Seven tasty outright tips for the 2017 PDC World Darts Championship

There have been nine perfect legs in World Championship history and, with the bar raised so high at the moment and standard of matches top notch, backing one to be thrown again at the Alexandra Palace is mighty tempting.

One nine-darter has been notched in each of the past two editions of this tournament, and six in total across the past four years, with Gary Anderson the last to throw that crowd-pleasing perfect leg in 2016’s semi-finals.

Five plus total tournament 170 checkouts

Speaking of that standard, players are now regularly having to hit ever higher checkouts too as they seek to compete with the sport’s greats.

The quality of contenders this year is set to be even better, in this competition that regularly sees underdogs cause huge shocks and clock-up terrific tallies.

Last year a whopping six 170 checkouts were hit by five different players, with eventual world champ Anderson the outstanding arrowsmith to get the maximum checkout twice en route to the trophy.

So, back five plus 170 checkouts to be produced again at the Ally Pally this time at fantastic odds of 4/1.

Tournament winning double

From across the 23 previous PDC World Championship finals, the most frequent winning doubles have been 20 and 16, with both hit five times apiece, while double 12 is close behind on four.

Which double you back may depend on who you reckon will win, with Anderson having notched double 12 to seal his previous two Worlds wins.

In world number one Michael van Gerwen’s memorable 2014 success he took out double 20 to triumph, with the likes of Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis also having previously taken the trophy by finishing on that too. So, double 20 looks enticing at 11/4 to be the winner yet again.

Van Gerwen v the field

Sick of MVG winning all before him? Coral may just have the tonic for you with a tremendous 6/5 for the field to beat Van Gerwen, which means any player other than Mighty Mike to lift the Sid Waddell trophy.

Despite being a darting juggernaut with multiple wins in most PDC major events, such as the Premier League, World Matchplay and Grand Slam to name a few, the Dutch darts machine has sometimes struggled on the biggest stage, claiming this big prize just the once.

So, with past winners of the calibre of The Power, Jackpot, The Flying Scotsman, Barney and James Wade all angling for more glory, plus talented pretenders to the throne such as Peter Wright, increase your own chances of success by betting against Van Gerwen.

Name the finalists

Now, this is a fantastic market which allows punters to tailor their chosen final two. And, we reckon a potential Michael van Gerwen/Peter Wright showpiece finale is nifty at 9/2. Here’s why…

Snakebite has a very generous half of the draw, with the showman Scot unlikely to be troubled by any names in the first three rounds. There’s the possibility of meeting Wade at the quarters stage, but Wright knows how to beat the Englishman, with one of Anderson or Dave Chisnall likely to be his opponent in the semis. Crucially, though, the duo have both been wildly inconsistent of late.

Van Gerwen, meanwhile, is seeking to reach his third Worlds final and has a habit of standing in Wright’s path to glory, so this is a realistic pairing for the Ally Pally final.

Wright to be quarter four winner

Speaking of Snakebite vs Wade, there’s some hidden value to be had on the charismatic Scotsman to pip The Machine and co to being the winner of quarter four too.

Wright is 11/10 to progress at main rival Wade’s expense, having prevailed in all of their past three frays, including the last when he easily ousted the Englishman 6-2 in premier event the Players Championship Finals.

First time winner

There’s also an appealing price of 7/2 for their to be a first time winner in the Worlds. Of course that means no Anderson, Taylor, MvG, Lewis, Wade or Barney to lift the crown.

But, on the opposite side remains Snakebite, who is really knocking down the door for his maiden major, as well as intriguing outsiders such as Chizzy and Mensur Suljovic.

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