Paul Nicholson's World Series of Darts preview

Former Players Champion and current darts pundit Paul Nicholson looks ahead to the start of the 2023 season, which begins with back-to-back World Series of Darts events in Bahrain and Copenhagen...

Just like that, the World Championship is over and people start to wonder when they will get their next fix of top level darting action. 

2023 delivers a revamped World Series, but it answers the question already posed about when to get your first dose of tungsten for the new season. 

Why indeed would the PDC put the new Bahrain Darts Masters and Nordic Darts Masters on back-to-back before we return for the Masters in Milton Keynes and the resumption of the Premier League roadshow?

The perfect answer is, why not?! When you think about it, having them at this time does serve multiple purposes.

These two events will not clash with any other ProTour action, and they will give the board of directors more evidence to pick a likely line-up for the Premier League.

Plus, as an indoor sport, having darts in Denmark at this time of year makes a lot of sense seeing as you won't get much outdoor sport for spectators in Scandinavia in January. 

As for the new Middle East venture in Bahrain, this has been in the pipeline for more than a decade. For years this country has been screaming for some action, particularly when the Dubai Darts Masters concluded in 2017.

Back then, it was played outside on an international tennis court, but this event will revert back to standard practice inside an arena. 

There is a big darts following in Bahrain, as I have been there myself in 2019 fulfilling an exhibition invitation.

It surprised me just how many expatriates and Bahrainis were already into the sport, and it confirmed to me that what I had already heard was true. This place wanted to do something sizeable. 

As for who could win this inaugural event, it will not be someone who has won in the Middle East previously with PDC darts.

Both Michael Van Gerwen and Gary Anderson will not be in this event, albeit for different reasons, which is a shame considering the last game played in this part of the world yielded averages of 110+ for both aforementioned players in the 2017 final in Dubai. 

However, don't let their absence fool you, as you will see Michael Smith introduced as the new World Champion, and there will be plenty of people looking to spoil his return to action. 

Alongside the St Helens star will be the likes of Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price, but stories aplenty are on offer with Luke Humphries making his World Series of Darts debut, and there's the return of Raymond van Barneveld.

Rob Cross also returns, and I have to say this is a great inclusion, as he has been in terrific form vaulting himself into the top six in the rankings once again. He could be one to watch. 

Many times before when someone has won their first Ally Pally title, they go on to win again the next time they play.

John Part did it in 2008, Wright did it in 2020 and others have followed on with immediate confidence, so all eyes will be on Michael Smith for good reason. 

However, for me and some of the darting inquisitors, we look deeper into the field and wonder who could be the story.

Paul Lim is in this field, as are the likes of Nitin Kumar and Yuki Yamada. They could provide shocks if they have a good game, but what this has always been about are players who are coming from the country it is being played in. What can we find there?

An icon has arrived! ??

We caught up with Paul Lim ahead of his clash with Gerwyn Price here at the 2023 Bahrain Darts Masters!

?️ https://t.co/Jb5RtMqmh8 pic.twitter.com/q2eFZiOeQf

— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 11, 2023

Basem Mahmood and Abdulnasser Yusuf will fly the flag for Bahrain and carry the hopes of the home faithful.

Nobody expects them to win any game they play, based on what we know, but then again nobody expected Damon Heta to win in Brisbane in 2019.

Can you see what I am getting at? This tour does provide a route to glory in its own way. 

Whatever happens in Bahrain, most players will then jet to Denmark and continue to hunt for more glory. There, it will be Dimitri Van den Bergh who will attempt to grab a third World Series title and in the process, defend his crown as Nordic Darts Master. 

Raymond van Barneveld will be replaced by a hopefully rejuvenated Michael van Gerwen, who chose not to participate in the Middle East due to a prior arrangement.

This will be the first look at Van Gerwen since his defeat in the World Championship final on January 3, and I am sure everyone is keen to see how he starts his season. 

When it comes to this Copenhagen tournament, I think a bigger question looms large. That question is, who is going to take the bull by the horns, no pun intended, and make Scandinavian darts theirs?!

In this question I have to have a caveat, which is that Madars Razma and Darius Labanauskas have done wonders for darts in the Baltic region, but what is happening with players from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and also Iceland? 

I see names like Marko Kantele, Dennis Nilsson and Daniel Larsson and I think to myself, is there anyone out there that can best these veterans?

Is there anyone who can make themselves known and take Scandinavian darts to the world level and succeed the way that Magnus Caris and Stefan Lord did for Sweden, like Per Larsson has for Denmark for decades, like Jarkko Komula did for Finland at the turn of the century?

I am waiting for these Northern European countries to produce their next darting dynamites, and I haven’t had any evidence to see this is coming in recent years, aside from the likes of Vladimir Andersen and Andreas Toft Jorgensen.

They are good, but who can take that next giant step and become the King of the North and make their country stand out like Germany has recently, and like Australia has in the last 15 years, courtesy of the PDC influence. 

The World Series DOES provide you with a vehicle for success as a player, it DOES provide you with ideas of who is coming through as a promoter, and it DOES provide you with entertainment as a fan.

Do you need to be reminded of Auckland 2017? By the time we go to Australasia in August again, we will know more about what is going on with developing darting nations, but it's first stop Bahrain. It will be hot in more ways than one. 

Asset out. 

The Bahrain Darts Masters is being broadcast live from 1900 local time (1600 GMT) via ITV4 in the UK on January 12-13.

Live coverage will also be available through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).