Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals: Tournament preview and odds
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Final preparations for the World Darts Championship begin on Friday with the start of the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals from Minehead.
A field of 64 players will battle it out in Somerset in an attempt to land the £100,000 first prize and dethrone four-time reigning champion Michael van Gerwen.
Can anyone topple the Green Machine in the South West? We’ve got all the key odds and markets ahead of the three-day tournament.
Tournament Odds
There are two schools of thought here. Either MVG turns up and demolishes the field for a fourth straight year. Or it’s a seventh major in eight where van Gerwen walks away empty handed.
Our traders aren’t taking any chances either way. The Green Machine hasn’t lost here since 2014 and has been marked out as the one to beat at 11/10.
Gary Anderson comes next at 7/2. The World Matchplay champion is the form player this term and will be eager to put things right after last week’s surprise Grand Slam Final defeat.
Fellow Scotsman Peter Wright is 8/1, with recent back-to-back World Series and European Championship winner James Wade at 14/1.
Daryl Gurney and Rob Cross are both capable of big runs at 25/1 apiece. While Michael Smith is available at the same price after a breakthrough season in the PDC.
Last weekend’s Grand Slam winner, Gerwyn Price, is 33/1 to follow up with a second tournament win in as many weeks.
To Reach the Final odds
Previous Players Championship Finals suggests there could be some value to be found in the each-way market, or by backing a surprise name to have a deep run in the tournament.
Kevin Painter, Mark Webster, Jonny Clayton and Paul Nicholson have all reached the final in the last decade – with the latter tasting tournament success in 2010.
That brings us nicely to Dimitri Van den Bergh, who is 66/1 to win the whole thing or 33/1 to Reach the Final. The Dutchman will have to negotiate his way through the difficult side of the draw.
Joe Cullen and Simon Whitlock are available at the same price, with Jonny Clayton a 50/1 shot to make it to the final for the second year in a row after a promising showing in Wolverhampton.
Dutch duo Jelle Klaasen and Benito van de Pas both have the talent to make inroads providing they can add the much-needed consistency their respective games require.
Max Hopp is a 66/1 chance to go one better than his European Championship performance earlier this month and make the final.
Quarter odds
Wade (11/4), Wright (7/4), Anderson (even-money) and van Gerwen (4/11) are the four favourites to win their respective quarters across the weekend.
Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 appear the most open without the presence of the latter two favourites, both of whom are located in the bottom-half of the draw.
We make Gurney a 4/1 shot to win Quarter 1, with the in-form Price an 11/2 shot to usurp Wright. Krzysztof Ratajski and Hopp are priced at 14/1 and 16/1 apiece in Quarter 2.
Click here for our latest Players Championship Finals odds.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
