Luke Humphries PDC World Darts Odds: The man in-form is the Ally Pally favourite

The PDC World Darts Championship returns to Alexandra Palace on Friday 15 December for what is one of the sporting staples of the winter calendar and the excitement cannot be contained.

Darts fans always bookmark this event in the calendar because it coincides perfectly with the festive period and we tend to get some of the best performances on show at Ally Pally.

As always, there are many stars on the PDC roster who will be descending upon London hoping to win the world crown, some for the first time and others who have claimed it in the past.

One in particular is the man who is the most in-form player on the PDC circuit right now, Luke Humphries. 'Cool Hand' has had an excellent 2023 so far and he will be looking to change his fortunes on the Ally Pally stage to get his 2024 off to a flying start.

Humphries has enjoyed his most successful year on the PDC tour in 2023. The 28-year-old claimed his first major title in October at the World Grand Prix, after reaching the semi-finals at the Betfred World Matchplay back in July.

'Cool Hand' defeated Gerwyn Price in the final to claim his first taste of glory at a PDC premier event and it seemed to have the same effect on him as it did for last year's World Championship winner Michael Smith, when he won the Grand Slam of Darts just before his Ally Pally triumph.

Humphries went on to also win the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton last month, followed by even more success at the Players Championship Finals. He is playing the best darts of his professional career and has fully merited his position as the bookies' favourite to win the world title.

Although he descends on the capital in the best form of his career to date, Humphries knows that Ally Pally hasn't been a happy hunting ground for him. He has never progressed past the quarter-finals stage, which he has reached on three occasions in the past (2019, 2020, 2022). But he heads here this winter with a confidence he has never had before and the crowds will be looking forward to what he can deliver this year.

Rod Studd previewed Humphries chances at Ally Pally this year. He tells Betfred: "Many observers believe that Luke Humphries is now the best player on planet darts, having won three tournaments in the last couple of months.

"He's made three World quarter-finals before, losing them all - and they were considered decent runs at that stage of his career. But the last eight will not be satisfactory for Humphries this time and he could be on for a collision course with Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals."