Betway are offering double winnings as a free bet if any selection loses the first set of any World Championship match and ends up going through to the next round but we are concentrating on the Outright Betting for the Ally Pally extravaganza in this article.
This year’s tournament will witness the end of an era in darts as five-time world champion RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD calls time on his career.
Barney has suffered a turbulent final 12 months inside and outside the sport he has graced for more than 20 years but will weigh-in for duty at Alexandra Palace this year fully five stones lighter than when beating Phil Taylor in the final in 2007.
The Key Players
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN is the natural staring point.
The three-times PDC world champion has never won back-to-back titles but he’s not one for respecting records. After a barren spell at the start of the year, MVG has won the World Grand Prix, the Champions League, World Series and Players Championship Finals, taking his overall title haul for the year to 14.
He’s a modern phenomenon and still has the hunger to enhance his reputation further.
But a credible threat to the Dutchman’s domination has emerged in the shape of GERWYN PRICE.
The Welshman finally ended his 19-match losing streak against van Gerwen in the recent Grand Slam of Darts and his hot streak continued into the final, in which he dismantled Peter Wright. Price has yet to get beyond the last 16 of the World Championship but he has firmly established himself in the top three of the world rankings this year by reaching the final of the European Championship and Players Championship Finals and many are expecting a van Gerwen/Price final this year (a best 4/1).
ROB CROSS beat Price in the European Championship final and has also won the World Matchplay in 2019.
Winner of the World Championship in 2018, Cross can go toe-toe with anyone when he’s on his game but was beaten in the fourth round last year by Luke Humphries. Cross is a general 16/1 to regain his crown.
PETER WRIGHT has only reached the World Championship final once and that was five years ago. But Snakebite is always well supported at Alexandra Palace and has reached a couple of PDC finals this year – the Champions League and Grand Slam – so arrives in decent form. Alongside Gary Anderson, he won the World Cup for Scotland in Germany in June but victory in the big tournaments has always eluded him and he’ll be 50 next year so time is running out for him at the top level.
MICHAEL SMITH is 22/1 with Betfred to win the PDC World Championship and go one better than last year. The draw opened up for Bully Boy 12 months ago, however, and he proved no match for van Gerwen on reaching the final. He is another who finds it difficult to get over the line in the big-money tournaments and his draw this year is far less favourable.
Betting for Quarter Three looks wide open but I do like the look of DAVE CHISNALL at 5/1 with Paddy Power.
A quarter-finalist in two of the last three year, Chizzy may finally be ready to take the next step despite suffering a frustrating 12 months on the PDC Tour which has seen him reach just one final in the World Grand Prix. Chisnall is usually a calm finisher and you need nerves of steel on the stage at Ally Pally – the man from Merseyside is 28/1 to win overall.
William Hill PDC World Darts Championship Winners So Far
1994 – Dennis Priestley def Phil Taylor 6-1
1995 – Phil Taylor beat Rod Harrington 6-2
1996 – Phil Taylor beat Dennis Priestley 6-4
1997 – Phil Taylor beat Dennis Priestley 6-3
1998 – Phil Taylor beat Dennis Priestley 6-0
1999 – Phil Taylor beat Peter Manley 6-2
2000 – Phil Taylor beat Dennis Priestley 7-3
2001 – Phil Taylor beat John Part 7-0
2002 – Phil Taylor beat Peter Manley 7-0
2003 – John Part beat Phil Taylor 7-6
2004 – Phil Taylor beat Kevin Painter 7-6
2005 – Phil Taylor beat Mark Dudbridge 7-4
2006 – Phil Taylor beat Peter Manley 7-0
2007 – Raymond van Barneveld beat Phil Taylor 7-6
2008 – John Part beat Kirk Shepherd 7-2
2009 – Phil Taylor beat Raymond van Barneveld 7-1
2010 – Phil Taylor beat Simon Whitlock 7-3
2011 – Adrian Lewis beat Gary Anderson 7-5
2012 – Adrian Lewis beat Andy Hamilton 7-3
2013 – Phil Taylor beat Michael van Gerwen 7-4
2014 – Michael van Gerwen beat Peter Wright 7-4
2015 – Gary Anderson beat Phil Taylor 7-6
2016 – Gary Anderson beat Adrian Lewis 7-5
2017 – Michael van Gerwen beat Gary Anderson 7-3
2018 – Rob Cross beat Phil Taylor 7-2
2019 – Michael van Gerwen beat Michael Smith 7-3
World Championship Darts Betting at Paddy Power
Best Of The Rest?
The winner in 2015 and 2016, GARY ANDERSON has suffered from back problems in the last couple of years which have restricted his appearances. Another veteran, it would be asking a lot for him to put those problems behind him and put in a big show at this year’s World Championship given he’s barely figured in singles events this year – he offers little value at a best 25/1 in the Outright Betting and could be worth backing at 3/1 with Betfred to be eliminated in the second round.
JAMES WADE has been a semi-finalist three times but not since 2013 and even he would admit he has not been at his best over the last 12 months. He needs a good run at Alexandra Palace this year to get into next year’s Premier League but it would be no surprise if the eighth seed was one of the early big-name casualties as he faces a tricky second round match against either Ritchie Edhouse or Boris Koltsov.
GLEN DURRANT is probably the most interesting of those at bigger prices (a best 40/1) as he’s a had a pretty good year, despite failing to reach a major final. A current world ranking of 29 doesn’t really do justice to his ability as he’s reached semi-finals in the World Matchplay, Grand Slam and World Grand Prix in his first full year on the PDC Tour having won the BDO World Championship for the last three years. Ally Pally is different to Lakeside but if Durrant can show the same focus in front of the TV cameras he could go deep into the tournament and may well prove the main threat to Price in Quarter Four, for which he is a general 8/1.
MVG is the general 11/8 favourite to score most 180s and he will also have one eye on the £100,000 prize on offer for the first player who records two nine-dart finishes in the tournament.
Nationality of The Winner
Netherlands 6/5
England 3/1
Wales 9/2
Scotland 9/1
Any Other 14/1
(Odds correct at 11.00am December 12)
