At almost exactly this point last year, trouble was afoot chez Killworth in the form of a Christmas tree in 'TV corner'.

Only a last-minute invite to the old man's house saved me the indignity of watching last year's final (by some distance the best I have seen as Raymond van Barneveld edged out Phil Taylor in sudden death) on a fuzzy 15in television in a predictably uncomfortable dining room chair.

But thanks to the wonders of Sky multiroom (surely second only to the United Nations when it comes to 21st Century peacekeeping), there are no such worries this time around.

Indeed thanks to the wonders of modern technology (is that enough praise for a free HD upgrade?), two options present themself - either glorious widescreen technicolour and a comfortable armchair, or the opportunity to allow the dulcit tones of Sid Waddell to drift over me while reclining in bed.

Ever the gentleman, I'll give Mrs K the first choice on which venue she'd like to watch '100 Greatest TV Moments Shown On A New Year's Day' (or whatever else she fancies) in.

Though having said that, if Barney makes the final again, I wouldn't fancy seeing his waistline on widescreen. And yes, before you ask, I did see him pounding the treadmill during the Grand Slam of Darts - I just can't get my head around it!

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Tipping Barney to win last year's tournament marked the start of a good year for me with my previews for our sister site bettingzone.co.uk - indeed I'm going into this year's tournament with a 37-point profit for the last 12 months.

So where will my money be going for Ally Pally?

Well, you'll just have to wait and see. Our preview will go live within the next 48 hours so stay tuned...