William Hill World Darts Championship betting preview, free tips & analysis

Darts tips, best bets and predictions for the PDC William Hill World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.

Where to watch

Live daily on Sky Sports Arena starting at 7pm Friday

Best bets

Michael Smith to win title
2pts each-way 22-1 Betfred, Hills
Back this tip with William Hill

Chris Dobey to win fourth quarter
0.5pt 14-1 Betfair, Paddy Power
Bet on this tip with Paddy Power

Luke Humphries to win third quarter
0.5pt 33-1 general
Click to back this tip with Coral

Michael Smith most 180s
1pt 9-1 Betfred, Hills
Click to bet on this tip with Hills

Over 4.5 170 checkouts
1pt 6-4 bet365
Bet on this tip with bet365

Preview

It’s the Michael van Gerwen–Gerwyn Price Show playing at Alexandra Palace over the holiday season with Mighty Mike and the Iceman tipped to be topping the bill come William Hill World Championship finals night on New Year’s Day.

The bookmakers are struggling to see past defending champion Van Gerwen successfully retaining his crown but if there is to be a genuine challenge to the world number one, the odds suggest it’s coming from Price.

And punters seem to agree having backed the Welshman in to 11-2 second favourite to rule the planet.

He was a 16-1 chance only one month ago before triumphing at the Grand Slam where he picked up a cheque for £125,000 and the unofficial title of ‘The Only Man Who Can Stop MvG at Ally Pally’ over the next three weeks.

It is 16-1 bar those two and certainly the claims of some of the other obvious suspects – former champs Rob Cross and Gary Anderson particularly – aren’t exactly compelling.

But are the big two so far clear of the field that we should be mulling over a Van Gerwen-Price dual forecast bet at 4-1?

Clearly the Dutchman is irresistible, in fact unstoppable, when in the mood, has a peachy draw and has hit sparkling form at the opportune moment after an indifferent year.

Price, too, looks to have a great run to the last eight, however, the second best player in the world has a grim record at the Palace – won only two matches in five previous visits – and confesses to being no lover of short-sprint set play.

There’s also the nagging question of whether the crowd will turn on him at some point, although that does appear to be less of an issue at the moment.

Best bet
Michael Smith 22-1

Twelve months ago everything went Michael Smith’s way and he duly reached the final.

He was seeded to meet Mensur Suljovic, Rob Cross and Peter Wright in that order and courtesy of their shortcomings he missed out on the lot of them.

It was a gift and Bully Boy took full advantage. He came up short against Michael van Gerwen in the final but Smith had arrived.

Again he’s had a dash of good fortune this time round with a draw which seems to give the fourth seed a free run to the quarter-finals and if you let a player like Smith get into his stride he becomes explosive.

Smith's form this year has been patchy. There were no fireworks early on but things began to click after reaching the Betfred World Matchplay final and he’s had a strong autumn with two semis and a quarter-final appearance.

It’s all about self-doubt with Smith. He is supremely talented with an action to die for and just needs to believe in himself more and start carrying himself on stage like the champion he could well be in a couple of weeks.

Quarter masters
C Dobey 14-1
L Humphries 33-1

We have had surprise semi-finalists in each of the last two years – Jamie Lewis was a stonking 100-1 to win his quarter two years ago while Nathan Aspinall delivered at 66-1 for his quarter backers 12 months ago.

It’s the top-class stayers who tend to get the trip at the Palace but an outsider or two can get into the frame and a couple are worthy of consideration.

First, Chris Dobey. Hardly an outsider these days having finally started to turn potential into results.

Hollywood finds himself in a competitive fourth quarter but after making the semis at the Grand Prix and the Players Championship Finals, he has now arrived and will fear no one.

At a bigger price comes recently-crowned world youth champ Luke Humphries.

Purists could watch super-silky Humphries chuck tungsten all day long, or at least until December 30 which is when the semis are.

Cool Hand made the last eight last year which earned him a guest’s spot in the Premier League, and despite having a dog of an opener against Devon Petersen, he can have another big run.

Best of the rest
M Smith most 180s 9-1
Over 4.5 170 finishes 6-4

With Smith tipped to go the distance and given his prodigious maximum hitting, the 9-1 that he hits the most tournament 180s looks good.

He finished 13 ahead of Gary Anderson in this category last year and 18 clear of Van Gerwen.

Anderson looks far less of a threat in this market – or any other – because he seems demotivated, under-practised and desperately inconsistent. A legend of the game whose best days are very definitely behind him.

Over 4.5 170 checkouts was chalked up at 10-11 last year and those of us (me included) who thought the increase in games – up from 71 to 95 – would see an increase in the big fish were mistaken. We wound up with just three; there had been six a year earlier.

Not to be dissuaded, the 6-4 we hit the five mark this time is well worth getting stuck into.

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