MVG could face competition in Ladbrokes World Series Finals

The Ladbrokes World Series of Darts Finals get underway this weekend, and while Michael van Gerwen will be looking to retain his crown, there’s a whole host of big names entering this tournament in great form ready to challenge the world number one.

Ladbrokes News has assessed the chances of some of the top seeds in the build-up to the weekend, as well as throwing in an outsider worth considering…

Michael van Gerwen – 8/11

Mighty Mike breezed through the European Championships this weekend, demolishing Mensur Suljovic 11-1 in the final, and the x-time PDC world champ couldn’t be heading into this event in better form.

It’s 22 titles and counting for MVG since the turn of the year. No surprise then that he’s odds-on favourite to make it 23 in Glasgow.

Phil Taylor – 6/1

Taylor has enjoyed what many would consider a solid year up to this point, winning the Champions League of Darts, the Sydney Masters and the World Cup of Darts with Adrian Lewis while reaching the Premier League final..

However, the Power is always looking to improve and add to his seemingly endless list of trophies, and the 6/1 on him to win the tournament in truth looks too good to refuse.

Gary Anderson – 7/1

All in all, it’s not been a bad year for the reigning world champion.

Since his success in January, he’s added to his trophy cabinet by winning no less than three World Series events in Auckland, Dubai and Japan, while also reaching the World Grand Prix final in October.

The Flying Scotsman was knocked out of this competition in the last-16 this time last year, and perhaps that’s the reason his odds are so long this time out.

Peter Wright – 20/1

Such is the quality of MVG, there are often some incredibly tempting odds on other players to succeed, and Peter Wright certainly falls under that category.

Snakebite may have only won one tournament this year – that being a Players Championship in Barnsley back in March, but this is an event in which he did remarkably well in last year (losing in the final).

Often dubbed the ‘Nearly Man’, could this be the tournament in which Wright shakes off that tag?

Adrian Lewis – 20/1

Another name worth seriously considering is Adrian Lewis.

The two-time world champ hasn’t had the greatest of years, but similarly to Wright, his odds are simply too good to ignore.

With traders offering ½ the odds on Each Way outright betting for this tournament, there could well be some value in Jackpot reaching the final.

James Wade – 22/1

Wade has been on the cusp of something big for several years now, more recently reaching the semi-finals of the Masters, the Champions League of Darts and the European Championships in 2016.

And perhaps the reason the Machine is priced at 22/1 is because of the first match he’ll play this weekend – against either Benito van de Pas or Michael Smith.

Win that however, and we could be look at odds much shorter.

Dave Chisnall – 28/1

Like Wright, Chisnall has just one tournament win to his name so far this year, that coming in a Players Championship in Barnsley in July.

But while Chizzy may not have had the greatest of years, he’s not ranked in the top 10 in the world for no reason.

He’s certainly proved over the years that he can mix it with the big boys, and this may just be the year he finally does exactly that.

Raymond van Barneveld – 33/1

It’s been a frustrating 10 months for Barney on the PDC circuit, having reached just one final in 24 events.

But, as he proved in his Premier League triumph back in 2014, you can never write the Dutchman off.

After losing in the quarter-finals of the World Series last year, Barney will be keen to progress further this time out.

And our outsider…

Back in October, Ladbrokes News caught up with world number 10 Jelle Klaasen.

The Dutchman has had a fine year up to this point, but his most notable performance came back in January, when he defeated 16-time World Championship winner Phil Taylor 4-3 in a thrilling encounter at Alexandra Palace.

His short-term aim is to break into the top eight in the world so as to feature in the 2017 Premier League.

To do that though, he’ll have to push on in tournaments such as this one.

At 33/1, we think he’s a great shout to potentially go all the way.

Click here for a full list of odds

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing