After nearly three weeks of amazing action the stage is set to crown the first world champion of 2017 when the PDC World Darts Championship takes place on Monday night. The final sees the two best players in the world going at it over the best of 13 sets at the Alexandra Palace in London and it should be an absolute classic.
Michael van Gerwen will be looking for a second world title in this match while Gary Anderson will be looking to win the tournament for a third successive year. Both men are full of confidence so this could well be the best final of all time.
Michael van Gerwen
Round 1 beat Kim Viljanen 3-0 – Ave: 103.34 180s: 5
Round 2 beat Cristo Reyes 4-2 – Ave: 105.24 180s: 11
Round 3 beat Darren Webster 4-1 – Ave: 104.44 180s: 8
QF beat Daryl Gurney 5-1 – Ave: 103.08 180s: 7
SF beat Raymond Barneveld 6-2 – Ave: 114.05 180s: 15
Michael van Gerwen ripped up the record books in his semi-final win over Raymond Barneveld. I don’t possess a strong enough knowledge of the language to describe his performance and do it justice but it was ridiculous madness in a brilliant way.
Perfect darts doesn’t exist but MVG was as close to it as you are going to get I fancy. The key question here is whether he can back that up so soon. You would have to think he won’t but neither will he need to. The one thing in MVGs advantage is he has been tested three times in the tournament and he’s delivered the goods and some each and every time.
Gary Anderson
Round 1 beat Mark Frost 3-0 – Ave: 96.16 180s: 5
Round 2 beat Andrew Gilding 4-0 – Ave: 102.58 180s: 6
Round 3 beat Benito van de Pas 4-2 – Ave: 107.68 180s: 11
QF beat Dave Chisnall 5-3 – Ave: 105.90 180s: 12
SF beat Peter Wright 6-3 – Ave: 103.45 180s: 15
Gary Anderson has shown he isn’t going to give his title up without a fight. His last three opponents have all provided tough tests and he has taken everything they have thrown and him and sent a few punches back the other way. Whether he can take the punishment MVG dishes out remains to be seen but he has regularly said he likes playing the Dutchman.
One thing which has been apparent the longer the tournament has gone on is his consistency on the 60 has improved. He was a little scratchy on his doubles against Wright in the semi-final but that was the first time all tournament that has been the case really. He will need to be crisp on them in this final that is for sure.
Head to Head
This will be the 37th meeting between these two around the world. Michael van Gerwen has 22 wins with Anderson prevailing 13 times. They have also produced a draw which came in the Premier League earlier this year.
This will be their third battle in the World Championship. They both have a win each from the first two although Anderson will know he had van Gerwen beat in the match he lost. That will give him some confidence. Their last meeting was in the World Grand Prix final last year. A match van Gerwen won 5-2.
Betting
I’m really looking forward to this final and I really do believe it will be one of the greatest matches we will ever see. Whether it goes all the way I’m not sure but while it lasts it will be a great watch.
In truth I don’t want to have too many bets on the final. It has been a great tournament betting wise so I don’t need to force anything so I can just take a couple and sit back and watch the spectacle.
I’m already on Anderson by virtue of shelling out a few quid on the field against van Gerwen before the tournament but I do think the Scot is a massive price, an overreaction to how good MVG was on Sunday night. MVG was amazing then but he won’t play that well here. Emotionally that would be impossible.
The bets I like are Gary Anderson to average over 102.5. Apart from the first round when Mark Frost was clowning around Anderson has covered this line and I expect him too here. This final goes one of two ways. Anderson either wins it or he hardly throws at a double because MVG is rampant. The former can’t happen without Anderson at his best and the latter protects his average. I expect the Scot to be in the 103s and above in this final.
I’m also going to chance a nine darter for them both. We’re yet to have one in the tournament although Michael van Gerwen should have had one on Sunday. The 60 will get peppered in this final and both men have made 9 darters on this stage. The prices on offer are just about big enough for some interest.
Tips
WON – Back G.Anderson 3 dart average – Over 102.5 for a 5/10 stake at 1.83 with Paddy Power
Back M.van Gerwen 9 dart finish for a 1/10 stake at 10.00 with Paddy Power
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Back G.Anderson 9 dart finish for a 1/10 stake at 13.00 with Coral
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