Grand Slam of Darts Betting Preview: Gerwyn Price headed for a hattrick?

‘Snakebite’ has skipped a few recent events including the World Cup in Salzburg, but it’s yet to be seen whether his decision to rest ahead of a gruelling end-of-season will pay dividends.

That he’s picked the Grand Slam to make his return to the Oche does show one thing  – he means business here.

Wright’s group includes Ian White, Devon Petersen and World Grand Prix runner-up Dirk van Duijvenbode – who he’ll face in his opening game.

Michael van Gerwen – 9/2

While he’s still the world No. 1, ‘Mighty Mike’ has been plagued by a back injury for much of the year and is without a win since March, where he claimed the UK Open.

A disappointing Premier League campaign has led to suggestions that it’s not only his body that’s struggling – but that his calm and composure have deserted him too. With wayward darts and erratic play, it remains to be seen if has the consistency to make it all the way here.

All that aside, if he can get a head of steam going and make it to the latter stages, he may be able to overcome those doubts. As mentioned earlier, Van Gerwen is one of only two players to have won the Grand Slam for three consecutive years, with wins in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

In Group A he’ll face Gabriel Clemens, Adam Hunt and Joe Cullen – who beat him to win the International Darts Open in October.

Michael Smith – 14/1

The Englishman ended a two-year title drought in spectacular style last week at the Winter Series, winning Day One and Day Two, as he beat first Jermaine Wattimena, then Jose De Sousa – to end his 848 day wait for a win.

That means he’ll go into the Grand Slam full of confidence – prior to his Winter Series wins, he’d lost 10 finals during a period that must have seen him starting to doubt himself.

With the shackles of self-doubt removed, we could expect a renaissance from a man who now has eight PDC Pro Tour titles to his name.

He’ll face off against four-time women’s world champion Lisa Ashton, as well as Krzysztof Ratajski and Jose De Sousa in a tough Group C.

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All odds and markets correct as of date of publication