Fancy a flutter on the darts? Well, here are five bets that could make you a few quid from the top-class action in Dublin next week.
A bit like golf back in the pre-fire-hydrant-crash-sex-scandal Tiger Woods days (or PFHCSSTW days as nobody calls it) betting on darts is skewed by one man; Phil Taylor.
His odds are so short that everybody else’s is inflated to compensate. It does mean, though, that if anyone else bar The Power wins, you’re quids in. Of course, Phil usually wins, and he has won the Grand Prix 10 times in his career. But we laugh in the face of such ‘facts’ here at JOE Towers so here’s five bets that could net you a tasty return come Sunday night, without a punt on The Power in sight.
A nine-dart finish, 6/1
We love this bet as it makes every game exciting to watch and we know it can happen. Our own Brendan Dolan did it last year in his semi-final with James Wade and we think it will happen again. Yes the ‘start on a double’ format of the Grand Prix ups the degree of difficulty but with a super strong field assembled in Dublin next week, we reckon this price is very generous.
James Wade to win, 10/1
The Machine has a number of things going for him entering this week’s event. Number one is the fact he is in the opposite side of the draw to Phil Taylor. His path to the final is not easy, with the likes of Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis in his half but the third seed has won the Grand Prix twice before so he has the best previous form over course and distance bar Taylor.
Simon Whitlock to win, 12/1
But if you don’t fancy Wade then perhaps Simon Whitlock should carry your precious money. The Aussie is the form man coming into Dublin, as he just bagged the European Championships in Germany last week. It might be a sign that his superb 2010 form, which carried him to World final and a World Matchplay semi-final, might be back. If it is, the Wizard will be hard to stop. Has a decent draw too but Taylor will probably be waiting for him in the semi-final so be warned.
Willie O’Connor to beat Vincent van der Voort, 13/8
The Limerick man is the underdog in this one but with a raucous Citywest crowd behind him, we think he can overcome the odds and beat the Dutchman.
Brendan Dolan to beat Gary Anderson, 7/4
The home crowd could be a factor in this one too but perhaps more importantly the fourth seed Anderson has had a torrid year. Poor form, injury and a short ban for ‘bringing the game into disrepute’ mean that the Flying Scotsman may be vulnerable. For Brendan’s sake, and our wallets, we hope so.
The World Grand Prix runs at Citywest from October 8-14. We have VIP packages to the event to give away courtesy of McCoy’s so click here for your chance to win.
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