German Darts Masters: MVG favourite, but could Cross spring a shock?
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Michael van Gerwen is the odds-on favourite to follow up his Premier League success with victory in the 2018 German Masters on Friday.
The Green Machine blitzed Michael Smith 11-4 with a 112.37 average at the O2 Arena last week to reaffirm his status as the world number one.
MVG claimed three of the eight World Series events in 2017. He withdrew from last year’s German Masters in Dusseldorf due to a foot injury.
He returns this year with renewed vigour and is the 4/6 favourite to come out on top in Gelsenkirchen.
Once again it’s Rob Cross who will provide the Dutchman’s main opposition.
Voltage was well below his best against his rival in the Premier League semi-finals last week but could get his revenge in the final on Friday vening, if results go to plan.
Cross has arguably the kinder draw of the pair and is 9/2 to land a first World Series crown.
Gary Anderson follows next at 5/1. He should fare better than Scottish counterpart Peter Wright (8/1), who endured a nightmare run in the Premier League.
Snakebite has not been at his best since before the 2018 World Championship and will need to pull it out of the bag to advance beyond the semi-final stage here.
Raymond van Barneveld (16/1) and Mensur Suljovic (20/1) both failed to win a World Series event in 2017 and can probably be discounted over the shorter format.
Of the pair, it’s the Austrian who has the kinder draw, although a run to the final would still see him face Cross and potentially Wright.
That leaves us with the two outsiders of the eight PDC representatives invited to participate in the German Darts spectacular.
Jamie Lewis (80/1) enjoyed a remarkable run to the semi-final of the World Championship earlier this year. However, he’s failed to impress on the circuit since and could be ripe for a shock against Nico Kurz.
So what about Dimitri Van den Bergh at 100/1? Well, he’s one we really like.
The Belgian had match darts to beat eventual champion Cross at the Alexandra Palace in December but failed to take them, eventually falling to a 5-4 quarter-final defeat.
He also performed brilliantly to reach the quarter-final of the Ladbrokes World Series of Darts Finals in Glasgow a month earlier.
It hasn’t quite gone to plan for Dancing Dimitri since – and a tough draw doesn’t help his chances here. But he has the potential to do some serious damage and provides good each-way value.
All Odds and Markets correct as of publication
