One of the great spectacles of sporting action over the festive period kicks up in mid-December. On December 13th, the opening arrows will be thrown in the World Darts Championship 2019. For the first time, the tournament will not be graced by the presence of legend Phil Taylor who retired from the game after last season’s Final.
It leaves Michael van Gerwen as the 11/8 outright favourite as the Dutchman goes for his third World title* (betting odds taken on December 11th, 2018 at 3:10 pm)
World Darts Championship 2019 Odds*
Michael van Gerwen 11/8
Gary Anderson 10/3
Peter Wright 10/1
Michael Smith 14/1
Rob Cross 18/1
Mensur Suljovic 20/1
Daryl Gurney 33/1
Gerwyn Price 33/1
James Wade 40/1
Raymond van Barneveld 66/1
Dimitri van den Bergh 66/1
Adrian Lewis 70/1
Simon Whitlock 80/1
Dave Chisnall 80/1
Joe Cullen 80/1
Jeffrey de Zwaan 80/1
Bar 100/1
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on December 11th, 2018 at 3:10 pm)
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Table of Contents
Van Gerwen leads the charge
Dutchman Michael van Gerwen is just one of three players in this season’s field to have won the World Championship on more than one occasion. He has claimed the title twice with only Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis having achieved the same feat. Still, it all pales into comparison to the massive 14 World Championship titles that Phil Taylor won during his career.
It is Michael van Gerwen who is leading this season’s field in World Darts Championship 2019 betting as the 11/8 favorite* (betting odds taken on December 11th, 2018 at 3:10 pm). It’s no surprise really that Mighty Mike is the outright favourite. He is the king of the game at the moment and without question, he is the one to beat. His last World Championship title happened in 2017 as he beat Gary Anderson with ease in the final. After another strong season behind him, including titles at the Masters, Premier League, World Grand Prix and the Players Championship Finals anyone having landed in his second of the draw are going to be cursing their luck.
Gary Anderson
Scotland’s Gary Anderson, a two-time World Champion is the second favorite at 10/3 odds in the draw* (betting odds taken on December 11th, 2018 at 3:10 pm). His steady hand is really seen as the biggest threat to the power of MVG in the game, with regards to titles. Anderson has been to three of the last four World Championship finals, earning the title in 2015 and in 2016.
Anderson has been to at least the quarter finals in six of his last eight appearances at the World Championships, so has every right to be expecting to be at the business end of events as well this time around. Anderson will be looking to add to his 2018 World Matchplay, Champions League of Darts and Grand Slam of Darts titles this year.
Rob Cross
The defending World Champion is Rob Cross who produced a stunning run last year at the Alexandra Palace. He came out of nowhere to claim the title. He had survived two match darts early in the tournament against Michael Smith and then he somehow managed to survive six match darts against MVG in the semi finals. That was some let off for Cross and totally uncharacteristic from Van Gerwen.
But Cross stuck in there and took his chance. He then tore apart Phil Taylor’s dreams of retiring from the game in the best possible fashion. Cross beat Taylor 7-2 in a lopsided final which again, was totally against the odds. He is going to have a big challenge on his hands to defend as he is out at 18/1 odds* (betting odds taken on December 11th, 2018 at 3:10 pm).
First Quarter
The draw is fascinating in the first quarter. This is where top seed Michael van Gerwen is, but there are some other big names in that section who are going to be falling by the wayside. Two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis, Raymond van Barneveld, Simon Whitlock and James Wade are all in the same quarter as Van Gerwen. So if Van Gerwen wins the quarter as expected, that’s a lot of collateral damage he has caused along the way. Van Gerwen is 4/11 odds on to win the first quarter* (betting odds taken on December 11th, 2018 at 3:10 pm)
Second Quarter
Gary Anderson is heading up the second quarter and that, of course, means that he would be on a collision course for a mighty semi-final showdown against Van Gerwen if they both get that far. Anderson can be pretty pleased with his draw as there’s no-one on his side of the section which looks likely to stop his easing to the quarter finals. Opposing him from the other half are fifth seed Daryl Gurney and 12th seed Dave Chisnall. Anderson is 1/2 odds on to win the second section* (betting odds taken on December 11th, 2018 at 3:10 pm)
Third Quarter
Here is where things get interesting because of MVG and Anderson in the top half of the draw. Heading up the bottom section is Rob Cross who is actually only the third favorite to win the third quarter. It is Michael Smith who is the 5/2 favorite* (betting odds taken on December 11th, 2018 at 3:10 pm) to progress from the third section and Austria’s Mensur Suljovic is a shorter price than the defending champion to win this section as well. This is a good competitive section really. There is no better outsider than Suljovic who has had a really strong season and while Smith doesn’t have a track record at the World Championship, he’s a dangerous floater.
Fourth Quarter
The set up for the draw has left things fairly wide open for third seed Peter Wright. While his form perhaps doesn’t suggest that he is a serious contender to go all the way and win the title for the first time in his career, he is at even money to top the fourth quarter* (betting odds taken on December 11th, 2018 at 3:10 pm). The quarter actually looks easy and the fact that “Snakebite” isn’t at odds-on to win the fourth quarter says a lot about his overall chances. The biggest opposition really to Wright is sixth seed Gerwyn Price who would be a potential quarter-final opponent.
Female Presence
Lining up in the draw will be England’s Lisa Ashton and Russia’s Anastasia Dobromyslova. The latter goes up against Ryan Joyce in the first round and would face up to 8th seed Simon Whitlock if she was to prevail there. That’s up in the first quarter which his headed up by Michael van Gerwen.
Lisa Ashton will take on Jan Dekker in the first round and the prize for that is getting through to the second round to face 19th seed, Mervyn King. That’s in the fourth quarter and it puts Ashes on a potential collision course with Peter Wright in the fourth round.
Predictions
Cross became the 10th player to win the World Championship of Darts at the first attempt and you can take 5/2 odds on there being a first-time winner this go-around* (betting odds taken on December 11th, 2018 at 3:10 pm).
The fact that there could be that Anderson v Van Gerwen semi-final showdown is fascinating as it opens the door for someone from the bottom half of the table. We like Mensur Suljovic as “The Gentle” has had plenty of success in reaching finals of tournaments this season and he is at 7/1 to Reach The Final* (betting odds taken on December 11th, 2018 at 3:10 pm).
As for the winner, we are going to oppose the favorite and sit with Anderson as the value option to come through and take the title. It really is a toss-up between him and MVG from the outset but of the two, it is the Scotsman who has the more favourable draw overall with less standing in his path ahead of a semi-final berth.
