2025 World Grand Prix Darts Betting Preview – JP
2025 World Grand Prix Betting Preview
The 2025 World Grand Prix kicks off on Monday evening and James Punt is hoping to find the winner. He has penned an outright betting preview and has looked at the prospects of all the main protagonists, check it out below.
22025 World Grand Prix Darts
The PDC 2025 World Grand Prix of Darts begins on Monday. Seven nights of darts from the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, England.
This is the famous ‘double in, double out’ format and the only other sets-based scoring system outside of the World Championship, and the Winmau World Masters.
The field is comprised of 32 players. The top 16 on the PDC OOM, and the top 16 from the Pro Tour OOM as of the 30th September, not already qualified.
The first round is best of three sets, short and sweet, the second round and quarter finals best of five, semi-finals best of nine and the final best of eleven sets.
Past winners
The last ten years of this event has seen Michael van Gerwen win four, the last in 2022. The other winners have been Robert Thornton, Daryl Gurney, Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, Luke Humphries and Mike de Decker, who is the defending champion.
There have only ever been eleven different World Grand Prix winners. Taylor won eleven and was the first winner. The next five first time winners had all previously reached a quarter final.
That changed in 2012 when MVG won having previously only played one first round match. That was also the case with De Decker last year, while Clayton and Humphries had previously reached the second round.
Doubles For Dough
The double in format obviously places more emphasis on hitting doubles, but it is how a player copes when he misses three darts to get into the leg that is the important bit. Not panicking is key. Everyone is going to have sticky moments, but when panic sets in, the game can get away quite quickly, especially in the first round. It is important to be flexible and to be prepared.
Having at least two ‘favourite doubles’ is important, a plan B if you like. Apart from that, it is simply a darts tournament. Hitting 180s and big checkouts are just as a valuable as in any other event. It is the only tournament on the calendar with this format, so having experience of it is a plus. Some players just don’t get it and have surprisingly poor records.
Unpredictable
It is said to be the most unpredictable of all the Major Championships and with the double in format, and very short, set based first round matches, it can be very difficult to predict the first-round winners.
There will be surprises, but as the matches get longer and the players get into the rhythm of the format, it does become more like a normal tournament, and the cream generally rises to the top.
The last ten years have seen three plyers from the Pro Tour qualifying list winning the title, but the other seven have been won by a player in the top seven of the PDC OOM. The ‘big name’ players. Six of the last ten finals have featured the World number 1 ranked player.
2025 World Grand Prix: PDC OOM Qualifiers
Luke Humphries – 2/1/W/RU.
Odds – 7.50
This was the first Major Championship that Humphries won and he almost defended his title by reaching the final last year, losing 4-6 to Mike de Decker. His form in 2025 has been good. He won the brand new Winmau World Masters, won the Premier League, won the US Masters World Series, and the Czech Darts Open (for the third time).
However, he is arguably not in quite as good a form as he was in 2024. His seasonal average is slightly better, but his win rate of 69% is down from 72% in 2024, and 77% in 2022, when he won this.
More worrying is that he has lost five of his last ten matches. That can’t be good for his confidence. He has scored well enough, but he has just been losing too often. As World number 1, history suggests he has a good chance to make the final for the third year in a row.
Luke Littler – 1.
Odds – 3.25
Littler was knocked out in the first-round last year, by Rob Cross. Many would say that Littler is really the World Number 1 in all but name only. His seasonal average is 101.11, his win rate is 78%. Littler has won seven of his last ten matches, and his form in ranking TV events in 2025 is excellent.
He won the World Championship, won the UK Open and won the World Matchplay. The only ranking Major he didn’t win in 2025 was the Winmau World Masters, where he lost at the quarter final stage. Littler was also runner up in the Premier League and the World Series of Darts Finals.
This is another box that Littler wants to tick and he has to have a good chance. However, he has been handed a tough first round match against Gian van Veen. The Dutchman recently beat Littler on the Euro Tour and Van Veen sits on top of the checkout % table, so he hits a lot of doubles.
Michael van Gerwen – 1/W/QF/W/RU/W/1/W/W/QF/1/W/2/1.
Odds – 12.00
A six-time winner of the Grand Prix, but that was when he was properly good. He last won a Major title in 2022. He has reached six Major finals since the 2022 Players Championship Finals win, but he hasn’t won any.
Van Gerwen did win the recent World Series of Darts Finals, but that was on home soil and not a ranking event. His win rate in 2025 is just 53.5%, his lowest ever. He has had off the oche issues with the breakdown of his marriage, so there are reasons why he has been especially poor this season.
Most recently he has won seven of his last ten, but I don’t rate the World Series matches he won that highly. He had a big home crowd giving his opponents a very hard time. He didn’t back it up as he went out in the third round of the Hungarian Darts Trophy. Mighty Mike withdrew from last weekend’s Euro Tour.
One of the parts of his game that has not been up to scratch is his doubling. He is not even in the top 32 in terms of his checkout %. You can never write him off, but there are more likely winners.
Stephen Bunting – SF/1/2/1/1/2/SF/2/2/1.
Odds – 17.00
Bunting says that he is playing the best darts of his life right now, and he is quite right. He has won two Players Championships, two World Series titles, and two Euro Tour titles, including the Swiss Darts Trophy last weekend.
The Bullet wants to translate that form into a ranking Major title. He has never won one in the PDC. He has had two Major quarter finals in 2025 and was a semi-finalist at the World Championship.
His tournament record has seen a lot of early exits, so it could be that the format doesn’t suit him, but he is full of confidence, and if he can avoid that first round trapdoor, he could have a good run. He faces recent Euro Tour winner, Niko Springer in the first round.
James Wade – 1/QF/W/1/1/W/SF/1/SF/RU/1/1/1/1/2/1/2/1/1/QF.
Odds – 34.00
It is eleven years since Wade last made a Grand Prix final, and fifteen since he last won it. He made the finals of the last two ranking Majors in 2025 at the UK Open and the World Matchplay so he is getting his taste for the big ones back.
Wade is one of the best finishers in the game, so a double in and double out format should be right up his street. He made the quarter final last year but had gone out in the first or second rounds for the nine years preceding that.
His recent form has him losing six of his last ten matches but he has played well enough. Wade finds things tougher at the business end of things when he is up against the heavy hitters, but this format can level that playing field to some extent. His odds look generous and he is being backed.
Jonny Clayton – 1/1/2/W/2/1/QF.
Odds – 26.00
Another player that has been enjoying good runs in the ranked Majors in 2025. He was runner up in the Winmau World Masters, and a semi-finalist in the UK Open and World Matchplay.
The Ferret won this in 2021 but has only made it past the second round twice. His recent form sees seven wins from his last ten matches and he is playing well on the whole, but he has drawn Andrew Gilding, who beat him 6-0 in the last match he played before this. Worrying.
Gerwyn Price – 1/1/2/QF/1/W/RU/SF/RU/2.
Odds – 11.00
With three finals in the last five World Grand Prix, The Iceman clearly gets the format. Price missed the last two Euro Tour events. He pulled out mid-tournament in the Hungarian Darts Trophy due to illness and also withdrew from last weekend’s Swiss Darts Trophy. He returned to action for the Players Championship events a few days ago.
If he is fit, I would expect a good run. He is one of the best double 20 hitters and if he has his eye in, that is the best place to start. It is worth mentioning that Price has not won a ranking Major since the Grand Slam in 2021.
His odds are invariably short and it can be difficult to justify his odds as being of any great value. He only played the first two days at the recent Players Championship and only won three matches.
Chris Dobey – SF/1/QF/QF/1.
Odds – 41.00
A reasonably good record for Dobey, but he has failed to reach the e/w payout places and that is the problem with backing Dobey in the outright market. You rarely get any return.
Dobey does have one advantage here. He is much more used to the format as the double in game is still used in local leagues in the North East and that may explain why he has enjoyed some success here.
Dobey reached the quarter final of PC30 last Thursday and he has won seven of his last ten matches. A dark horse, but will he ever crack a Major?
Rob Cross – 1/1/2/1/2/1/1/QF.
Odds – 41.00
Managed to get beyond the second round for the first time last year. He was having plenty of good runs in the ranking Majors last year, reaching the semi-final of the World Championship and four quarter finals.
In 2025 he has fallen at the first fence in all but the UK Open. Hard to fancy and another player whose prowess in the Majors has waned since his last title in 2021. Cross has lost five of his last ten matches and he is finding winning matches surprisingly difficult. His seasonal win rate is just 53%.
Josh Rock – 1/1.
Odds – 11.00
Rock has played two Grand Prix and lost both first round matches. He is one of the very best players in the game, but does he get the format? It is a bit hard to say on the back of just two appearances.
Rock has reached two Major semi-finals in 2025 and won the World Cup. He was runner up in PC29 on Wednesday but there have been a few duff matches creeping in recently.
Damon Heta – 1/1/1/1.
Odds – 51.00
The Aussie can’t be looking forward to this. Yet to win a match in four attempts. He has been struggling on the Euro Tour and on the floor recently. However, he warmed up for this with a runners up spot in PC30 on Thursday and he has now won eight of his last ten matches. He will play Luke Woodhouse in round one and maybe he can finally win a match in the Grand Prix.
Gary Anderson – 2/QF/1/1/QF/SF/2/RU/QF/2/QF/1/1/2/2.
Odds – 34.00
Remember him? This is a tournament which has eluded him over the years and it is hard to see why that would change. He says he only really enjoys the Players Championship events these days and he still plays in most of them, winning one in 2025.
He has also won on the Euro Tour and was runner up in another, and he played in four events. His TV form? Not so good anymore. In the last four years he has had two semi-finals and another two quarter finals. In his last four Major Championships, he has won just one match. Anderson was a semi-finalist in PC29 on Wednesday and he is playing good darts.
Danny Noppert – 1/2/2/SF/2/1/1.
Odds – 51.00
Not a great record for a player whose career is all about having decent runs, picking up decent cheques, but rarely wining. The European Championship is the one where he does go well. Recent form saw six wins from his last ten matches.
Ross Smith – 2/2/2/2.
Odds – 51.00
Consistent. Has won his first round match every time and then been sent packing. Had to miss the Swiss Darts Trophy last weekend due to a family bereavement, but he was back in action for the midweek Players Championship events and he won PC29 on Wednesday.
He really had been treading water in the second half of the season and hasn’t made much impact in the big TV events in 2025. Obviously, the family issue was an important one and he was in bits after beating Rock in that final. Smudger has won eight of his last ten matches and who knows, maybe he is finding inspiration from events happening at home.
Peter Wright – 1/1/2/1/1/QF/RU/2/1/1/SF/QF/1.
Odds – 126.00
Has blown hot and cold in this event but his recent form is poor. He has lost three stone in weight and like many before him, rapid weight loss often leads to a loss of form. He faces Mike de Decker in the first round and he lost 6-2 to De Decker in this venue on Tuesday, only averaging 74.25. Wright has lost eight of his last ten matches.
16 Martin Schindler – 1/QF/2. Odds – 67.00
His quarter final here two years ago remains his joint highest finish in a ranking Major. He is an improving player, winning three Euro Tour titles in the last two years and he picked up his first Players Championship earlier this year. Recent form sees five wins from his last ten matches.
2025 World Grand Prix: Pro Tour OOM Qualifiers
Gian van Veen – 1.
Odds 26.00
Lost his debut match 0-2 to Ross Smith last year and has drawn Luke Littler this year. Van Veen doesn’t get a lot in the way of breaks but he is one of the very top players in terms of scoring.
Nobody has been better at checking out in the last 12 months and if he can check in just as effectively. He can have a good run, but an easier first round draw would have been nice.
Wessel Nijman – Debut.
Odds 41.00
The other up and coming Dutch player, Wessel Nijman is making his debut and it can be a hard format to get into. Not many have made any great progress on debut and just winning your first match is a good result. The only player to win on his tournament debut was Phil Taylor, and that was in the inaugural tournament.
Warmed up for this with some good stuff in the Players Championships a few days ago, winning PC30 on Thursday. Plays Rob Cross in the first round and I reckon he wins that. Nijman has won twelve of his last thirteen matches and he could have a good run.
Cameron Menzies – 1.
Odds 151.00
Made his debut last year and like so many before him, lost his debut match. Outside of a Grand Slam quarter final last year, Menzies doesn’t have much of a Major pedigree.
Menzies has drawn Chris Dobey in the first round and he is 1-8 against the Geordie. Prospects looking bleak, but he has won seven of his last ten matches so his form is coming back.
Nathan Aspinall – QF/1/1/RU/1/2.
Odds 41.00
I fancy The Asp to have a good run in at least one of the upcoming Majors. He has reached three quarter finals in 2025 and has good Major pedigree. His recent form has seen six defeats in his last ten matches and that means he can’t be backed for this, especially as he has drawn Luke Humphries in round 1.
Jermaine Wattimena – 2/QF/1.
Odds 81.00
Finally won his first PDC title back in late July but has not really done much since. He hasn’t qualified for this for the last five years, so this a bit of a second debut. He faces Danny Noppert in round one, which is a bit of a coin toss. Wattimena has won six of his last ten matches, but his last five saw a high average of 90.47.
Dirk van Duijvenbode – RU/1/1/1.
Odds 67.00
Reached the final on debut, which is very rare, but it was the one played behind closed doors in 2020. He has bombed in the last three Grand Prix. Dirk strikes me as a player who takes failure badly and his huffs can last a long time. This is a four-year huff.
In 2025 he lost the final of PC17 in June, 7-8 to Chris Dobey, and he has been very ordinary ever since. There are still some great individual performances but far too many stinkers which stop him dead in his tracks. He is far too hard on himself. Dirk faces MVG in the first round. Their H2H record is 12-3 to MVG.
Luke Woodhouse – 2/1.
Odds 126.00
Woody is having a good season and was runner up on the Euro Tour last weekend, moving him into the top 32 on the PDC OOM. He is yet to win a senior PDC title and I would be surprised if this was to be his first.
He plays Damon Heta in the first round, and while he has lost four of their last five matches, he is in with a chance of making round two. That is when things get tougher.
Ryan Searle – 1/QF/1/2/1.
Odds 67.00
Heavy Metal has hit form at just the right time. He won PC28 last Wednesday and was a Euro Tour quarter finalist a few days before that. He has never won two tour titles in a year and he was chuffed to have finally done so.
Searle is a Major finalist and he is very good on double 20. There is a lot to like about his chances as a big priced outsider. He will face tournament specialist Gerwyn Price in round one and obviously that will be tough. Searle is 2-11 against Price and has not beaten him since 2021and never on a stage. Now would be a good time.
Mike de Decker – 1/W.
Odds 67.00
Looking to be the first player to defend the title since MVG in 2019. De Decker hasn’t set the world on fire since winning this last year. He has his moments but has struggled in the Majors this year. Under pressure to live up to bigger expectations?
Mike will face Peter Wright in round one, so at least he will make the second round. He played Wright on Tuesday and won that 6-2.
Joe Cullen – 1/2/1/1/QF/1/2/SF/QF.
Odds 151.00
The bookmakers have only one player at bigger odds to win the title and that will displease Cullen, and for once, he may have a point. He won PC27 four weeks ago, and he has gone deep here for the last two years.
On the downside, he faces Wade in round one and he is defending £40k on his ranking money. Who knows, but I’d rather back Wade in round 1.
Ryan Joyce – 2/SF.
Odds 126.00
One of the very best double hitters in the game and it was no great surprise to see him reach the semi-final last year, in only his second appearance. Nobody would have wanted to draw him in the first round, and the unlucky player that got him is Josh Rock. Do not think that Joyce can’t get a result out of that one. This is a repeat of last year’s first round match and Joyce won that 2-0. Definitely a player of interest at big odds.
Niko Springer – Debut.
Odds 81.00
Picked up his first senior PDC title two weeks ago at the Hungarian Darts Trophy. Impressive and he is a real prospect. On the downside, he is very inexperienced in TV Majors and this is his Grand Prix debut.
He has lost four of his six matches since winning in Budapest which is not a great surprise. He will play the in-form Stephen Bunting, who won on the Euro Tour last weekend, in the first round. Springer has beaten Bunting in both of their previous meetings, both on the Euro Tour, so that will be a very interesting matchup.
Daryl Gurney – 1/1/QF/W/SF/1/1/1/2/1/2.
Odds 101.00
The 2017 Champion but the last six years have seen just matches won. He is one of the best double hitters in the game and the format should suit him. He knows the format and how to play it well, but his overall game is marked by inconsistency.
Superchin has won five of his last ten matches and that is the problem. Gurney faces Ross Smith in round 1, and Smith won his second Players Championship of the year a few days ago. Gurney is 6-5 with Smith and it is a bit of a coin toss, but if he gets through, it is MVG or Van Duijvenbode. The odds are about right.
Krzysztof Ratajski – 1/1/QF/2/1/2.
Odds 151.00
Ratajski had a good year in the Majors in 2021 and reached number 12 in the world, but since then he has done little else and he has dropped down the rankings. He is still a dangerous opponent, but he does struggle against the top players.
The Polish Eagle will face Martin Schindler in round 1 and he is 5-2 vs the German. Most of that form is more than three years old and Schindler has improved, Ratajski has regressed.
Raymond van Barneveld – 2/SF/RU/RU/SF/2/1/2/2/1/SF/QF/2/1/1.
Odds 151.00
For Barney, just qualifying was the target. He really needs to keep himself in the top 32 in the world rankings and this will help. He has drawn Gary Anderson in round one, so a real battle of the oldies there. Anderson will be the strong favourite, but there is not a lot of pressure on Barney and in a short format, he has a puncher’s chance, but he isn’t going far.
Andrew Gilding – 2/1/1/QF.
Odds 201.00
Scraped in by the skin of his teeth, but somebody has to. The relief of qualifying showed at the Players Championships a few days ago. He didn’t have any great runs but averaged 104 in a 6-0 win over Jonny Clayton.
Goldfinger is another player needing to get into these events in order to keep his place in the top 32. Interestingly, he plays Jonny Clayton in the first round. Spooky. Gilding is 8-3 against The Ferret and has now won their last six in a row. Pray for The Ferret.
The 2025 World Grand Prix Draw
First Quarter
Humphries is the 2.70 favourite to win the quarter and as World Number one, history is on his side. Nijman is the form player in the quarter and he could have a good run, but he is 0-4 vs Humphries.
Second Quarter
Bunting is the 3.25 favourite for the quarter but he has tricky opener against Springer and I quite fancy Springer at decent odds for that one. Anderson is 4.33 but his Major form isn’t great these days. James Wade is playing great in the Majors in 2025 and this format should suit him. He is 6.50 to win the quarter and 41.00 outright.
Third Quarter
Luke Littler is the 2.20 favourite for the quarter but it is a tough group. We have Josh Rock, Van Veen, Price, Ryan Searle and the other Ryan, Ryan Joyce who won his quarter last year.
Fourth Quarter
MVG is the 3.25 favourite but there are a couple of in-form players in with him, such as Ross Smith and even Damon Heta.
2025 World Grand Prix Selections
I have to respect Luke Humphries’ tournament record and the fact that the world number one player has made six of the last ten finals.
2025 World Grand Prix Tip: 1 point e/w Luke Humphries to win the World Grand Prix @ 7.50 with SpreadEx
Ross Smith played some great stuff to win PC29 under difficult circumstances. Grief can be an inspiring influence on sportspeople and you never know. He has won a Major title before so he can do it and the odds are more than tempting
2025 World Grand Prix Tip: 0.5 point Ross Smith to win the World Grand Prix @ 51.00 generally available
In a format that will suit and given his back-to-back Major semi-finals in 2025, James Wade makes enough appeal for a bet.
2025 World Grand Prix Tip: 1 point James Wade to win the 2nd Quarter @ 6.50 with Unibet
Ryan Joyce made the semi-final here last year and as the best double hitter in the game he makes some sense to win the very tough 3rd quarter. It is tough and Littler is the hot favourite, but he faces a very stiff task in round one against Van Veen. Maybe Relentless can fly under the radar, as he did in Littler’s quarter last year.
