Well, what a few weeks we’ve had. We ended up in profit with out free darts betting tips, which is always a nice feeling, especially after the tough final few days of the tournament. Still, Simon Whitlock and Phil Taylor succeeded in their salvage operation to get us in front of the bookies by the time the last dart was thrown.

Phil Taylor retained the PDC World Championship in spectacular fashion, beating Simon Whitlock 7-3 in an entertaining final. Martin “Wolfie” Adams then won the BDO World Championship, beating Dave Chisnall 7-5 in one of the most entertaining finals in years. While both finals were entertaining, we have to say that the BDO served up more drama than the PDC, even if the PDC produced higher averages. It might not always be about the averages, as long as there’s drama there, we’re happy.

To retain his title, Phil Taylor is currently 1/2 with Stan James. Raymond Van Barneveld and James Wade are next at 12/1, with Gary Anderson and Simon Whitlock at 14/1.

Ladbrokes can’t match the prices on those at the head of the market, except they go 16/1 Simon Whitlock.

Blue Square aren’t any better, really, but they do go 20/1 Adrian Lewis.

There are no markets up for the BDO yet, but once they are, we’ll report on them.

The next tournament up for the PDC is the Players’ Championship at the Circus Tavern between the 28th and the 31st of December. The top 32 earners from the Players Championship Order of Merit compete, so if you’ve done well in the floor tournaments in 2009, you get an invite. So, due to the fact he plays very few floor tournaments, Raymond Van Barneveld won’t be competing. The seedings here are completely out of whack with what you’d expect, but Phil Taylor still sits on top after his great 2009. Again, Taylor looks favourite to win, as he has a relatively easy passage to at least the semi-finals, where he could meet Gary Anderson, provided Anderson finds some kind of form. Unfortunately, the major bookies have let themselves down by not pricing up the event yet, but again, we’ll report back once we get some prices.

Now, the Premier League starts next month at the O2 Arena in London on February 11th. Phil Taylor is a hot favourite to win back the title he lost to James Wade last year. “The Power” is 1/3 with Stan James to claim back the title. James Wade is 2nd favourite at 15/2, Barneveld is 11/1, Mervyn King is 14/1, Adrian Lewis is 16/1, while Premier League debutant Simon Whitlock is 18/1. Terry Jenkins and Ronnie Baxter round off the betting at 20/1 and 66/1 respectively.
Other books have still to price this up, but the value might lie in Simon Whitlock e/w at 18/1, so grab that at Stan James wile you can. The tournament favours quick starters and with his power scoring and high checkouts, added to the fact he’s now based in the UK, Whitlock could be there comes finals night.

So, that’s the new rounded up, now that Whitlock and Lewis have been confirmed as the wildcards for the Premier League.

We’ll have more news as and when it happens and our tipping will resume for the Players Championship and the Premier League.

Happy betting!

Good afternoon and I hope you’ve all calmed down from an amazing night of darts last night. Whitlock and Barney put on a darts masterclass and it easily lived up to Whitlock’s last match against Wade. Taylor bored us to tears with a 6-0 win. Not his fault, but you would complain if thge PDC paid him £100,000 not to turn up. Now, we have one last night of darts ahead of us, so without further ado, let’s get to the matches.

Ray Barneveld v Mark Webster:

Webster Tourney:
Legs Played: 113
180’s: 12
HC: 136
Highest Ave: 98.54

3rd place play off has been re-introduced as an appertif for the final and it might prove to be an interesting match. Barney produced his best performance in 12 months on TV, but just missed crucial doubles in the final set when it really mattered. He might be encouraged by it, but is the desire there for effectively a game that means nothing? Webster, on the other hand, may have been hammered by Taylor, but he’s not the first that’s happened to and won’t be the last either. This is a big game for him though as the 20k extra for finishing 3rd is the difference between a top 32 spot for next year or being 33rd ( I think he is provisionally 29th if he makes 60k). However, we think Barney might have a bit too much for him and the prices are about right.

Recommendation: No bet.

Phil Taylor v Simon Whitlock:

Whitlock Tournament:
Legs Played: 132
180’s: 47
HC: 170
Highest Ave: 105.37

Final match of the tournament which sees the master take on a very hungry opponent. Taylor has systematically destroyed so many good players over the years and the worry here is that Whitlock could be another one. Phil has been in magnificent form again all week and his last 2 matches show he is bang on form. The question is how will he react if pushed? We think personally he will just raise his game further, but that’s obviously subjective. Whitlock has had a great run and win or lose this week will change his life forever. Hopefully he now relaxes as he is there and sees this as an opportunity to make history. He does have the game to compete as shown in the QF match but if he scores as he did vs Barney in the SF, then we do fear for him. We think Taylor will win this 7-2 or 7-3, but the bet of the match has to be a check over 136. Both of them are more than capable of this and as long as the match goes about 30 legs+ then we would be very confident that this will oblige.

Highest checkout over 138.5 in the Taylor Vs Whitlock match: 5/6 @ Blue Square.

Recommendation: 3 units @ 5/6

Summary: Final day of a really good tournament and hopefully it gets the final it deserves. If it is 7-0, though, with a winning bet, we’re sure we can all live with that.

Thanks for joining us for our tips during the world championships and we hope you come back for the upcoming tournaments in the darting calendar.

Happy betting!

Bets made: 25
Winners: 12
Profit: -2.44 units.

The tournament is now coming to a conclusion and as always we feel it’s harder to find worthwhile bets as it goes along towards the final. Yesterday afternoon probably provided one of the finest games we’ve ever witnessed, so we’re hopeful that one or both can come close to that tonight.

Phil Taylor v Mark Webster:

Webster Tournament:
R1 – Mark Walsh 3-2 90.75 2 maxes
R2 – Peter Manley 4-2 89.52 0 maxes
R3 – Kirk Shepherd 4-1 97.41 4 maxes
11 180’s (91 legs) – 1/8.27 legs

First game of the evening sees a clash between the greatest player there’s ever likely to be and the former BDO champ. We thought Taylor was sensational last night versus Lewis as he knew he had to up his game and he did it in spectacular fashion. At one point he won 11 straight legs going out in 11 and 12 darts as a matter of course. If he plays like that again then who can stop him? We think this has been a great week for Webster as he has got progressively more comfortable on stage and is finally showing the form that won him a BDO title. It also will give him a big boost in the rankings which can only aid his development. To compete here he has to add about 5 points to his average though and check out at 50% and the problem is doing that while Taylor stands behind you. We personally can only see a comfy Taylor victory but the h’cap of -4.5 at odds on doesnt do much for us. As such, we will sit back and probably witness another masterclass.

Recommendation: No Bet

Ray Barneveld v Simon Whitlock:

Whitlock Tournament:
R1 – Colin Osborne 3-1 101.02 6 maxes
R2 – Wayne Jones 4-0 99.24 5 maxes
R3 – Terry Jenkins 4-2 100.6 8 maxes
34 180’s (85 legs) – 1/2.5 legs

Second match of the evening sees the stuttering Barneveld take on the big aussie Whitlock in what could prove to be a pivotal match in both players’ careers. Barney has got to this stage not playing his best by any means, but he is here and its not his fault if his opponents have all underperformed against him. He just seems to be struggling for consistency as he is hitting nowhere near the same number of maxes and isn’t doubling as well as he can, either. The question here is, can he up it when needed? Whitlock has been magnificent in his march to the semi finals though and it seems a combination of new darts, security in finding a sponsor and binning his wife has led to a massive form surge. He has everything in the respect of scoring heavily, doubling brilliantly and taking out high shots when needed. He performed superbly versus Wade, but he literally broke his opponent’s heart when checking out 170 and 150 back to back and Wade never won another leg from that point on. Thats a mark of real class for us and we think if he plays to his usual form he will win. Prices look a bit skinny to us, though as we was hoping for Evens, so that is a disappointment. However, there is a worthwhile bet if the stats show us anything. On the max bets we had Whitlock about 4/7 or 8/15 given how he hits them and how bad Barney has been on them. A carrot has been tempted, though, by Ladbrokes, as they have him at 4/6 which looks generous, given he is hitting 2 to every 1 of Barney’s this week.

Whitlock to score more 180s than Van Barneveld: 4/6 @ Ladbrokes.

Recommendation: 3 units @ 4/6.

Summary: Really hopeful of 2 high quality matches as the tournament deserves it given the standard that has been produced. Hopefully Whitlock can win the match bet on maxes though and keep us in a nice profit for the week.

Bets made: 24
Winners: 12
Profit: +0.56 units.

Co Stompe v Mark Webster:

R3 -Webster bt Kirk Shepherd 4-1
Ave: 97.41
180’s: 4
HC: 117

Opening match sees a really intriguing match between the former BDO champ and the former BDO journeyman. Stompe has been a revelation again this week and is totally unrecognisable from the player in the BDO. Heavy scoring and good finishing and he will be very hopeful of a spot in the semis. Webby on the other hand has gotten stronger as the week has gone on and this reminds us a lot of the week that he won the Lakeside. It’s very, very close on paper, but we think Stompe might just be the more consistent over the long course, as Webby has seemed to be in and out, but does look incredibly strong, but he’s just slightly too short.

Co Stompe to beat Mark Webster: Evens @ Stan James.

Recommend: 1.5 units @ Evens.

James Wade v Simon Whitlock:

R3 -Whitlock bt Terry Jenkins 4-2
Ave: 100.6
180’s: 8
HC: 120

Second game of the afternoon sees a battle between Wade and Whitlock which could be a lengthy affair. Wade has been far from his best form and this venue doesnt seem to bring out the best in him especially from a 180 perspective. However, he does have the ability to really find a clutch finish when needed and that’s a great quality to have.Whitlock has been sensational all week, though and has consistently finished well and scored heavily when given the chance. The question is will his nerve hold if he has a chance to win probably the biggest match of his career? We can’t pick a winner here and the prices look priced spot on. The only bet we like is a bet on overs on the checkouts again as both are capable. However, having been burned twice before with Whitlock we will be having a small bet this time.

Highest checkout in Wade Vs Whitlock match over 132.5: 10/11 @ Stan James.

Recommend: 1 unit @ 10/11.

Raymond van Barneveld v Ronnie Baxter:

R3 – Baxter bt Colin Lloyd 4-1
Ave: 94.15
180’s: 2
HC: 81

We don’t know how Barney keeps getting away it. He seems unable to scrape over a 95 average on TV these days and just looks a shadow of the player he once was. It seems all his opponents are overawed by his reputation, though, as they are beaten before they even step on stage. Baxter is playing really well again this week and has continued his strong floor form of the last 12 months. He had darts to beat Barney here last year and we think if he stays on a steady average then he will win.

Ronnie Baxter to beat Raymond van Barneveld: 6/4 @ Stan James. 6/4 @ Blue Square. 6/4 @ Ladbrokes.

Recommendation: 1 unit @ 6/4

Phil Taylor v Adrian Lewis:

R3 – Lewis bt Kevin McDine 4-0
Ave: 103.63
180’s: 10
HC: 164

Tie of the round/year/decade/all time if you believe the Sky hyperbole and it should be a corker providing Lewis brings his best. We all know that Taylor is going to average 100+ over a long match and Lewis knows that, too. the question is can he maintain his strong form versus the champ? Between then they have the six highest averages of the tournament to date and if that goes on then this will be an all time classic. We’re happy to sit and hope that it is without a bet as we think if Taylor gets in front early it could be a rout. If not though then we could see a cracker, as Phil likes to say.

Recommendation: No Bet

Summary: 2 main bets on Baxter and Stompe and hopeful of a high check in the Wade match if the gods allow us some luck.

Happy new year and, more importantly, happy betting!

Bets made: 21
Winners: 11
Profit: +2.15 units.