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One World Championship down, one more to go, this time we head to Frimley Green and the lakeside for the BDO’s World Championship. While Michael van Gerwen gets to take home the Sid Waddell trophy, 40 men will be competing to win the 2014 BDO World Championship. While you might not bee as excited as you were for the PDC World Championship, it’s another great week of darts with some of the game’s top players on show.
This is the World Championship and the World Championship venue that is steeped in history, with the roll call of winners including Eric Bristow, Jockey Wilson, Raymond van Barneveld and the one, the only Phil Taylor. This year it’s all being screened on the BBC or on the BBC website, so if you’re in the UK, your coverage is sorted, although you will have to go hunting on the BBC website, or on the Red Button coverage when it’s not on the main channels.
For the BDO 2014 World Championship, I’ll be running the Premium Darts Betting Picks service, so if you’d like to sign up, it’ll cost you less than a decent bottle of rum, and you can sign up below.
Darts Betting Tips Premium Picks.
In this preview, I’ll take a look at the main contenders for the BDO World Championship.
Scott Waites
The defending BDO World Champion is a general 3/1 shot to retain his title, and he’s not had a bad year, recently winning the Czech Open in November. Apart from that, he’s had a decent season, although he didn’t get out of his group at Zuideruin. There’s no denying his ability, he’s been one of the most consistent players in the BDO for a few years now, and the hard work finally paid off last year when he beat Tony O’Shea in the final. Can he do it again? I have my doubts, and I don’t think the 3/1 is any value at all, especially given his tough draw, with Alan Norris and Glenn Durrant his potential first two matches, and Christian Kist or James Wilson likely to be his quarter-final opponent should he get that far. That’s one of the downsides to the BDO rankings system, as the World Champion is the No.7 seed – the tough draw.
Stephen Bunting
what can I say about Stephen Bunting? He’s the man of the moment in the world of darts. He’s the No.1 seed, he’s the Masters Champion, Zuideruin runner-up, World Cup runner-up, World Pairs champion, England Matchplay champion, England Open champion, Welsh Open champion, and German Open runner-up. And then he’s had a great run in the soft-tip darts world, too, winning two stages of the Dartslive – The World tournament, and having a good run to the quarter-finals of the finals. It’s been the year of The Bullet, and it was summed up with the fact he didn’t lost a set at the World Masters. He whitewashed every opponent, and now he’s got his sights set on the ultimate end to the season – the BDO World Championship. At 9/4, I think he looks fair value – he’s got a plum draw, with no real dangers until the semi-finals. Of course, funny things can happen at the World Championship, but I can see at least the semi-finals for THe Bullet, and he’s certainly my favourite for the title.
James Wilson
The No.2 seed has been on my radar all year, and he’s now 11/1 third favourite for the title, after winning in Zuideruin. He lost in the World Masters final to Stephen Bunting, and to Garry Thompson in the British Open final, Glen Durrant in the England Classic, Martin Adams in the Belgium Open, Paul Hogan in the Gold Cup and Scott Waites in the Dutch Open, but he’s also won the Welsh Open to add to his recent Dutch success, so he’s been one of the most consistent players this year. The consistency is what’s impressed me this year, and every final he’s played, he’s put a good showing in, too. That being said, he’s got a horrible draw, with Christian Kist potentially waiting in the first round, and Waites/Norris/Durrant in the quarter-final if he can get that far. It’s the kind of draw that makes 11/1 seem about right. He’s got a definite chance, but his inability to finish tournaments off is a bit of a concern along with the terrible draw.
Tony O’Shea
Last year’s runner-up hasn’t had a bad end to 2013, after a shockingly slow start. He struggled to get a decent run together in a tournament until July, where he made the semi-finals of the England Masters, followed up in August with a semi-final of the Belgium Open, before winning the Romanian Open that same month, beating Ron Meulenkamp in the final. He kept up the consistency for the rest of the year, and reached the quarter-finals in Zuideruin. For me, the 14/1 available is pretty good value, considering he’s in what I perceive to be the weakest quarter of the draw. If the results go well in other quarters, he might even end up with a nice path to the final, and he’s not going to be 14/1 to beat anyone in this field in the final. He’s good each-way value, for me.
Robbie Green
Last but not least, the forgotten man of the field. Komg hasn’t had a super-successful year, but he’s still managed to get the No.4 seed for this year’s tournament, mainly on the back of his semi-final run at the World Masters. He’s not had a magnificent year, but I like the look of his draw. He’s got Richie George in the first round, and George shouldn’t pose too much of a threat. Darryl Fitton and Wesley Harms look the threats in his quarter, but only one of them could be in his way come the quarter-finals. Kong is around the 22/1 mark, and he looks capable of putting a run to the semi-finals together, at the very least, and again he’s capable of beating anyone on their day. Purely based on his draw, he’s definite value for me.
And remember, I’ll be running the Premier Picks service for the BDO 2014 World Championship, and I’ll be casting my eye over every match and trying to sniff out every angle. If you’d like to sign up for them for the cheap as chips price of £10, you can sign up below.
Darts Betting Tips Premium Picks.
