The Masters swings into action on Friday, January 31st, with the top sixteen ranked darts players on the PDC scrapping it out for the title. It is whoever was sitting in the top sixteen in the Order of Merit after the close of the recent World Darts Championship that get their place in the draw.
There is just one debutant at this year’s Masters as Nathan Aspinall joins in the action. It is, without surprise, Michael van Gerwen who is going into the tournament, hosted in Milton Keynes, as the favourite.
The tournament is being broadcast on ITV4.
Darts Masters 2020 Odds*
Michael van Gerwen Even Money
Peter Wright 6/1
Gerwyn Price 6/1
Gary Anderson 12/1
Rob Cross 12/1
Nathan Aspinall 22/1
Michael Smith 20/1
Dave Chisnall 20/1
Daryl Gurney 25/1
33/1 bar
* (betting odds taken from Bet365 at 22:45 on January 27th, 2020)
MVG aiming for sixth straight Masters
It has been a tremendous record that Dutchman Michael van Gerwen has put together at the tournament. He is going back into the event as the five-time defending champion. It was an easy 11-5 win over James Wade that he took in last year’s final. He’s even money to claim the crown again* (betting odds taken from Bet365 at 22:45 on January 27th, 2020)
He will likely be pretty pumped up for this one as well. That is because of his defeat in the Darts World Championship final on New Year’s Day against Peter Wright.
Naturally, MVG is the top seed for this event and he opens against the lowest-ranked player in the field, Wales’ Jonny Clayton. Then it would be a fixture against either Nathan Aspinal or James Wade in the quarters. The highest-ranked opponent Mighty Mike could meet in his half of the draw is Rob Cross (4th).
2020 Darts Masters Draw
Michael van Gerwen v Jonny Clayton
Nathan Aspinall v James Wade
Micahel Smith v Mensur Suljovic
Rob Cross v Adrian Lewis
Peter Wright v Joe Cullen
Daryl Gurney v Dave Chisnall
Gary Anderson v Ian White
Gerwyn Price v Simon Whitlock
Snakebite primed for more success?
Peter Wright walked away with the World Championship crown at the turn of the new year, beating Van Gerwen at the Alexandra Palace. That was the biggest moment in his career and it will raise expectations on Snakebite delivering more.
There’s clearly the form there and now more pressure. Snakebite actually does have a pretty consistent record at the Masters. He was a losing semi-finalist twelve months ago, and before that had reached the quarter-finals in four straight campaigns and naturally on the back of his World title, he will have support at 6/1 in opposition to MVG* (betting odds taken from Bet365 at 22:45 on January 27th, 2020)
Gerwyn Price
Welshman Gerwyn Price had gone to the World Championships as one of the front runners for the title. It had been a very good 2019 by him and he looked the biggest threat to the tournament favourite Michael van Gerwen.
But Price took a tumble in the semi-final stage against Peter Wright. This will be just the third time in that Price has been in the draw. He reached the quarters on his debut in 2018 but was a first-round faller twelve months ago.
Wade an outside chance?
The only other active player on the PDC other than Michael van Gerwen who has been to more than one Masters final is England’s James Wade. He was losing finalist last year but lifted the crown in 2014. He didn’t get past the third round at the World Championships 2020, but his record at the Masters is steady.
Only once before in his career has he failed to make it past the first round, two Finals (W1 L1), two semi-final finishes and two quarter-final finishes tallying up in his other entries. Some players just have good tournament-affinity and Wade at 33/1 each-way may tempt* (betting odds taken from Bet365 at 22:45 on January 27th, 2020)
The Asp the biggest underdog threat to the Big 3
After back to back semi-final appearances at the PDC World Championship, Nathan Aspinall’s stock is starting to grow. The 28-year-old looks as if he could really have something of a career year in 2020 and what a way to start if he could land the Masters.
This is his debut in the tournament, so there are no expectations. That makes the Stockport thrower an exciting prospect. It’s not a great draw for him as he opens against the aforementioned Wade and would likely meet MVG in the quarters. Despite that, he’s still a shorter price at 22/1 than Wade* (betting odds taken from Bet365 at 22:45 on January 27th, 2020)
Predictions
The prospect of a semi-final clash between Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price down in the bottom half of the Masters 2020 draw looks real. They are the class acts down in the bottom half of the draw. It will be fascinating if they meet again after a testy clash at the World Championships.
But it is Michael van Gerwen that has to be the top dog for Masters Darts 2020 betting. Five titles in a row at the event. There was nothing wrong with his form at the back end of last year and although he was undone at the Ally Pally by Wright, he can get back to winning ways.
