2019 World Darts Championship Final Betting Tips: Van Gerwen v Smith

Betting preview and latest odds for Ally Pally showpiece

A tournament which began with 96 tungsten tossing hopefuls has been whittled down to just two. But who will come out on top between Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith in the 2019 PDC World Darts Championship Final?  

MVG is going for his third Alexandra Palace crown, while Smith is hoping to upset the odds in his maiden Ally Pally Final. You can catch the action live on Sky Sports Main Event or Sky Sports Darts from 8pm.

And we’ve previewed the first sporting world championship of the year below.

How did they get here?

Van Gerwen saw off Alan Tabern, Max Hopp, Adrian Lewis and Ryan Joyce en-route to a semi-final clash with Gary Anderson. Not even the Flying Scotsman could derail the Green Machine as the Dutchman hit a 104.76 average and 50% on his doubles to secure a place in the Final.

Smith was forced to work in the early rounds to see off Ron Meulenkamp and John Henderson. A 4-1 victory over Ryan Searle was then followed by a 5-1 success against Luke Humphries.

Nathan Aspinall gave Bully Boy a scare in the semi-final, but the St Helens native prevailed 6-3 with a 105.22 average 17 maximums – a record for a semi-final match.

Vital statistics

There’s not a great deal between the two across the whole tournament. Van Gerwen is 3.11 points ahead in terms of competition average, while the Dutchman also edges the checkout percentages 46.25% to 44.83%.

Bully Boy has at least hit more maximums – 51 to MVG’s 32, although that could be in part down to the Green Machine’s tendency to switch downstairs to T19. In short, there’s very little to split the two since they entered the competition in round two.