2021 PDC World Championship Preview and Tips

96 players from 29 countries will take part in the 2021 PDC World Championship, the 28th renewal. The top 32 players from the PDC Order of Merit are seeded and enter at the second-round stage. Also, the top 32 players from the PDC Pro Tour OOM, not already qualified, and 32 other qualifiers, will be drawn to form the first round of matches.

The 2021 PDC World Championship will once again be played at Alexandra Palace in north London. It has been confirmed that up to 1000 spectators will be allowed to attend each session. However, this will not be the usual pissed up office party crowd. Indeed, the punters will be required to remain seated in groups of four and use an app to order food if they want food and drink. Fancy dress is banned and the familiar crowd changing will be a little different this year. “Sit down if you love the darts”, “We’re all boring tables” and the classic “Coughing in a Covid Wonderland”.

Welcome news, and something that might help some players at the 2021 PDC World Championship, and hinder others. But for how long?

London Lockdown Looming?

London now has more Covid 19 cases than anywhere else in the UK and if there is any logic to the Tier system of local lockdown regulations, London will go up to level 3 at the next review on the 16th December. That means no crowds at sporting events are allowed.

There will be a crowd for the first few days but after that? The smart money is on no crowd. However, at least it will still be in the ‘proper venue’, a venue which some players love but others struggle at. But is it the venue? Or is it the pressure of playing for such vast amounts of prizemoney?

Probably the latter. Third round losers get £25000, that is the same as winning a Euro Tour event, quarter finalists get £50000, semi-finalists £100000, the runner up £200000, and the 2021 PDC World Championship winner gets £500000. That sort of money is incredibly important in terms of rankings. Every match is very important. The flip side of that coin is that a player must defend that money two years later, and that brings even more pressure.

2021 PDC World Championship: Top 32 Seeds and Odds

Michael van Gerwen – 3.50

Despite having ‘a crap season’, MVG is the favourite to win the 2021 PDC World Championship. His tournament record is very good as he is a three-time winner and twice a runner up. He is, however, no Phil Taylor. Van Gerwen ended a long barren spell when winning the Players Championship for the sixth time and he has won nine of his last ten matches. Back to his best? That remains to be seen. I would still say that is doubling when under pressure isn’t what it once was. That may now improve after that win in the Players Championship and it is hard to argue that he shouldn’t be the favourite.

Peter Wright – 7.00

The defending champion, having defeated MVG 7-3 in last year’s final. Snakebite has enjoyed a good season results wise, winning seven titles including three majors. His most recent form has seen some poor performances and he has lost four of his last ten matches. His semi-final defeat at the Players Championship was particularly worrying. It was one of his worst performances of the whole year. Wrights tournament record is good with one win and one runner spot and one other semi-final. Good, but not great.

Gerwyn Price – 7.00

The player of the year. Price won eight titles, seven singles titles (two majors) and the World Cup of Darts alongside Jonny Clayton. His recent form is good with eight wins from his last ten matches. His World Championship record is not impressive, he reached the semi-final last year but had never gone beyond the third round in his five previous championships. He was looking very flat at the Players Championship and he was one of the players who was not enjoying being stuck in one venue for so long. It will be interesting to see how he plays after a couple of weeks off. If refreshed, Price can go a long way in the 2021 PDC World Championship. But, is he really an Ally Pally lover?

Michael Smith – 15.00

Michael Smiths frustration at being unable to win a major championship goes on. 2020 has seen him win two floor tournaments and lose a euro tour final. He remains the world number four but has never won a televised PDC tournament. His two titles in 2020 came at the recent Winter Series and he looked in top form and full of confidence going into the Grand Slam of Darts. He won his group in fine style but lost in the quarter final. He was also knocked out at the quarter final stage in the Players Championship the following week.

Smith is scoring well, playing well, but the closer he gets to the winning post, the more pressure he puts on himself and frustration takes over. Will he ever win a major? I have my doubts. His World Championship form isn’t good for a player of his ability. Runner up in 2019 (he is defending £200000) and a quarter finalist in 2016. His recent form is eight wins from ten.

Rob Cross – 67.00

The 2018 World Champion is a 67.00 shot for the 2021 championship. That says it all. Cross has had a difficult year on and off the oche and this year has been a struggle for him. He did reach the final of the World Series, but he failed to win a single title this season. His most recent form is poor, winning just four of his last ten matches. He is another player who has reverted to an old set of darts to try and find his form. However, nothing much has changed performance wise.

Nathan Aspinall – 23.00

The Asp is something of a tournament specialist having reached the semi-final for the last two years. His recent form isn’t his best with six wins from his last ten. Aspinall won two Players Championship titles before the (first) lockdown and was runner up in the Premier League but his season can only be described as OK. He has struggled with the whole ‘behind closed doors’ tournaments and having a crowd may help him. However, he is defending £100000 in the 2021 PDC World Championship, so there is some pressure there.

James Wade – 34.00

Runner up in the Grand Slam of Darts and in the European Championship. Wade lost in the first round of the Players Championship and he has won seven of his last ten matches. He has never won a World Championship and is arguably the best player never to have done so. He has reached three semi-finals and five other quarter finals, so he has a good record. But, he isn’t the winning machine he once was.

The Machine has been in good form in recent months and won a player’s championship title back in July. The general standard of other players has risen, despite what Wade says. His problem is that he increasingly gets out gunned at some stage. He can’t always rely on his finishing to get him through against a heavy scoring opponent.

Dave Chisnall – 51.00

The second best player never to have won a major? Very probably. His recent form is a little disappointing with six wins from ten. There are some good performances from Chisnall but more bad than good. He is a two-time World Championship quarter finalist but there is no clear reason to think that this will be his year. His best result in 2020 was a player’s championship runners up spot back in the Summer Series and he blew a big lead in that match to hand it to Ryan Joyce.

Dimitri van den Bergh – 23.00

Now a Major champion, Van den Bergh is the joint sixth favourite for the 2021 PDC World Championship. That looks a bit on the short side but at times he does look the business. He lost in the first round in the Players Championship finals. However, at the Grand Slam his form in the group stage was world class. He went all the way to the semi-final where he was finally ground down by James Wade.

Despite being just 26 years old, this will be Van den Bergh’s sixth appearance in the World Championship. He has reached two quarter finals in the last three years and he is another player who may benefit from having a crowd back in. Van den Bergh has won seven of his last ten matches and he could be able to have a good run once again.

Ian White – 81.00

Best player never to have reached a Major final? Very Probably. A multiple title winner on the floor and winner of three euro tour titles, White has never proved himself in the big ones. A solitary semi-final in the 2019 Players Championship is his best run in a major championship.

His World Championship record sees a quarter final back in 2014 but that was the only time White has got beyond the third round in nine appearances. He has only won four of his last ten matches but he has played better than that suggests. It is hard to see why he should better his best ever performance here this year. He is a player who may appreciate having no crowd, but that hasn’t really helped him this year.

Daryl Gurney – 101.00

Superchin’s odds reflect his disappointing season. Dumped out of the Players Championship in the first round and only averaging 81.8. He is struggling to hit trebles, trying too hard, getting a bit tight and the vicious circle starts. He didn’t qualify for the Grand Slam and his Winter Series form was OK, winning nine matches and he has won six of his last ten. That might be a bit flattering. He reached the quarter final in 2017 but has lost in the third round for the last two years. He needs a good performance to settle the nerves, but confidence is in short supply it would seem.

Glen Durrant – 36.00

The Corona virus has a lot to answer for and one of them is Glen Durrants form. He fell ill not long after winning the Premier League and his recovery is still on going. He came back for the Winter Series and won just two matches. Duzza lost all three of his matches at the Grand Slam and lost in the first round of the Players Championship finals, 3-6 to Wayne Jones. He says that he is feeling stronger, but I need to see better performances before backing him.

Gary Anderson – 34.00

Another player whose fitness is enough to rule him out. He has lost four of his last seven matches and really hasn’t played enough matches to be considered match fit. His knee injury is making moving about painful and it is affecting his throw. He is still able to put in decent performances at times, but not for long and it’s a while since he won back to back matches. A best of five sets duration match might be manageable for him. However, the third round sees best of seven. Physically, that might just be too much.

His opening match has been moved back to the 23rd December as Anderson is having to self isolate having been in close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid 19. At least it gives him a few more days to rest the knee and practice, or are the two mutually exclusive? His manager says he is practicing and if so, maybe the knee is getting better. If that was the case, the odds are great.

Jose de Sousa – 19.00

This will be The Special One’s fourth World Championship and he is yet to get beyond the first round. The difference this time is that he is now a proper full time professional darts player and a Major champion having won the Grand Slam of Darts a few weeks ago. He has become one of the top players, a very heavy scorer and a winner. He was already winning players championship events last year, in his first year on the pro tour. This year he moved up to winning on the euro tour in October and then the Grand Slam in November. The Portuguese player ended up ninth on the players championship OOM and he is up to fourteen in the world rankings. He has won nine of his last ten matches and is a live contender.

Krzysztof Ratajski – 51.00

The Polish Eagle continues to frustrate and be frustrated. He has won just one of his last five matches and that was against Lisa Ashton, and a match he very nearly lost. He was fifth on the players championship OOM and his form through the year has generally been good, but he isn’t making any progress in the big ones and he looks frustrated by that fact. Ratajski has played in three PDC World Championships but only won one match, a 3-1 win over Zoran Lerchbacher last year. He has the game to be a contender, but frustrated players are often poor players.

Joe Cullen – 81.00

In terms of recent form, Joe Cullen can be considered a contender. He won the International Darts Open on the euro tour in late October and won the final players championship qualifier a month ago. He blew his chance to reach the knockout stage of the Grand slam, before narrowly losing 10-11 to Gerwyn Price in the quarter final of the Players Championship finals.

Given that form, you have to wonder why he is an 81.00 shot? That is due to a horrible World Championship record. He has played in ten World Championships and won just one match. The Palace on the Hill is a House of Horrors for Joe Cullen. If, and it is a big if, he can banish all those years of disappointments, he can have a good run at big odds, but he associates the venue with failure, so it is easier said than done.

Jonny Clayton – 101.00

World Cup winner Clayton isn’t in top form having lost five of his last ten matches. This will be his fifth World Championship and his third round exit last year is as far as he has got. His best results in majors was reaching the UK Open semi-final back in March and the semi-final of the European Championship on 1st November.

He was runner up in the German Darts Masters at the end of September and he won the World Cup win with Gerwyn Price a week after his European Championship semi. He is capable of a decent run, but his form has dipped a little. His first match will now be played on the 20th December to accommodate Gary Anderson’s rescheduled match

Simon Whitlock – 67.00

The Wizard has had a good season reaching the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix and Grand Slam of Darts. He is a happy bunny and playing as well as he has for quite some time. He was runner up in the 2010 World Championship and reached two other semi-finals, the last in 2014. Whitlock reached the fourth round here last year, his best finish since 2014. Don’t be surprised to see him having another good run.

Merv King – 126.00

Merv rolled back the years at the Players Championship finals last time out, reaching the final and taking Van Gerwen to a deciding leg. It was a long shift on the Sunday and for King to get through three longer format matches and not have any fitness problems and keep his form intact was impressive. He was a semi-finalist in 2009 but hasn’t gone beyond the third round since.

The King looks likely to meet Jose de Sousa in the third round and that will be tough. But, given his Players Championship form, he can’t be ruled out from going further. He is a player who would benefit from having no crowd.

Mensur Suljovic – 126.00

We have seen very little of Mensur recently, so it is very hard to assess his form. He didn’t attend the Winter Series, didn’t qualify for the Grand Slam and withdrew from the Players Championship due to a family bereavement. He did play in the European Championship but went out in the second round. The Gentle reached the semi-final of the European Darts Grand Prix in mid-October and his form had picked up after working with a sports psychologist in the summer.  He has played in twelve World Championships but never gone beyond the third round and something similar would be no surprise.

Adrian Lewis – 126.00

Two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis is in decent form, winning seven of his last ten matches but he is a frustrated player. He keeps on playing well but losing to someone playing better. He has dropped out of the top 20 in the world rankings and lost his first round match at the players championship, his first major since the World Matchplay back in July.

Jackpot played some good stuff in the last couple of players championship qualifiers but couldn’t take that form into the finals. He does perform well at Ally Pally and has reached the fourth round for the last two years and was runner up in 2016. Lewis may face Aussie hot shot Damon Heta in the second round and that would be a tough match for him.

Chris Dobey – 151.00

Dobey is in poor form, losing seven of his last ten matches. He has reached the fourth round for the last two years, so he likes Ally Pally. He will face the winner of the Jeff Smith vs. Keane Barry match and that is tough for a player who is struggling to win matches. Dobey showed some form on the recent round of Home Tour matches, but this is a bit different.

Jeffery de Zwaan – 101.00

The Swan is starting to show signs of returning to form. He isn’t there yet and has lost five of his last ten matches. However, he had a couple of ton plus averages in the Players Championship finals. He has played in three World Championships and improved every year. The Dutchman reached the fourth round last year but is likely to face the talented Ryan Searle in his second round match. That will be a tough match.

Jermaine Wattimena – 201.00

Another year passed without a title for Wattimena. He has won just four of his last ten matches and remains overrated in my opinion. He has played in six World Championships and won just two matches. Wattiemena might make the third round, but it is hard to see more than that.

Danny Noppert – 201.00

Noppert is a better player than his odds suggest but his recent form is not good with just four wins from his last ten. He was a BDO World Championship runner up in 2017. However, he has not gone further than the third round in his two previous visits to Ally Pally.

Stephen Bunting – 251.00

Bunting is in reasonable form having won six of his last ten, but he just doesn’t ever look like winning a title anymore. He reached the fourth-round last year and he will do well to match that this year.

Vincent van der Voort – 301.00

We have seen Vincent put in some decent performances in 2020 including reaching the quarter final of the World Matchplay. He has reached two quarter finals here but the last was back in 2015. He will probably win a match, but it is hard to see a good run as his recent form sees just five wins from ten.

Jamie Hughes – 301.00

Yozza continues to struggle on the doubles and losing a lot of matches as a result. He has won just four of his last ten and lost his first ever match here last year. If he starts to hit doubles, he could take advantage of a decent draw, but the last time we saw him he hit just two from thirteen doubles in a 2-6 loss to Gerwyn Price. You won’t win many matches with that strike rate.

Devon Petersen – 34.00

The African Warrior can be considered as a dark horse this year. He has had a good season starting with being runner up in PC 17. Very shortly after that, won the German Darts Championship at the end of September, at a very satisfying 67.00. He lost his first round match in the Players Championship finals but did so with a 101 average. He topped his group in the Grand Slam of Darts but lost to Damon Heta in the second round.

Petersen lost a deciding leg vs. James Wade in the semi-final of the European Championship finals and he has won six of his last ten matches. His game is built around hitting 180’s. When he is, then he can and has, beaten the very best players. He has a very positive mental attitude and if his game is on, he will believe he will win this title. Not could, will. His draw is not the worst and he is on the short list.

Brendan Dolan – 501.00

It has been a decent season for The History Maker. He ended the Players Championship season in 11th place on the OOM. He has done enough to keep himself in the top 32 in the world rankings, getting straight into the second round. However, he is defending his 2019 quarter final prize money (£50000) but he looks to have a winnable second match at least. He has been playing well and scoring well and will not be easy to beat.

Gabriel Clemens – 126.00

As short as 51.00 with one bookmaker. The 51.00 reflects Clemens ability, the 126.00 reflects his recent form. The German Giant has lost five of his last seven matches and his form has been in and out all season. He showed what he can do in PC20 where he averaged 107 across five matches. He is still relatively inexperienced in majors, but he is still improving and heading in the right direction. If he wins his second round match he is set to play Peter Wright and he has beaten Snakebite twice before. It would certainly be an early test for Wright. If he can find his A game, he would be a live contender.

Ricky Evans – 501.00

Having lost four of his last five matches, Rapid Ricky isn’t anywhere near his best form. He lost 0-4 to MVG in the third round last year and a repeat of that is on the cards, so long as he can get through his second round match.

Unseeded Livewires

The unseeded players have one more match to play and history suggests that unseeded players should not be expected to reach more than a quarter final. In the last ten years the lowest ranked player to win the championship was Rob Cross who was the twentieth seed, but fifth favourite in the betting.

Peter Wright was ranked sixteenth when runner up in 2014. Jelle Klassen was the nineteenth seed in 2016 and reached the semi-final and Mark Webster was twenty fifth when a 2011 semi-finalist. Only one unseeded player has made a semi-final in the last ten years, Nathan Aspinall in 2019.

The best of the unseeded players are more likely to be disrupters, to have the potential to take out a top seed rather than go all the way and win the title. That said, we have seen two first time major winners this season and an unseeded major runner up, so we must consider any in form players.

Damon Heta – 67.00

Heta won a pro tour title back in the Autumn Series, finished eleventh on the players championship OOM despite not playing in the five Summer Series events. He is the highest ranked non seeded player, and a lot better than many of the seeded players. He reached the quarter final in the last two major championships of the year, and arguably not quite playing his best. Damon Heta was much more consistent in the Players Championship, averaging in the high nineties across his four matches, but he let a 7-3 lead over Merv King slip to become an 8-10 defeat.

The talented Aussie is a prolific 180 hitter and is going to win a lot of titles. He may be unseeded, but his draw is one of the best and his path to the quarter final looks well within is capabilities. The best unseeded player in recent years? Undoubtedly. He warmed up for this by winning the PDC Home Tour three. He is being backed and for good reason.

Ryan Searle – 201.00

Heavy Metal won his first pro tour title back in February and his path to the title was a tough one. He had to win seven matches and amongst his victims that day were Gerwyn Price, Glen Durrant, Michael Smith, Jeffery de Zwaan and MVG who he beat 8-6 in the final. He has the game to beat the elite players. Doing it regularly has been his weakness, but he is taking the darts very seriously now and he is improving.

Searle has lost five of his last 10 matches and that is his weakness, just not converting his chances often enough, but he is not a player anyone fancies playing. He reached the fourth round in 2019 and the third round last year and something similar or a little better is more than possible in the 2021 PDC World Championship.

Dirk van Duijvenbode – 81.00

The Aubergenius was runner up in the World Grand Prix at the start of October, a quarter finalist in the European Championship and a quarter finalist in the Players Championship finals, so he has had three good runs in majors already this year. He is in decent form, winning six of his last ten matches and his confidence is growing. Like Damon Heta, he has a good draw and his path to the fourth round looks well within his grasp. If I am right, he would meet Heta at that stage.

Luke Humphries – 101.00

The former World Youth Champion is something of an event specialist having reached the quarter final here for the last two years. He took three sets off eventual tournament winner Peter Wright in last year’s quarter and this is his time of year. His game looked in good shape in the first two rounds of the Players Championship including a 107 average when beating Jermaine Wattimena. He only won one match at the Grand Slam and he went into that in very poor form, but his last match saw a 102 average in defeat to Rob Cross.

Humphries has only won one of his last three matches, but he is very happy with his game right now and he is much better than the raw stats suggest. He is relatively inexperienced in majors, having only played in nine, but his record here speaks for itself. He should beat Paul Lim in the first round, but then faces Dimitri van den Bergh, which is tough. Win that and another quarter final looks very possible.

Keane Barry – 501.00

The BDO World Youth Champion didn’t quite manage to win a tour card in January but is tipped to be the next big thing in Irish darts and more. He has played on the Development and Challenge Tours this year. He was runner up to Ryan Miekle on the Development Tour OOM which earns him a tour card for the next two years. Barry finished third on the Challenge Tour OOM and is a player with a lot of talent.

He lost 0-3 to Vincent van der Voort last year and this year he faces Jeff Smith in the first round. He lacks the experience to expect a deep run, but he is worth keeping an eye out for. Winning that tour card via the Development Tour means he doesn’t have the dread of Q school looming and he is under absolutely no pressure. He has his head screwed on the right way and is in a very positive frame of mind.

Matt Campbell – 1001.00

Qualifies as top Canadian player in the North American CDC Pro Tour. We saw him here last year, losing 1-3 to Mark McGeeny. He was last seen playing in the World Cup of Darts where he hit the highest checkout (160) in the tournament. Along with Jeff Smith, Canada beat Northern Ireland and New Zealand before going down 1-2 to Belgium in the quarter final.

Campbell averaged 96 when beating Cody Harris 4-2 in the second round and 97 when beating Dimitri van den Bergh 4-1 in his quarter final match. He will be staying on after the World Championship and try for a tour card at Q school. He might very well get one. The Canadian can play.

David Evans – 501.00

2020 BDO World Championship quarter finalist he has been around for a while but just never took the game very seriously, despite clearly being very talented. In the last year or so he has decided to make a go at being a professional dart player and he won this years’ Challenge Tour OOM (averaging 90.4 over his 36 matches), a two year tour card and this World Championship entry. He has played in a lot of the online tournaments and while a deep run is unlikely, he will be a dangerous opponent for Ross Smith in the first round.

Boris Krčmar – 501.00

The big Croatian made his mark in the recent Players Championship finals when he averaged 107 in defeat to Michael Smith. He was banging in 12 dart legs and a 127 checkout. It was an excellent display, but a loss. His background is in soft tip darts winning a reported 400+ tournaments including wins in the USA and China.

He won his tour card in January and has been playing on the pro tour this year earning £10000 and finishing a creditable 66 on the OOM. Clearly, he will be a dangerous opponent as he doesn’t seem phased by playing on TV.

Andy Boulton – 751.00

The X Factor is playing his very best darts right now. He may be a journeyman pro, but he is scoring very well and winning more matches than usual. He reached the semi-final of the final players championship event of the year where he had wins over James Wade, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Peter Wright. Boulton has been enjoying success on the Home Tour and that will help his confidence.

He has only played in two world championships and lost both his first-round matches. He faces Deta Hedman in his first-round match and he is a shoe in for a win there. Boulton then faces Stephen Bunting, and he is not without a decent chance of making the third round.

2021 PDC World Championship: Final Selections

In the last ten years, only eight different players have made the final MVG (5), Anderson (4), Taylor (3), Lewis (3), Wright (2) and one each for Smith, Hamilton and Cross. In the same time frame, only a further seven players have reached a semi-final, Van Barneveld (4), Aspinall (2), Whitlock (2), Wade (2) and one each for Klassen, Webster and Jenkins. Clearly, tournament form is important. The players are playing for a lot of money. The prize money is some four times more than for the other major championships. This is the big one and some cope better with the added pressure than others.

Some players like MVG and Anderson thrive on the pressure of the big events and have built their career around it. Gary Anderson has been in the final or semi-final for five of the last six years, Van Gerwen seven of the last eight. On a horses for courses basis. They must be on the shortlist.

MVG On The Way Back

Michael van Gerwen has returned to form just at the right time. Winning the Players Championship, the last event before the World Championship. His targets each and every year is to win the Premier League and the World Championship, anything else is a bonus. His recent win was a statement of intent and he will be fully tuned for this event.

He does lose matches of course and he hasn’t dominated this tournament in the same way as Phil Taylor did, winning 14 PDC World Championships and five times the runner up. Van Gerwen has had a poor year by his standards. Not even reaching the Premier League play offs was a low point.

There is speculation that the reason for his loss of form was the absence of crowds at the tournaments. It clearly affected a number of players whose lockdown form was noticeably worse than their pre-lockdown standard. Changing his darts was another reason given, and he switched back to his old faithful’s before winning the Players Championship.

Ticks A Lot Of Boxes

Van Gerwen has his crowd back (or maybe not), is using his favourite darts, has won nine of his last ten matches, has a very good tournament record and as number 1 seed, his draw is the best. He doesn’t have any player who looks a real danger in his way until the fourth round.

He ticks all the boxes and I would not put anyone off backing him at 3.50, but he is not for me. It is not so much that he has had a bad year but that more players have beaten him and watched him being beaten. His opponents have lost a bit of that fear factor. If Joe Bloggs can beat him, so can I, or, I have beaten him before, and can do it again.

Another thing in MVG’s favour (I am talking myself into backing him!) is one of his biggest threats, Gary Anderson, isn’t fit. The Flying Scotsman will give it his best shot but the deeper he goes, the worse the pain will be. And he is not the only threat with a question mark against them.

Sakebite On Song

Last years Champion, Peter Wright, has had a very good year, winning lots of titles (7) including the recent European Championship but his most recent form sees four defeats in his last ten matches. At the players Championship he was taken to a deciding leg by Ryan Miekle in the first round, taken to a deciding leg by Callan Rydz before playing a real stinker when losing 4-11 to Merv King. He averaged just 84 in that match.

At the Grand Slam he averaged 83 when losing to Devon Petersen in the final group match and 90 when losing to Duijvenbode in the first match. From playing very well to win the European Championship and scoring really strongly in the Winter Series, sloppy games have crept in. Just as MVG is hitting form, Snakebite might be losing it.

Price Proving Popular With Punters

The other big beast in the betting is Gerwyn Price. The Iceman has had a great year and despite the lack of crowds that he says he misses, he won eight titles including the Belgian Darts Championship, The World Series of Darts finals, the World Grand Prix and the World Cup of Darts. He was getting jaded by the middle of last month and withdrew from the last two Winter tour events after winning the third. He needed to get away, out of the bubble.

Price came back not very refreshed and was poor at the Grand Slam playing three underwhelming group matches and going out in the first knockout match. He reached the semi-final of the Players Championship but lost 8-11 to MVG. His form was good, but not his best and he was lucky to beat Joe Cullen 10-9 in the quarter final.

The key to Price’s chances in the World Championship depends on whether two weeks back at home will have recharged his batteries which were beginning to look a bit flat. He was still performing at a high level, but just lacked a little something. He might have a crowd back and he will get the boo boys at him, albeit muffled by their face coverings, so that might get him fully motivated.

Poor Tournament Record

The biggest negative for Price is his tournament record. He reached the semi-final last year, losing to Wright, but that was the first time he had gone beyond the third round. He really hasn’t won many matches at Ally Pally, just six from twelve. However, such is the improvement in his game in the last couple of years, that may not be a reason to shy away from his odds.

I fully expect at least one of the top three in the betting to make the final but I prefer to look elsewhere for better value. There are players capable of beating those big three and in a strange year, we may get a strange result. If the value of the big three is a bit thin, who might be seriously considered as a threat to that triumvirate?

2021 PDC World Championship Tip: 1 point e/w Jose de Sousa @ 19.00 with Betfair, Paddy Power

The 2021 Rob Cross? There are parallels between Rob Cross’ remarkable run to winning the 2018 World Championship. Cross had quickly established himself as a top talent after winning a tour card in 2017. He won four players championship events, reached a major semi-final and two major quarter finals before going all the way in the World Championship.

De Sousa won his card at the start of 2019 and won two players championship events that season. In 2020 he won his first euro tour title, the European Darts Grand Prix, beating MVG 8-4 in the final. He was runner up in two players championship events shortly after that and then went all the way and won his first major at the Grand Slam of Darts just a month ago.

He is in great form, he has beaten all the top players and can do it again. One other thing is in his favour. De Sousa is part of Mac Elkin’s management stable and while we aren’t talking racehorses here, there is no doubt that his players are on fire. Dimitri van den Bergh won the World Matchplay and the Grand Slam semi-final. Glen Durrant won the Premier League, James Wade has been runner up in two majors and De Sousa won the Grand Slam. Inspiration by association. They tend to hang out together and seeing your stable mates doing good things has a positive influence on a player’s form.

2021 PDC World Championship Tip: 1 point e/w Devon Petersen @ 34.00 with Skybet, Betfred

Petersen is a much more established player than De Sousa but he improvement in his game in 2020 has been as equally impressive as De Sousa. He got his first tour card back in 2011, lost it in 2012 and has been a regular since winning it back in 2015. He failed to win anything until this season.

Petersen started to show good form in the players championship events, reaching the semi-final of PC5, semi-final of PC13, semi-final of PC14, runner up in PC17 and it was not a great surprise to see him win the German Darts Championships at the end of September. He reached the semi-final of the European Championship at the end of October before a relatively poor run in the Winter Series. He had a bit of a problem with his wrist at that time and his 180 hitting dropped off. His form improved a little at the Grand Slam but he lost in the first round at the Players Championship but did average 101 in defeat.

Petersen has a decent draw in the second quarter. The big danger would be Michael Smith in the third round but if he plays well, there is nobody that he couldn’t beat in his quarter. He will need to rediscover his A game but nobody has more self-belief and he believes he can win the title. Nobody has been better on the 180’s this season (Wright and De Sousa are also right up there) and while doubles win matches, 180’s set them up.

2021 PDC World Championship Tip: 0.5 point e/w Dimitri van den Bergh to win @ 23.00 with Boylesports, Betfred, Betfair

Dimitri is in the top quarter of the draw which means a possible quarter final with MVG. And before that he is likely to face Luke Humphries in the second round and that looks like it could go either way. However, after that his path to the quarter looks reasonable.

Obviously, Van den Bergh is a major champion now having won the World Matchplay. Critics say that he only won the Matchplay because there was no crowd, but Van den Bergh is regarded as a poor floor player and his best form has always been on stage. His form in the Grand Slam was really very impressive, very heavy scoring and he only lost out to Wade in the deciding leg of the semi-final. He also has a decent record in this event having reached two quarter finals in the last three years.

2021 PDC World Championship Tip: 2 points James Wade to win the third quarter @ 6.00 with Unibet, Betfair, Ladbrokes

James Wade is in good form having reached the final of the Grand Slam and European Championship and his draw is good. Peter Wright is the big favourite but they can’t meet until the quarter final. Wright is in the top half of the group which also includes Whitlock, Clemens and Ratajski, all tough opponents. The other seeds in Wade part of the draw are White, De Zwaan and Bunting. Wade is hugely experienced and has joined the Mac Elkin stable which can only help him. He is enjoying his darts at the minute and that makes a night and day difference to his performance. He could even go all the way but I’ll settle for him to win the quarter.

There are three outsiders who could have good runs, maybe not go all the way, but go deep enough to be able to lay off for some profit.

2021 PDC World Championship Tip: 0.5 point Damon Heta @ 85.00 with Betfair Exchange

2021 PDC World Championship Tip: 0.5 point Dirk van Duijvenbode @ 100.00 with Betfair Exchange

PDC World Championship Tip: 0.5 point Luke Humphries @ 130.00 with Betfair Exchange

The individual matches will be posted on the TXAPP on a daily basis, starting with tomorrow’s first round matches.

-JamesPunt