The 2012 Players Championship Darts finals will step up to the oche on November 30th, and conclude on December 2nd. Butlins in Minehead is the venue for the fifth edition of the tournament, which is for the top 32 players of the 2012 PDC Players Championship Order of Merit.
Because of the seedings for this one, there is some attention needed for your darts betting, because Phil Taylor, going as sixth seed, is lined up to run into double World Champion Adrian Lewis as soon as the second round. Still, that hasn’t stopped The Power going off as outright favourite, but he is just not a strong as usual, which is a good thing because it means there is better value than usual on him. Not surprisingly, Taylor has won this title before, taking it in 2009 and back in 2011. Taylor has the World Matchplay, The Championship League and the Premier League titles under his belt this season, and the titles are just getting harder and harder for him to stroll too.
Still, at a price of 3/1 with online bookmaker Bet365, he is going to attract a lot of interest. Holland’s Michael Van Gerwen is trading as a very solid shot as second favourite for you 2012 Players Championship Darts betting. At superb value of 5/1 the number three seed makes for an interesting fourth quarter of the draw, because that is where Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis are. So there are going to be some big casualties from that quarter of the draw. Holland’s “Mighty Mike” has been having a solid season, his highlight coming at the World Grand Prix where he took the title. That was his first PDC Major title. His win over Phil Taylor on his way to a runner’s up spot at the Grand Slam of Darts snapped a 15 match losing streak against The Power and proved that he had truly arrived. Van Gerwen is the hot ticket in darts at the moment and will take some stopping. An anticipated match against Taylor, arguably the best two in the world, would happen at the quarter final stage.
Because of the heavily loaded bottom half of the draw, it is going to be worth shopping around on some value from the top half. That immediately draws your attention to Dave Chisnall, who goes as top seed for the event. The draw has been very kind to him and should be pretty untroubled all the way to the semi finals. Even at that stage, Chizzy, who hasn’t picked up a Major or a PDC Premier Event this term, shouldn’t be bothered too much. Raymond Van Barneveld could be a likely semi final opponent and the big Dutchman doesn’t make bad value either, especially not after getting back to Premier Event winning way with his triumph at the Grand Slam this year. That was his first big title since 2007 and has to take confidence from it.
The defending champion, Kevin Painter is back to defend his title, but only just scraped into the event, finishing 30th on the PDC ProTour Order of Merit, and doesn’t really look a big threat here. A great, action packed few days of darts betting ahead from Minehead and this will be the big warm up before the PDC World Championships, which starts in mid December. Don’t forget the extra value which can be picked up through the live in play betting markets, which can be found at the award-winning Bet365, who just won the eGaming Review award for Best In-Play Sports Operator of the Year.
2012 PDC Players Championship Finals Darts betting odds at online bookmaker Bet365
Phil Taylor 3/1, Michael Van Gerwen 5/1, Dave Chisnall 8/1, Raymond van Barneveld 11/1, Simon Whitlock 12/1, Adrian Lewis 14/1, James Wade 20/1, Gary Anderson 18/1, Wes Newton 22/1
Online bookmaker Bet365 offer up to a free £200 bet for new customers registering an account with them. The bookie will match the value of your initial deposit on a new account with a free bet as a superb welcome bonus offer.
