The highlight of the darting calendar is just two days away, and I for one can't wait. Here are my thoughts on the six market leaders and the ante-post bets I've taken:
Luke Humphries (3/1 Fav, Various)
If you had said three or four months ago that Luke Humphries would go off the 3/1 favourite for the World Championships, I'd have thought you were mad, but Humphries has been in scintillating form recently and rightly takes his place at the head of the market. 'Cool Hand Luke' won his maiden major title at the World Grand Prix in October and followed that up with wins at the Grand Slam and Players Championships Finals in the last few weeks. With semi-final appearances at the World Matchplay and the World Series of Darts Finals also under his belt, it's easy to see why he's the hottest property in the sport right now. And it's not just the sheer amount of games Humphries is winning, but it's also the way he is winning them. At the most recent event, the Players Championship Finals, his average didn't dip below 97 in any of his six matches, and he averaged over 100 in four of them. It was similar story at the Grand Slam, where he averaged over 100 in six of his seven matches. If Humphries continues that form into the World Championships he is going to be very difficult to beat. Are there any negatives about Luke Humphries, well I suppose you could argue that he is yet to reach a semi-final of the World's, so doesn't have that experience, but the way he is playing at the moment means that ultimately he is my idea of the winner.
Michael van Gerwen (7/2, Various)
Van Gerwen comes into the World Championship off the back of a relatively quiet season by his incredibly high standards, however it would be foolish to right off the Dutchman from going all the way again at Ally Pally. After all 'Mighty Mike' is a three time Champion of the World, and has reached the final on another three occasions in the last eleven years, including last year where he lost a pulsating final to Michael Smith. Van Gerwen has picked up titles this year, most notably the Premier League back in May and the World Series of Darts Finals in September. The signs are certainly there that van Gerwen is getting back to his best, as demonstrated by a 118.5 average when he defeated Ross Smith in the second round of the Players Championship Finals last month - a tournament where he averaged over 100 in four of his six matches. Van Gerwen finds himself in a relatively easy quarter of the draw, so a semi-final berth certainly looks well within the Dutchman's sight.
Gerwyn Price (11/2, Various)
Gerwyn Price returns to the Ally Pally stage with bad memories of 12 months ago, when he lost in the quarter-finals to Gabriel Clemens after donning a pair of noise-reducing headphones part way through the match. I suspect the crowd won't treat Price any more favourably this time around, and that is a major negative against the Welshman. This season Price has probably played his best darts on the floor, picking up four titles, more than any other player. He also has two Euro Tour titles to his name, but on the biggest stages it's been a disappointing return for 'The Iceman'. Price did win the World Cup of Darts alongside Jonny Clayton this year, but has no major singles title this year. Having said that, Price has posted massive averages in defeat, and he is more than capable of going deep this year. I'm in two minds about Price, on the one hand I think he is a potential finalist, on the other I can see him capitulating in the fourth round against Gary Anderson in front of a raucous Ally Pally crowd. If the tournament was played in Cardiff or behind closed doors as in 2020, I'd make Price favourite ... but it isn't.
Michael Smith (14/1, SpreadEx)
The current World Champion and number one seed comes into this year's event in very different form to twelve months ago; last December Smith had just picked up his maiden major trophy at the Grand Slam and was full of confidence. Fast forward 12 months and 'Bully Boy' has seemingly lost his way a little, with early exits in his last three tournaments doing little to suggest Smith can win back-to-back World Titles. Smith's lean spell has coincided with a change of darts, and he doesn't look as comfortable with his new equipment, and his trademark 180 hitting isn't there like it was 12 months ago. As the current Champion, Smith will open his title defence on the opening night against either Kevin Doets or Stowe Buntz, and whilst he should make it through, I don't see Smith being a threat at the back-end of the tournament this year.
Gary Anderson (14/1, Various)
Former two-time Champion of the World Gary Anderson has had a decent season, but it's probably fair to say he's saved his best darts for the floor tournaments. On the Players Championship tour he has reached five finals, winning three of them, and has looked unplayable at times. However, on the stage his form hasn't been quite as good, and he hasn't reached a semi-final of a major since the World Championships two years ago (excluding the World Cup of Darts). He did show a bit of the old Gary Anderson at the recent Grand Slam when dispatching Gerwyn Price in the second round with a 105 average, but I'm not sure he's shown enough on the big stage recently to warrant a price of 14/1 for a third World Title. I've watched the Sportinglife preview that was posted on this thread and they seemed pretty keen on Anderson having a strong tournament, but for me he's not done enough on TV this year; but I am looking forward to a potential clash with Price in round four.
Rob Cross (16/1, Various)
Another former World Champion is sixth in the betting in Rob Cross. It's been a decent enough season from 'Voltage', with a title in the Players Championship events, another title on the Euro Tour and two titles in the World Series events. But the highlight was probably reaching the final of the Grand Slam, before being outplayed by Luke Humphries in the final. Cross should make it through the early rounds with little issue, before a likely meeting with either Jonny Clayton or Krzysztof Ratajski in round four, a match which I'd expect him to win. Since winning the trophy back in 2018, Cross hasn't been at the latter stages of the World's - I can see that changing this year and fancy Cross to reach at least the quarter-finals and maybe a bit further.
Other players I think will go well include Ross Smith, Stephen Bunting, James Wade and possibly Josh Rock; most of these players have already been mentioned in the thread. And it’s already been highlighted that Luke Humphries is priced at an unbackable 3/1 now, so instead of having a bet on the outright winner I've scoured the specials markets for my antepost bets in the hope that one comes in for a nice pay day.
Humphries to win his QF, Cross & van Gerwen to reach QFs, Anderson, M Smith, Price, Bunting to reach Round 4 and Littler to reach Round 3 @ 33/1 (SkyBet RequestABet Special)
Cross, Price, van Gerwen and Humphries all to reach the semi-finals @ 36.8/1 (PaddyPower QF Winner Accas)
R Smith, Cross, Wade, Price, van Gerwen, Humphries and Rock all to reach the quarter-finals @ 861.4/1 (PaddyPower)
Van Veen, Searle, Woodhouse, Bunting, Wade & Ratajski to reach round 4 @ 400/1 (SkyBet RequestABet Special - seems to have disappeared from the site now)
J Williams to win his quarter @ 50/1 (Coral / Ladbrokes)
