Advertorial: We’re of course some way off the World Darts Championship at present, but it’s fair to say that darts fever is still going strong and many fans are already looking to what could be a thrilling Christmas time once again.
Despite nine months to go, the bookies are already offering odds on the tournament, and the entire year, from the Premier League to the many other tournaments are all building up to that £2.5million prize pot.
Last year, it was a certain teenager that stole the headlines, and he’s been playing well since, most recently knocked out of the UK Open in the Quarter Finals. But can he go one step further at Ally Pally this year?
It really is a lottery who could win it this year. In fact, less of a dartboard, it’s more a roulette wheel given the number of players that could win it, and, a bit like a Dutch casino, it’s a ‘van’ name with one of the best chances of winning the jackpot according to the bookies. But who else is in with a chance?
We take an early look at the odds…
Plenty of money has already been pumped on Luke Littler, which has taken him to outright favourite at 7/2. It would be a huge achievement for the teenager to back up an unbelievable achievement in the last championships with a win at Ally Pally, but the entire country will be cheering him on to do so.
He’s the favourite, but perhaps that’s a little generous given what will be a long and chaotic year for him.
34-year-old Michael van Gerwen is second best placed according to the bookmakers at present. He’s at 9/2 with most, after a relatively good year for the Dutchman. While he has suffered early exits from the World Matchplay and Grand Prix, he’s enjoyed victories in the Premier League and World Series of Darts.
He reached the final of the World Championship in 2023, but fell short to Michael Smith, and will be keen to win his first at Ally Pally since 2019.
Luke Humphries almost became public enemy number one at the beginning of the world as he ended the fairytale for Littler to become PDC World Champion. That said, it was a dream come true for him too. He’s the world champion and recently reached the UK Open Final in Minehead.
He’s priced at 11/2 to win back-to-back, which would be for the first time since Gary Anderson in 2016.
Gerywn Price picked up the win in the competition back in 2021 and enjoyed a World Cup win with Wales last year. He reached only the Third Round in 2024, so will be keen to remedy that and reach the latter stages come the end of the year.
He’s priced at 11/1 and is not a bad outside bet at this stage of the year.
Michael Smith was knocked out by Chris Dobey in last year’s competition but he does know how to win it having done so in 2023, as well as reaching the final a year previous.
Another good outside bet at 12/1, we’ll be keeping our eyes on him and backing the Brit should he start reaching the latter stages of tournaments across the year.