A few things to catch up on.
Firstly the last PDC major of the year was the Grand Slam Of Darts and it was won by Gerwyn Price who became the first Welshman to win a PDC major, it was in controversial circumstances however, there was a bit of a tussle between him and fellow finalist Gary Anderson during which Anderson gave Price a little shove, Price does wind up his opponents by his over-celebrating and slow play, he takes a while to get his darts from the board once he has thrown them, there were a few words said by Anderson during the match before the clash, we have yet to know what punishment the players will get if any. Price and Anderson have had a rivalry in the past.
Secondly the last PDC TV title of 2018 was at the weekend at Butlins Minehead, it was the Players Championship Finals and it was won by Daryl Gurney who perhaps surprisingly beat Van Gerwen in the final 11-9, there have been 18 televised PDC tournaments this year, Van Gerwen leads the way with five wins, Anderson not far behind on three.
Thirdly during all this Raymond Van Barneveld announced that he will be retiring, next year will be his last as a pro, Barney is one of the most popular players there has ever been and one of the best with five world titles, he has been in steady decline in the last few years however, his last major came in 2014 when he won the Grand Prix, he has won a few World Cups since then with Van Gerwen.
Fourthly, The draw for the upcoming World Championship was on Monday, its has been expanded this year to 96 players including two female players for the first time since 2009, it looks like the 32 seeded players wont enter until the second round where they will face winners of first round ties, the female players taking part Anastacia Dombramyslova and Lisa Ashton, who could face Simon Whitlock and Mervyn King respectively if they get through. it all starts on December 13th and the final is on New Years Day.