World Matchplay Darts 2019 Predictions & Winner Odds

Saturday, July 20th will ring in the start of the 2019 edition of the World Matchplay Darts. This will be the 26th edition of the famous tournament, which as always, comes from the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. Last year’s winner was Gary Anderson who took out surprise finalist Mensur Suljoivc in a thrilling finale. It is two-time winner Michael van Gerwen though who goes as the 6/5 outright favourite* (betting odds taken from bet365 on July 15th, 2019 at 12:30 pm)

World Matchplay Darts Winner Odds*

Michael van Gerwen 6/5
Rob Cross 15/2
Gary Anderson 9/1
Peter Wright 12/1
Gerwyn Price 16/1
James Wade 20/1
Nathan Aspinall 22/1
Michael Smith 22/1
Daryl Gurney 25/1
Mensur Suljovic 33/1
Glen Durrant 33/1
40/1 bar
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on July 15th, 2019 at 12:30 pm)

2018 Review – Anderson claims first Matchplay title

It was the first edition without the retired Phil Taylor in 2018. After winning so many titles at the event, his presence was missed from the Blackpool showcase. But darts life has to go on and it was Scotland’s Gary Anderson, who started as the fourth seed, who seized the opportunity in front of him to land his first title. The road was opened up for him with top seed Michael van Gerwen suffering a shock first-round exit against his Netherlands compatriot Jeffrey de Zwaan. In the final Anderson beat Mensur Suljovic 21-19 after extra time. It was the longest ever final played in the history of the tournament.

Tournament Format

This is just a race to win legs. A player has to win a match by two clear legs. The first round is the best of 19, the second round the best of 21, quarter-finals the best of 31, the semi’s the best of 33 and then Final is played over the best of 35 legs.

The top sixteen seeds are all kept apart in the first round of action. In the top half of the draw. If you break down the sections into quarters it pans out like this:

1st Quarter: 1 Michael van Gerwen, 8 James Wade, 9 Mensur Suljovic, 16 Adrian Lewis
2nd Quarter: 4 Gary Anderson, 5 Michael Smith, 12 Dave Chisnall, 13 Nathan Aspinall
3rd Quarter: 2 Rob Cross, 7 Gerwyn Price, 10 Ian White, 15 Darren Webster
4th Quarter: 3 Daryl Gurney, 6 Peter Wright, 11 Simon Whitelock, 14 Jonny Clayton

Will Gary Anderson defend World Matchplay title?

Scotland’s Gary Anderson is the one with the pressure of defending a title on his shoulders. He is 4th on the PDC Order of Merit and The Flying Scotsman has had a pretty decent run of form at this tournament. Anderson has a win and two semi-final finishes in his last five attempts. He has been troubled with his back problems this year, the same ones that caused him to miss the Premier League this season. Anderson lost his first match back after a couple of months out, which was at the UK Open against Steve Beaton. That will be weighing on the minds of punters.

Can Michael van Gerwen win his 3rd Match Play title?

The front runner, as usual, is Michael van Gerwen. He won it back to back in 2105 and 2016 but hasn’t been to either of the last two finals. He had a major blow out in the first round twelve months ago. MVG has already racked up the PDC World Championship, Master and the Premier League Darts this year, but showed that he was human when he crashed in the fourth round of the UK open. Still, he’s the one to beat and everyone in his quarter at the very least will be fearing the worst. Van Gerwen is at 6/5 to win outright * (betting odds taken from bet365 on July 15th, 2019 at 12:30 pm)

Can Rob Cross get his first title of the year?

Rob Cross has played the World Matchplay twice and has crashed out in the second round twice. He burst onto the scene with his stunning 2018 World Championship title which came out of nowhere. He has yet to add another title to that though but did end last year second in the PDC Ranking. Cross will be carrying some good form forward with him too after reaching the final of the UK Open (where he lost against Nathan Aspinall) and then to Van Gerwen in the Premier League final. The fact that he is there at 15/2* (betting odds taken from bet365 on July 15th, 2019 at 12:30 pm) shows what a threat he is.

Will Snakebite finally get over the line?

Peter Wright has been there or thereabouts when it comes to the title at the World Matchplay in recent seasons. He hasn’t finished lower than in the quarter finals in the last four editions of this tournament. Two of those four saw him fall short in the semi-finals. However, it’s been a while now since we saw Snakebite really at the top of his form. But will return to the Winter Gardens bring out the best of him again?

Other key contenders

Gerwyn Price

After a strong run to the semifinals of the UK Open back in March, Welshman Price will be looking to make a splash in Blackpool. He took a fifth-place finish at the Premier League Of Darts. But since his win at the Grand Slam of Darts, last season has struggled a bit. Price has precious little form at the Matchplay itself either. He took a quarter-final finish in his first attempt. However, he hasn’t been past the second round since.

Michael Smith

Bully Boy will be expected to put in a decent showing at the Winter Gardens. He is a player who has produced some of the best darts of his career in 2019. While the Premier League campaign didn’t quite work out for him, he can be quietly confident in himself ahead of this tournament. A deep run at the event could be aided by the fitness and form concerns of Gary Anderson. Not a bad each-way option at 22/1 odds* (betting odds taken from bet365 on July 15th, 2019 at 12:30 pm)

Daryl Gurney

Gurney’s hopes of picking up a title in Blackpool will have been significantly boosted after he took a semi-final finish at the Premier League of Darts. Superchin took the Players Championship Finals in November last year. Little experience of note really at the World Matchplay. It’s been a semi-final finish in 2017 sandwiched between a first and second-round exit at the tournament.

James Wade

Wade is the eighth seed and that spells some bad draw news for him. He is up in the same section as Micahel van Gerwen, so that is going to be a tough quarter for him to come through. He also opens against top PDC qualifier Jeffrey de Zwaan as well. But the Machine has had a good career at the World Matchplay. He was crowned champion in 2007 and besides that, he has been to the final on five other occasions and has taken two semi-final finishes besides that too.

Outsider options

UK Open winner Nathan Aspinall, who sprung a massive surprise in the field at Minehead back in march is a 22/1 each-way shot* (betting odds taken from bet365 on July 15th, 2019 at 12:30 pm). Glen Durrant hasn’t had a bad transition to the PDC, with a couple of appearances in PDC Players Championship events (one title).

Duzza is at 33/1 to come up with the title at the Winter Gardens. Mensur Suljovic is always a dangerous floater in draws and he’s backable at the same price as Durrant. The Austrian made huge waves in Blackpool twelve months ago when he lost the final against Gary Anderson in a gripping 19-21 defeat. His 2019 season has yet to really take off though.

2019 World Matchplay Darts Predictions

We think it’s worth opposing Michael Van here and The Field is at 8/11 with betway to topple Mighty Mike* (betting odds taken from betway on July 15th, 2019 at 12:30 pm) especially with his misfires at the last two editions and his crash at the UK Open against Mervyn King.

Still, for a little added security you probably want to go looking around the bottom half of the draw to pick someone out. The top pick is Rob Cross there as he has been motoring along in some pretty handy form and looks to be a nice fit this time out.

The other pick, just in case Michael van Gerwen doesn’t get deep into the event, would be Micahel Smith. He could only meet MVG at the semi-final stage and has a favourable draw in his quarter, even though the susceptible Gary Anderson in there.