PDC World Darts Championships 2021 Betting Tips

PDC World Darts Championships 2021 Betting Tips

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – the PDC World Darts Championships are back at the Ally Pally to brighten up our Christmas all over again.

The game’s ultimate pantomime villain Gerwyn Price is the early favourite to defend his title at 4/1 with bet365

The Iceman was unstoppable when taking down his first world title in front of an empty Alexandra Palace twelve months ago and will now be keen to prove himself in front of a packed house come January the 3rd.

Despite pleas from the world number one to go easy on him and “chill out a bit”, the boo boys will likely be out for the Welshman who has admitted he doesn’t enjoy the hostility he generates when he throws.

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Pantomime Villain

In the past, he has turned the noise into fuel for throwing some tremendous darts and the sad likelihood he will probably need to do so again. 

If he does, he will be near invincible over the next few weeks in North London.

As is typical of him, Price’s form was so so during the first half of the year but in the second half, and in the run up to the worlds, he always seems to see things pick up for him.

Since the beginning of September, the Iceman has won 25 of his 30 matches including last month’s Grand Slam Final against Peter Wright.

That was the third time in four years Price has won that event and this time it came about after beating his Welsh countryman Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals.

When he is in form, and he looks red hot right now, he is near imperious at the oche and is back to looking like the best player in the world. 

The Iceman has everything required to become the first back-to-back champion since the man he beat in last year’s final, Gary Anderson, in 2016. 

The Year Of The Ferret

The two World Cup winning partners could face off in the last eight in a match which could very well determine the eventual winner given the year they have both had.

No one in darts has had a better 2021 than the Ferret. 

Since the pair won the 2020 World Cup of Darts together with Wales, Clayton has been on a heater like no other. 

One that has seen him pick up televised tournament wins in the World Grand Prix, Premier League, Masters and the World Series Finals and a win in the Ally Pally could very much be on the cards.

He will need to do better than the last time they met though where Price dismissed him with ease in Wolverhampton.

12 months ago, Clayton wasn’t in the reckoning for this title and was still basking in his world cup win, but now he is up to eight in the world with plenty of scope to climb much higher still.

Clayton is definitely one of the top three in the world on current form and comes into the Ally Pally event as the eighth seed and priced at 13/2 with bet365 which if he makes it past the world number one will look like very generous odds indeed.

You Can’t Beat A Bit Of Bully Boy

The Welsh pair have been drawn into a fairly tough quarter which also features Michael Smith.

One of the most talented and quickest throwers on the circuit, it seems incredible that Bully Boy is still searching for his first major title.

He recently made light work of Michael van Gerwen in the last eight of the Grand Slam to show what he is capable of and is still inside the world’s top 10 so the 25/1 bet365 have placed on his head looks tempting.

He is definitely in contention.

In the second quarter of the draw, things look a little more open and a tiny bit softer.

To that end, the likes of Joe Cullen and Krzysztof Ratajski have an excellent opportunity to progress to the latter stages of the tourney.

The Queen of the Palace Fallon Sherrock is in there too and takes on The Bronze Adonis Steve Beaton in the opening round where she will certainly back herself.

Beaton has been around forever and is one of the game’s greats reaching the last 16 here in 2002, 2004 and 2020.

He is also a former BDO World Champion winning the Lakeside event in 1996 making him a legend in the sport which means that the boozed-up crowd, which often given Sherrock’s opponents a little bit of stick, should give him an easier ride.

Snakebite Is Back

Peter Wright has to be favourite to come through the third quarter of the draw. 

The incredibly streaky Snakebite won the World Matchplay in July and looked as sharp as ever where his mark of 110.37 was the highest average in semi-final history and the seventh-highest Matchplay average of all time.

Naturally, this being Peter Wright, he spent the next few months chucking some of the worst darts of his career before storming back into form last month when he won the Players Championship Finals at Butlins Resort in Minehead.

He then reached the final of the Grand Slam which suggests he has timed his return to form to perfection given that the biggest event in darts is just around the corner.

bet365 have priced Peter Wright up at 13/2 to become a two-time world champion.

Best Of The Rest

2018 World Champion Rob Cross is another who seems to have rediscovered his winning formula.

Voltage had shown signs earlier in the season that he might be getting back to his best but had to wait until October to claim another title when he landed the European Championship.

Cross can certainly put together a deep run and can be picked up for 28/1 at bet365.

Three-time world champ Michael van Gerwen is of course another very obvious threat.

Mighty Mike will be looking to cap an underperforming year and the basic truth is that you can never rule out MVG even when he is out of form.

Everyone, apart from Price who has finally broken his hoodoo over him, will want to avoid the Dutchman who is available as the second favourite at 4/1 with bet365.

Other stellar names who can go deep are Gary Anderson who, while not the player he once was, knows how to win here and made the final last year. 

At 35/1 The Flying Scotsman is definitely worth an each-way punt. 

The other name to watch out for is Belgium’s former World Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh

The DreamMaker has been handed a more than kind draw, landing in the weakest section of the tournament. 

His entertaining style and high averages make him a popular member of the field and, having reached the quarter finals at Ally Pally twice before, he can definitely do better than that this year.

He could even finally pin that nine dart finish he always looks like threatening.

bet365 have placed a 14/1 price on the head of the Belgian.

2021 PDC World Championships Schedule

Wednesday December 15

First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Ritchie Edhouse v Lihao Wen (R1)
  • Ricky Evans v Nitin Kumar (R1)
  • Adrian Lewis v Matt Campbell (R1)
  • Gerwyn Price v Edhouse/Wen (R2)

Thursday December 16

First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Steve Lennon v Madars Razma (R1)
  • Scott Mitchell v Chris Landman (R1)
  • Chas Barstow v John Norman Jnr (R1)
  • Daryl Gurney v Evans/Kumar (R2)
  • William O’Connor v Danny Lauby (R1)
  • Ryan Meikle v Fabian Schmutzler (R1)
  • Ron Meulenkamp v Lisa Ashton (R1)
  • Gary Anderson v Lewis/Campbell (R2)

Friday December 17

First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Ryan Joyce v Roman Benecky (R1)
  • Keane Barry v Royden Lam (R1)
  • Jermaine Wattimena v Boris Koltsov (R1)
  • Krzysztof Ratajski v Lennon/Razma (R2)
  • Joe Murnan v Paul Lim (R1)
  • William Borland v Bradley Brooks (R1)
  • Ross Smith v Jeff Smith (R1)
  • Peter Wright v Meikle/Schmutzler (R2)

Saturday December 18

First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Jamie Hughes v Raymond Smith (R1)
  • Callan Rydz v Yuki Yamada (R1)
  • Darius Labanauskas v Charles Losper (R1)
  • Ian White v Mitchell/Landman (R2)
  • Adam Hunt v Boris Krcmar (R1)
  • Ted Evetts v Jim Williams (R1)
  • Rowby-John Rodriguez v Nick Kenny (R1)
  • Michael van Gerwen v Barstow/Norman Jnr (R2)

Sunday December 19

First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Maik Kuivenhoven v Ky Smith (R1)
  • Jason Heaver v Gordon Mathers (R1)
  • Alan Soutar v Diogo Portela (R1)
  • Stephen Bunting v Ross Smith/J Smith (R2)
  • Martijn Kleermaker v John Michael (R1)
  • Florian Hempel v Martin Schindler (R1)
  • Steve Beaton v Fallon Sherrock (R1)
  • Jonny Clayton v Barry/Lam (R2)

Monday December 20

First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Luke Woodhouse v James Wilson (R1)
  • Rusty-Jake Rodriguez v Ben Robb (R1)
  • Raymond van Barneveld v Lourence Ilagan (R1)
  • James Wade v Kuivenhoven/K Smith (R2)

Tuesday December 21

First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Lewy Williams v Toyokazu Shibata (R1)
  • Jason Lowe v Daniel Larsson (R1)
  • Mervyn King v Joyce/Benecky (R2)
  • Dave Chisnall v Labanauskas/Losper (R2)
  • Vincent van der Voort v Hunt/Krcmar (R2)
  • Michael Smith v Meulenkamp/Ashton (R2)
  • Dimitri Van den Bergh v Hempel/Schindler (R2)
  • Devon Petersen v Hughes/Raymond Smith (R2)

Wednesday December 22

First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Ryan Searle v Borland/Brooks (R2)
  • Glen Durrant v O’Connor/Lauby (R2)
  • Luke Humphries v Rowby-John Rodriguez/Kenny (R2)
  • Joe Cullen v Evetts/J Williams (R2)
  • Nathan Aspinall v Murnan/Lim (R2)
  • Dirk van Duijvenbode v Wattimena/Koltsov (R2)
  • Kim Huybrechts v Beaton/Sherrock (R2)
  • Simon Whitlock v Kleermaker/Michael (R2)

Thursday December 23

First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Damon Heta v Woodhouse/Wilson (R2)
  • Brendan Dolan v Rydz/Yamada (R2)
  • Mensur Suljovic v Soutar/Portela (R2)
  • Jose de Sousa v Lowe/Larsson (R2)
  • Danny Noppert v Heaver/Jose Francisco Rodriguez (R2)
  • Gabriel Clemens v L Williams/Shibata (R2)
  • Rob Cross v Van Barneveld/Ilagan (R2)
  • Chris Dobey v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez/Robb (R2)

Monday December 27

Third Round (Best of 7 sets)

  • 6 matches

Tuesday December 28

Third Round (Best of 7 sets)

  • 6 matches

Wednesday December 29

Third/Fourth Round (Best of 7 sets)

  • 6x matches

Thursday December 30

Fourth Round (Best of 7 sets)

  • 6x matches

Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 sets)

  • 4x matches

Sunday January 2

Semi-Finals (Best of 11 sets)

  • 2x matches

Monday January 3

Final (Best of 13 sets)

  • Winner Semi Final 1 v Winner Semi Final 2

QUICK GLANCE AT THE WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2022

Venue: The Alexandra Palace, London

Dates:  15 December 2021 – 3rd January 2022

Format: Best of 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 sets

Current Champion: Gerwyn Price

Where To Watch: Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Arena

When To Watch: 12:30, 19:00 (UK)

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PDC Players Championship Finals 2021 Betting Tips

PDC Players Championship Finals 2021 Betting Tips

The stars of the PDC are off to Butlin’s Minehead this weekend for the 2021 renewal of the Players Championship Finals in what is the player’s last chance to win a piece of silverware before next month’s Darts World Championship, which gets underway on Wednesday December the 15th.

The £500,000 three-day event features the top 64 players from the 2021 Players Championship Order of Merit and is thankfully back at its traditional home after being staged behind closed doors in Coventry at the Micoh Arena in 2020.

Returning champ, Michael van Gerwen is looking to win the title for the seventh time and third in a row, but it is world number one Gerwyn Price who will rightfully be the favourite.

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Last Sunday The Iceman blew away Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright in the final of the World Grand Slam of Darts to win the event for the third time in four years.

In truth, Price didn’t play that well during the week but still had too much for his rivals, even arguably the best player this season, fellow countryman Jonny Clayton, who he beat in the semi-final.

The Welsh pair will, along with van Gerwen and Wright, again carry the biggest threat.

The best tend to win

This isn’t a tourney that normally springs surprises as shown by the fact the duel leading forces of darts over the past 20 years – Michael van Gerwen and GOAT Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor – have taken down the title nine times out of the last 13 renewals of the event.

The draw has seen world number two Peter Wright and world number three Van Gerwen put into the same quarter.

Price looks like the man to beat after he improved across the week in Wolverhampton and was ruthless of his dismantling of Snakebite at the weekend.

Bet365 has put a 10/3 price on the head of, er, Price to win the tourney outright, something that is completely feasible.

Otherwise, at slightly bigger odds, are Mighty Mike at 9/2 and Peter Wright at 8/1, again both with bet365.

Go Jonny go go go

All of the players will be looking at sharpening up their form ahead of the Ally Pally extravaganza next month, but one player who carries a serious threat this year, and one that would be deserving given the year he has had, is the popular Jonny Clayton.

The Ferret has stormed into the world’s top eight this year on the back of his success, but is clearly – and before very long will surely be – in the world’s top four players right now.

Go Go Jonny is the undisputed player of the year and at bet365’s 11/2 is well worth a punt.

Further down the pack, Michael ‘Bully Boy’ Smith showed a return to form in the Grand Slam.

Great to watch, Smith looked in great shape in Wolverhampton and topped his group, which contained Anderson and the returning Raymond van Barneveld, undefeated before dismissing Joe Cullen and Michael Van Gerwen in the knockout stages before losing to Snakebite in the semis.

Speaking of Joe Cullen, while I can’t see a win coming here, he too is improving and averaged 95 over four matches before running into Bully Boy during Round Two.

Bet365 are offering 25/1 on Michael Smith and 55/1 on Joe Cullen to win the first major.

Players Championship Finals 2021 Schedule

Friday November 26

First Round (Best of 11 legs)

  • Ryan Searle v Simon Whitlock
  • Krzysztof Ratajski v Ron Meulenkamp
  • Michael Smith v William Borland
  • Joe Cullen v Andy Boulton
  • Dimitri Van den Bergh v Madars Razma
  • James Wade v Ricky Evans
  • Nathan Aspinall v Jeff Smith
  • Adrian Lewis v Kim Huybrechts
  • Scott Mitchell v Martijn Kleermaker
  • Ryan Joyce v Luke Woodhouse
  • Martin Schindler v Ian White
  • Mervyn King v Darius Labanauskas
  • Brendan Dolan v Chas Barstow
  • Ross Smith v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
  • Danny Noppert v Rowby-John Rodriguez
  • Gabriel Clemens v Steve Beaton
  • Stephen Bunting v Gary Anderson
  • Raymond van Barneveld v Maik Kuivenhoven
  • Rob Cross v Jermaine Wattimena
  • Jose de Sousa v Devon Petersen
  • Gerwyn Price v Jason Lowe
  • Michael van Gerwen v Kevin Doets
  • Peter Wright v Keane Barry
  • Jonny Clayton v Alan Tabern
  • Vincent van der Voort v Jamie Hughes
  • Daryl Gurney v Alan Soutar
  • Damon Heta v Steve Lennon
  • Callan Rydz v Mensur Suljovic
  • Dirk van Duijvenbode v Ryan Meikle
  • Luke Humphries v Jason Heaver
  • Chris Dobey v William O’Connor
  • Dave Chisnall v Ritchie Edhouse

Saturday November 27

Second Round (Best of 11 legs)

  • 16 matches

Third Round (Best of 19 legs)

  • Eight Matches

Sunday November 28

Quarter-Finals (Best of 19 legs)

  • Four Matches
  • Semi-Finals (Best of 21 Legs)
  • Final (Best of 21 legs)

Quick glance at the Players Championship Finals 2021

Venue: Butlins Resort, Minehead

Dates: Friday 26 November – Sunday 28 November 2021

Format: Best of 11, 19 and 21 legs

Current Champion: Michael van Gerwen

Where To Watch: ITV 4

When To Watch: 12:45 & 19:00

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2021 Grand Slam of Darts Betting Tips & Predictions

2021 Grand Slam of Darts Betting Tips & Predictions

The 2021 renewal of the PDC’s Grand Slam of Darts will return to its traditional Wolverhampton venue this weekend after taking place behind closed doors in Coventry last year.

On that occasion, Portugal’s Jose de Sousa made a name for himself when he lifted the trophy. 

The Special One has since gone on to win four Pro Tour titles, which has allowed him to reach as high as his current world ranking of seven.

Currently catching the eye, however, is the man he beat in last year’s final, Jonny Clayton, who is not only in the form of his life but playing as if he is the world number one right now.

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The Ferret

At the moment, you simply cannot back against the Ferret, who has picked up more individual titles than anyone else this season, four of which – Masters, Premier League, World Grand Prix and the World Series of Darts Finals – have been televised majors.

The last win, the World Series of Darts Finals, came at the expense of his fellow countryman and actual world number one, Wales’ Gerwyn Price who he also beat in the final of the World Grand Prix.

It’s fortunately strange then that bet365 only sees him as a 6/1 shot to win the 2021 Grand Slam, a price that isn’t to be sniffed at.

His game hasn’t got any weak spots right now as demonstrated at last week’s Super Series where he once again reached the latter stages, this time losing it to Krzysztof Ratajski. Clayton still managed to post five ton plus averages in 11 matches, however.

bet365 makes him third favourite behind the big two of Gerwyn Price (4/1) and Michael van Gerwen (9/2).

Ratajski is another outsider that could go well and run deep this week making him possibly worth a punt, although he has been drawn into the same group as Gerwyn Price. If he can qualify from the group, he could be dangerous.

Van Den Bergh Out, Dobey In

This might have been a good time to back Dimitri van den Bergh, but he has fallen victim to the pandemic and has been replaced by Chris Dobey.

Two-time runner-up, Gary Anderson enjoys this event and has never been eliminated in the group stage.

He has had a quite year but did hit three ton plus averages in a day at last week’s Super Series which might suggest he could be getting back to best at the exact right time with the World Championships looming. 

The Flying Scotsman can be backed at odds of 8/1 at bet365.

Lisa Ashton and Fallon Sherrock will both be in Wolverhampton over the weekend and possibly longer in Sherrock’s case.

Her run to the Nordic Darts Masters final, where she could so easily have beaten Michael van Gerwen, was another example of what she is capable of.

She will also have the crowd massively on her side for all of her matches and has more than enough big stage experience to cope with what is admittedly a tough draw.

Her group contains Germany’s Gabriel Clemens and one Peter Wright, who she plays in her first match.

Snakebite And The Iceman

In the case of Snakebite, you never can be quite sure. One minute he throws like the best around, the next moment his game drops off completely.

At the moment, it looks like being the latter but there is every chance we get the version that took down the World Matchplay so brilliantly. 

bet365 have priced the erratic showman up at 8/1.

World champion Gerwyn Price will be pleased to be back in Wolverhampton having won the title at the Aldersley Leisure Village in both 2018 and 2019.

The short format does make the group stage a little bit of a lottery, but he is rightly the outright favourite and is certain to qualify out of his group, likely alongside the aforementioned Polish Eagle.

The Group Stage 

With the 32 players split into eight groups of four for the first-round stage, the round-robin action begins with a double session on Saturday.

Jonny Clayton, who takes his place in group B, should breeze out of there and into the second round joined, I would think, by Mervyn King.

Expect Rob Cross, who has been picking up some fantastic results over the past few months, and James Wade to safely navigate the third group (C).

The Dream Maker’s replacement, Chris Dobey, should have enough to escape group D where Stephen Bunting should be the other qualifier.

Peter Wright is joined in Group E by Fallon Sherrock who has the potential to cause an upset, although Gabriel Clemens will have something to say about that.

Reigning champion Jose de Sousa shouldn’t be having too much trouble making it out of Group F and into round two along with Luke Humphries or Mensur Suljovic.

Group G is where Michael van Gerwen starts his campaign and is a certain qualifier most likely with Joe Cullen.

The final group is an intriguing one as it contains Gary Anderson, who should qualify for the next round, and Michael Smith, who is also a strong candidate for qualification, as well as the returning Raymond van Barneveld who has every reason to believe he can qualify for the knockout stages on his return to the Grand Slam for the first time since 2018.

Grand Slam of Darts 2021 Groups

Group A

  • Gerwyn Price
  • Krzysztof Ratajski
  • Martin Schindler
  • Nathan Rafferty

Group B

  • Jonny Clayton 
  • Mervyn King
  • Bradley Brooks 
  • Rusty-Jake Rodriguez 

Group C

  • James Wade 
  • Rob Cross 
  • Boris Krcmar 
  • Jim Williams

Group D

  • Chris Dobey
  • Stephen Bunting
  • Ryan Joyce
  • Chris Dobey

Group E

  • Peter Wright
  • Gabriel Clemens
  • Mike De Decker 
  • Fallon Sherrock 

Group F

  • Jose de Sousa 
  • Luke Humphries 
  • Mensur Suljovic 
  • Matt Campbell

Group G

  • Michael van Gerwen
  • Joe Cullen 
  • John Henderson
  • Lisa Ashton

Group H

  • Gary Anderson
  • Michael Smith
  • Raymond van Barneveld
  • Joe Davis

Grand Slam of Darts 2021 Schedule

Saturday November 13

Group Matches (Best of 9 legs)

  • Stephen Bunting v Ryan Joyce
  • Krzysztof Ratajski v Martin Schindler
  • Mervyn King v Bradley Brooks
  • James Wade v Jim Williams
  • Rob Cross v Boris Krcmar
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