Van Gerwen installed as 5/2 favourite for PDC World Darts Championship

Tournament sponsors William Hill have made three-time PDC world champion Michael van Gerwen a 5/2 shot to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy on January 3.

The Dutchman was previously priced at 7/2 but after he won the Players Championship Finals in Coventry in November, those odds were slashed.

Van Gerwen will get his campaign underway on Sunday, December 19 against either Scottish debutant Ryan Murray or Lourence Ilagan, the Filipino player who will be making his fourth outing at the Alexandra Palace.

Gerwyn Price is the second-favourite at 5/1, and the Welshman is faced with a potentially tricky last-64 encounter with Luke Woodhouse - who beat Michael Smith at this event last year - or 2018 semi-finalist Jamie Lewis.

Price's semi-final appearance in 2020 was his best Ally Pally performance to date, but the 35-year-old has added two major titles to his cabinet this year to further solidify his place in what is perceived by many as the 'big three'.

Peter Wright is 6/1 to go back-to-back just as his compatriot Gary Anderson did in 2015 and 2016.

Aside from Anderson, only Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis have managed to defend the PDC World Darts Championship, and Wright's attempt to do so will begin versus Steve West or Amit Gilitwala on the opening night.

Ahead of the curtain-raiser on Tuesday, December 15, a range of betting sign up offers and promotions can be found across online bookmakers.

Even though Smith is still yet to win a PDC major, the 2019 runner-up is priced at 16/1 to break that duck by scooping the biggest prize in the sport.

Also at 16/1 is Jose de Sousa, who won the Grand Slam of Darts in November and could meet Price in a mouth-watering last-16 clash.

De Sousa has never made it past the first round at the Alexandra Palace, but recent form and his odds suggest that he may well change that in the coming weeks.

Like de Sousa, Dimitri van den Bergh was a surprise winner of one of the biggest competitions on the calendar this year at the World Matchplay, and he is 20/1 to complete what would be an extraordinary double.

The Belgian enters the World Championship as the ninth seed and his first match is sure to be tough - whether it is Luke Humphries or the 66-year-old, Paul Lim, who make it through to play him.

Nathan Aspinall has made the semi-finals both times he has entered the tournament and is 20/1 to go all the way this time around.

Two-time BDO world champion Scott Waites could be Aspinall's opponent in the second round, but Matt Campbell, who represented Canada at the World Cup of Darts, stands in his way.

Another man who has conquered the BDO is Glen Durrant, and he proved by winning the Premier League that he can compete with the very best that the PDC has to offer.

William Hill had Durrant at 14/1 in November, but a string of disappointing results has seen him drift out to 28/1.

While Durrant's form has gotten worse, Devon Petersen is heading in the opposite direction and is a genuine dark horse at 28/1 having been as big as 250/1 when the odds came out earlier this year.

Petersen finds himself at a shorter price than two-time champion Anderson and the seventh seed, James Wade, both of whom are at 33/1.