BetVictor World Matchplay Darts Preview

The Winter Gardens plays host to the BetVictor World Matchplay darts over the next couple of weeks and Coral make the 13-time champion Phil Taylor their 5/2 joint-favourite along with the ever impressive Michael van Gerwen.

Taylor may be coming into the tournament having only won the one major TV tournament in 2013, but having looked somewhere near back to his best when winning the Gibraltar Darts championship at the end of June, you can expect a very bold bid from the Power in what is his tournament (won 13 of the 19 World Matchplay tournaments).

One man that could bring an end to Taylor’s dominance of this tournament is the number two seed and recent Premier League champion Michael van Gerwen. The Dutchman has rocked the darts world over the past 12 months with his impressive performances so not surprising to see a lot of people tipping up Van Gerwen as the man to beat.

Adrian Lewis is next best in the outright betting at 8/1. The double World Champion has come under a lot of criticism over the last 12 months due to his drop in form, but his recent victory in the European Championships could just be the catalyst to drive Lewis to another major TV title.

Raymond van Barneveld and James Wade are two players that are more than capable of tasting victory in Blackpool. Barney was a runner-up in 2010, whereas Wade won this title in 2007 and has finished runner-up on four occasions. It’s 12/1 for Barney to go one better than in 2010 and 14/1 for Wade to lift the title.

Simon Whitlock will be looking to build on his impressive recent performance in the European Championships where he eventually lost out to Adrian Lewis 11-6 in the final. The Wizard is 18/1 to taste victory in Blackpool, but he faces a tough opening match against Jelle Klaasen (50/1 outright).

Elsewhere in the outright betting, Robert Thornton (22/1), Gary Anderson (28/1), Andy Hamilton (33/1) and Dave Chisnall (33/1) are all worthy of a market check. All four players are more than capable of lifting the Matchplay title, but the draw could be against them.

Away from the outright betting, Coral are offering a host of special bets prior to the start on play including 4/1 for Taylor and Van Gerwen to meet in the final and 2/1 for the winning nationality to be Dutch.