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December11December 11, 2017

PDC World Championships Betting Preview

The 25th staging of the PDC World Championships gets underway on Thursday, setting off 18 days of pure darts action and making up what has become part of the holiday season’s crucial viewing for darts fans and non-fans alike.

Sadly, this will be the last time we will see the departing legend and 16x World Champion Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor throw a dart — at this level at least. But even as the greatest darts player of all time exits stage left, there is still plenty to get excited about.

The favorites to win PDC World Championships

This time last year, Michael van Gerwen was set to become a two-time World Champion, joining Adrian ‘Jackpot’ Lewis and Gary ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson as the other double winners on the tour. Now, he arrives at London’s Alexandra Palace — Ally Pally if you’re cool enough — gunning for a third world title.

Anderson, along with world number two and third seed Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright, are likely to be the closest challengers to the Dutch master. In Peter Wright’s case, participation is entirely dependent on his recovery from a recent attack of suspected gallstones, leaving Wright unlikely before Thursday according to a Tweet from his wife. The illness has pushed his price out to 10/1 at Betway to win the event outright, which is surely great value for such a high-ranking player. Wright, always a crowd favourite, brings colour to the show and would be sorely missed should he be absent from the event. This is especially true given that overtook his great rival Gary Anderson in the Order of Merit this year.

Emerging darters and familiar faces round out top favorites

Having won major titles this year, emerging stars Mensur Suljovic and Daryl Gurney will go into the World Championship with confidence, with odds of 50/1 and 40/1 to win outright, respectively.

The meteoric rise of Rob Cross, who is making his Ally Pally debut this year, has repeatedly reached the latter stages of major tournaments leading many to predict a bright future for the 27-year-old and is now pushing for a Premier League place. His performance this year is enough for us to select him as dark horse of the tournament. Not that we expect him to win, but look out for match-to-match value or even jump on an each-way outright bet which could pay off should he run deep enough. Let’s not forget that the rookie has played and beaten Michael van Gerwen on a couple of occasions this year too, so never say never.

And, of course, it would be criminal to rule out former World Champion Raymond van Barneveld, while the likes of James Wade and Dave Chisnall will be on a mission to prove that they still belong in the company of the elite despite recently dropping out of the top eight.

The first matches and final thoughts

The stand out match of the first round is Phil Taylor against Chris Dobey, quarter-finalist in the 2016 Grand Slam of Darts. Dobey, who beat Raymond van Barneveld at the Grand Slam in Wolverhampton, will be a tough opening opponent for Taylor. Phil loves to put young threats in their place, just as he did so brutally to Daryl ‘Superchin’ Gurney last month.

To surmise, Michael van Gerwen, who has won the last four TV events coming into the last four majors, is the red-hot favourite. Then there’s Gary Anderson and Peter Wright with the winner coming from one of those three with Rob Cross, 6/1 to reach the final, as the outsider. But don’t write off Phil Taylor, who has the edge over MVG this year and will want to end on the ultimate high.

Sky Sports will be broadcasting all of the action live, across their Main Event, Action and Arena channels.

Outright World Darts Championship betting odds at Betway

8/11 Michael van Gerwen
6/1 Gary Anderson
10/1 Peter Wright
10/1 Phil Taylor
12/1 Rob Cross
28/1 Adrian Lewis
40/1 Daryl Gurney
50/1 Mensur Suljovic, Raymond van Barneveld
125/1 Dave Chisnall, James Wade. Simon Whitlock
150/1 Kyle Anderson, Michael Smith
200/1 Alan Norris, Benito van de Pas, Jelle Klaasen, Kim Huybrechts
250/1 Cristo Reyes, Jonny Clayton, Mervyn King, Robert Thornton, Darren Webster Stephen Bunting, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Gerwyn Price, Ian White, Joe Cullen
300/1 Steve West
400/1 Vincent van der Voort
500/1 Brendan Dolan, Chris Dobey, James Wilson, Jamie Lewis Jan Dekker, Jeff Smith, John Henderson, Justin Pipe, Mark Webster, Ronny Huybrechts, Steve Beaton, Steve Lennon, Krzysztof Ratajski
750/1 Ted Evetts, Kevin Painter, Richard North, Keegan Brown, Jermaine Wattimena
1000/1 Antonio Alcinas, Devon Petersen, James Richardson, Martin Schindler, Peter Jacques, William O’Connor, Zoran Lerchbacher
2000/1 Aleksandr Oreshkin, Cody Harris, Gordon Mathers, Kenny Neyens, Kevin Munch, Kim Viljanen, Luke Humphries, Marko Kantele, Paul Lim, Willard Bruguier, Alan Ljubic, Bernie Smith, Christian Kist
2500/1 Xiao Chen Zong, Diogo Portela, Kai Fan Leung, Seigo Asada

Match schedule (seeds in brackets)

Thursday December 14 (7pm)

(25) Steve Beaton v William O’Connor
(32) James Wilson v Krzysztof Ratajski
Michael van Gerwen v Christian Kist
(16) Gerwyn Price v Ted Evetts

Friday December 15 (7pm)

Seigo Asada v Gordon Mathers (P)
(21) Stephen Bunting v Dimitri Van den Bergh
(6) Phil Taylor v Chris Dobey
(20) Rob Cross v Seigo Asada/Gordon Mathers

Saturday December 16
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

Brendan Dolan v Alan Ljubic (P)
(14) Benito van de Pas v Steve West
(22) Mervyn King v Zoran Lerchbacher
(28) Robert Thornton v Brendan Dolan/Alan Ljubic

Evening Session (7pm)

Jeff Smith v Luke Humphries (P)
(19) Joe Cullen v Jermaine Wattimena
(12) Jelle Klaasen v Jan Dekker
(3) Gary Anderson v Jeff Smith/Luke Humphries

Sunday December 17
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

Kenny Neyens v Jamie Lewis (P)
(15) Alan Norris v Kim Viljanen
(24) Kyle Anderson v Peter Jacques
(31) Jonny Clayton v Kenny Neyens/Jamie Lewis

Evening Session (7pm)

Willard Bruguier v Cody Harris (P)
(11) James Wade v Keegan Brown
(8) Dave Chisnall v Vincent van der Voort
(17) Ian White v Willard Bruguier/Cody Harris

Monday December 18 (7pm)

Kai Fan Leung v Paul Lim (P)
(5) Mensur Suljovic v Kevin Painter
(4) Daryl Gurney v Ronny Huybrechts
(30) Mark Webster v Kai Fan Leung/Paul Lim

Tuesday December 19 (7pm)

Aleksandr Oreshkin v Kevin Munch (P)
(29) John Henderson v Marko Kantele
(9) Raymond van Barneveld v Richard North
(7) Adrian Lewis v Aleksandr Oreshkin/Kevin Munch

Wednesday December 20 (7pm)

Xiao Chen Zong v Bernie Smith (P)
(13) Michael Smith v Steve Lennon
(10) Simon Whitlock v Martin Schindler
(27) Justin Pipe v Xiao Chen Zong/Bernie Smith

Thursday December 21 (7pm)

(26) Cristo Reyes v Antonio Alcinas
(18) Kim Huybrechts v James Richardson
(23) Darren Webster v Devon Petersen
(2) Peter Wright v Diogo Portela

Second Round

Friday December 22
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

Price/Evetts v White/Bruguier/Harris
Chisnall/Van der Voort v Beaton/O’Connor
Klaasen/Dekker v Bunting/Van den Bergh

Evening Session (7pm)

Suljovic/Painter v Thornton/Ljubic/Dolan
G Anderson/J Smith/Humphries v M Webster/Leung/Lim
Van Gerwen/Kist v Wilson/Ratajski

Saturday December 23
Afternoon Session (1pm)

Wade/Brown v King/Lerchbacher
M Smith/Lennon v Cross/Asada/Mathers
Van de Pas/West v Cullen/Wattimena

Evening Session (7pm)

Gurney/R Huybrechts v Henderson/Kantele
Taylor/Dobey v Pipe/Zong/Smith
Van Barneveld/North v K Anderson/Jacques

Wednesday December 27
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

Whitlock/Schindler v D Webster/Petersen
Norris/Viljanen v K Huybrechts/Richardson
A Lewis/Oreshkin/Munch v Reyes/Alcinas

Evening Session (7pm)

Wright/Portela v Clayton/Neyens/J Lewis

All sets are the best of five legs and the following formats apply.

Knockout Stages

First Round – Best of five sets
Second Round – Best of seven sets
Third Round Best of seven sets
Quarter-Finals Best of nine sets
Semi-Finals Best of 11 sets
Final Best of 13 sets (Monday, 1st of January)

November29November 29, 2017

Michael van Gerwen Wins Players Championship Finals

By Peter FryersIn

Darts Betting Tips

Another week means another darts tourney and yet another Michael van Gerwen victory in a televised competition. This time it was a third successive Players Championship Final victory. The world number one — it goes without saying — is now Betway’s 8/11 favourite to win the World Championship, which you will be pleased to hear is just a little over two weeks away.

Yet another victory for Gerwen

van Gerwen’s latest win came at the expense of unexpected finalist Jonny Clayton, who he beat 11-2 in Minehead. The victory comes on the back of three successive televised event wins at the European Championship, World Series of Darts Finals and the Grand Slam of Darts, stretching his run to 28 competitive match wins in a row dating back to October’s World Grand Prix.

Against Clayton, the Dutch maestro averaged 105.5 and landed five 180s and 23 doubles giving his opponent — a pre-tourney 250/1 shot who was appearing in his first ever TV final — no chance whatsoever to get into the match. Despite his loss, Clayton — who shot down Rob Cross in the semi-finals — comes away as an over-achiever that had previously never reached a quarter-final at this level.

The draw for the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship

The draw for the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship was made last night and we now know that Michael van Gerwen will begin his Championship defence against Betway’s extreme outsider Christian Kist, who is currently around 1000/1.

Two-time world champion, 2017 runner-up and 6/1 second favourite Gary Anderson will first face off against the winner of Jeff Smith (500/1) or 1000/1 hopeful Luke Humphries, but should meet MVG in the Quarter Finals if everything goes as expected.

This year’s second seed and UK Open champion Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright will begin his campaign against Brazilian Diogo Portela (2000/1). Wright is 9/1 with Betway, who hopes to topple the Dutch master in a likely final and win what would be his biggest event of his career.

After a very slight wobble a few months back, van Gerwen has returned to red-hot form at exactly the right time making the world no 1 again the man to beat as he hunts down a third world title priced 8/11. His half of the draw will also potentially pair him with countryman and 50/1 shot Raymond van Barneveld, who starts his campaign against Richard North (750/1).

Taylor, Gurney and Cross also draw attention for 2018 World Darts Championship

Of the 72-man field, all eyes will be on 16-time world champion Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, who takes to the Ally Pally stage for one last time in what will be his final competitive appearance before retirement. To advance, he will likely need to come through the 500/1 priced Justin Pipe and likely one of either James Wade (125/1) or Mervyn King (300/1). Taylor is looking to repeat his superb final victory at the World Matchplay earlier this year by claiming the Sid Waddell Trophy and exiting in true Taylor style. Betway have the sixth seeded legend at 10/1 to do so. The Power will start off the eventagainst Chris Dobey (500/1).

Elsewhere, Daryl Gurney and Rob Cross continue to impose themselves on the big four. In just a year, Gurney has replaced Adrian Lewis (33/1) — who is himself a two-time winner here — as fourth seed, while Rob Cross finds himself on the edge of the top 20 despite going from amateur to professional over the same time span. Betway are offering 12/1 on Cross and 40/1 on Gurney in the outright winner’s book.

Very much the jewel in the PDC crown, the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship will takes place at Alexandra Palace in London from Thursday December 14 to Monday January 1 and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

First Round Draw (seeds in brackets)

Top Half

Michael van Gerwen v Christian Kist
(32) James Wilson v Krzystof Ratajski
(16) Gerwyn Price v Ted Evetts
(17) Ian White v Willard Bruguier/Cody Harris
(8) Dave Chisnall v Vincent van der Voort
(25) Steve Beaton v William O’Connor
(9) Raymond van Barneveld v Richard North
(24) Kyle Anderson v Peter Jacques
(5) Mensur Suljovic v Kevin Painter
(28) Robert Thornton v Alan Ljubic/Brendan Dolan
(12) Jelle Klaasen v Jan Dekker
(21) Stephen Bunting v Dimitri Van den Bergh
(4) Daryl Gurney v Ronny Huybrechts
(29) John Henderson v Marko Kantele
(13) Michael Smith v Steve Lennon
(20) Rob Cross v Seigo Asada/Gordon Mathers

Bottom Half

(2) Peter Wright v Diogo Portela
(31) Jonny Clayton v Kenny Neyens/Jamie Lewis
(15) Alan Norris v Kim Viljanen
(18) Kim Huybrechts v James Richardson
(7) Adrian Lewis v Aleksandr Oreshkin/Kevin Munch
(26) Cristo Reyes v Antonio Alcinas
(10) Simon Whitlock v Martin Schindler
(23) Darren Webster v Devon Petersen
(6) Phil Taylor v Chris Dobey
(27) Justin Pipe v Xiao Chen Zong/Bernie Smith
(11) James Wade v Keegan Brown
(22) Mervyn King v Zoran Lerchbacher
(3) Gary Anderson v Jeff Smith/Luke Humphries
(30) Mark Webster v Kai Fan Leung/Paul Lim
(14) Benito van de Pas v Steve West
(19) Joe Cullen v Jermaine Wattimena

November24February 28, 2022

Mighty Michael van Gerwen wins Grand Slam of Darts

By Peter FryersIn

Darts Betting Tips

On Sunday at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Michael van Gerwen beat Phil Taylor before taking down Peter Wright in the final to claim his third straight Grand Slam of Darts. The world number one now adds the title to his World Championship and Premier League crowns in what has become yet another imperious year for the Dutch master.

A strong final eight

The group stages had seen a number of spirited performances from some of the field’s outsiders, but in the end the final eight was about as good as could have been expected.

The Order of Merit’s top four – Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Gary Anderson and Daryl Gurney – all took their place in the Quarter Finals. They were joined by the 16-time world champion Phil Taylor, a 2017 televised major winner in Mensur Suljovic, BDO champion Glen Durrant and Rob Cross, considered by many to the game’s hottest emerging talent. This was not a view shared by Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor regarding Daryl Gurney, who when quizzed by Sky Sports if Superchin represented the future of Darts, laughed it off and humiliated his young opponent 16-4, 24-hours later.

Back to Sunday’s action and Peter Wright, who had earlier fought back from being six legs down to beat Gary Anderson 15-16 in the semi-final, couldn’t keep up with MVG in the final. van Gerwen averaged over 50% throughout the whole event and won six of the last eight legs to win 16-12 and claim yet another major televised title.

Only hours earlier, the Dutchman had beaten Phil Taylor, the only other man to win three Grand Slams, 16-8. The final paired the newly top ranked pair in the world who went on to share seven 100+ finishes before Mighty Mike hit the after burners and stormed off with the win becoming only the second man to lift the Grand Slam trophy on three successive occasions.

Looking ahead

As the players prepare for the Players Championship in Minehead this weekend, many eyes are turned towards Alexandra Palace and the World Championships, now little under a month away.

Michael van Gerwen heads into the Ally Pally chasing a third world title and his second in as many years. He currently a 4/5 favorite at Betway to do so. Gary Anderson (11/2) and ‘Snakebite’ Wright (7/1) in particular should be considered the biggest threats to the Dutchman’s growing immortality.

Elsewhere, the traditional top eight of the past few years is finally being threatened by Daryl Gurney, Mensur Suljovic and Rob Cross as they begin to challenge the likes of Adrian Lewis, Dave Chisnall and James Wade in hunting down the leading pack of Van Gerwen, Wright, Anderson, Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld. Come February, Wade, Lewis and Chizzy will have a battle on their hands when it comes to the Premier League matches and other majors.

That said, it’s inevitable that the departing legend that is Phil Taylor will be where the pre-tourney narrative is. He enjoyed himself in Wolverhampton, where he made life miserable for the Sky Sports’ cameras. During the event he playfully cursed live on air and dismissed the challenge of Gurney, whom he destroyed in the QF’s. On this form, he will not be going quietly come North London. Taylor is a respectable 8/1 at current prices for one last shot at World Championship glory.

The Power will not be at Minehead this weekend, where the PDC go it alone and where 27-year-old Rob Cross is the top seed. Cross’ good form continued with a run to the quarter-final last week, making it easy to forget that this is his first year on the circuit and was not even a professional this time last year. Now Cross, who has risen to world’s top 20, finds himself top seed and fourth favourite for a live televised event. If you fancy Cross to win live on ITV2 this weekend, get on him now at 9/1 at Betway. Or, of course, you’ll find the big three, MVG (10/11), Anderson (11/2) or Wright (8/1) also available.