Darts is returning to the Lakeside once more with the BDO Darts World Championship getting underway this weekend.
While the PDC portrays darts as an arena-filling cacophony of spectacle, razzmatazz and showmanship, the BDO reminds us all of the more humble origins of the sport.
That may have a little something to do with the aging Lakeside arena, but perhaps it is more to do with the players and the presentation of the BDO as a package. Veteran Ross Montgomery recently voiced his concerns with the running of the tournament, claiming the governing body were always bickering and that the BDO as a whole was in danger of collapse.
This year sees the television rights for the world championship move from the BBC to Channel 4 and BT Sport, with the implications for such a move as yet unknown. Perhaps a change in the presentation will help to freshen up the competition for TV audiences who are now accustomed to a slicker final product?
In any case, the biggest criticism of the BDO – that the standard just isn’t as good – seems to be a little too simplistic. The PDC gets their players from somewhere after all, most commonly from the BDO.
To use a football metaphor, it may be correct that the Championship as a whole isn’t as strong as the Premier League, but there are always players and teams that are ready to make that step up. For those fans who really appreciate their darts there are plenty of gems to be found.
Glen Durrant
2017 World Champion 👏
Wins over Peter Wright, Alan Norris and Dave Chisnall at the Grand Slam 👀
Glen Durrant is the man to beat in the BDO World Championship…
📺 BT Sport
? Evening sessions— BT Sport (@btsport) January 6, 2018
If there is any player in the current BDO setup who would grace any darts tournament then his name is Glen Durrant. Glen won the world championship last year 7-3 against Danny Noppert in a game which further cemented just how considerably talented he is. Currently bookmaker William Hill has Durrant at 5/4 to win the tournament, but it might be worth noting that defending the BDO title isn’t always as straightforward as it might appear. The last man to successfully defend the title was Martin Adams in 2011 and prior to that the feat was accomplished by Raymond van Barneveld in 1999. In any case, the man from Middlesbrough is a well respected competitor and a player who Michael Van Gerwen is known to rate highly.
Danny Noppert
Having reached the finals of the tournament and lost out to Durrant, the Dutchman will wish to set the record straight this year. At only 27 years of age Noppert is still a young player on the circuit, with many darts players reaching their peak later in life. That said, with the victory of 27-year-old Rob Cross over Phil Taylor in the PDC world championship final, perhaps 27 is as young as it once was. In any case, if you fancy Noppert to go one better and lift the BDO title this time around odds of 7/1 may certainly tempt you to go Dutch.
Scott Mitchell
Scotty Dog is another highly rated player on the circuit currently and ranked at world number 4. Since his breakthrough year in 2014 he has won the British Open, and the World Championship in 2015. In 2016 he won both the Isle of Man Classic and Welsh Open. In 2017 Mitchell won 5 titles including the Swedish and Czech Open and the England National Championships. Odds on a Mitchell win for the world championship are 12/1.
Jamie Hughes
At 14/1 Jamie Hughes is a hugely talented darts player at a long price. The man from West Bromwich has finished in the semi finals in both 2016 and 2017, coming unstuck by Scott Wait and Glen Durrant respectively. Currently ranked at 3 in the world rankings, Hughes could be good value for money in the tournament. In 2017 he walked away with British Classic and the Isle of Man classic and will want to better that in 2018. Bagging the world championship in January would be the perfect start.
Cameron Menzies
Also priced at 14/1 is Cameron Menzies, a man who seemed to reserve his best play for his native Scotland last year winning both the Scottish Classic and the Scottish Open. His last big win elsewhere was in the British Open in 2016, a title he defended well but lost in the final to fellow Scot, Ross ‘The Boss’ Montgomery.
Martin Adams
If you fancy a seasoned long shot bet for the tournament then look no further than one Martin ‘Wolfie’ Adams. A 40/1 price tag reflects the fact that Wolfie has been without a major title win since he took the Dutch Open in 2016, but the 61-year-old remains one of the most successful players on the circuit.
Tournament prediction: Glen Durrant has been in good form in 2017 and will want to start 2018 by setting down a marker. A consistent scorer and match winner Durrant should have what it takes to be the first player to retain the trophy since 2011.
