There’s another title on the line for Michael van Gerwen to defend soon, the Darts Masters 2016 gets under way on January 30th which will be only its fourth edition. This tournament is a fairly new one on the calendar then and it is not a ranking one. It’s a short blitz of a tournament as well, going over just the two days of darts action and only the top sixteen on the PDC Order of Merit get to participate.
Van Gerwen beat out fellow countryman Raymond van Barneveld easily in last season’s final and now the familiar faces head back to the ArenaMK in Milton Keynes to battle for top honours. Van Gerwen, who didn’t retain his World Championship title in early January because of a loss against Van Barneveld, is running as 11/8 outright favourite to win the sixteen man tournament. Behind him in Gary Anderson, the reigning World Champion at 10/3.
It’s not often you have seen Phil Taylor outside of the top two heading into a darts tournament, but The Power, who has struggled for titles over the last year or so, is running at 6/1 third favourite, with Adrian Lewis the only other one in the field coming in under double figures at a price of 9/1 with online bookmaker Bet365. The tournament is just a straight knockout, no second chances, just a straight shot for glory.
Darts Masters 2016 Betting Odds
Michael van Gerwen 5/4, Gary Anderson 10/3, Phil Taylor 6/1, Adrian Lewis 9/1, Peter Wright 16/1, Dave Chisnall 20,1 James Wade 20/1, Michael Smith 20/1, Raymond van Barneveld 28/1, Robert Thornton 50/1.
Darts Masters 2015 Free Bet
Land yourself a free bet bonus when you open an account with online betting site Bet365. The highly rated and award winning bookmaker offers a 100% matched deposit bonus for new customers who open an account with them. The Bookmaker offers superb and extensive live in-play betting options for their customers as well as live streams from a variety of sports.
Draw Format
This is just a sixteen man tournament and a straight knockout event. The first round and the quarter finals are both over the best of 19 legs, with the semi finals and the final being contested over the best of 21 legs. The winner of the Darts Masters 2016 will walk away with £60,000.
Reigning champion Michael van Gerwen takes on 16th seed Stephen Bunting in the first round and he could set up a clash in the second round against Raymond van Barneveld who takes on Michael Smith. The top half of the draw also houses Phil Taylor who opens against Jelle Klaasen, the man who dumped him out of the recent World Championships. A clash between Peter Wright and Ian White make up the top half of the draw.
So because of how the draw has fallen, you could have some big favouritism to someone from the bottom half of the line up because it’s less congested. Gary Anderson naturally takes top billing as he is a man on form after having won the World Championship recently. He opens against Vincent van der Voort in Milton Keynes (who Anderson beat at the World Championships) and would play the winner of Robert Thornton v Dave Chisnall, which should be a great tussle. Adrian Lewis and James Wade are on course of a quarter final showdown, Lewis taking on Kim Huybrechts in the first round, while Wade goes against Terry Jenkins.
2016 Unibet Masters – Draw and Bracket
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Stephen Bunting (16)
Michael Smith (8) v Raymond van Barneveld (9)
Phil Taylor (4) v Jelle Klaasen (13)
Peter Wright (5) v Ian White (12)
Gary Anderson (2) v Vincent van der Voort (15)
Robert Thornton (7) v Dave Chisnall (10)
Adrian Lewis (3) v Kim Huybrechts (14)
James Wade (6) v Terry Jenkins (11)
The first round will be played across Saturday, January 30th with the final three rounds of the Darts Masters 2016 going off on Sunday, January 31st.
Records, Stats and Previous Winners
There is only a short history to look back on for the Darts Masters, which was only started in 2013 when Phil Taylor thrashed Adrian Lewis 10-1 in the final. Taylor landed a 108 three dart average in the final, but that record would go on to get smashed by Michael van Gerwen in the 2015 final. Taylor was unable to defend his title in the Darts Masters 2014 as he was edged out in a close battle with James Wade in the semi finals.
Wade would go on to take down Mervyn King 11-10 in the 2014 final. Wade lost in the second round of his title defence in 2015 as he was taken out by Gary Anderson. Wade would go on to prevail in the 2014 final against van Barneveld, who benefitted in the draw from Phil Taylor’s shock first round exit against Terry Jenkins. In the 2015 Darts Masters final, Van Gerwen put up an immense 112 three dart average.
Popular Darts Masters 2016 betting markets
Bet365 offers a wide variety of live in-play betting markets and that is going to be the best way to follow the action at the Darts Masters 2016. Take that dynamic step with your darts betting and enhanced all the excitement that is playing out in front of you. It is a small tournament, so there’s not a lot of value in breaking it down into brackets and as you can see from previous results, you are looking at the top three or four heavyweights to really be competing for the title and an underdog story isn’t likely to be written. Not value in 1/3 odds on an each way for the favourites, but you can take a small odds concession by backing your selection To Reach Final instead of having them go all the way and lift the title. That’s just three matches needing to be won to get to the showcase match.
Darts Masters 2016 Predictions
The draw could be a telling factor in this one. Gary Anderson must be looking at the draw ahead and licking his lips. Adrian Lewis and James Wade, the two highest seeds behind the reigning World Champion in the bottom half of the draw could meet in the quarter finals, so that’s at least one of Anderson’s’ main competitors out of the way. So there’s really no tough game for Anderson until the semi finals whereas you have the potential Van Gerwen v Van Barneveld clash in the quarters and the winner of that facing Phil Taylor in the semis. The top half of the draw is a real scrap, so that could leave Gary Anderson to waltz through from the bottom half and he is big value at even money in the To Reach Final market.
