Bahrain Darts Masters 2023: Free darts betting tips and preview for the ITV4-televised event
Fresh from tipping Michael Smith to win the World Championship at 8/1 - as well as a nine-darter in the final at 12/1 - Chris Hammer returns to preview the ITV4-televised Bahrain Darts Masters.
Darts betting tips: Bahrain Darts Masters
0.5pts Dimitri van den Bergh to win the Bahrain Darts Masters at 10/1 (General)
0.5pts Rob Cross to win the Bahrain Darts Masters at 10/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair)
Apart from the rigours of Q School this week, January is meant to be a month of rest and recuperation for darts players and fans alike following all the excitement of the World Championship.
The sport doesn't traditionally hit our screens again until the season-opening Masters but this year it's different, with a World Series double header in Bahrain and Copenhagen over the next fortnight.
First up we have the inaugural Bahrain Darts Masters, where eight PDC stars take on eight Asian representatives on Thursday before the winners battle it out for the title on Friday.
You'd have to expect Michael Smith, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Luke Humphries, Raymond van Barneveld, Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton will all progress to the quarter-finals - but where does the value lie from there?
Firstly, here's the draw bracket:
- (1) Michael Smith v Abdulnasser Yusuf
- Dimitri Van den Bergh v Alain Abiabi
- (4) Luke Humphries v Man Lok Leung
- Raymond van Barneveld v Yuki Yamada
- (2) Peter Wright v Toru Suzuki
- Rob Cross v Nitin Kumar
- (3) Gerwyn Price v Paul Lim
- Jonny Clayton v Basem Mahmood
Title odds: Michael Smith 5/2, Gerwyn Price 4/1, Luke Humphries 7/1, Peter Wright 7/1, Jonny Clayton 15/2, Dimitri Van den Bergh 10/1, Rob Cross 10/1, Raymond van Barneveld 20/1
This will be Bully Boy's first outing since his legendary nine-dart finish that shot him to global sporting stardom and I doubt he's come back down to earth yet.
Although it won him 'just' one leg of an enthralling final that he went on to win so impressively, it's the moment that will define his career no matter what other heights he reaches during the rest of it. I still can't fathom how this most perfect of perfect legs happened in the biggest match of all, when the global TV audience was at its optimum.
One minute he's one of the most famous darts players in the world of darts, the next minute he becomes one of the most famous sportsmen in the world of sport.
He said: "I had Toni Kroos messaging me saying: ‘Well done, can you answer a few questions for my podcast?’ Toni Kroos is probably one of the best midfielders in football history. He’s won the World Cup and I don’t know how many Champions League titles. I was just star-struck.
"The people I’ve looked up to and have followed on social media are now following me back, and sending messages congratulating me. I still don’t quite realise what I’ve done, but it’s starting to sink in now.”
Smith has spent most of his time since lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy doing interviews and watching the nine-dart finish. And ahead of this next event, he said: "I have barely thrown a dart since the double eight went in, so I might be a bit rusty, but after a couple of hours on the board, it will soon come back. I'm looking forward to it. There's only one thing on my mind, and that is to win."
After I'd tipped him to win his first major at the Grand Slam of Darts in November, I backed him again the following week at the Players Championship Finals with the rationale that he was on a high and the floodgates could be about to open for him.
He crashed out in the opening round and subsequently admitted he'd been in a daze all week after breaking his duck.
I stuck with him again for the Worlds after he'd had plenty more time to prepare but maybe this event is coming too soon for him after the unmatchable highs at the Ally Pally and all the attention thereafter.
The player who could catch him cold in his half is DIMITRI VAN DEN BERGH, who has a point to prove after a desperately disappointing World Championship semi-final defeat to Michael van Gerwen.
The Belgian, who only won four legs in a 6-0 thrashing, was enjoying a superb run until that point and prior to the semi-finals his tournament average of 95.12 was fractionally lower than Smith's 95.97.
His title odds of 10/1 are perhaps an over reaction to one result against a player who averaged 108 in a formidable display and he certainly has the game to beat a distracted Smith over a short format of best-of-11 legs.
The winner will face either Luke Humphries or Raymond van Barneveld and although most will expect that to be Cool Hand, his recent illness prevented him reaching his usual standards in any of his matches at the World Championship. Even if that's cleared up, he'll be short of confidence and Barney could catch him cold on his return to the World Series.
In the bottom half of the draw, Gerwyn Price may need his ear-defenders to see off Paul Lim in the opening round but then he'll come up against Jonny Clayton, who isn't yet assured of a Premier League spot and will want a good showing in Bahrain and Copenhagen to give his chances a late boost.
Neither played to a sparklingly high standard during their Ally Pally runs to the quarter-finals although Clayton's average of 95.66 was slightly higher than Price's 93.98 and produced a couple of high 90s efforts.
Nevertheless it's a very tough one to call and whoever progresses will face either Peter Wright or ROB CROSS.
It seems an age since Snakebite lost 4-1 to Kim Huybrechts with an average of just 91 in the third round of the World Championship and he'll need to have put in plenty of work on the practice board since then if he's to start the new season with a bang.
Cross, by contrast, was far more impressive from a performance point of view even though he ventured only one round further before his 4-2 defeat to Chris Dobey. He averaged around 100 in all three of his matches, landed 19 maximums (0.30 per leg) and pinned over 44% of his doubles.
It was great to see Voltage playing to such an electrifying standard on the big stage and followed on from the fine form he produced at the Players Championship Finals, where he finished runner-up to Michael van Gerwen.
He's definitely the one to watch in the bottom half of the draw.
Posted at 2300 GMT on 11/01/23
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