One of the bigger darts tournaments of the year kicks off in Dublin on Sunday when the Citywest Hotel hosts 32 of the best players in the game for another week of doubling madness at the World Grand Prix.
Of all the major tournaments this is the one which catches the top players out the most because the format is relatively short by today’s standards and the fact you have to start and finish each leg with a double adds to the tension and levels the playing field somewhat.
Michael van Gerwen is the defending champion this week and he is no bigger than 21/10 to land the title again. He arrives here as the number one seed with Taylor the second seed and Phil Taylor is 11/4. He has struggled in this tournament in the past particularly in the first round. The world champion and Premier League winner Gary Anderson is 7/1 to add this title to his collection.
In many ways the draw can be irrelevant this week. There will be shocks galore with the first round over the best of three sets and the second round and quarter finals only the best of five. That makes predicting how a draw will go quite difficult so other than highlighting an area of the draw weaker than others it is largely not a factor.
One way of whittling the field down for some outright bets is to take out players who have issues on the double. If a player can’t hit a double regularly to end a leg the chances are he isn’t going to hit enough on time at the start of it so anyone with issues on the outer ring can be left alone this week.
With a strong doubler needed it makes sense to look at James Wade. He is a former winner of this tournament and was the runner up here last year. Wade has won two titles this year and has made the final of five more including the World Matchplay so ‘The Machine’ has been in good working order in 2015.
This tournament sits well with him. Not only has he won the event but he has a nine dart finish in it too – one of just three men to hit one with the double start so he clearly feels comfortable with the format and the conditions and at 16/1 I think he’s a solid each way bet this week.
I’m going to go with another man who impressed in the World Matchplay in Ian White. White made the quarter final there where he ran van Gerwen really close and since then he has won a title in Dublin in the build up to this event on Friday.
In total White has made four finals in 2015 and he’s hit two nine dart finishes so he has established himself as a leading player in the game. All he needs now is to deliver on the big stage. With this draw having the potential to open up more than any other the 66/1 on him is worth chancing. His power scoring and solid action should be perfect for this event.
I’m going to make a play in the top quarter too. This tournament throws up some surprise semi-finalists. In the last four years the likes of Richie Burnett, Brendan Dolan, Justin Pipe and Stephen Bunting have all made it to the penultimate night here which emphasises what I’ve said about the draw opening up.
Michael van Gerwen is the star man in the top quarter but he hasn’t got the easiest run with Keegan Brown a much more dangerous draw over the best of three sets than he would have liked. Kim Huybrechts and Michael Smith are also dangers to him in this section but with value the order of the day in this event I’m going to take someone at a bigger price.
Jamie Lewis hit a nine dart finish in the tour event in Dublin on Friday which shows he is playing well and while he might not be the most established name he has played on the big stage enough to know what it is all about now.
Crucially Lewis has a nice little part of the draw with William O’Connor in the first round and either Michael Smith or Gerwyn Price in the second round. Neither of those opponents are perfect on doubles so Lewis could make it to the quarter final. Even were he to play van Gerwen there he’d have every chance over just the best of five sets so at 33/1 I’ll have a small play on the Welshman.
Back J.Wade to win World Grand Prix (e/w) for a 2/10 stake at 17.00 with Ladbrokes (1/2 1-2)
Back I.White to win World Grand Prix (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 67.00 with Betfred (1/2 1-2)
Back J.Lewis to win 1st Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Sportingbet
Blog darts YTD: +25.75pts
