The grand final of the PDC World Championship is now just a stone's throw away as talented darts competitors are preparing for today's much-anticipated quarter-finals.
Everything is on the line right now in the midst of a tournament that has seen shocking victories and heroic defeats.
For example, world number one Luke Humphries had entered the championship as a favorite to win, but crashed out on Sunday following his loss to two-time winner Peter Wright.
Humphries has now supported his close friend Stephen Bunting, who broke into the quarter-finals after a 4-0 win over Luke Woodhouse.
Meanwhile, teenage darts sensation and last year's runner-up Luke Littler also has a good chance of success, while fan favorite Michael van Gerwen has also made it to the latter stages.
Teen sensation Littler is half the age of some of his fellow competitors, but can you guess exactly how old the men trying to stop him are?
Littler has been giving it everything he has this year after finishing runner-up in 2024.
Lucas Littler
Starting with the youngest in the competition, Littler has been giving everything he has this year after finishing runner-up in the championship in 2024.
This came as he was beaten 7-4 by Luke Humphries, who has now been eliminated from this year's competition.
Last year 'Luke the Nuke' captivated the crowd with his performance throughout the tournament.
The sensation, now 17 years old, although she was 16 at the time, ignored the “you have school in the morning” chants.
It comes as the youngster picked up his first set of magnetic darts when he was still in nappies.
Littler revealed he would spend New Year's Eve “chilling” with his parents and playing on his “little Nintendo Switch”, ahead of today's World Championship quarter-final against his friend and stablemate Nathan Aspinall.
The 17-year-old ended his impressive 2024 by winning a seven-set thriller against Ryan Joyce on Monday and admitted that despite having an incredible year, winning ten PDC titles, he misses the “freedom” with which He played in the Ally Pally last time. year, when he reached the final when he was 16 years old.
Michael van Gerwen
Dutchman Michael van Gerwen is currently ranked No. 3 in the world and has put in an impressive performance so far in the tournament.
Dutchman Michael van Gerwen is currently ranked No. 3 in the world and has put in an impressive performance so far in the tournament.
The outspoken contender beat Sweden's Jeffrey de Graaf 4-2 on Monday night to reach the round of 16 against England's Callan Rydz.
Van Gerwen is the highest-ranked player remaining in the tournament, and the third seed is targeting a fourth Ally Pally win.
He has won the PDC tournament a total of three times and is generally considered one of the greatest darts players of all time.
Before becoming a professional darts player, van Gerwen, now 35, worked as a tiler.
He is known for bowling at a very fast pace and scoring with great force, meaning he can gain momentum over his opponents in a matter of seconds.
Gerwyn Price
Welshman Gerwyn Price is currently world number 10 and beat rival Johnny Clayton to advance to the quarter-finals in an all-Welsh clash on Sunday.
Price is 39 years old and was previously a professional rugby union and rugby league player.
Price, the 2021 world champion, took a 2-0 lead before Clayton, seeded three places higher than him at seven, recovered on two legs as his rival battled for the doubles.
The athlete will face Chris Dobey later today.
Price is 39 years old and was previously a professional rugby union and rugby league player.
Nicknamed 'The Iceman', Cardiff-born Price has won 37 PDC senior titles.
The multi-talented individual is also known to have previously dedicated himself to boxing.
Nathan Aspinall
Aspinall was born in Stockport and is currently world No. 12, nicknamed 'The Asp'.
He crushed his German rival Ricardo Pietreczko 4-0 on Monday, following his earlier 4-0 beating of Andrew Gilding in the third round.
Nathan Aspinall was born in Stockport and is currently world No. 12. – They nickname him 'The Asp'
Following Monday's win, he told TalkSport: “I've been criticized on social media for my performances.
'But I won 4-0, what more do you want from me? The last game I lost seven games and then two.
'They don't print averages or 180s on the trophies. I let the main people do that. “I just want to win.”
This comes after the 33-year-old had already sparked intrigue by calling Pietreczko “weird” in a post-match press conference after beating Gilding.
Stephen Bunting
English darts player Stephen Bunting is nicknamed 'The Bullet' and is ranked number 8 in the world.
He has said that his next step in the event of a PDC victory would be to “shove the world darts championship trophy down Man Utd's throat”, in the event of a victory, as a loyal Liverpool FC supporter.
English darts player Stephen Bunting is nicknamed 'The Bullet' and is ranked number 8 in the world.
The Bullet will face Peter Wright for a spot in the final four at Ally Pally.
At the age of 39, Bunting has two children and the ruthless player has said he believes he can “go all the way” and is “in the best position to win this tournament.”
This comes after he thrashed Luke Woodhouse 4-0 on Monday night and is the favorite of also defeated World No. 1 Luke Humphries for the title.
Chris Dobey
Chris Dobey previously wowed viewers when he beat Kevin Doets 4-3 on Monday to secure his place in the last eight of the annual darts tournament.
He has said that he is grateful for the support his fans have shown him at Alexandra Palace and that he would not be where he is without them.
The 34-year-old Englishman is nicknamed 'Hollywood' and was born in Bedlington, Northumberland.
The 34-year-old Englishman is nicknamed 'Hollywood' and was born in Bedlington, Northumberland.
He is currently No. 15 in the world and has won five PDC ranking titles.
Dobey will face Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals and speaking before the match, he said: “Whatever happens that day, I hope I can get my practice routine right and fix the doubles and start hitting them sooner than I did yesterday.” .
“But yeah, I'm looking forward to it, looking forward to the challenge and hopefully I can get a win.”
Peter Wright
Scotsman Peter Wright is known for his colorful and bright appearance and is nicknamed 'Snakebite', which may not be a surprise given he has the creature painted on his head.
Wright is a two-time world champion, having won the championship in 2020 and 2022.
He was born in Livingston, Scotland, to a 16-year-old single mother and never met his father, who was in prison at the time of his birth.
Scotsman Peter Wright is known for his colorful and bright appearance and is nicknamed 'Snakebite', which may not be a surprise given he has the creature painted on his head.
Having surprisingly defeated last year's world champion Luke Humphries on Sunday, The Snakebite will hope to defeat Stephen Bunting, who he will face later today.
After their 4-1 win, the 54-year-old told Sky Sports: “Luckily I didn't play against Luke Humphries from last year because he was incredible.”
'I am a double world champion and I want to win it for the third time. I'm not too old and you only have to play well two or three weeks a year. These three weeks are all that matters and I'm in the quarterfinals.
Callan Rydz
The second youngest competitor in the tournament is 26-year-old Callan Rydz.
Nicknamed 'The Riot', Rydz is, like Chris Dobey, also from the town of Bedlington in Northumberland.
It is not surprising, since the talent seems to be hereditary: they are both cousins.
Nicknamed 'The Riot', Rydz is, like Chris Dobey, also from the town of Bedlington in Northumberland.
He has won three PDC ranking titles and is a two-time PDC World Championship quarterfinalist.
The record-breaking rising star is known for her energy on stage and was previously a BMX rider before breaking her foot during lockdown.