It’s all about the darts and CS:GO this weekend!

Although most people will be focused on this Sunday’s World Cup final in Qatar, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty going on elsewhere in the world of sports for the rest of us to dig our teeth into.

With that in mind, we’re taking a sneak peak at what the Cazoo World Darts Championship and BLAST Premier World Finals 2022 have got in store for us over the coming days.

Cazoo World Darts Championship

All you darts fans will have plenty of reason to rejoice over the next few weeks as Merry Dartmas, aka the Cazoo World Darts Championship, is almost upon us! From 15 December to 3 January, the big names from the world of darts will descend upon Alexandra Palace, each hoping to score a bullseye and bring home the bacon in what promises to be a thoroughly gripping tournament!

As always, this year’s darts action has had us all glued to our screens with more drama and tension than you can shake a stick at, as well as the occasional shock or two. With no fewer than 24 winners across 58 PDC events, 2022 has seen many of darts’ big names, as well as a few up-and-comers, taste the sweet nectar of victory.

The overarching trend this year has been the scintillating form of Michael van Gerwen. The Dutchman has emerged victorious in 10 events this season, which is by far the highest since averaging around 20 wins per season from 2015-2019, prompting talk that the sport is about to enter a second era of MVG dominance.

However, van Gerwen has remained notably coy on the subject, stating that there are plenty of players who are capable of beating him, such as Michael Smith, Joe Cullen, Jonny Clayton, Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price, all of whom know exactly what it takes to win having taking 1st place at some point this year.

What’s more, MVG will also fight off the challenges of Luke Humphries, who’s triumphed in 5 PDC events this year, as well as Danny Noppert and Ross Smith, both of whom have claimed their maiden PDC events wins over the course of the past 12 months.

Will MVG live up to his billing as favourite to triumph here or will the chasing pack have other ideas? Whatever happens, we’re in for a world of entertainment over the next couple of weeks.

BLAST Premier Finals 2022

It all comes down to this! The stage is set for a truly epic conclusion to 2022 as 8 of CS:GO’s biggest names gear up to lock horns for a shot at the title. With a prize fund of $1,000,000, as well as a $500,000 grand prize up for grabs, you’ll be able to cut the tension in the Etihad Arena with a knife over the coming few days.

Heading into this tournament, it’s Heroic who are being tipped as slight favourites to take home all the spoils here. Kasper S. Hansen’s band of merry men will be on cloud nine right now after triumphing in the Blast Premier Fall Finals with a hard-fought 2-1 win in the final over FaZe Clan in what proved to be a thrilling encounter.

That being said, getting out of Group B won’t be a cakewalk for them as they are up against two bonafide CS:GO legends in the shape of Team Vitality and NAVI. Although the former haven’t exactly set the world alight this year, as their disappointing recent showing at the Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major 2022 showed, the Frenchmen take home the grand prize at ESL Pro League and most certainly know what it takes to win.

The same could be said for NAVI (their name does mean “born to win” after all), as they swept all before them last year, as well as managing to take 1st place in the BLAST Premier Spring Finals and Fall Groups this year. However, they are on a wretched run of form heading into this turnaround and need to get their act together pronto if they are to rediscover their mojo here.

We’re also set for a fierce fight in Group A as FaZe Clan, Outsiders, G2 Esports and Team Liquid battle it out to reach the final 4. While they’ve looked like the team to beat for most of the year, FaZe Clan have had to deal with quite a few setbacks recently, such as disappointing showing at the Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major 2022. They also had to settle for second place in the BLAST Premier Fall Finals after narrowly missing out to Heroic in the final and will be champing at the bit to emerge victorious here.

That being said, they’ll have a job on their hands getting out of this group as they’ll have to deal with Outsiders, who showed the CS:GO world exactly what they were capable of by taking 1st place at Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major 2022. Team Liquid are also no slouches themselves either and they’ll also be in high spirits heading into this tournament after a strong showing at the BLAST Premier Fall Finals, where they made it to the semi-finals after beating NAVI and G2 Esports in the group stage.

No matter what happens over the next few days, one thing’s for certain, there are going to be plenty of twists and turns in store!