darts

Well the Premier League Darts opening night couldn’t have been more exciting. The highlight of the night, was the Stoke-on-Trent derby match between newly crowned World Champion Adrian Lewis and the man who has pretty much made the tournament his own, Phil The Power Taylor. Phil Taylor had just come off the back of winning the Players Championship Finals and you would have expected him to carry that form through. He is Mr Consistency after all, but the apprentice took down the master in a massive 8-2 rout on the night. There was some doubt about Adrian Lewis going into the opening night of the 2011 Premier League darts, and that is because he doesn’t have the consistency to really pull off the title here. He couldn’t have gotten off to a much better start though. Other winners on the opening night, were Scotsman Gary Anderson, who had the highest checkout of the night in his victory over Simon Whitlock, while Terry Jenkins beat out Raymond van Barneveld and our top tip for the Premier League, Mark Webster hammered James Wade 8-3. The top average of the night, was secured by Adrian Lewis, who was just firing on all cylinders against Taylor, while Taylor himself barely got his three dart average of 90. A bit of a night to forget for Taylor there, but there is still a long season to go, and remember, Taylor has finished top of the league in all seven seasons of the tournament.

The Premier League darts season is played over fourteen weeks between eight players, all playing home and away (just to see who throws first) in venues across the UK. At the end of the tour matches, the top four players in the league move forward to a knockout stage in a shoot out for Premier League glory. Phil Taylor has won the Premier League, six out of the seven times it has been held, so he will take some stopping. The Tour moves on to its second night at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham on February 17th  and there is another top clash to look forward to. Phil Taylor v Mark Webster looks to be the headlining match of the night, as Wales’ Webster is well worth getting behind here for the 2011 Premier League Darts title. He is really rolling along in form right now, and was the man who knocked Taylor out of the recent World Championships. It will be a good test of endurance and consistency for Webster, but he is looking like he can win this thing, and will be worth putting down for Outright Winner. If he gets into the top four of the table to move ahead to the knockout stage, then he will be a major threat. He started off his Premier League darts campaign this year, by stuffing James Wade (who is, its fair to say, not on top of his game at all for one of the top ranked players in the world), but Webster really did the damage with a 100.49 three dart average. Only Adrian Lewis did better on the night. Will Taylor be able to respond and get his first victory under his belt?

2011 Premier League Darts Outright Winner

Phil Taylor: 5/2 at SkyBet
Gary Anderson: 7/2 at Unibet
Adrian Lewis: 15/4 at SportingBet
Mark Webster: 10/1 SportingBet
Simon Whitlock: 11/1 at Unibet
James Wade: 12/1 at Bwin
Terry Jenkins: 20/1 at Boylesports
Raymond van Barneveld: 33/1 at SkyBet

As for Adrian Lewis, he faces off against James Wade, who really looks out of sort with his form at the moment. Has won major titles in his career, but looks as if he has suddenly stagnated while others around him have caught up. Shame, as he’s a great player, but not worth backing here in the Premier League. Another win for Lewis would put the Stoke man in great standing early on. Scotland’s Gary Anderson has been heavily tipped on these pages since the World Championships, and he did get to the final there. He also reached the final of the Players Championships, and lost that as well. He had terrible disruptions ahead of his first Premier League match (and he is debuting this season) against Simon Whitlock, but knuckled down to pull out an 8-5 win over the Australian, even though Whitlock’s three dart average was slightly better. Whitlock squares off against Raymond van Barneveld, with neither really expected to do much damage in the tournament, so that won’t take centre stage. As for Gary Anderson on night two of the 2011 Premier League darts, he faces Terry Jenkins, who was tipped before the competition kicked off, to be the most likely to finish bottom, so a good chance again for Anderson.

Premier League Darts Night Two Fixtures Betting Odds

Simon Whitlock  v Raymond van Barneveld
Both great players, but Van Barneveld really has no interest in this tournament, and has the added burden of extra travel. As for Whitlock, he has made a good impression in the Premier League before, and so would back him to take this match for 5/6 at Blue Square.

James Wade v Adrian Lewis
Not sure what is wrong with Wade at the moment, and if this match is going to come down to a battle of confidence, then Adrian Lewis will checkout as winner without too much bother for Evens at SportingBet.

Phil Taylor v Mark Webster
Match of the night. You expect much better from Taylor, and he’ll be hungry not to give up his Premier League crown so easily. Early days in the competition of course, and this is one match where he will hit back. Mark Webster is the exciting guy to watch in the tournament, and is in great form. Has beaten Taylor recently as said above, Taylor needs a big bounce back, but don’t be surprised to see Webster get another one over The Power, the Welshman is firing at the moment. Value in Webster at 9/4 with Bet365

Terry Jenkins v Gary Anderson
Would back the Scot Gary Anderson to make it two from two in his opening Premier League matches. Did great last week and although Jenkins beat Barneveld, that’s not a great marker in this competition really. Barneveld is better than what he produces in the Premier League. Anderson’s in strong form, one of the best around at the moment, so worth backing in this and an outright winner in his debut season. Anderson is 8/15 at 888Sport and would make a nice four fold accumulator as the banker with the above matches.

2011 Premier League Darts Betting Tips – The Master is back. Yes, Darts legend Phil Taylor got back on top recently, with victory in the Players Championship Finals. After going on a bit of a barren run since the last quarter of 2010, The Power stormed back to the top, and warned his rivals that he is not going to retire for another five years yet. They can therefore forget about taking over his mantle as the best in the world. Taylor has been away, has changed his darts and has been working hard on his game, which sounds a little peculiar for a fifteen time world champion, that he should need to tweak anything. But that is the drive of the man, who simply wants more. Taylor really set himself up for glory at the point when he was 5-0 down in the semi final of the Players Championship Finals against Mervyn King. In a remarkable turn around, Taylor rallied in spectacular fashion to take the semi 10-8. In the final against Gary Anderson, Taylor again had to take it to the wire, clawing his way back from 11-9 down to take the match to a decider at 12-12. The irrepressible Taylor struck gold by nailing a 128 checkout. Now the attention will turn back to the Premier League Darts title, of which, Taylor has won five of the last six. He has finished top of the league table in all six tournaments so far (with the top players then going on to a further knockout stage to contest the final).

This year the Premier League Darts title will be more fiercely contested than ever, and one of the most telling factors about this tournament, which is contested by eight players over the course of 14 weeks. There are only eight players to consider for your Premier League Darts betting. What is needed here is consistency, which is what Taylor has in spades. The one tournament mentality needs to slip by in order just to turn up every week around the country, and get a job done. The consistency factor is why Taylor has fared so well in this tournament since its conception. There is a bit of an odd twist on this year’s Premier League, because the eight players have been split into two teams, the Blues (led by Taylor) and the Greens (led by Adrian Lewis). The losing team (based on player’s individual scores) will have to complete a forfeit, something which is selected by voting fans. So while it’ll have no bearing on the outcome of the table, it is a peculiar little twist which the players will naturally want to avoid. So, Taylor starts as favourite yet again, even though the maestro doesn’t look as invincible as once he was. That being said, he is still the man to beat, and still the man that every other player wants to beat and to emulate. He’s not going to go all season unbeaten in the Premier League, that looks to be out of the question really, but it is worth taking a look over the odds for Taylor to finish top of the table yet again at 5/2 with Boylesports.

There are two new entrants into the Premier League Darts betting arena this time around, with Gary Anderson (finalist at the World Championships, and the Players Championship Finals) and the rising star of Mark Webster stepping into the fray. Those two join Taylor, James Wade, World Champion Adrian Lewis, Simon Whitlock, Raymond van Barneveld and Terry Jenkins. Each player plays the other twice in the league, on a home and away format, just to indicate who will throw first in the match, which consists of 14 legs of 501. For your darts betting on this one, there are two main options to look at. First of all, there is the league winner, and then the tournament outright winner to take. As mentioned above, at the price which you can get him right now, Taylor is worth a punt to win the league, as he has that all important consistency factor, which other players just can’t match. That really should put him in grand standing to hit the top of the league. Remember, the top four players go through to the final in May. Scotland’s Gary Anderson is proving a handful for most at the moment, reaching the final of the last two PDC Tournaments, and should be looked at in both categories. Perhaps the best outside tip will be debutant Mark Webster, who beat Taylor at the World Championships, and is progressively looking better and better. If he gets into the top four, he will make a strong bet to win the tournament outright.

There is a pretty strong bunch in the Premier League Darts Betting running for 2011, with the current World Champion Adrian Lewis in there. Lewis is highly talented but unlikely to win the Premier League, because he has not got the week in week out consistency, so it doesn’t suit his style. Aussie Simon Whitlock will remain on the fringe of things, because as good as he is, he just can’t seem to step up grab that winning edge, plus he’s not really in great form. James Wade is a strong competitor but another which is struggling for form, and again it comes down to consistency. Wade can turn it on and beat the best, but perhaps not motivated enough for this enduring test. Raymond Van Barneveld never looks as if he has much interest, and Terry Jenkins will be the rank outsider in the tournament. Stick with Taylor and Webster as the backup outsider bet.

Week One, February 10th London
Week Two, February 17th Nottingham
Week Three, February 24th Belfast
Week Four, March 3rd Exeter
Week Five, March 10th Manchester
Week Six, March 17th Glasgow
Week Seven, March 24th Brighton
Week Eight, March 31st Cardiff
Week Nine, April 7 Aberdeen
Week Ten, April 14 Sheffield
Week Eleven, April 21 Birmingham
Week Twelve, April 28 Liverpool
Week Thirteen, May 5 Bournemouth
Week Fourteen, May 12 Newcastle

Play Offs – Wembley Arena May 19th

Premier League Darts Betting Outright Winner Odds

Phil Taylor: 13/8 at Stan James
Gary Anderson: 11/2 at BetFred
Adrian Lewis: 7/1 at 888Sport
Simon Whitlock: 15/2 at Boylesports
James Wade: 8/1 at Totesport
Mark Webster: 14/1 at SkyBet
Raymond Van Barneveld: 16/1 at Blue Square
Terry Jenkins: 25/1 at Bet365

Back to some top notch darts action with the Players Championship Finals at the Doncaster Dome. The hot oche action got underway on Thursday evening, and the four day event sees 32 players aiming for the £250,000 prize. This is just the third instalment of the Players Championship Finals, and the top thirty two players from the PDC Players Championship Order of Merit from 2010 are the entrants, so you can be assured of some fiercely contested top action. There will be no defence of the title here, as Paul Nicholson, last year’s winner over Mervyn King, failed to make it into the top 32. No real great surprise as to who the only other winner of the tournament was, yes it was the one and only, 15 time World Champion Phil Taylor. Taylor, the 2009 Players Championship Finals winner starts his campaign against Steve Brown on Friday, while fellow Stoke on Trent man Adrian Lewis faces Steve Beaton in the first round as well. Taylor starts as favourite for the tournament to no great surprise, but he hasn’t quite been able to put tournaments to bed lately. Is the great man finally showing signs of slowing up? No, not really, he is still the best in the world by a long shot, and he didn’t get to finish as runner up at the 2010 Sports Personality of the Year for no reason. He is still the master, who everyone else wishes they could emulate.

So, if Phil Taylor happens to slip up again, where will a winner come from? Well, first things first you need to look at the draw to help you judge your darts betting. The most important factor here is the seeding for the event, which is based on the Order of Merit after last year’s tournament. This means that Phil Taylor is not the top seed, nope, he is ranked fourth behind Simon Whitlock, Gary Anderson and Colin Lloyd, and that means Taylor will have a tougher tournament than he usually gets because of his top seeding in the world. Taylor therefore, is in the top half of the draw, where Simon Whitlock, Mervyn King, Terry Jenkins, Adrian Lewis and James Wade all reside also. This makes the event really fascinating, as we can expect a second round match up between Phil Taylor v James Wade, the world’s number one and number three players respectively. The quarter finals could see Taylor also face off against Mark Webster, the one who beat him in the World Championships. In the semi’s there could be anyone from Whitlock to Lewis, so it really is an open playing field, and the top half of this draw is incredibly tough. What it does mean, is that there could be a relatively easy final opponent to square off against, for whoever comes through this. Gary Anderson, who reached the final of the World Championships recently, will be favourite to take that one, and should be backed to keep up his fine run of form going. Other than that, there is Colin Lloyd in the mix, and you wouldn’t be too surprised to see those two in the semi final from the bottom half of the draw.

So, with the draw in mind, if Taylor is going to get back to winning ways, he is going to have to do it the hard way. But that is what he thrives on. Still well worth a punt, nonetheless, as he has proven time and time again, he can beat anyone in the world, often comfortably. The semi finals and the final take place on Sunday, February 6th, and expect to see some fireworks in this somewhat unusual tournament draw. Terry Jenkins and Mark Webster are both semi finalists from the World Championships, so they will make their presence known in the top half of the draw as well. Really, if Taylor wasn’t going to win the tournament for the second time, the next person to look at would be World Champion Adrian Lewis. Lewis really was on top of his game at the World Championships, and makes for a good tip, but again it is that top half of the draw factor. So perhaps drifting down to the bottom half of the draw and Gary Anderson would make a little more sense. You really don’t see too much standing the way of him making it to the semi finals, certainly not if he plays the way he did at the World Championships. There is a greater chance that he will be in the final four than taking pot luck from anyone from the top half.

If you want to catch the live action from Doncaster, then head to highly recommended online bookmaker Bet365. You can see the arrows being thrown with their live video streams, and it also gives you the great opportunity to partake in some live betting as the action is ongoing. The action is going to come thick and fast with the darts, and with the incredibly competitive prices at Bet365, it is the ideal place for your darts betting. When you open a new account with one of the best betting places on the internet, then you will be greeted with a super generous £100 free bet. So why not have a punt on Taylor or an outsider at the Players Championship Finals, as you could have a lot of free betting money to play with when you join Bet365 and take advantage of their excellent live streams. You just need to be a funded account holder to gain access to the live darts streams.

2011 Players Championship Darts Outright Betting Odds

Phil Taylor: 2/1 at SkyBet
Gary Anderson: 7/2 at Bet365
Simon Whitlock: 13/2 at Blue Square
James Wade: 11/1 at Paddy Power
Mark Webster: 16/1 at Bet365
Colin Osborne: 20/1 at Bet365
Colin Lloyd: 22/1 at 888Sport
Mervyn King: 25/1 at SportingBet
Terry Jenkins: 25/1 at Bet365
Andy Smith: 28/1at SportingBet

December 16th will see the start of the 2011 PDC World Championship of Darts, and top of the list again for your betting will be Phil Taylor. This is a tournament which Phil The Power Taylor has pretty much made his own. Out of the seventeen times which it has been held, Taylor has won a staggering thirteen of them. Taylor, who is actually a 15 times World Champion (how many sportsmen can boast that kind of record?) is the defending Champion this year, after beating Aussie star Simon Whitlock in last year’s final by a score of 7-3. In all of his PDC World Championship titles, Taylor has only twice conceded four of more sets in the final itself, and Taylor is outright favourite to win again at the Alexandra Palace in London. The tournament itself does not conclude until January 3rd, 2011, but Taylor puts in an appearance on the opening night of the darts festivities, as he starts is campaign to win the biggest prize money in darts history. The jackpot for winning the final this year, is a cool £2 million, double the amount that Taylor picked up as winner last year.

So Taylor is the man, but if he was totally infallible then it wouldn’t be worth anyone else’s time turning up. The thing about Taylor, is that all the darts tournaments which he enters, is pretty much about beating him. He is the benchmark by which all of the other players on the Order of Merit have to set their standards by. A quick look at the PDC Order of Merit shows what an incredible power Taylor is in the game. His total prize money stands at over £1 million, and James Wade, the second ranked player, is way behind on just over £300,000 prize money. That is a staggering difference. He and English partner James Wade blew up at the World Cup of Darts recently, and the Grand Slam of Darts to great surprise, but you can expect Taylor to push hard for the title here. He is the best in the world at his craft and no one would begrudge seeing him lift the title again. Has experimented with wearing glasses on stage, ditched them when he didn’t play well in them, and has of course hit two nine-dart finishes this year. Both in the final of the Premier League Darts against James Wade. Taylor is favourite, so let’s cast an eye over him and the rest of the main contenders.

The great news is, that the tournament, which is being sponsored by bookmaker Ladbrokes, is also being streamed live. Ladbrokes will be showing all of the live action from the Alexandra Palace on their live stream service, so you don’t have to miss a single throw of the arrows. This means that you can enjoy live in play betting on the tournament while you are watching it, all in one place. You’ll need to have an account with Ladbrokes in order to gain access to the streams, and so it is the ideal time to open an account. When you do, you can earn yourself a free £25 bet as a generous welcome offer from the popular bookie. Ladbrokes have the rights to stream the PDC World Championships in the UK and Ireland, while Bet365 will cover the rest of the world (apart from the US).

Phil Taylor 4/6 at SkyBet

Pretty much unstoppable in this tournament and has had a great year, winning the World Championship, World Matchplay, European Championship, UK Open and US Open. Not totally unbeatable of course, but he will be the man to beat. His averages are just incredibly consistent, setting a record in the 2009 final with 110, and hitting an average of 104 in last year’s victory over Simon Whitlock. This is his stage and rightly starts as favourite. Will we see some of that nine-dart finishing magic from Phil The Power Taylor? Wouldn’t count against it. He is the strongest bet, and when you hear “The Power” from Snap! playing then you know that the tournament is really starting. He remains the man to beat, and it’s pretty much the rest of the field versus him.

James Wade 9/1 at Extrabet

The left handed World Number two has really stepped up his game this year. He has landed two major titles in the PDC, winning the World Grand Prix and the Championship League, along with finishing as runner up in the Grand Slam of Darts. This is the man who became the first ever player to beat Phil Taylor in the Premier League, and now this has to be one of his best chances to shine. James “The Machine” Wade’s  best performance so far at the World Championship has been a semi final appearance in the 2009 event, and only made the quarter finals last year. Hold a career 12-6 match record at the World Championship, but this year really should see him reach the semi’s at the very least. Anything less than that will be a bid of a disappointment. In better shape than he has ever been, and really is the best bet behind Phil Taylor. If an upset is going to come, then Wade will be in the hunt to take the glory.

Simon Whitlock 16/1 at Stan James

The Wizard as he is affectionately known as (cue pointy beard) has climbed up to fourth in the PDC Order of Merit, after reaching the final of 2010 World Championships is still waiting to land his first big titles. Has picked up Masters victories on tour, but not one of the PDC Premier Events (such as the Premier League, World Matchplay, World Championship etc).Great talent is the Australian (who walks on the stage to Down Under by Men at Work – and who says darts was clichéd) but whether or not he has the clinical finishing power that is needed to win these big events remains to be seen. Had a couple of semi final appearances in the PDC Premier events this year, but again, has not quite had what it takes to get over the finish line. A threat in the tournament, and you would expect him to land something big sooner or later. Probably not here though.

Raymond van Barneveld 14/1 at Blue Square

The Dutchman is a four time World Champion, but you have to go back to 2005 to find his last title at the World Championships. Hasn’t managed to pick up a Premier Event on the PDC tour this year, and his best finish was on his debut at the World Matchplay this year where he finished as Runner Up. It hasn’t been his best year, finishing sixth in the Premier League and looking out of sorts, largely due to family problems back home in the Netherlands. Has hit a couple of nine dart finishes this year, but Barney simply isn’t the same hungry, driven figure that would push Taylor all the way in tournaments like this. He looks a bit of a shadow of his former self, and he remains an outside bet at best unfortunately.

Adrian Lewis 33/1 at Totesport

The Jackpot is from Stoke, the home town of Phil Taylor. He has been known as Taylor’s apprentice, and this has led to some good rivalry between the two. Currently ranked 5th in the Order of Merit and has a good chance of making a real nuisance of himself. Has enjoyed a pretty good season on all account. Finished as runner up at the World Grand Prix this year, and reached the quarter finals of the World Championship, UK Open and Players Championship Finals. Has the stamina and solid play to go deep into competitions. At just 25, Lewis has a great future ahead of him. Whatever they are putting in the water in Stoke-on-Trent, is producing some awesome darters. At the World Championship, has three quarter final finishes. Has to go deeper sooner rather than later.

Gary Anderson 20/1 at Paddy Power

Ranking down in 11th, but the Flying Scotsman makes an interesting punt. Was runner up at the UK Open, and has a no-nonsense approach about his game. Huge potential but often leaves his fans, and himself frustrated. Until he builds a bit more consistency and killer punch, he will remain on the fringes like this. However, that being said, if you are looking for a genuine outside chance, well worth considering, has been at finals before and won titles in the BDO, just hasn’t quite nailed things since his move to the PDC.

The inaugural World Cup of Darts was thrown into action on Friday, with 24 nations competing to be crowned the first ever World Champions. The tournament is held over just three days in Houghton-le-Spring and the teams have had to break the snow to make their case. Each team has just two players and is played mostly in the doubles format. It all started off with a knockout round between the 9-24th seeded teams in the tournament, to see who progressed through to the evening draw where the seeded teams were awaiting them. All of these matches are the best of eleven legs and interestingly, it is the loser who throws first in the next leg. So, who are favourites at the World Cup of Darts? Well, that was England. Why? Because Phil Taylor was representing his country along with James Wade, and they make a formidable pairing. These are the top two ranked players in the world, and it didn’t look bad at all for England’s hopes. That’s a bit like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both being from the same country and playing on the same national side. Formidable. However, they lost. The top pairing were sensationally dumped out of the second round, by qualifiers Spain.

The 24 nations taking part are the top ranked ones in the PDC Order of Merit, and Spain beat Japan in the first round to get the chance to take on England. The match went all the way down to a decider which the Spanish took. Favourites in the tournament now then are the Netherlands, with Co Stompe and Raymond Van Barneveld representing their country. That is also quick a strong arm to bet on, but really everyone should come in second against The English pairing. Out of Friday’s evening sessions, the eight winning nations from that will go forward into Saturday’s group stage. The eight nations will be split into two groups, with the top two going forward then to the semi finals. Sunday will see the semi finals and World Cup final itself take place. The format of the competition does change a little bit on the weekend, with Singles and Doubles games consisting of a match. This is an exciting tournament, simply because it is new and you really don’t get to see the world’s best players playing doubles matches very often. The added challenge for the top seeds, will be to overcome the Loser Throws First rule.

With the draw sort of predetermined (keeping the top seeds apart for the group stage) Spain have ended up in a group along with the USA, Wales and Scotland. That is a fascinating prospect, and one for the darts crowd to get pumped up for. Scotland (seeded fourth for the World Cup) are represented by Gary Anderson and Robert Thornton, Wales (5th seeds) have Mark Webster and Barrie Bates, Northern Ireland (6th seeds) have Brendan Dolan and John MaGowan, and Ireland (9th seeds) have Mick McGowan and William O’Connor. Wales and Scotland succeeded where England failed in reaching the group stage, and Scotland actually make an interesting prospect for your darts betting. Second seeds Netherlands are likely to be in a group along with Canada, Austria and Australia. The Australian duo of Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson looks like a great outside bet, and that is because of Whitlock, who is one of the best players around at the moment. He will be a threat, but of course, with the doubles format, you are only as good as your partner. Both players have to perform on the night, so there is still a lot of work to do. The round robin format in the group stages really is going to be an exciting prospect.

You really wouldn’t have backed against Taylor and Wade to be honest, not with any conviction anyway at the start of the tournament. Taylor has had an astonishing year, and he has been nominated for the shortlist of the Sports Personality of the Year Award. He is one of the favourites there and would be full deserving and a World Cup triumph may just have influenced voting on him. The Netherlands are worth a look, but they had tough travel plans in getting into the UK because of the weather which may have disrupted them with their delays. Sweden had their first round match delayed because of a cancelled flight. The Czech team didn’t even show up because of problems in getting to the UK on time, and Russia’s Anastasia Dobromyslova lost her partner Roman Konchikov somewhere in London (although he appeared in time to help Russia beat Gibraltar in the first round). Scotland then disposed of Russia in the second round, Wales beating New Zealand.

Sunday, December 5th
Semi Finals – Four “Best of Eleven Singles” followed by a “Best of Eleven Doubles” if it is needed. Teams earn one point for a singles win, two for a doubles win.

World Cup of Darts Final: Four “Best of Fifteen” singles matches, followed by a “Best of Fifteen Doubles” if it is needed. Points are awarded as above.

World Cup of Darts Outright Winner

Netherlands: 2/1 at SportingBet
Scotland: 9/4 at SkyBet
Australia: 10/3 at BetFred
Wales: 9/1 at Blue Square
Spain: 33/1 at Stan James
Canada: 66/1 at Bwin
Austria: 100/1 at SkyBet
USA: 100/1 at Stan James

There’s one trophy that Phil Taylor’s name is in danger of not being on this year, and that is the Grand Slam of Darts. The Power, who has been enjoying a incredible season, winning the World Championship, World Matchplay, Premier League, European Championship, the UK Open and the US Open. However, on Tuesday night, Taylor was floored by Ted Hankey in his second group match of the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts, as an out of sorts Taylor couldn’t hit the mark, and was always trying to play catchup from the start. Taylor, now bespectacled on stage, has admitted that the he is still adjusting to wearing the eye pieces at the oche. Whether Taylor will persist with the glasses or not for the rest of the tournament, remains to be seen. He got through his opening match against Michael van Gerwen without much bother, winning 5-1. But there is a lot to defend at the tournament for Taylor, who has won all four installations of the Grand Slam of Darts since its conception. Taylor demolished Scott Waites in the final of last year’s event, winning 16-2.

The tournament itself is an invitational one, and it brings together the players who have made it to the finals or semi finals of major tournaments during the year. This is for players from both the PDC and its rival organization, the BDO. There is a lot of prestige up for grabs really, as it does showcase the best of the winners from the darting year. With Taylor losing outing his first group match, he will now need to beat Wes Newton to get through to the knockout stages of the Grand Slam of Darts. Scott Waites, Colin Lloyd, Paul Nicholson and Hankey, are all looking in strong positions in their groups, with Lloyd taking down world number two Raymond Van Barneveld in their group. Robert Thornton looked in fine shape topping Group A unbeaten, while Gary Anderson will be the biggest threat behind Phil Taylor to take the title. Anderson goes into the final group matches with a two from two record, and Mervyn King and Tony O’Shea have played their way into contention nicely and look strong bets to top their groups.

Not surprisingly, Phil Taylor is still the favourite to win the World Matchplay of Darts. Why? DO you really expect him to lose twice in one tournament? He is not infallible of course, but he is head and shoulders above everybody else on his day and the bookies are still suggesting that he will get over the early blip and make a strong run for his fifth consecutive title.

World Matchplay of Darts Outright betting

Phil Taylor: 4/6 at Extrabet
Gary Anderson: 8/1 at Extrabet
James Wade: 7/1 at SportingBet
Raymond Van Barneveld: 12/1 at Bodog
Mervyn King: 25/1 at Bodog
Tony O’Shea: 33/1 at Bodog

December 19th will see the announcement of the 2010 Sports Personality of the year. Last year Man Utd winger Ryan Giggs picked up the coveted award, to the surprise of many, including Jenson Button who had just won the F1 World Drivers Championship for the first time. That result really threw a lot of punters, who were certain favourite Button deserved it, certainly achieving more than what Giggs did over the year. Anyway, Giggs will go into the history books and it really is time to start narrowing down your list of competitors for this year’s Awards. Now is the time to get some early bets down, as some of the personalities on this list are still in action and have a big chance to stake their claim, such as Lewis Hamilton with four races left in the F1 season, and darts legend Phil Taylor stepping up to the oche on the Emerald Isle this week. Here we cast an eye of the best market prices for the 2010 Sports Personality of the Year and assess their chances of landing the title.

Graeme McDowell: 2/1 at 888Sport
The Northern Ireland golf star and really ran head first into the sporting headlines this year. McDowell won the US Open and Pebble Beach, coming from nowhere in the betting to take one of the most sought after titles in golf. He put in a solid 74 in the final round, which was enough to take the title by one stroke after American Dustin Johnson had looked in pole position at the start of the final round. Johnson fell apart while McDowell held himself together to become the first European for around 40 years to win the US Open. What will strengthen his case, is the performance which he put in at the Ryder Cup over the weekend. He played well with fellow countryman Rory McIlroy, but it was his composure in the singles which gave him all the glory. McDowell was in the last match against Hunter Mahan, and it was his coolness under pressure, although he admitted to feeling a lot of nerve, which got Europe home. Europe were in a commanding position, until a late surge by the USA turned things on its head, and suddenly everything rested on McDowell’s match. The Irishman holed out for a 3 and 1 win with a great birdie,  was subsequently mobbed and Europe cheered. He will be forever remembered as the man who won the Ryder Cup for Europe in 2010.
Tip: Rightly a contender as it is exactly these unique moments of glory which should secure the title.

Tony McCoy: 9/4 at SportingBet
The champion jockey finally got his hands on the prize he wanted this year. For so long Grand National had eluded him, even though his career had been littered with almost every other prize going. His will be one of the sentimental votes, because he is at the top of his sport and has been for so many years. The National was the crowning glory and perhaps that will tip the balance in his favour here, that he managed to complete National. Has the Sports Personality of the Year judges been waiting for his big moment to award the title to him? McCoy has been the Champion Jockey for past 15 consecutive years, and has racked up almost two hundred winners again this season, something he hasn’t done for around five years.
Tip: Should be one of the favourites, because there is the feeling that he has rounded off a glittering career this year by landing the Grand National.

Jessica Ennis: 9/1 at SkyBet
In the last two years, Ennis has really grown as an athlete. Although she is not at the Commonwealth Games at the moment as she took the rest of the year off after the European Championships, she has had an incredibly successful year. After winning the 2009 World Championship in the Heptathlon, she has backed that up with a 2010 World Indoor Pentathlon title, and the biggest crown of her career so far, the 2010 European Championships, where she won four of the seven events. The 24 year old has become one of the leading names in British Athletics and would be fully deserving of the title. Has set twelve personal bests, including a British record for the 60 metre hurdles, and a British and Commonwealth Record for the Pentathlon.
Tip: Came third at the awards last year. With the 2012 Olympics on the way, it could be the right time for Ennis to win this. Would expect a top three place at the awards at the very least. While a successful season, once she gets an Olympic title under her belt she should be a stronger favourite.

Phil Taylor: 16/1 at Victor Chandler
The legend of darts just keeps going and going, and just seems to get better and better as he goes along. 2010 World Championship? Check. 2010 World Matchplay? Check. 2010 Premier League? Check. 2010 European Championship? Check. 2010 UK Open? Check. 2010 US Open? Check. Oh, not to mention a couple of nine darts finishes during the same match, in another highly successful season. Posting some of the best three dart averages of his year, he deserves to be recognised as one of those special, elite sportsmen. Let’s not forget that Taylor is a thirteen times World Champion, and how many other sportsmen around the world can post such a long an illustrious career? It would be a shame if he never picked up this honour, as he needs to be recognised. Has the chance to grab more headlines with the World Grand Prix going on at this very moment.
Tip: Should be a winner, but unlikely to beat McDowell or McCoy.

Lewis Hamilton: 20/1 at SportingBet
What makes betting on Lewis Hamilton as the Sports Personality of the Year, is that he still has time to steal the F1 Drivers Championship. He has led the way in a battling season for the McLaren driver, even though his car is not as good as his main rivals. However, he has thrown away his lead after suffering two crashes in the last two F1 Grands Prix, and so that could put him out of the running here. If he rattles off a couple of wins to put him back at the top of the leader board, and if he can still the title away, then it will be a remarkable achievement. There are two ways to look at this. Hamilton never won in the year he won the Drivers Championship. But Hamilton has come runner up twice before in the awards, and with Button being pushed out last year against the odds, if Hamilton does win the F1 title this year, perhaps the law of averages will be on his side.
Tip: No chance unless he wins the F1 title.

Colin Montgomerie: 25/1 at BetFred
Will he get recognised for all the work he done in recapturing the Ryder Cup for Europe as their captain? No. It’s just going to happen really, certainly not with Graeme McDowell being the clear favourite with the bookies at the moment.

Mo Farrah: 33/1 at SportingBet
The athlete is being touted around as a possible candidate for a top three finish at the awards. Why? He was a double gold winner at the European Championships this year, with the long distance runner winning the 5k and the 10k. He also broke the British 10k road record this year as well. The only thing which may stop him winning is his withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games.

Graeme Swann: 50/1 at Boylesports
Cricketer of the Year and one of the reasons why England has done so well this year. His spin bowling has really elevated England up the world standings, but while England have enjoyed a successful year, it hasn’t been an Ashes year, so Swann probably won’t get the highest recognition that he could.

Lee Westwood: 50/1 at Ladbrokes
Europe’s top golfer. Crucial part of the Ryder Cup winning team and came close in the Masters this year. However, he has still to land a Major in golf, and until he does that, he won’t be winning.

Sports Personality of the Year Stats
Interestingly, the sport which has produced the highest amount of winners is….athletics, by a clear country mile. They have seventeen Sports Personality of the Year titles, and the second most successful sport is….Formula One, with six. That’s how favoured Athletics can be, although 2004 was the last time than an Athlete won the award and that was Kelly Holmes. There have only been two golfers awarded the honour, and just four cricketers. Tony McCoy will really be battling against history, as the best jockeys have done is pick up two third place finishes at the awards. Phil Taylor would become the first darts player to pick up any honour at the end of year awards. There’s no real stand out footballer this year, and so the event is quite wide open.

Sports Personality of the Year Betting Tip
Graeme McDowell just really stands out, and the Ryder Cup will be fresh in the memories of sports people. He is a very solid bet, but look out for Tony McCoy coming up on the blindside. He makes for a worthy winner. Phil Taylor may slip into the top three, but unlikely to win, and Jessica Ennis makes the best outside bet of the lot.

Darts legend, Phil “The Power” Taylor has safely negotiated the first round of the Bodog World Grand Prix. Not surprisingly, Taylor has dominated this tournament, winning it nine times out it’s twelve outings. The only three times that Taylor failed to win the World Grand Prix was when he was knocked out in the first round, so the omens are good for him as he is past that little hurdle. The master of darts, Taylor has beaten Raymond Van Barneveld in the last two years in the final of the tournament which is held at the Citywest Hotel, Dublin. The Bodog World Grand Prix is a tournament in which players have to hit a double to start a leg, and hit a double to check out, and this can make for quick matches, especially in the first round when it is a best of three sets. To cut a long story short, here is the full format of the tournament.

First Round: Best of three sets
Second Round: Best of five sets (Wednesday, Thursday October 6 & 7)
Quarter-Finals: Best of seven sets (Friday October
Semi-Finals: Best of nine sets (Saturday October 9)
Final: Best of 11 sets (Sunday October 10 – 7.30pm)

Taylor was ruthless in his first round match, blitzing Brendan Dolan who never even got a chance at one of those check outs. He didn’t get close, and now Taylor and his amazing darts ability, moves onto the second round where he meets Andy Smith. With a £100,000 prize up for grabs, Taylor makes for one of those as-certain-as-you-can-get bets, as it is not often that he slips up. He is a legend in his own sporting right, and his ranking at the top of the order of merit is so far ahead of everyone else, that he really is a league and a world of his won. With an average of 102 in his first round, he is going to take some stopping again. When you start looking at darts betting odds on the World Grand Prix, you can see really just how strong Phil Taylor is in the game. Think of some of the great sportsmen of all time, and Taylor has to be placed among them. The titles and honours he has won throughout his career is staggering, and having just passed his 50th birthday, there is no sign of him slowing yet. In fact, this year, he has been producing some of the most magical darts of his career, including two nine-dart finishes.

Why not check out Bodog, the new sponsors of the Darts World Grand Prix. They have entered the UK and European betting markets now, and they carry a lot of weight with online betting. When you join up as a Bodog account holder, you can get your hands on a free £25 bet. Simply make your deposit, and after five bets of £10 or more from their sportsbook, you will get a free £25 from the bookie. You’ve probably seen the name around, and they really do deliver a top notch online betting service.

Bodog World Grand Prix of Darts Outright Odds

Phil Taylor: 4/9 at SkyBet
Simon Whitlock: 10/1 at Totesport
Raymond Van Barneveld: 11/1 at Boylesports
James Wade: 12/1 at Paddy Power
Gary Anderson: 20/1 at Ladbrokes
Adrian Lewis: 40/1 at SportingBet
Terry Jenkins: 50/1 at Ladbrokes

Naturally backing Taylor outright is not going to be too great a reward in terms of odds, and you would really need to back him strongly to get anything substantial back. Raymond Van Barneveld is usually the second favourite in tournaments, but has been having issues with his back which may take its toll. That leaves Simon Whitlock really as the main challenger, but even he has fallen foul of some blistering Taylor form this year. That doesn’t mean that there are no bets on Taylor worth taking though, you just have broaden your darts betting horizon and dig a little deeper in the betting markets. For example, looking at a Nine Dart Finish for the tournament (and if it is going to happen then it is likely going to be Taylor who does it) then a Yes will fetch you 15/2 at Boylesports. You can take a look at the Tournament Winning Double, which a double 8 or 16 fetches a nice round 3/1 at BetFred. Realistically, if you are going to look for an outright bet behind Taylor, then you want to pick someone from the opposite half of the draw from him, someone who could take him out in the final. That really would fall to Barneveld or a decent outside punt at Terry Jenkins. One other interesting stat that you may want to look at, is that the winner of the World Grand Prix of darts has always been an Englishman.

Darts Betting Tip: It has to be Taylor all of the way.

More infos about the Bodog free bet.

Bet on Phil Taylor as "The Power" takes aim for more success

There could be more silverware on the very near horizon for darts legend Phil Taylor. “The Power” beat Raymond van Barneveld in the final of the World Matchplay in Blackpool last weekend, and now heads off to defend yet another one of his many crowns, the Darts European Championship. This is only the third year in which the tournament has been played, and Taylor has won both of them, and will therefore be aiming to land a hat trick of successes at the tournament. After winning his 11th World Matchplay Title and the World Championships this year, Phil “The Power” Taylor looks as sure of a sports bet as you ever will make.

European Darts Championship Outright Odds
Phil Taylor: 4/9 at SportingBet
Raymond Van Barneveld: 8/1 at BetFred
James Wade: 10/1 at BetFred
Simon Whitlock: 14/1 at SportingBet
Gary Anderson: 20/1 at SportingBet
Adrian Lewis: 22/1 at BetFred
Mervyn King: 40/1 at SportingBet
Ronnie Baxter: 50/1 at SportingBet

This year’s European Championship tournament is held in Dinslaken, Germany, beginning on Thursday and rounding off with the showcase final on Sunday. There are 32 combatants as the best Europe has to offer takes on the highest ranked PDC players. Taylor will of course be clear outright favourite in the darts betting for this tournament, and he starts his campaign against Co Stompe. Stompe reached the quarter finals at Blackpool, and is enjoying something of a fine run in his darting form. Whether that will be enough to step up to the oche and take down Taylor is a different matter altogether though. That simply does not happen too often, but the Dutchman can take heart after beating Taylor in the final of the German Darts Championship in 2008.

Much of the line-up that was at Blackpool is in action again with the stars of game going head to head. Raymond van Barneveld, Mervyn King, Simon Whitlock and Adrian Lewis are all in action, but there is no doubt as to who the star of the show is expected to be. Phil Taylor has a lot of respect for the players he comes up against, but on paper it will take a major upset for him to fall to one of them. Darts betting will have him at short odds naturally, but his fine form continues and he is posting three dart averages well above the rest of the back. Van Barneveld was easily the second best player in the World Matchplay tournament, picking up a nine dart finishes and breezing past his opponents. His run came to an abrupt end in the final, when not even he could get close to switching off “The Power". No reason not to back a repeat coming together of the two darting giants in the final for this one of Taylor v Ban Barneveld. The other two previous finalists in this fledgling tournament has been Adrian Lewis and Steve Beaton, both defeated by Taylor.

European Darts Championship Draw (seeding in brackets)

Section 1
Phil Taylor (1) v Co Stompe
Paul Nicholson v Andy Smith
Mark Walsh (8) v Antonio Alcinas
Jelle Klaasen v Vincent van der Voort

Section 2
Terry Jenkins (5) v Andree Welge
Simon Whitlock v Dennis Priestley
Mervyn King (4) v Barrie Bates
Gary Anderson v Jamie Caven

Section 3
Raymond van Barneveld (2) v Andy Hamilton
Bernd Roith v Denis Ovens
Adrian Lewis (7) v Wayne Jones
Mark Dudbridge v Robert Thornton

Section 4
James Wade (3) v Colin Lloyd
Tomas Seyler v Michael van Gerwen
Ronnie Baxter (6) v Alan Tabern
Colin Osborne v Wes Newton

Sunday Darts in Blackpool sees the best in the world go head to head

Darts World Matchplay Final Online Betting Odds
Phil Taylor to win: 1/8 at Paddy Power
Raymond van Barneveld to win: 7/1 at SportingBet

It was the Darts World Matchplay final that has been on the cards from the start, and the online betting odds as seen above, point to there being only winner. Phil Taylor will play Raymond van Barneveld in the Sunday Showdown at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. This is world number one playing world number two, after both comfortably made their way past their respective semi final opponents. For Phil “The Power” Taylor, he is back on the threshold of defending his World Matchplay title, after beating Terry Jenkins 18-4 in the final last year. Taylor battered his way past Simon Whitlock 17-4 in his semi final on Saturday, the player whom he beat in the final of the World Championships at the start of the year, and The Power remains on course for his 11th Matchplay title. Yes, eleven. Taylor had a little bit of a slow start in the first round of the tournament this year, but he still has the highest three dart average for the tournament. After defeating Barrie Bates 10-6 in the first round, Taylor has conceded only four legs in each of the subsequent rounds, beating Steve Beaton, Kevin Painter and Simon Whitlock. The Power is fully switched on and looking as unbeatable as ever. While he will welcome the challenge of the number two player in the world, Taylor will be confident, knowing that he has a pretty good record against the Dutchman in recent times.

For Raymond van Barneveld, this is the first time he has reached the World Matchplay final, and he has looked mightily impressive all through the tournament, including picking up a nine dart finish in the first round. He has looked in irresistible form throughout the tournament, and will be keen to have another crack at world number one Phil Taylor. Barneveld has lost to Taylor twice in 2010 already, both times falling to 8-2 defeats in the group stage of the Premier League Darts tournament. But there is a sharp edge about Barneveld at Blackpool in 2010, he has been relentless and ruthless. This is one of the titles which has been avoiding Dutchman Barneveld throughout his career and he will probably be feeling a lot more pressure in a way, as its always harder to win something for the first time than the 11th. This is the final that Blackpool wanted to see, and it has the makings of a classic. The two are head and shoulders above the rest of the field at the moment, and they will go toe to toe on the oche on Sunday.

Darts 2010 World Matchplay Stats

• Both players have won 56 legs in reaching the final
• Taylor has lost just 18 to Barneveld’s 26
• Taylor has hit 27 maximums compared to Barneveld’s 17
• Barneveld holds the highest checkout of 142, Taylor’s is 126 for the tournament so far
• Taylor holds a tournament 106.59 3 dart average, Barneveld’s average is at 99.20

There is nothing like going into sports betting being fully armed with plenty of statistical data, so here we are, the data to get your betting strategy fully prepared for the big darts final. Taylor will naturally go into the Darts World Matchplay final as firm favourite, even though he is playing the second best player in the world. That is indicative of just how good Taylor is, a real sporting legend. Raymond van Barneveld will be Taylor’s toughest challenge of the week, but as recent results and streaks go, as seen below, Taylor comfortably has the edge.

Phil Taylor v Raymond van Barneveld Head to Head

• Played 45, Drawn 1, Taylor 35 wins, van Barneveld 9 wins
• Taylor has won the last 11 meetings between the two players
• Last time Barneveld beat Taylor was in June 2008 at the UK Open Finals Quarter Final stage (10-9)

Last 5 Results

• April 2010 – Taylor 8, Barneveld 2
• March 2010 – Taylor 8, Barneveld 2
• Nov 2009 – Taylor 16, Barneveld 6
• Oct 2009 – Taylor 6, Barneveld 3
• July 2009 – Taylor 13, Barneveld 11

Career Stats

• Taylor: P1128, W1008, D17, L103 with a  89.36 win percentage
• Barneveld: P776, W598, D9, L169 with a 77.06
• Taylor has a career 3 dart average of 99.9
• Barneveld has a career 3 dart average of 95.81