#428: Michael van Gerwen, Jose De Sousa, Tavis Dudeney, PDC World Championship Preview, Lakeside Review

Alex Moss and Burton DeWitt are back with a new episode of your go-to darts podcast ahead of the 2025/26 PDC World Darts Championship!

The boys start of the show with an overall look ahead to the start of this year's darts extravaganza at Alexandra Palace, and the expanded 128-player field and record £1 million top prize, before making their picks on who they think will be lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy on January 3.

Jose De Sousa (18:46) calls in ahead of making his return to the Ally Pally stage next week. The former Grand Slam of Darts champion reflects on a tough few years on and off the oche which has seen him drop from the world's top eight to now sitting outside the top 64 and in danger of losing his PDC tour card. 'The Special One' looks back on a dramatic PDC Tour Card Holder World Championship Qualifier which saw him produce a pair of 95+ averages and then pull off an astonishing comeback in a last-leg decider to beat Andy Boulton and book his spot in the World Championship.

Alex and Burton continue their World Championship preview by picking out some players to watch out for and potential darkhorses over the next few weeks at Ally Pally.

Tavis Dudeney (52:52) joins the show ahead of making his PDC World Championship debut next week. 'The Dude' looks back on his first year with a PDC tour card and the highs and lows throughout 2025, why he almost quit the sport at one point during the season and how the support of family and the PDPA helped him to continue playing. The 21-year-old reflects on his own PDC Tour Card Holder World Championship qualifying campaign, which saw him complete two epic comebacks en route to securing a first appearance at Ally Pally this year.

The boys round off their World Championship preview by picking out their favourite session from the 16 sessions that will be held during the first round of this year's tournament.

Michael van Gerwen (1:18:56) chats to Matthew Kiernan and the darts media during his scrum at the recent PDC World Championship Launch in London. The three-time PDC world champion looks back on his 2025 and gives his thoughts ahead of this year's World Championship.

Alex and Burton finish off the show with a look back at the WDF World Championships at Lakeside, giving their thoughts on the two Open finalists, the champion Jimmy van Schie and the history-making runner-up Mitchell Lawrie, as well as Deta Hedman ending her wait for Women's World Championship glory at the age of 66.

Join the Darts Strava King group on Strava

***

This podcast is brought to you in association with Darts Corner - the number one online darts retailer! Darts Corner offers the widest selection of darts products from over 30 different manufacturers.

This podcast is sponsored by Darts Atlas - the platform for darts players, venues, and organisations. Darts Atlas is the home of the Amateur Darts Circuit (ADC) with hundreds of tournaments held on the platform every week.

Have you used Darts Atlas before? Share your feedback and experiences with Darts Atlas with us by sending an email to weeklydartscast@gmail.com and be in with a chance of winning some new logo Weekly Dartscast stickers!

Check out Condor Darts here: UK site

***

Enjoy our podcast?

Make a one-off donation on our new Ko-Fi page here: ko-fi.com/weeklydartscast

Support us on Patreon from just $2(+VAT): patreon.com/WeeklyDartscast

Thank you to our Patreon members: Phil Moss, Gordon Skinner, Connor Ellis, Dan Hutchinson