The highlight of the annual darts calendar is almost here as the PDC World Championship returns to Alexandra Palace this December.
With Covid restrictions in place, Ally Pally is set to be a lot less rowdy than usual this year, but the sport received a much-needed boost earlier this month with the news that fans will be allowed back into the legendary venue in time for the start of this year’s tournament.
Up to 1,000 fans will be allowed to attend each daily session, although sadly the fancy dress costumes will have to wait another 12 months.
It’ll be left to the world’s best players to make all the noise this festive season, and as luck would have it, this tournament looks even more open than usual.
Here are our 2021 PDC World Darts betting predictions…
PDC Darts Betting Odds – The Main Contenders
The PDC World Darts Championship hasn’t always played to the script in recent times, with the title changing hands every year since 2016. In fact, since Phil Taylor notched the last of his 14 titles in 2013, only Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson have managed to win the most coveted prize in the sport more than once.
Scotsman Peter Wright finally ended his Ally Pally hoodoo at the 11th time of asking back on New Year’s Day as he clinched his first world title with an impressive 7-3 win over pre-tournament favourite MVG.
That win came as something of a surprise for the player known as ‘Snakebite’, given this competition has usually been a black mark in an otherwise successful career, with a solitary 2017 semi-final finish his previous best effort. Wright is 61/10 to become the first player since Gary Anderson in 2016 to defend his title.
Last year’s beaten finalist Michael van Gerwen (49/20) suffered a frustrating start to 2020. The Dutchman ceded his 2019 world crown to Wright in that 1st January final, before suffering a chastening first-round exit at the 2020 Masters in February, a defeat that ended a five-year unbroken run in that tournament.
He’s come roaring back since then, however, scooping the UK Open and Players Championship Finals and once again looks the one to beat this winter.
Could the ‘bad boy’ of darts upset the applecart to land his first darts world title?
Welshman Gerwyn Price is 103/20 in the latest PDC world darts betting odds and looks the most likely pretender to the crown after a relentless 2020 campaign.
The 35-year-old’s controversial antics on the circuit mean he’s not always been the most popular of players, but his talent can’t be questioned with the World Grand Prix and World Cup of Darts added to his trophy cabinet in this most unusual of years.
Away from the ‘Big Three’, keep an eye on late bloomer José de Sousa (17/1). The Portuguese player is in the form of his life after winning the Grand Slam of Darts in November but has never advanced past the first round in this tournament.
Don’t judge him too harshly on that front, though. He only qualified for his first crack at this tournament two years ago in his mid-forties. A continuation of a late career sporting fairy tale would be a real feelgood story heading into 2021.
Finally, can the bridesmaid finally become the bride?
Michael Smith (59/4) looks long overdue a major career title, but so far it’s been a career of agonising near-misses at the sharp end of big tournaments for ‘Bully Boy’.
A losing finalist in this tournament, the Premier League, World Matchplay and Masters, Smith looks to be edging ever closer to that big breakthrough.
At 30, he has time on his side to put a stop to that frustrating track record.
However, will Smith suffer another case of ‘what might have been?’ at Ally Pally?
The action all gets underway from Alexandra Palace on 15h December, with defending champion Peter Wright opening his account in the first session of play.
We’ll be providing daily PDC World Darts betting tips throughout this year’s tournament.
In the meantime, check the Marathonbet Sportsbook for the latest darts outrights odds.
2021 PDC World Darts Championship Betting Outrights
MVG tops the early betting, but there are several interesting leftfield contenders who could upset the odds at this year’s World Darts Championship. Here’s what the current betting is saying…
- Michael van Gerwen – 49/20
- Gerwyn Price – 103/20
- Peter Wright – 61/10
- Michael Smith – 59/4
- Jose Antonio Oliveira De Sousa – 17/1
- Dimitri van den Bergh – 20/1
- Nathan Aspinall – 21/1
- Devon Petersen – 28/1
- Gary Anderson – 29/1
- Glen Durrant – 30/1
- James Wade – 32/1
Odds correct at time of writing but may be subject to change.
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