Returning champion dressed as the Grinch to begin his defence of the PDC title in front of a small crowd in plain clothes
Here today, gone tomorrow. Having taken the myriad precautions required to welcome limited but still sizeable numbers of arrow enthusiasts through the doors of Alexandra Palace for the duration of their World Championship, the Professional Darts Corporation had the rug unceremoniously pulled from under their feet just over 24 hours before it began. For the foreseeable future, if not the rest of the 16-day tournament, the best players in the world will have to go about their business without the lager-fuelled encouragement of the notoriously boisterous Ally Pally crowd.
