Van Gerwen Just Favored in Dart’s Players Championship Finals
ITV Sport is broadcasting this weekend’s Cazoo Players Championship Finals live from Butlin’s Minehead Resort. The £600,000 darts competition features the top 64 players from the 2022 PDC Players Championship Order of Merit.
Michael Smith landed his first televised major when taking the Grand Slam of Darts last week. The world-ranked number 4 is 8/1 to double-up in this weekend’s Players Championship Finals. ©Taylor Lanning/PDC
Based solely based on prize money won in the 30 Players Championship events during the season, Damon Heta has entered the draw as a surprise number-one seed. Michael van Gerwen – six times a winner of this competition – also has a surprising seeding. The Dutch player, the 9/2 favorite to take this competition for the third time in four years, is the 22nd name down the list of qualifiers.
New Names Have Been Winning 2022’s Tournaments
2022 has been a remarkable season in darts, with no individual player ruling the sport’s roost. Peter Wright took the World Championship title on January 3rd. The UK Open, two months later, saw Danny Noppert win his first major.
In July, normal service was resumed when Michael van Gerwen landed the World Matchplay by beating Gerwyn Price in the decider. The Dutchman also took the next premier televised event, October’s World Grand Prix.
But four weeks later, in the fifth ranking televised major of 2022, van Gerwen was eliminated in the first round and another first-timer, Ross Smith, landed his maiden title at huge odds. Last weekend it was the turn of Michael Smith to win his first televised major.
In a clinical display, Smith dismantled Nathan Aspinall 16-5 in Sunday’s final. He is now just 8/1 to take the last televised ranking event – the Players Championship Finals – before the World Championship gets underway.
Smith Could Find Victory a Catalyst for Further Success
Smith was well overdue a major victory. Twice a beaten finalist in the World Championship, the 32-year-old had failed in seven other major televised ranking events. Will this first taste of glory serve as a catalyst for further success?
But, while established stars such as Wright, Price, and Cullen have not been winning with the regularity they once did, they have been winning. The player with the biggest 2021 hangover is Jonny Clayton. Successful in four televised tournaments last year, the Welshman is empty-handed from ten televised majors (four non-ranking) and 12 PDC European Tour events.
With fortunes heading in the other direction is 21-year-old Josh Rock. The youngster from Northern Ireland has beaten almost every big-name player in the sport in recent weeks. Michael van Gerwen did get the better of him in the second round of last week’s Grand Slam of Darts. But not before Rock produced a nine-dart finish and averaged 103.9.
Unheard of a few months ago, Rock is just 16/1 to win this weekend’s Players Championship Finals and 16/1 to become the youngest-ever PDC World Champion at the start of January.
Who Can Go Six Unbeaten?
The eventual winner of the Cazoo Players Championship Finals will need to string together a sequence of six victories. The format for the first two rounds is best of 11 legs. Third and fourth-round matches are the best of 19 legs, and the semi-finals and final are best of 21-leg confrontations.
Van Gerwen and second favorite, Gerwyn Price, are at opposite ends of the draw. Price appears to have the better opportunity as the Dutch star could face Josh Rock in the second round and even success there has the potential to see him face Michael Smith in the third round.
The highest-seeded player Price can meet at any point up until the quarter-finals is Jonny Clayton – and his current form does not do his ranking of 24 any justice.
Where Is the Value in the Betting?
Van Gerwen, Price and Smith are the only three players in the Players Championship Finals priced under 10/1. By shopping around at the best darts betting sites, 16/1 can be found about Rock, Luke Humphries and Jonny Clayton.
Coral is offering 50/1 about a Noppert victory. It is a standout price given the player has already won a major tournament at the Butlin’s Minehead venue this year. And Ross Smith, another 2022 major winner that is a remarkable 180 marksman, is tempting at 40/1.
But, playing them as each-way selections, this column is displaying some real ambition by recommending Ryan Searle and Jose de Sousa as big-priced candidates for glory. Vital to this pair’s chances is their positioning in the draw.
Searle Can Give 50/1 Backers a Whirl
Searle – 50/1 at BetVictor and positioned in the third draw bracket – finished last season within the world’s top 16 thanks to an appearance in the final of this event. He nearly won the competition too – taking Peter Wright to a decisive final leg.
Ryan Searle took Peter Wright to a decisive final leg in the 2021 Players Championship Finals. ©Taylor Lanning/PDC
His 2022 form may be a little disappointing but his first-round opponent, Mervyn King has failed to qualify for the bulk of major tournaments this season. Searle is 2/5 to win this clash and, in that eventuality, he will play either Jamie Hughes or Stephen Bunting.
It is therefore not difficult to see Searle making the third round. The only ‘big name’ players he could potentially meet before the semi-finals are Rob Cross and Dirk van Duijvenbode. At this point, those 50/1 odds will be a distant memory.
Jose Can Trade Blows to Please 66/1 Supporters
Jose de Sousa – winner of the 2020 Grand Slam of Darts – meets world number 84 Danny Jansen in his opening match. Either William O’Connor or Krzysztof Ratajski will follow. This third bracket does contain the classy Joe Cullen and Luke Humphries, but the Portuguese player has traded blows with them in the past – and won.
A quarterfinalist in this event last year – when he was the number one seed – the unorthodox player should have happy memories of this venue, and he is a standout 66/1 at BetVictor. It is a price that may not last as Ladbrokes and bet365 believe his chances range between 25/1 and 33/1.
