World Cup of Darts 2018 Winner Odds & Predictions – 31st May, 2018

Dutch to rule the world again

Darts Betting

There was a somewhat predictable outcome to the 2018 Premier League Darts season, with Michael van Gerwen taking the title once again. That was his third straight title in the tournament and adds to his 2018 Masters success. The next big event on the darts calendar is a team event with the World Cup of Darts starting on May 31, 2018. The event runs through to June 3rd.

This is where each nation taking part in the competition has two players representing and Michael van Gerwen is the current reigning champion along with his teammate Raymond van Barneveld for the Netherlands. Twelve months ago the Netherlands beat Wales in the final four, in what was their second success in the tournament for that particular pairing.

Dutch Retain Favouritism

The Netherlands once again are being represented by Van Gerwen and Barneveld and once again are going as favourites to defend their title. They are 10/11 oddson favourites at Ladbrokes* (betting odds taken at 2:16 a.m. on May 21st, 2018) to get their hands on the title once again. Frankly, it is just so difficult to look past them winning the title, and really you will be best served getting as early of a decent price as you get on them. Once the tournament kicks off then their price will get trimmed rapidly.

The Netherlands start down in the bottom half of the draw and they are actually only third seeds which means that they could potentially bump into second seeds England and that would only happen at the semi-final stage. The Netherlands may also have to get past the host nation Germany along the way which could be tricky with the home support heavily behind pairing Max Hopp and Martin Schindler.

With the great Phil Taylor having hung up his darts, then England are being represented by reigning world champion Rob Cross and David Chisnall. Unfortunately, that doesn’t look strong enough preparing to challenge for the title. Had Michael Smith, who lost in the Premier league final recently to Van Gerwen, was the one partnering Cross then they would have looked a lot stronger of a proposition.

Scotland have Peter Wright and Gary Anderson going for them and they were supposed to be in the picture for the title last year, but they suffered the biggest shock in the history of the World Cup by losing to Singapore in the first round. That will have hurt them but it gives good motivation to come out stronger and not be complacent this time around. Scotland are at the top seeds for the 2018 World Cup of Darts where they are trading at 11/4 odds with Ladbrokes* (betting odds taken at 2:16 a.m. on May 21st, 2018).

Dark Horse Threats

The sensible thing to do for World Cup of Darts 2018 betting if you are looking for a dark horse, is basically just look past any other option from the bottom half of the draw because of the presence of the Netherlands. So if you cast an eye over the top half of the draw then you will see the main dark horse threats being Wales and Australia. Welsh duo Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton had a comfortable run in the last edition, beating Finland, Ireland, Russia and then Belgium in the semifinals. Wales did also makes the Netherlands work hard in the final.

But the form of Gerwyn Price in the Premier League darts this season was poor and that could hinder them. As for Australia it is generally hard to put a lot of stock into Simon Whitlock although the Wizard had a pretty decent Premier League campaign after being touted as dead cert pretty much for relegation. He partners up with the solid and reliable Kyle Anderson who can be a tricky opponent. Australia are trading at 16/1 odds* (betting odds taken at 2:16 a.m. on May 21st, 2018) in the World Cup of darts 2018 outright winner market, with Wales hovering at 20/1 odds. That looks to be a fair representation but still, with the power of the Netherlands the Aussies would be nothing more than an optimistic each way bet.

Predictions

It’s the Netherlands all the way. Michael van Gerwen is in form and he and Barneveld just team up so well together, they really complement each other. It is hard to see anyone getting the better of them and while the most serious threat to them in a one-on-one situation is Scotland there will be trepidation about backing them after last season’s disaster. England doesn’t look strong enough to compete so putting all that together, the best each way outsider is Australia to come through the top half of the draw and make the Final.