fact) he won the JR & Vauxhall Holiday Park Norfolk Men's Singles by beating fellow top-16 player Ronnie Baxter in the final. And while it goes without saying that the World Championship is a significant step up from that (his £1,100 prize is dwarfed by the £100,000 that the winner in Purfleet will bank), as evidence of Wade's form heading for the Circus it stands up to scrutiny.

While bullish about the former mechanic's prospects we're not suggesting an interest in him to win the title at 11/1, however he makes plenty of appeal at 2/1 to win his quarter of the draw.

The real competition comes from the evergreen Dennis 'The Menace' Priestley, yet despite him being ranked third in the world he is some way short of the consistency that saw him win the world title twice, hence his 50/1 quote for the tournament.

Terry Jenkins and Mark Dudbridge will also be no walkovers, yet Wade has the talent, temperament and form to win 'Quarter Four'...and if Taylor does make an early exit, Aldershot's finest could be the man to have onside in the outright market.