2020 World Grand Prix Tips and Preview

Last weekend was a very financially rewarding one for James Punt’s followers. Not only did he land a lovely F1 winner with Valtteri Bottas, he also fired in another winning tip in the darts. Devon Peterson at 66/1! Let’s hope for more success this week, check out his 2020 World Grand Prix tips and preview below…

2020 World Grand Prix Preview

We have a change of venue for the 2020 World Grand Prix this year. The City West Hotel in Dublin is still a Covid 19 isolation centre so this year’s event will be played at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. It will also be played without any audience.

This will be the second major played in the Covid 19 era. The first, The World Matchplay, was won by Dimitri van den Bergh, who beat Gary Anderson in the final. That was Van den Bergh’s first major title, and it is fair to say he was a surprise winner, given his form at the time.

We have to consider that the change in venue and the lack of a crowd may have a bearing on this year’s event. It will have a different feel to it.

What has not changed is the format. The double in – double out format is unique, and it suits some players better than others. Past form is much more important for this event than any other major.

2020 World Grand Prix: Five Different Winners

The last ten World Grand Prix has seen five different winners. Michael van Gerwen has won five, Phil Taylor two and one each for James Wade, Robert Thornton and Daryl Gurney.

The best record of course belongs to Michael Van Gerwen and other players with good records are Daryl Gurney, James Wade, Dave Chisnall, Mensur Suljovic, Merv King and Brendan Dolan.

The tournament is played in sets, with the first round being a brutal best of three sets and it is not uncommon to see a few big surprises early on.

This tournament is sponsored by Boylesports who are doing the right thing and going best price on very player in the tournament.

The Players: Previous Event Form and 2020 World Grand Prix Odds

Michael van Gerwen – 1/-/W/QF/W/RU/W/1/W/W.  5.25

The number 1 seed and five-time champion. This was the first major that MVG won, back in 2012, so it is a special tournament for him. Obviously, his current form is a serious cause for concern. He started the year by losing the final of the World Championship to Peter Wright. The next day he announced that he was changing his darts supplier.

He then lost in the first round of the Masters, a tournament which he had won for the previous five years. He lost two players championship finals in February and was knocked out in the third round of the first Euro Tour event. Normal service was restored when he won the UK Open, the last big tournament before the pandemic put everything on hold.

MVG returned with the PDC Summer Series and he won two of the five tournaments. After that he lost in the second round of the World Matchplay and failed to qualify for the play offs of the Premier League. He had a decent Autumn Series, winning one tournament and reaching a semi and quarter final.

Dumped Out Early

It was then time for the World Series of Darts Finals where he lost his opening match to Glen Durrant. That is not a major title, but it is a big televised event, and he was dumped out early again. Last weekend saw the return of the euro tour with the prestigious German Darts Championship, and he lost his third round match, thrashed 6-1 by Mervyn King.

Cleary, MVG is having an annus horribilis. His form in the players championships, the floor tournaments, is still very good. He gets to beat up lesser players, but even in these, he is finding more players matching him and beating him. He is also having to watch the likes of Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price winning titles, stealing his limelight. He isn’t used to this.

This double in format is exactly the wrong sort of tournament for someone with doubts about their form, a lack of confidence and a sense of frustration. Pressure to start the leg and finish it. Some of MVG’s doubles recently have been in the wrong postcode. Against King in that euro tour event last week, he missed seven from eight.

Even the draw has been tough on him. He faces one of the rising stars of darts, Krzysztof Ratajski in the opening match. The Polish Eagle hit 60% of his doubles at the German Darts Championship. MVG’s odds for this event are very poor value.

Peter Wright – 1/-/1/2/1/1/QF/RU/2.  6.50

In stark contrast to Van Gerwen, Peter Wright is having an annus mirabilis. New Year’s Day saw him win the World Championship and he followed that up by winning the Masters. He won players championship 5 and won the Summer Series O.O.M.. He won the opening event in the Autumn Series but fell away a bit after that but reached the semi-final of the World Series of Darts. He was knocked out of the German Darts Championship in the third round by Jonny Clayton, but he played well.

Clearly Wright deserves to be one of the favourites, but his tournament form isn’t great. He did reach the final two years ago but along with the Players Championship finals, this is his weakest major.

Wright has an easy first round match which helps but then he gets the winner of the Durrant vs. Chisnall match. Tough. Odds of 6.50 are understandable but not great value.

Gerwyn Price – 1/1/2/QF/1.  6.00

Like Wright, Price is having an exceptionally good 2020. His players championship form has been excellent with three titles won, he won the first euro tour event of the year, won the Autumn Series and won the World Series of Darts a couple of weeks ago. His scoring is consistently strong, and he has the winning habit. His tournament form isn’t great, but he has improved so rapidly it is hard to judge him on form more than a couple of years old.

Price, despite having a great record in floor events, says he needs a crowd to get him going and he did win the first big event with a crowd a couple of weeks ago. How he copes with going back to a stage event without a crowd is a bit of a worry. He lost his opening match in the World Matchplay and wasn’t at his best in the Premier League behind closed doors.

Price does have a decent looking draw with a straightforward path to the quarter finals. He is a strong performer on double tops so the format should suit.

Michael Smith – 1/-/1/2/1/1/1/2.  24.00

If you were to design a competition format that would be very difficult for Michael Smith, this would be it. Until he becomes comfortable with doubles, this format is more like a form of torture. His tournament record is very clear. Played nine matches and won just two.

Rob Cross – 1/1/2.  34.00

A recent run to the final of the World Series of Darts was heralded as a return to form for Cross and there have been some encouraging signs that he is playing better. Back to his best? No. His form is reasonable, winning six of his last ten matches but there are just too many players playing better.

His tournament form doesn’t inspire confidence either. He is good on double 18 so he has something to work from and it would not be a complete surprise to see him improve on his poor record in this tournament. His doubling in the German Masters was very good (58%)

The fact that he faces Gary Anderson in the first round is a big negative however. Cross has only won one of their previous ten meetings.

Nathan Aspinall – QF.  13.00

Aspinall is something of a big tournament player. His career took off in the latter half of 2018 and he reached the semi-final of the World Championship, won the 2019 UK Open, reached the quarter final of the World Grand Prix. He ended 2019 with another World Championship semi-final, reached the semi-final at the 2020 Masters. He lost his first round match at the World Grand Prix and cited the lack of a crowd as part of the problem.

He got a lot more experience of big matches played behind closed doors with the premier league and he has progressed to the play offs. He did seem to have found a way to get up for games, despite no crowd. We had a crowd back for the World Series and he averaged over the ton in his two matches, but lost to a very strong performance by Gerwyn Price. He played well again in the German Darts Championship but again lost in the third round, this time to a particularly good performance by Dave Chisnall.

Aspinall is playing well and has a decent draw. He has to be considered for any major and he reached the quarter final on debut last year. The lack of a crowd at the 2020 World Grand Prix is still something of a concern however and odds of 13.00 aren’t giving too much away.

Daryl Gurney – 1/1/QF/W/SF/1.  36.00

The 2017 Champion has a good tournament record. When he won in 2017 he had a plan and stuck to it. He went for his favourite double 16 and stayed down at the bottom of the board, following up with treble 19. That was arguably his best ever tournament and if his eye is in on the double 16, he can have another good run.

His recent form remains a bit hit and miss however, winning just five of his last ten matches.

Will the change of venue for the 2020 World Grand Prix be a negative? Superchin never got the warmest of welcomes in Dublin, but he associates the venue with success and not being at the City West must be something of a negative. He has also drawn Joe Cullen in the first round and his H2H record with Cullen is poor (3-7).

James Wade – 1/QF/W/1/1/W/SF/1/SF/RU/1/1/1/1/2.  51.00

Another player with a good tournament record. With a reputation for being one of the most accurate on the doubles, it is an event that should suit and at his peak, this was a nice little earner for Wade. Two titles, a runner up and two more semi-finals are testament to that. However, just one match won in the last five years suggests he is past his peak.

Wades peak was 2006 to 2016. He did win two TV titles in 2018, very shortly after the birth of his son, Arthur. A classic example of the Nappy Factor. Since then his record in the big tournaments OK but not great. We backed him for the recent World Series of Darts and he reached the semi-final, but he was very flat in what was a terrible match. His floor form remains good and he won four players championship title last year and one in 2020.

Wade has won seven of his last ten matches, so he remains in good form. He has had some good runs, played some very good matches, like when beating Glen Durrant in the World Series, but sometimes his intensity drops and there is a poor performance.

The format is one that suits him more than most, he is playing well but he has a tough draw. He faces Merv King in the first round, the man that knocked him out of last weeks German Darts Championship. That was one of those matches where Wade went AWOL, averaging just 87. That, and his WSOD semi-final defeat to Rob Cross are enough to put me off Wades chances here.

Gary Anderson – 2/QF/11/QF/SF/2/RU/-/QF/2.  15.00

This, along with the Grand Slam of Darts, is the big one missing from Anderson’s CV. He has done everything but win one and it is a box he would like to tick.

Anderson seems to quite like this behind closed doors format. Getting the Premier League played out over ten days or so was bliss for him. No travelling, just getting on with it, qualify for the play offs and go home. He reached the final of the World Matchplay and his behind closed doors form is good. He even reached the final of the Home Series for goodness sake.

His decision not to travel to Europe for the Autumn Series, the World Series of Darts Finals and German Darts Championship does mean that he hasn’t played a competitive match for a month. How big a deal that is, is hard to say. Anderson likes a light schedule and is happier at home than travelling so I don’t see it as a massive negative.

I do like Anderson’s draw. He has a 9-1 H2H record over Cross, his first round opponent. The winner of the Noppert vs. Searle match would be a tough, but winnable match and the names in the hat of a possible quarter final are not the big danger men.

Dave Chisnall – 1/2/RU/1/2/SF/2/QF/RU.  41.00

Last year’s runner up, and Chizzy’s quest for that first televised title goes on. He fell at the first fence at the recent World Series and the World Matchplay.

Chisnall was in excellent form in Germany last week, averaging 104 over his three matches but he just lost out to Jonny Clayton in the quarter final.

We are looking for players who might win this title, not just to go close. Players who have been at the top of the game for years, but failed to land a big one, are in that position for a reason. They have failed to cross the winning line. Chisnall has failed to cross this particular winning line twice, which makes the World Grand Prix his most successful major tournament.

Maybe he will win a major one day, and maybe it will be this one, but darts is a game of fine margins and his inconsistency with his throwing action, especially at crucial moments, will always be enough to keep him off my shortlist. Playing Glen Durrant in the first round doesn’t help either. If he gets through that, then its likely to be Peter Wright in the second round. That is a very tough draw.

Dimitri van den Bergh – 1.  51.00

Dimitri is a major champion, having won the World Grand Prix last month. His form since that shock win hasn’t been good, winning just five of his last ten. That said, his form before the Grand Prix wasn’t good either. He prefers playing on a stage so maybe a poor Autumn Series isn’t that important, but can he cause another surprise with no real form to back it up? His odds look about right to me.

Ian White – 2/1/1/QF/1/1/2/QF.  51.00

Another top player who hasn’t been able to get it over the line in the big TV tournaments. There are plenty of quarter finals but just one semi-final and not a single final.

White let the small crowd in Germany get to him last week, losing to Max Hopp in the second round. Yes, he got a whistle at a crucial time, but he let it derail him and we went out tamely with 90 average.

White, a master on the floor, should like these behind closed doors events, but he went out in the first round of the Matchplay. He lost his first round match at the World Series and every time another televised event slips by, it gets harder to win one.

Glen Durrant – SF.  19.00

Glen Durrant hasn’t won a televised PDC title yet, but he is giving it a good go. He only got his card last year and has already reached four major semi-finals. He doesn’t want to get a reputation as a PDC nearly man and is too good not win one sooner or later.

He reached the semi-final on debut last year and it is a format that should suit his very consistent game. He was hugely disappointed to lose the semi-final of the Matchplay to Van den Bergh and he remains very hungry for major titles.

Duzza’s draw is not the best. Dave Chisnall in the first round, and if he gets through that, probably Peter Wright in the second. However, he can beat those guys and he makes it a bad draw for them too.

Glen Durrant must be on the short list.

Krzysztof Ratajski – 1.  41.00

The Polish Eagle continues to play at a high level and is building up a bank of experience as he goes along. He reached the quarter final of the world Matchplay last month, losing to Michael Smith, who also beat him in the World Series. I expected more of him in those two matches.

He has drawn MVG in the first round and he is yet to beat Mighty Mike. This time, he may not be playing Mighty Mike, but Shitey Mike. If MVG has one of his ever more common off nights, Ratajski will beat him. His second round match between the winner of De Sousa and Petersen, will be every bit as tough.

 Ratajski should be on everyone’s shortlist at every tournament, but there are better alternatives this time round.

Mensur Suljovic – SF/1/SF/SF/1.  51.00

An excellent tournament record means that Suljovic has to be considered. The double in format suits him, or it did. Suljovic was the master for double 14. It was his go to double and he was deadly at it. But in the recent past? You just don’t see him hit it with anything like the same level of success. He is slipping down the rankings and he isn’t the player he was in 2017-2018.

Adrian Lewis – 2/-/2/QF/2/QF/RU/1/2/2/2/2/2/1/2/1.  101.00

Another player who is slipping down the rankings. He hasn’t got beyond the second round for the last nine years. He lost his first match in Germany last week. He has won just one of his last seven matches and is impossible to back.

Devon Petersen – Debut.  31.00

The inevitable happened last week when Petersen won the German Darts Championship. His game has been in great shape for some time now and he was going to win something. The fact that he was allowed to go off as a 67.00 shot is what makes darts betting great.

This will be his first Grand Prix and he will come in with a spring in his step. He wants more and has total belief in his abilities. If you could give Michael Smith, Devon Petersen’s mindset, you would have the perfect dart player. At this level, the game is largely about the mind.

Devon became a second time dad recently and the Nappy Factor is another positive.

Could he go back to back? Possibly, but just as possible is a bit of mental let down. He also faces the very talented Jose de Sousa in the first round and either MVG or Ratajski in the second. A tough draw, but he was in the toughest part of the draw in Germany and won. He can beat any of the top players and has done so very recently.

Petersen has to go on the shortlist, but it must be pointed out that he is half the odds he was last week. His success has been largely a result of his prowess in the 180 department. He hit 26 in Germany, ten more than the next best, Jonny Clayton on 16. This format places more emphasis on doubling and that part of his game was decent at 41%, but that wasn’t even in the top 20.

Danny Noppert – 1/2. 67.00

Noppert gave us a good run for our money in Germany, losing to Petersen in the semi-final. He has only won the one match in this event but his doubling in Germany was decent enough at 46%. He is the sixth best on the doubles this year so this format should suit.

He is improving in these big TV events, having reached the semi-final of the Players Championship finals in 2018 and was runner up in the 2019 World Series of Darts finals.

Noppert is in good form, is still improving and is still underrated by the bookmakers. In the past, his doubling has deserted him in big matches. 2018 European Darts Grand Prix semi-final 20%, 2018 International Darts Open semi-final 22%, 2018 Players Championship semi-final 23% and the 2019 World Series of Darts final 14%. In last weeks semi-final in Germany he was 36% on the doubles.

His draw sees him face the dangerous Ryan Searle in the first round and then the winner of the Anderson vs. Cross match.

Jose de Sousa – Debut.  67.00

The very talented Portuguese player makes his Grand Prix debut. He was in good form in the Autumn Series, won a lot of matches and scored well. He regarded as a heavy scorer with his own idea of how to finish. He does get confused at times with his scoring and it will be interesting to see how he gets on with the extra complication of having to start on a double. Like, will he remember to start with a double? His record in the big tournaments is limited and disappointing, winning just one televised match. He has horrible draw, facing Petersen in the first round with the winner getting MVG or Ratajski. His odds are too short.

Brendan Dolan – 2/-/-/-/1/1/1/RU/SF/1/1/1/2/-/-/-.  201.00

The History Maker made history with the first nine dart leg in a double in format back in 2011, when he was also runner up. He reached the semi-final the following year, but the magic wore off after that.

Dolan’s floor form has been good in the last year or two. He won two players championship in 2019 and has had two semi-finals and a final in 2020. His Autumn Series saw him lose his first round matches 5-6 in the first three days, won one match on the penultimate day, but he got all the way to a semi-final on the final day, losing 4-7 to Ratajski.

Dolan isn’t going win it and the change of venue is a negative, but he can be a tricky opponent and I fancy his chances of at least advancing to the second round.

Joe Cullen – 1/2/1/1.  81.00

Cullen doesn’t have a great record in the big televised events. Three quarter finals and a semi-final and he has won just one match in this format.

Devon Petersen is his big mate on the tour, and he may get a little bit of inspiration by association after Petersen’s break through win last week.  

He faces Daryl Gurney in the opening round, and he does have a good record against Superchin, but in a televised event? He played Daryl Gurney in this event in 2017 and lost 1-3. Cullen isn’t good enough to win one of these big events.

Jonny Clayton – 1/1.  67.00

Runner up in the German Darts Championship where he played some great stuff, as he has been doing in the Summer and Autumn Series. The Ferret can score very heavily and when he gets a run going, he can go deep. He was runner up in the 2017 Players Championship Finals and a quarter finalist in 2018. He reached the semi-final of the UK Open this year.

Clayton is yet to win a match in this tournament, but he was hitting plenty of doubles in Germany, until the final where he hit just 3 from 14. He is in good form but in his two appearances in this event he has been 23.5% on doubles. Clearly, he has to dramatically improve on that.

Ryan Searle – Debut.  151.00

Searle may look like a roadie for a heavy metal band and has big problems with his eyesight, but he is a proper player and won his first pro tour title in February, beating MVG 8-6 in the final. He also beat Gerwyn Price, Glen Durrant and Michael Smith that day.

Searle reached the semi-final of players championship 17 during the Autumn Series, beating Durrant and Clayton along the way. He had some very big averages in the Autumn Series, and he is a dangerous player. He is very straight forward, doesn’t fear the big names and if his eye is in, he can out score the best.

Searle doesn’t have any great major tournament pedigree, he has done quite well at Ally Pally, and can’t be fancied to go all the way, but he is not a player anyone will look forward to playing.

Jermaine Wattimena – 2/QF.  201.00

Reaching the quarter final here last year was his best performance in a major by far. He is the world number 23, but I can’t for the life of me understand why. He is half decent on the floor, reaches lots of quarter finals but he remains winless in the PDC. He faces Gerwyn Price in the first round and the last time they met, Price won 7-0.

Gabriel Clemens – Debut.  81.00

A very talented German player on the way up. However, his recent form is poor. He was bang out of form in the German Darts Championship and lost in the second round. He won just two matches in the Autumn Series and he was really struggling with his scoring.

Mervyn King – 2/SF/2/1/1/RU/1/QF/1/1/2/1/QF.  151.00

Some familiar old faces like Whitlock and Beaton are missing this year, but Mervyn King just keeps on rolling on. He had a good run in the German Darts Championship last week, reaching the semi-finals, beating MVG and Wade on the Sunday. His scoring was strong, and he looked in good form. He did eventually struggle with having to play three matches in a day, but this format is more sedate.

King reached the quarter finals last year and while he is hard to fancy to actually win it (King has never won a PDC televised event), do not rule him out of having a decent run.

Stephen Bunting – SF/1/2/1/1/2.  151.00

All conquering in the BDO, it never really worked out for Bunting in the PDC. He reached two major semi-finals in 2014/15, this being one of them. He reached three televised quarter finals last year, which was something of a return to form, but he just gets too tight at the business end of tournaments, if he gets that far.

Ryan Joyce – Debut.  251.00

Joyce won Summer Series 2 back in July, his first title. He really should not have won but Dave Chisnall choked and blew a big lead in the final. Since that win he has won just four matches and those that he did where underwhelming. He will get thrashed by Peter Wright in the first round.

Jamie Hughes – Debut.  151.00

On the cusp of breaking into the world top 32, Hughes had a good debut season in the PDC, picking up a Euro Tour title. He reached the quarter final of the UK Open before the shutdown, losing 9-10 to Jonny Clayton. The Summer Series saw 8 wins from 13 and the Autumn Series 5 from 10. He needs to be at the top of his form to have big run here and I haven’t seen much evidence of that.

Dirk van Duivenbode – Debut.  201.00

Things were going nicely for Dirk before the shutdown. He won his tour card back again in January, reached the semi-final of PC2 and the semi-final of the Belgium Darts Championship and he was beating good players.

Since the return of the Summer and Autumn Series he has won 12 of his 23 matches. There were a couple of 100 plus averages in the Autumn Series but otherwise his scoring has been poor.

Chris Dobey – SF.  67.00

Dobey reached the semi-final in his debut last year but is another player without a PDC title of any description. However, he is a top 20 player these days, thanks to two major semi-finals last year. There is no denying his talent, but he has been on tour for five years, is 30 years of age, and is yet to win a title.

The Summer Series saw Dobey won 5 from 10 and in the Autumn Series, 7 from 12. He played well in the final event, averaging 98, but that is the only shred of form that suggests he can do much this week.

Kim Huybrechts – 1/1/1/2/QF/1/1/-.  201.00

The last of the qualifiers, veteran Belgian Huybrechts is falling down the rankings and surely on the way out. Before the shutdown he reached the semi-final of PC8 but across the Summer and Autumn series, he played 19 and won 9.

2020 World Grand Prix: Ante Post Selections

I am going with four players, win only. All four are proven winners and if they were to reach the final, can win it. In terms of past winners, the lowest ranked player to win a Grand Prix title was Michael van Gerwen in 2012 when he was the world number 25. Even with an unusual format, the better players win it.

The top half of the draw is really tough, but two players will make it to the semi-final. MVG is out to 5.25, in a tournament he has won five times in eight years. His problem is that is game isn’t quite there. He is getting beaten too often and getting badly beaten at times. Merv King beat him 6-1 in Germany and yes, King played really well, but MVG was 12.5% on his doubles.

In the Autumn Series he suffered defeats to Jose de Sousa, Devon Petersen (0-6), Demon Heta and Peter Wright. If, and it is a big if, MVG beats Ratajski in round one, he will face either De Sousa or Petersen in the second, both who have fresh form over him.

2020 World Grand Prix: Keep The Faith With Devon

The player in the top quarter who makes the most appeal, and there are a few very inform players there, is Devon Petersen. He did us a big favourite last week, landing the euro tour bet at 67.00. He is not a top 25 player, so he has to make some history, but in terms of current form, he is a top 10 player.  He is full of confidence and self-belief.

Getting over that winning line after just missing out on his first title in the Autumn Series was so important and frees him of any feelings of frustration. He has a very tough draw, but he had the same last week in Germany and came through to win. He is still being priced as an outsider, and he is not, he is a proper contender.

2020 World Grand Prix Tip: 1 point Devon Petersen to win @ 31.00 with Betfair

The second quarter is much easier looking than the first. There are some tricky first round matches but not many players that say ‘winner’. Michael Smith has a poor record. Van den Bergh isn’t in great form, Suljovic has a good record but his form isn’t good, Noppert is in good form but seems to struggle at the business end. Which leaves Rob Cross and Gary Anderson, and they meet in the first round.

I like Anderson’s ‘covid’ form. He has done well without a crowd. He just gets on with it and isn’t distracted by the lack of an audience. He also played very well at the Matchplay, until he didn’t turn up for the final. He is a proven major champion and his lack of recent form isn’t a huge worry. Beating Cross won’t be easy. Voltage isn’t back to his best but he is playing better than he has for quite some time. That said, a 9-1 H2H record suggests that Anderson wins that.

2020 World Grand Prix Tip: 1 point Gary Anderson to win @ 15.00 with Betvictor, BET365, Betfair

The third quarter is competitive with Wright, Gurney, Clayton, Durrant and Chisnall all perfectly capable of a good run. Glen Durrant is going close in nearly all the majors and while he has a very hard first match, he has the ability to get through the quarter. Chisnall was very good in this last year, but his form has been very hot or very cold recently. Durrant is probably the steadiest player on tour and that should serve him well in this format.

2020 World Grand Prix Tip: 1 point Glen Durrant to win @ 19.00 with Betfair

The fourth quarter looks to be the weakest but features arguably the best player in the world on recent form, Gerwyn Price. He landed our bet to win the World Series and he continues to play at the top of his form. He lost to Devon Petersen in Germany last week, but he didn’t play badly, he was just hit by a fantastic surge from Petersen. Price was 5-1 up but Petersen had 14, 14,12,13,15 dart legs to win five on the spin. That was just too good and underlines Petersen’s credentials.

Nathan Aspinall is the other player who looks like he could deep, but he isn’t quite as good as Price on current form.

2020 World Grand Prix Tip: 2 points Gerwyn Price to win @ 6.00 generally available

Round by round match betting will be provided via the TXODDS app.

-JamesPunt