Austria’s Mensur Suljovic won his first World Series of Darts title after beating the young Belgian Dimitri van den Bergh 8-2 in the German Darts Masters last Sunday. The Big Gentle overcame 16 others in front of 20,000 fans at the Veltins Arena.
Earlier on in the evening Suljovic defeated Robert Marijanovic 6-2 in the first round before seeing off world champion Rob Cross 8-7 in the quarter-final, which was prior to destroying defending champion Peter Wright 8-2 in the semis. Suljovic maintained his momentum through the final as he put together an average of 101.63 that comprised of five 180s. Suljovic also successfully landed eight of his 13 attempts at doubles in a comprehensive victory.
World youth champion, Van den Bergh had soundly beaten Martin Schindler 6-0 in round one, hitting an average of 109.98 on the way. That stat dropped to 94 come the quarter-final but was still more than enough to overcome world number one Michael van Gerwen 8-3. A Semi-Final average of 92 was also enough to put away Gary Anderson 8-7 in a match where the 23-year-old from Antwerp nailed a brilliant 124 checkout, proving he is certainly one to keep an eye on as we move into the latter part of the year.
The German Darts Masters was the first of six such events to be staged on the PDC’s World Series of Darts circuit in 2018. Next up, is the U.S. Darts Masters that will be held in the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas in early July.
World Series of Darts Events
- July 3 – 7: U.S. Darts Masters
- July 13-14: Shanghai Darts Masters
- August 3-5: Auckland Darts Masters
- August 10-12: Melbourne Darts Masters
- August 17-19: Brisbane Darts Masters
- November 2-4: World Series of Darts Finals
World Cup of Darts Betting Tips
The World Cup of Darts is the next event on our radar and it starts this Thursday in Frankfurt. Scotland, whose team is comprised of Peter Wright and Gary Anderson, are 11/4 second favourites with event sponsors Betway. However, the all-too-familiar Dutch pair of Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld — defending champions no less — stand in their way. They are strongly fancied at evens among the 32 nations taking part in the tournament that will be broadcast live on Sky Sports. The Dutch pair will begin the defense against Dyson Parody and Justin Broton of Gibraltar.
Snakebite and The Flying Scotsman will match up against Larry Butler and Darin Young of the United States of America in round one, while four-time winners England — represented by Rob Cross and Dave Chisnall — will play the Czech Republic’s Roman Benecky and Karel Sedlacek. England, should you fancy them, are listed at 5/1 chance Betway to win their fifth World Cup title.
20/1 number four seed Australia — led by Simon Whitlock & Kyle Anderson — take on Hong Kong, while last year’s finalists Wales, also 20/1 and featuring Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton, will play Thailand. Former finalists Belgium, this year represented by Kim Huybrechts & Dimitri Van den Bergh, are priced at a rather tasty 28/1. They will play their first game against the Republic of Ireland, while number six seeds, Daryl Gurney’s Northern Ireland are 25/1 and will meet Poland. Eighth seeds Austria, also 25/1, will come up against Japan.
World Cup of Darts Draw
- Scotland v USA
- Denmark v Brazil
- Austria v Japan
- Italy v Canada
- Wales v Thailand
- Switzerland v China
- Australia v Hong Kong
- Russia v Spain
- England v Czech Republic
- New Zealand v Singapore
- Belgium v Republic of Ireland
- Greece v Finland
- Northern Ireland v Poland
- Sweden v Germany
- Netherlands v Gibraltar
- Hungary v South Africa