PDC World Darts Championships 2023 Betting Tips And Predictions

peter wright 2021 22 Darts World Championship

There’s just enough time to get the last of your Christmas shopping done before it’s time to settle down in front of the telly, put your feet up with a beer or a brew and watch the biggest and craziest event on the sporting calendar, the PDC World Darts Championships.

The 2023 World Darts Championship will, of course, take place at the Alexandra Palace in London from December 15 – January 3 getting underway just three days before the football World Cup final.

The action at the Ally Pally promises to include all of the usual drama, tension, fairy tale runs and shocks across the next three weeks in what looks like being the most wide-open World Championship in history.

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You can never be certain when it comes to this tournament but this year we have seen 24 different winners in the 58 PDC events that have been staged even if 10 of those were taken down by Michael van Gerwen.

True, it’s not quite the 20 titles per year he used to accumulate between 2015 and 2019, but it is a sign that he is getting back to his best and maybe another period of domination beckons.

PDC TITLE WINNERS 2022

  • 10: Michael van Gerwen (including Premier League, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Players Championship Finals)
  • 6: Michael Smith (including Grand Slam)
  • 5: Gerwyn Price (including World Series Finals) & Luke Humphries
  • 4: Joe Cullen (including Masters)
  • 3: Damon Heta
  • 2: Danny Noppert (including UK Open), Peter Wright, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Nathan Aspinall, Rob Cross, Dave Chisnall
  • 1: Ross Smith (including European Championship), Jim Williams, Danny Jensen, Ryan Searle, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Jonny Clayton, Scott Williams, Adrian Lewis, Brendan Dolan, Keegan Brown, Josh Rock, James Wade
https://twitter.com/SkySportsDarts/status/1597929294340435969

QUARTER ONE DARTS BETTING TIPS

  • (1) Gerwyn Price v Luke Woodhouse/Vladyslav Omelchenko
  • (32) Raymond van Barneveld v Ryan Meikle/Lisa Ashton
  • (16) Ryan Searle v Adam Gawlas/Richie Burnett
  • (17) Jose de Sousa v Simon Whitlock/Christian Perez
  • (8) James Wade v Jim Williams/Sebastian Białecki
  • (25) Gabriel Clemens v William O’Connor/Beau Greaves
  • (9) Danny Noppert v Ritchie Edhouse/David Cameron
  • (24) Daryl Gurney v Alan Soutar/Mal Cuming

Bet365 darts betting odds to win the quarter: Gerwyn Price 6/4, Danny Noppert 5/1, James Wade 15/2, Ryan Searle 10/1, Raymond van Barneveld 14/1, Jose De Sousa 14/1, Daryl Gurney 18/1, Simon Whitlock 18/1, Gabriel Clemens 25/1, Alan Soutar 28/1, Woodhouse 33/1, Luke O’ Connor 33/1, Beau Greaves 66/1, 80/1 bar

Gerwyn Price’s haul of five trophies this season would be seen as a major triumph for most other players but seems a little underwhelming for the world number one. On top of those title wins,

The Iceman reached the final of the World Matchplay but since then he has been unable to win enough close matches on the biggest stage which is not something we normally associate with him.

Price lost twice to Raymond van Barneveld at the Grand Slam of Darts and a rematch could be on the cards in the third round, while Ryan Searle, James Wade and Danny Noppert, who have all won titles this season, are also in his section of the draw.

Noppert broke his major duck when he landed the UK Open back in March and is now inside the world’s top ten. Searle on the other hand has reached the fourth round in three of his last four World Championship appearances including the 2021 and 2022 renewals.

Heavy Metal heads to the Ally Pally in great shape after producing a string of top-quality performers at the recent Players Championship Finals.

He won his opening two games with averages near the 100 mark before Dirk van Duijvenbode got the better of him ten sets to nine and an average of 112.

In the first few months of 2022 Searle reached three Pro Tour finals, winning one of them and, while his form did dip in September and October, it looks to have recovered now. In this section of the draw, his seasonal average of 96.07 is second only to Price’s 97.44 which tells its own story.

I would still expect The Iceman to come out on top here but Searle, who last year Peter Wright branded the future of darts, certainly carries a threat.

QUARTER TWO DARTS BETTING TIPS

  • (4) Michael Smith v Jermaine Wattimena/Nathan Rafferty
  • (29) Martin Schindler v Martin Lukeman/Nobuhiro Yamamoto
  • (13) Joe Cullen v Ricky Evans/Fallon Sherrock
  • (20) Damon Heta v Adrian Lewis/Daniel Larsson
  • (5) Luke Humphries v Keegan Brown/Florian Hempel
  • (28) Vincent van der Voort v Cameron Menzies/Diogo Portela
  • (12) Dave Chisnall v Andrew Gilding/Robert Owen
  • (21) Stephen Bunting v Geert Nentjes/Leonard Gates

Bet365 darts betting odds to win the quarter: Michael Smith 13/8, Luke Humphries 7/2, Dave Chisnall 6/1, Joe Cullen 8/1, Damon Heta 12/1, Stephen Bunting 16/1, Adrian Lewis 28/1, Martin Schindler 33/1, Andrew Gilding 33/1, Cameron Menzies 40/1, Florian Hempel 66/1, 80/1 bar

The favourite for this quarter – and possibly the whole tournament – is twice runner-up Michael Smith, who can finally go into a World Championship as a major winner having won the Grand Slam of Darts and putting an end to a run of nine final defeats.

For many, myself included, that win could and should the first of many and what could be better than the biggest trophy of the lot.

Even without his win in Wolverhampton, Bully Boy had already enjoyed his best-ever calendar year, winning six titles overall which include the televised US Darts Masters at Madison Square Garden. He also reached – and lost – three other major finals, the World Championship, UK Open and European Championship.

Smith’s seasonal average of 96.83 is the eighth highest on tour and he has finally mastered the art of winning scrappy games rather than succumbing to them as would have a year ago, something he freely admits.

Nowhere was this more evident than when he came from behind to beat Joe Cullen at the Slam which hopefully will prove to be the turning point in his career.

Bully Boy heads to the Ally Pally in good form after his best season, Ally Pally experience and is now a major winner so expect him to be firing on all cylinders again at the Worlds.

Other names that jump out from this quarter include Dave Chisnall, who overcame a mediocre first half of the season in which all he did was reach the Masters final back in January. Over the past few months, Chizzy has taken down two titles, including one on the European Tour. Prior to the Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals, he also managed to win 25 out of 33 matches.

Chizzy’s best run here came back in 2021 when he made it to the final four in a tourney where he dished out a 5-0 thrashing to Michael van Gerwen in what has to be one of the best performances we have seen on that famous old stage.

Statistically across all competitions this season, Chizzy is almost in the top 10 for averages and is one of the most prolific 180 hitters on tour. As we have seen in the past, can dish out a bloody nose to anyone on his day and a win for the popular St Helens man – or St Helens men if we include Smith – would certainly please the crowd.

The up-and-coming Luke Humphries also finds himself in this quarter of the draw and there will be many backing him to come out on top, especially after he reached the semi-finals of the last two major tournaments.

He has also comfortably averaged over 100 in three of his matches prior to being put to the sword by MVG and should he bump into Chizzy in the fourth round we could be in for some real fireworks.

QUARTER THREE DARTS BETTING TIPS

  • (2) Peter Wright v Mickey Mansell/Ben Robb
  • (31) Kim Huybrechts v Keane Barry/Grant Sampson
  • (15) Dimitri Van den Bergh v Rowby-John Rodriguez/Lourence Ilagan
  • (18) Krzysztof Ratajski v Danny Jansen/Paolo Nebrida
  • (7) Jonny Clayton v Steve Beaton/Danny van Trijp
  • (26) Brendan Dolan v Jamie Hughes/Jimmy Hendriks
  • (10) Nathan Aspinall v Boris Krcmar/Toru Suzuki
  • (23) Callan Rydz v Josh Rock/Jose Justicia

Bet365 darts betting odds to win the quarter: Peter Wright 13/5, Jonny Clayton 4/1, Josh Rock 4/1, Dimitri Van den Bergh 6/1, Nathan Aspinall 8/1, Krzysztof Ratajski 18/1, Callum Rydz 20/1, Brendan Dolan 33/1, Keane Barry 40/1, Kim Huybrechts 40/1, Rowby John Rodriguez, 66/1 bar

Despite being just over £30,000 behind world number one Gerwyn Price on the PDC Order of Merit, defending world champion Peter Wright comes into this year’s Ally Pally event as the fourth favourite. Snakebite is aiming to become only the fourth different player to successfully defend the Sid Waddell Trophy and has been priced up at 10/1 by bet365 to do exactly that.

That, by the way, is as big a price on the Scotsman to win at the Alexandra Palace since before he became world champion for the first time back in January 2020.

Much of this can be put down to the fact that he has suffered early exits in five majors this year including a shock group stage exit at the Grand Slam of Darts. To be fair, his mind was preoccupied with the health of his wife Jo at that time, and he went on to withdraw from the subsequent Players Championship Finals.

Even when Snakebite made a deep run at the World Grand Prix , it ended with a humiliating 4-0 semi-final defeat to Michael van Gerwen. See also the manner of his World Matchplay quarter-final defeat to Dimitri Van den Bergh and his failure to qualify for the playoffs at this year’s Premier League of Darts and you can see why he is unfancied this time around.

However, it was only a year ago that he proved himself to be the best in the world and his 2022 average is still comfortably inside the top 10. He has also picked up a couple of titles and has made a few other finals of late so it’s not all doom and gloom.

His wife Jo, who does his makeup and designs his costumes, is out of hospital now which should put Snakebite in a much happier place. She has been a rock for him over the years and an integral part of his team so hopefully this will give him the lift he needs to retain his title. If so, 10/1 looks extremely generous.

His major rivals in his sub-section are Dimitri van den Bergh and Krzysztof Ratajski, but I don’t fancy either, especially the latter. The DreamMaker van den Bergh, who is a former housemate of Snakebite, went from friend to foe for a short while during the World Matchplay, has lost 14 of his last 22 matches across all competitions, while The Polish Eagle Ratajski has also been on a poor run over the past few months.

Should Snakebite make the last four then tricky opponents in Jonny Clayton, Nathan Aspinall or even rising star Josh Rock could lie in wait. Going by his 2021 standards, it has been a rather uneventful year for Jonny Clayton, who hasn’t picked up a ranking title.

The Asp, on the other hand, enjoyed a resurgence over the winter when he reached the finals of both the World Grand Prix and Grand Slam of Darts.

21-year-old Josh Rock has posted a seasonal average of 97.75 which is second only to Michael van Gerwen, the man who he famously hit a nine-darter against in an outstanding display at the Grand Slam of Darts last month in a clash in which he also averaged 104.

The World Youth champion from Northern Ireland has only ever competed in four major tournaments so lacks the experience and has yet to perform in front of the Ally Pally crowd which is unlike any other. He certainly looks like a future champion in the making but this year has come too soon.

QUARTER FOUR DARTS BETTING TIPS

  • (3) Michael van Gerwen v Niels Zonneveld/Lewy Williams
  • (30) Mensur Suljovic v Mike de Decker/Jeff Smith
  • (14) Dirk van Duijvenbode v Karel Sedlacek/Raymond Smith
  • (19) Ross Smith v John O’Shea/Darius Labanauskas
  • (6) Rob Cross v Scott Williams/Ryan Joyce
  • (27) Mervyn King v Matt Campbell/Danny Baggish
  • (11) Gary Anderson v Madars Razma/Prakash Jiwa
  • (22) Chris Dobey v Martijn Kleermaker/Xicheng Han

Bet365 darts betting odds to win the quarter: Michael van Gerwen 10/11, Rob Cross 15/2, Dirk van Duijvenbode 7/1, Gary Anderson 10/1, Ross Smith 11/1, Chris Dobey 14/1, Ryan Joyce 33/1, Mervyn King 33/1, Scott Williams 33/1,Mensur Suljovic 40/1, 80/1 bar

Michael van Gerwen is unsurprisingly a very short price to lift his fourth Sid Waddell Trophy, so it makes complete sense that he has also been made odds on to come through this section.

Mighty Mike has won 10 titles this season including the Darts Premier League, World Matchplay Darts, World Grand Prix and the recent Players Championship Finals. Not only that, his seasonal average of 98.43 across all competitions is the best around by quite some distance from Josh Rock.

This section of the draw then is all about those that aren’t MVG. It’s tough to make a call whether it will be the Aubergenius Dirk van Duijvenbode or Ross Smith who will meet The Green Machine for a place in the last four. Both players have enjoyed fantastic seasons putting in lots of superb performances in recent weeks.

Smith, who is another to have made his major breakthrough this year, recently stunned MVG in a Grand Slam of Darts group stage contest but that was in a shorter format and the standards he met that night would not only need to be repeated but also kept up for a much longer time.

As for van Duijvenbode, he has won a couple of titles this year and was unlucky to lose the final of the World Series of Darts Finals against Gerwyn Price by a single leg. However, he’s only beaten his countryman MVG once in nine meetings.

Chris Dobey also finds himself in this side of the draw and is the clear third favourite to come through his mini section behind Rob Cross and possibly even two times Ally Pally winner Gary Anderson.

Dobey played to a very high level when reaching the World Grand Prix quarter finals, where he eventually lost to van Gerwen, but he did get his revenge over the world number three for the first time in his career at the European Championship, where he took care of the Dutchman in the first round. He went on to reach the last four in that event before losing to eventual champion Ross Smith.

As for Anderson, he simply isn’t the player of old, but it felt like he was done with the game two years ago and he still made the Ally Pally final that year where he lost to Gerwyn Price so you can never say never.

WHO WILL LIFT THE SID WADELL TROPHY?

The most likely challengers to Michael van Gerwen right now look like Michael Smith and Gerwyn Price. Michael van Gerwen is the 5/2 favourite with bet365 to win the 2023 PDC World Championship. PDC Order of Merit leader Gerwyn Price is second at 6/1, while recent first-time major winner Michael Smith is believed to have the third-best chance to emerge victorious at the Ally Pally at 7/1.

In the bottom section of the draw, Peter Wright has the ability to embarrass the bookmakers who gave him his highest price in years. He is the defending champion after all and has lifted this trophy twice in the last three renewals. There are also some good reasons surrounding some of his dips in form this season. 

We could have a new name on the title this year. Not just Bully Boy Smith, but Jonny Clayton or Luke Humphries for example. At the end of the day, this really is an open tourney this year as the standard continues to rise and you can make a case for a number of nicely priced darters going on a deep run, but the four mentioned above will all fancy their chances as do I. 

BET365 DARTS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023 OUTRIGHT WINNER BETTING ODDS

  • Michael van Gerwen – 5/2
  • Gerwyn Price – 6/1
  • Michael Smith – 7/1
  • Peter Wright – 10/1
  • Luke Humphries – 14/1
  • Josh Rock – 16/1
  • Jonny Clayton – 16/1
  • Rob Cross – 25/1
  • Dimitri van den Bergh – 28/1
  • Dirk van Duijvenbode – 28/1
  • Nathan Aspinall – 33/1
  • Dave Chisnall – 33/1
  • Danny Noppert – 33/1
  • Joe Cullen – 40/1
  • Gary Anderson – 50/1
  • James Wade – 50/1
  • Ryan Searle – 50/1
  • Ross Smith – 55/1
  • Damon Heta – 66/1
  • Chris Dobey 80/1
  • Raymond van Barneveld – 80/1
  • Jose De Sousa – 100/1
  • 125/1 bar

2023 PDC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE

Thursday, December 15

Evening Session (7pm)

  • Round One: Mickey Mansell vs Ben Robb
  • Round One: Keane Barry vs Grant Sampson
  • Round One: Jermaine Wattimena vs Nathan Rafferty
  • Round Two: Peter Wright vs Mansell/Robb

Friday, December 16

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

  • Round One: Alan Soutar vs Mal Cuming
  • Round One: Boris Krcmar vs Toru Suzuki
  • Round One: Adrian Lewis vs Daniel Larsson
  • Round One: Kim Huybrechts vs Barry/Sampson

Evening Session (7pm)

  • Round One: Rowby-John Rodriguez vs Lourence Ilagan
  • Round One: William O’Connor vs Beau Greaves
  • Round One: Keegan Brown vs Florian Hempel
  • Round Two: Michael Smith vs Wattimena/Rafferty

Saturday, December 17

Afternoon Session (11am)

  • Round One: Martin Lukeman vs Nobuhiro Yamamoto
  • Round One: Simon Whitlock vs Christian Perez
  • Round One: Adam Gawlas vs Richie Burnett
  • Round Two: Daryl Gurney vs Soutar/Cuming

Evening Session (8pm)

  • Round One: Ryan Meikle vs Lisa Ashton
  • Round One: Cameron Menzies vs Diogo Portela
  • Round One: Josh Rock vs Jose Justicia
  • Round Two: Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Rodriguez/Ilagan

Sunday, December 18

Afternoon Session (11am)

  • Round One: Madars Razma vs Prakash Jiwa
  • Round One: Karel Sedlacek vs Raymond Smith
  • Round One: Luke Woodhouse vs Vladyslav Omelchenko
  • Round Two: Damon Heta vs Lewis/Larsson

Evening Session (8pm)

  • Round One: Mike De Decker vs Jeff Smith
  • Round One: Scott Williams vs Ryan Joyce
  • Round One: Matt Campbell vs Danny Baggish
  • Round Two: Nathan Aspinall vs Krcmar/Suzuki

Monday, December 19

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

  • Round One: Andrew Gilding vs Robert Owen
  • Round One: Danny Jansen vs Paolo Nebrida
  • Round One: Niels Zonneveld vs Lewy Williams
  • Round Two: Jose de Sousa vs Whitlock/Perez

Evening Session (7pm)

  • Round One: Geert Nentjes vs Leonard Gates
  • Round One: Ritchie Edhouse vs David Cameron
  • Round One: Steve Beaton vs Danny van Trijp
  • Round Two: Gerwyn Price vs Woodhouse/Omelchenko

Tuesday, December 20

Evening Session (7pm)

  • Round One: Jim Williams vs Sebastian Bialecki
  • Round One: Jamie Hughes vs Jimmy Hendriks
  • Round One: Ricky Evans vs Fallon Sherrock
  • Round Two: Raymond van Barneveld vs Meikle/Ashton

Wednesday, December 21

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

  • Round One: John O’Shea vs Darius Labanauskas
  • Round One: Martijn Kleermaker vs Xicheng Han
  • Round Two: Callan Rydz vs Rock/Justicia
  • Round Two: Dave Chisnall vs Gilding/Owen

Evening Session (7pm)

  • Round Two: Mervyn King vs Campbell/Baggish
  • Round Two: Gabriel Clemens vs O’Connor/Greaves
  • Round Two: Michael van Gerwen vs Zonneveld/L Williams
  • Round Two: Stephen Bunting vs Nentjes/Gates

Thursday, December 22

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

  • Round Two: Krzysztof Ratajski vs Jansen/Nebrida
  • Round Two: Ryan Searle vs Gawlas/Burnett
  • Round Two: Mensur Suljovic vs De Decker/J Smith
  • Round Two: Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Sedlacek/R Smith

Evening Session (7pm)

  • Round Two: Gary Anderson vs Razma/Jiwa
  • Round Two: James Wade vs J Williams/Bialecki
  • Round Two: Luke Humphries vs Brown/Hempel
  • Round Two: Vincent van der Voort vs Menzies/Portela

Friday, December 23

Afternoon Session (12.30pm)

  • Round Two: Brendan Dolan vs Hughes/Hendriks
  • Round Two: Chris Dobey vs Kleermaker/Han
  • Round Two: Ross Smith vs O’Shea/Labanauskas
  • Round Two: Rob Cross vs S Williams/Joyce

Evening Session (7pm)

  • Round Two: Martin Schindler vs Lukeman/Yamamoto
  • Round Two: Danny Noppert vs Edhouse/Cameron
  • Round Two: Jonny Clayton vs Beaton/Van Trijp
  • Round Two: Joe Cullen vs Evans/Sherrock

The third round gets underway on Tuesday December 27 and the final will take place on the 3rd of January 2023. 

QUICK GLANCE AT THE WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023

Venue: The Alexandra Palace, London

Dates: 15 December 2022 – 3rd January 2023

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

Current Champion: Peter Wright

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

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