Well following quickly on from the first ever Champions League of Darts, the season heads to Dublin for the popular World Grand Prix. The event stated on Sunday October 2nd and it will run through to October 8th at the Citywest Hotel and there is a 100,000 prize up for grabs for the winner of the tournament as well. Heading back as reigning champions is Robert Thornton, who sprung a surprise in last season’s tournament after beating Michael van Gerwen 5-4.
But with Phil Taylor’s recently Champions League triumph over Van Gerwen, The Power will take some backing heading into this event as well. He has been the dominant force throughout the history of the World Grand Prix of Darts, having won it eleven times before. But even though The Power hasn’t been his dominant self in the sport overall as the years are rolling by, he has still won two of the last five editions of the PDC Darts World Grand Prix so you can’t take him out of the picture totally.
Michael van Gerwen will be the other front runner to land the title. He has won it twice in the last four years and went to last year’s final and lost, so he will not only be keen to snap back from that disappointment but also for the loss against Taylor in the Champions League. So he has a lot to step up and play for and he is the game’s number one at the moment, so will take some stopping. It’s not often that he has a setback. What makes the PDC Darts World Grand Prix 2016 interesting is that Taylor and Van Gerwen would be on course for a semi final showdown.
The fact that they are together in the top half of the draw could lead partners to spotting the obvious value that is running on the back of Gary Anderson. He goes into the tournament as second seed and therefore should have a pretty decent run to the semi finals as he largely dominates the bottom half of the draw. He looks a bit of a lock to get to the final four as he is probably in the easiest quarter of the tournament.
PDC Darts World Grand Prix Betting Odds
Michael van Gerwen 5/4, Phil Taylor 4/1, Gary Anderson 5/1, Adrian lewis 18/1, James Wade 16/1, Peter wright 16/1, Dave Chisnall 22/1, Raymond van Barneveld 33/1, 50/1 bar
PDC Darts World Grand Prix Promotion
Online betting site Betfred have a great darts betting promotion running as they offer acca insurance. Go and place a fivefold or bigger accumulator on the World Grand Prix of Days and if your bet is let down by just the one leg then the bookmaker will refund your lost stake as a free bet up to the value of 25! Great way to get into your darts betting and when you open an account with the highly rated bookie, you can claim £30 worth of free bets as a welcome bonus too.
PDC Darts World Grand Prix Draw
So huge interest in the draw on this one. Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen have never gone head to head in the final of the PDC Darts World Grand Prix and they won’t be doing so in this one. They are set for a semi final showdown if they get there which would happen on October 7th. That would be a monster match up and frankly, it’s hard to see anyone in the draw who can stop that happen. Perhaps Peter Wright on his day could nibble at Taylor in a quarter final showdown, particularly after the efforts that Taylor needed in the Champions league recently. MVG shouldn’t be stopped by anyone.
It leave the bottom half of the draw wide open with second seed Gary Anderson bankable for the semi finals you would imagine. The only player really in his way is fellow Scot Robert Thornton in the quarter final stage, but you would still be backing Anderson there. Opposing him in the fourth quarter you are looking at James Wade and Adrian Lewis to put together something. They would meet in the quarter finals, with probably Lewis favourite to edge it.
The Second round of matches are played on October 4-5th, the Quarter Finals are on October 6th, the semi’s on October 7th and the Final, (which is the best of 9 sets) being contested on October 8th.
PDC Darts World Grand Prix Stats
Phil Taylor has won the title eleven times in its previous 18 editions. That’s some strike record. His last title was in 2013 when he beat Dave Chisnall in the final. Taylor has won two of the last five editions of the tournament, while Michael Van Gerwen has landed two of the last four. Seven of the last Finals of the PDC Darts World Grand Prix have featured either Phil Taylor or Michael van Gerwen. The exception being James Wade v Adrian Lewis in 2010.
Aside from Taylor and Michael van Gerwen, only four other men have claimed the PDC Darts World Grand Prix title and those are James Wade (2), Colin Lloyd, Alan Warriner and Robert Thornton.
The highest three dart average for a final of the PDC Darts World Grand Prix was set by Phill Taylor when he destroyed Jon Part in 2002. Taylor posted a 100.17 average then. Three of his last four titles have seen him average 97.
PDC Darts World Grand Prix Predictions
The table is likely to swing back to Michael van Gerwen we feel in this one. The Dutchman has been a force in the game of course, and Taylor started to look a little bit tired here and there towards the end of the Champions League. MVG was the fresher, but he caught Taylor in a dogged, determined mood and couldn’t get the better of him. Taylor had to dig deeper physically though and that is why it’s worth backing Mighty Mike to strike back with the win and land some revenge.
