Paddy Power World Darts Championship: Online Betting Tips

The 31st edition of the PDC’s most prestigious tournament will once again be staged at the iconic London venue, Alexandra Palace. Here at betting.bet, we prepare for nearly three weeks of top-class darts and betting action!

One of the most popular tournaments on the annual festive sports calendar gets underway on Friday as we get ready for the start of the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship. The 31st edition of the PDC’s most prestigious tournament will once again be staged at the iconic London venue, Alexandra Palace and as we prepare for nearly three weeks of top-class darts, here at betting.bet we’ll provide the best free bet offers and outright betting odds from tournament sponsors, Paddy Power.

World Darts Championship History

Following a dispute between the world’s top darts players and the sport’s governing body; the British Darts Organisation (BDO), the breakaway World Darts Council (WDC) was created back in 1993. The World Darts Council would eventually become the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).

In December 1994, the inaugural WDC / PDC World Darts Championship was contested at Circus Tavern in Purfleet. The first ever PDC World Darts Championship was won by 1991 BDO world champion, Dennis Priestly.

Circus Tavern was home to the PDC World Darts Championship from 1994 until 2007 when the event moved to its current home, Alexandra Palace.

Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor is unquestionably the greatest darts player in PDC history and he’s claimed an unprecedented 14 wins at the PDC World Darts Championship.

Here’s a full list of the PDC World Darts Championship’s past winners:

2023 World Darts Championship Recap

Michael Smith won his first world title twelve months ago as he defeated Dutchman, Michael van Gerwen 7-4 in a thrilling final.

The final will be remembered for producing arguably the greatest leg in the history of darts. Smith and van Gerwen had each thrown six perfect darts and stood just three darts away from achieving only the second nine-dart finish in a World Championship final. Van Gerwen failed to hit double 12 on his ninth dart before Smith stepped up and succeeded where MVG had failed.

Peter Wright headed into last year’s tournament as the defending champion and was amongst the bookies’ favourites but he suffered a shock third round defeat to 31st seed, Kim Huybrechts.

Where can I watch the Paddy Power World Darts Championship?

Since its establishment in 1993, the PDC World Darts Championship has been available to view on Sky Sports. Coverage will get underway on Friday 15th December with the final scheduled for Wednesday 3rd January.

Betting Tips

Luke Humphries won his first ever televised ranking event in October as he defeated Gerwyn Price (5-2) to land the BoyleSports World Grand Prix. Humphries then won both the Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship in November.

The 28-year-old is undoubtedly darts’ most in-form player at the moment and he’s also one of the sport’s rising stars but backing him at 3/1 to win outright seems a huge risk. Humphries may be a former PDC World Youth Championship winner but he’s never been beyond the quarter-final of the main event.

Experience and World Championship know-how is not something lacking in the other market leaders. Michael van Gerwen is a three-time world champion and whilst he’s failed to win a single televised ranking event this year he’s going to be there or thereabouts at Ally Pally. Van Gerwen was a losing finalist in the 2023 PDC World Championship as well as this year’s UK Open and Players Championship.

Of the leading contenders, Gerwyn Price is probably the most intriguing selection at 11/2. In 2023, it was the crowd that were eventually Price’s undoing. The Welshman was met with jeers throughout the tournament and he resorted to wearing ear defenders in this subsequent quarter-final loss against Gabriel Clemens. If Gerwyn Price can silence the crowd or at least not let them affect his game, the 2021 champion could be a real dark horse at 11/2.

Each-way Value

In most sports each-way bets tend to pay out at 1/4 or 1/5 of the odds but in darts, backing a player each-way can be far more lucrative. If you back any player each-way and they reach the final, Paddy Power will pay out at 1/2 the odds. Given that the current outright favourite is priced at 3/1 this means that, win or lose, any player backed each-way will turn a profit if they reach the final.

However, we’re looking well down this list for some each-way value. Nathan Aspinall is a two-time World Championship semi-finalist and claimed this year’s World Matchplay title back in July. At 40/1, Aspinall is worth some real consideration. However, our each-way selection is the man that eliminated Nathan Aspinall in last year’s World Darts Championship; Josh Rock.

The 22-year-old rose to prominence last November as he became the first player to hit a televised nine-dart finish in their debut year. The nine-darter was produced in a second round Grand Slam of Darts defeat to Michael van Gerwen. Despite losing 10-8, Rock produced a 103.93 average against MVG which further highlighted the potential of the 2022 PDC Youth World Championship winner. 2024 could prove a year or two too early for the youngster from Northern Ireland but we certainly feel he’s worth a punt at 33/1.

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Looking for something other than darts to bet on this Christmas. Check out our Christmas betting preview.