UK Open Darts Betting 2018 Winner Odds & Predictions

MVG to reign supreme once more at Minehead

Darts Betting

The 2018 edition of the UK Open Darts gets underway on March 2nd and the short event runs through to the 4th. So it is an action-packed weekend of darts from the famous Butlin’s Resort in Minehead. This has pretty much been dubbed the FA Cup of darts because there are no seedings for the event which means that there are just random draws after the conclusion of each round.

Reigning Champion

Peter Wright won the title last year as he took out Gerwyn Price in the Final. It was a good run through the tournament for Wright as well, who had gotten past Raymond van Barneveld in the quarter and then Daryl Gurney in the semi finals. That was Wright’s first UK Open title, but it was the third final in a row that he had reached.

UK Open Darts Draw

While there are no seedings per se, the top 32 players on the Order of Merit do all get a bye through to the third round of the draw. Players sitting from 33-64 on the Order of Merit join in the action in the second round while the players ranked 65-96 on the Order of Merit start inthe first round alongside qualifiers.

UK Open Darts Betting 2018 Winner Odds*

Michael van Gerwen 10/11, Rob Cross 15/2, Gary Anderson 15/2, Peter Wright 9/1, Michael Smith 25/1, Corey Cadby 28/1, Raymond van Barneveld 28/1, Daryl Gurney 28/1, Adrian Lewis 50/1, Simon Whitlock 66/1, Dave Chisnall 66/1, 80/1 bar* (betting odds taken at 9:48 p.m. on February 27th).

Main Contenders

Naturally, it is Michael van Gerwen who is going as the outright favourite to the tune of 10/11 with Bet365* (betting odds took at 9:48 p.m. on February 27th). The Dutchman withdrew from last season’s competition but he had won the title in the two previous seasons and easily at that as well. He is probably going to be back in the thick of things at the business end of this tournament after having won the Masters already this year.

Rob Cross is going to continue to confound punters. The 2018 World Champion crashed out the quarterfinals of the Masters and has been under a bit of pressure in his inaugural Premier League season. He clearly has the talent to become one of the top players in the game but you still feel that he needs more established time against the best in the world to make a run. A good draw should help him out, but still too big of a risk for the price.

Gary Anderson hasn’t been running smoothly in the Premier League and really has no track record at the UK Open so again in this format he is probably going to be worth taking a pass on at the moment. Peter Wright does have a good record at the UK Open, having made it to three finals and converting on one of those occasions (2017). He did take a win over MVG in the Premier League on week 2 this season.

Other Options

Daryl Gurney, Adrian Lewis and Simon Whitlock are outside chances because none of them are running particularly well at the moment and will all be vulnerable if it comes down to stressful scraps in the random draw. Michael Smith did get to the fifth round at the UK Open last season but couldn’t deliver and he is probably the best dark horse in the field at the moment especially with a tremendous season in the Premier League behind him.

UK Open Darts 2018 Predictions

Michael Smith is well worth a shout after playing so well in this season’s’ Premier League after it was expected to be a struggle for him. So he is on his game at the moment and represents a good each way chance with bet365 at 25/1 odds* (betting odds taken at 9:48 p.m. on February 27th). However, the favourite Michael van Gerwen is hard to look past. He has a great track record in the tournament and is head and shoulders the best in the business at the moment.