With the year winding down, we are about to face a period of four straight months of exciting darts action.
It begins with the World Series of Darts Finals, which starts this Friday and runs through Sunday.
It's an unranked tournament, but still a very important one, with most of the big names taking the stage this weekend in Amsterdam.
The top names that we often see go on weekly runs might be the names we expect to make it all the way, but we could also be in for a surprise this weekend in the Netherlands.
Could a wildcard win the 2025 World Series Finals?
The argument here isn't to say that players like Luke Littler and Luke Humphries won't win the title or be in the mix, but rather to explain that the title is much more up for grabs than a longer format tournament.
The five individual majors that have been played this year have either been won by Littler or Humphries, but that could change.
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Littler displayed at the Matchplay this year why top talent does better in longer-formatted games. The only issue is he wouldn't have made comebacks in those games if they matched the game length we will see this weekend.
The first two rounds are played to best-of-11 legs. This is exactly what we see on the Pro Tour, which often can allow underdogs or second/third-tier players to upset the players who are better on paper.
To put it simply, there's less room for error in such short games.
The top names will be in the mix, but this format has proven to favor players like Stephen Bunting and Josh Rock.
You might be saying to yourself, how are these players considered wildcards?
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The dominance of Littler and Humphries has gotten to a point where any other winner seems like an upset with how consistent the Lukes have been.
When the format is altered, we see new names prevail. Ritchie Edhouse is a great example of this, as he took home the 2024 European Championship title last year, which has a comparable game format to what we'll see this weekend.
He's played in 23 ranked majors in his career, and his title last year was the only time he had made a quarterfinal round. It's all about catching fire at the right time.
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When you look at the draw, the bottom half of the bracket appears to be far weaker than the top half.
Names like Luke Littler, Nathan Aspinall, Chris Dobey and Gerwyn Price stand out, but if a couple of these names fall, it could open up room for a player with a high ceiling on a good day to make a career-best run.
A name like Cor Dekker could be a dark horse if results fall in his favor, as he's had some impressive averages and performances on the Pro Tour this year.
Joe Cullen is coming off an impressive day at PC 27, and could make a potential run to the QF if he can defeat Damon Heta.
Wessell Nijman, as always, is a name to watch, though he faces Michael van Gerwen in a tough first-round match.
Nathan Aspinall is another name to watch if he can find a rhythm. He received a friendly draw, and his recent success against Luke Littler suggests he could make a run if they play one another in a potential quarterfinal round clash.
There are a million other scenarios that can open up gaps for wildcards to succeed, so we will see how they play out as the three-day tournament quickly unfolds.
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