Players Championship Finals: Free darts betting tips, preview and predictions for the ITV4 major in Coventry
The last major darts tournament before the World Championship takes place on ITV4 this weekend and our tipster Chris Hammer previews the action with his best bets.
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Recommended Bets: Players Championship Finals
- 1pts e.w Michael Smith to win the Players Championship Finals at 16/1 (1/2, 1, 2)
- 0.5pts Daryl Gurney to win the first quarter at 20/1
- 1pt Damon Heta to win second quarter at 11/2
- 1pt Gabriel Clemens to win third quarter at 10/1
- 1pt Jonny Clayton to win fourth quarter at 12/1
Amidst all the carnage of a decimated sporting calendar, darts has almost felt as hectic as ever over the past few months and we're somehow preparing to watch the 10th major televised tournament of 2020.
Excluding the globe-trotting World Series events that all got cancelled, only the Champions League of Darts in the 'major' category fell victim to the pandemic and although the non-televised European Tour circuit was badly affected, the PDC's brilliantly quick-thinking and organisational prowess enabled 15 Players Championships to be staged since the resumption via the Summer, Autumn and Winter series.
That took the tally of floor tournaments in 2020 to 23 compared to last year's 30, which is highly commendable given the circumstances and allowed those in the lower reaches of the rankings to earn a lot more prize money than they may have thought was going to be possible back in March and April.
Now, the top 64 from the final Players Championship Order of Merit go in search of much lumpier pay cheques in the last TV event before the World Championship - where there are still qualification spots and seedings up for grabs.
As far as winning the actual title is concerned, the big three of Michael van Gerwen (4/1), Gerwyn Price (9/2) and Peter Wright (11/2) dominate the betting as usual but if 2020 has taught us anything, it's to expect the unpredictable.
While Price (8), Wright (6) and MVG (4) have collected 18 of the available 36 titles overall this season, including six of the nine televised events, there have been 14 different players winning the others.
Major title winners 2020 season
- The Masters
Peter Wright 11-10 Michael Smith - UK Open Finals
Michael van Gerwen 11-9 Gerwyn Price - World Matchplay
Dimitri Van den Bergh 18-10 Gary Anderson - World Series of Darts Finals
Gerwyn Price 11-9 Rob Cross - World Grand Prix
Gerwyn Price 5-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode - Premier League Darts
Glen Durrant 11-8 Nathan Aspinall - European Championship
Peter Wright 11-4 James Wade - World Cup of Darts
Wales 3-0 England (Price & Clayton v Smith & Cross) - Grand Slam of Darts
Jose De Sousa 16-12 James Wade
The brilliant Jose De Sousa followed in the footsteps of Dimitri Van den Bergh and Glen Durrant in claiming his maiden major title at the Grand Slam of Darts on Tuesday to continue his stunning climb towards the top 10 while Devon Petersen, Damon Heta, Ryan Joyce and Ryan Searle have all picked up their first ranking tournament wins away from the TV cameras.
The sport is as wide open as ever right now and somehow we've got to try and find a winner of what feels like another free for all.
Quarter One
- (1) Peter Wright v (64) Ryan Meikle
- (32) Adrian Lewis v (33) Simon Whitlock
- (16) Ryan Searle v (49) Dimitri Van den Bergh
- (17) Daryl Gurney v (48) Callan Rydz
- (8) Michael Smith v (57) Boris Krcmar
- (25) Gary Anderson v (40) Keegan Brown
- (9) Jose De Sousa v (56) Mike De Decker
- (24) Vincent van der Voort v (41) Derk Telnekes
Sky Bet odds to win quarter: Wright 7/4, De Sousa 7/2, Smith 4/1, Van den Bergh 11/2, Anderson 9/1, Whitlock 16/1, Gurney 18/1, Van der Voort 22/1, Lewis 33/1, Searle 40/1, Brown 125/1, Rydz 125/1, Lennon 20/1, Krcmar 150/1, Meikle 150/1, Telnekes 150/1, De Decker 150/1
Verdict: Michael Smith, but small punt on Daryl Gurney for value
Unsurprisingly this section of the draw is the 7/4 favourite to produce the overall champion and come Sunday night, you'd like to think your representative won't be too much longer than that at the semi-final stage. It speaks volumes that Gary Anderson is a massive 9/1 and world number 11 Daryl Gurney is 18/1!
The latter, who won this title so memorably against Michael van Gerwen two years ago, has been sliding down the rankings during what has been a largely difficult season for him while he missed out on qualification for the Grand Slam of Darts.
However, this year's UK Open semi-finalist did start to show signs of recovery during the Winter Series, where three of his five defeats were by 6-5 scorelines - including a quarter-final against Joe Cullen - and he will at least be recharged and chomping at the bit for a return to major action.
Admittedly Gurney did only average over 100 once during his nine wins in those five tournaments but SuperChin was still trying to rebuild lost confidence emanating from the disastrous Premier League campaign and we know how well he can fight when he has critics to prove wrong. He's made a habit of being a dangerous 'under the radar' player over the years and he hasn't been much lower in that regard in recent times.
All that said, my main fancy to come through this quarter and potentially go on and win his first major title is Michael Smith, who has turned into a bit of a cliff horse for me this season.
Regular readers of my previews will know this is far from the first time I've backed him to end this long wait to land a big one, and I even went in again ahead of last week's Grand Slam of Darts.
Bully Boy, who won back-to-back Players Championship titles during the Winter Series to pick up his first tournament wins of any kind since July 2018, breezed through his group with a 100% record before edging out Rob Cross in a thriller, but he then agonisingly lost 16-14 against the eventual champion Jose De Sousa in the quarter-finals. That was hard to take because he'd have been hot favourite to see off Simon Whitlock and then James Wade.
He spent so much mental energy fighting back from 8-2 down to lead 10-9 that he just couldn't keep the momentum going in the closing stages while his barrage of heavy scoring was let down by his poor finishing.
That said, he's still has plenty to be positive about in light of his recent form and given Gary Anderson's troubles, I'd expect him to end up meeting De Sousa once more for a place in the quarters.
Quarter Two
- (4) Nathan Aspinall v (61) Scott Waites
- (29) Ross Smith v (36) Kim Huybrechts
- (13) Damon Heta v (52) Maik Kuivenhoven
- (20) Stephen Bunting v (45) Ryan Murray
- (5) Krzysztof Ratajski v (60) Karel Sedlacek
- (28) Madars Razma v (37) Chris Dobey
- (12) Danny Noppert v (53) Steve Beaton
- (21) Dave Chisnall v (44) Mervyn King
Sky Bet odds to win quarter: Ratajski 3/1, Aspinall 3/1, Heta 11/2, Chisnall 6/1, Noppert 11/1, Smith 14/1, Dobey 14/1, Bunting 16/1, King 18/1, Huybrechts 20/1, Beaton 33/1, Razma 40/1, Murray 50/1, Waites 66/1, Sedlacek 125/1, Kuivenhoven 150/1
Verdict: Damon Heta
Of all the players in this quarter, I think it's fair to say Damon Heta is trending on the steepest upward curve in terms of momentum, confidence and ranking.
If everyone were performing at the tops of their respective games then obviously he'd be playing catch-up to Nathan Aspinall, Krzysztof Ratajski and Dave Chisnall but right now they're not, and on current form I'd back Heta to beat any of them.
The Australian, who gave us an early explosive look at what he could do when winning the 2019 Brisbane Darts Masters, has been a revelation since earning his PDC Tour Card at the start of the year and has made it quite clear in interviews - which he's backed up with a string of stellar performances on the stage and floor - that he's here to reach the very top and not merely a decent journeyman. After all, he has a good living back home, so why all the travel and sacrifices just to settle for mediocrity?
He's climbed up to 62 on the Order of Merit thanks to earning almost £50,000 despite only appearing in two ranking TV events - the UK Open when he crashed out in round one and last week's Grand Slam of Darts where he ventured to the quarter-finals after overcoming Glen Durrant and Jermaine Wattimena in the group stages before seeing off Devon Petersen in the last 16.
Back in September he won his maiden Players Championship event with victory over Joe Cullen while he almost double that tally at the Winter Series only to lose 8-6 to Gerwyn Price in the final. The next day he beat Aspinall en route to the quarters while he won 16 of his 21 matches across the five days and averaged over 100 on nine occasions - three of them in defeat.
To see him carry that form into the Grand Slam is extremely encouraging and he'll be chomping at the bit to go deep in another major at the same venue.
Quarter Three
- (2) Gerwyn Price v (63) John Henderson
- (31) Ricky Evans v (34) Jamie Hughes
- (15) Jermaine Wattimena v (50) Steve Lennon
- (18) Devon Petersen v (47) Luke Humphries
- (7) Ian White v (58) William Borland
- (26) Gabriel Clemens v (39) Martijn Kleermaker
- (10) Joe Cullen v (55) Adam Hunt
- (23) Rob Cross v (42) Jason Lowe
Sky Bet odds to win quarter: Price 11/10, Petersen 9/2, Cullen 9/1, White 9/1, Cross 9/1, Clemens 10/1, Wattimena 22/1, Humphries 22/1, Evans 28/1, Hughes 28/1, Lowe 33/1, Kleermaker 50/1, Hunt 66/1, Borland 100/1, Henderson 125/1, Lennon 125/1
Verdict: Price probably, but Gabriel Clemens for value
Gerwyn Price is a very worthy favourite for obvious reasons, although I think it's worth looking at other options considering he went off the boil during the Grand Slam of Darts and is perhaps in need of a rest before attempting to realise his World Championship dreams.
After winning the World Cup in supreme fashion alongside Jonny Clayton, the Welshman picked up his fourth Players Championship title of 2020 at the Winter Series, which took his overall tally to eight, while he's also been runner-up in four other events.
However, he averaged under 90 in his first two group wins at the Grand Slam - 5-4 v Mikuru Suzuki and 5-3 v Jonny Clayton - and while he upped it dramatically to 106 to beat Ryan Joyce 5-4, he slumped down to 91 in a 10-8 defeat to Nathan Aspinall.
Performances like that in the opening two rounds when the format is best of 11 could put him in a bit of bother, and then he may come up against the revived Devon Petersen in the third.
Therefore, have a look at Gabriel Clemens in the bottom half of this section at a tempting 10/1.
The German, who has shown flashes of brilliance during a season which promised much more, looked as though he may just get his maiden PDC title during the Winter Series when he averaged 112.4, 105.9, 108.5 and 112 in four successive victories en route to the quarter-finals but then he ran into eventual champion Michael Smith.
His performances at the World Cup helped his country reach the semi-finals for the first time and I think many fans expected him to qualify through the group stages of the Grand Slam of Darts.
It started with a fine win over Joe Cullen but a heavy loss to MVG knocked him off his stride before Adam Hunt defied the odds to finish him off and earn a last 16 spot for himself.
A week on from that, he'll have dusted himself down ahead of a meeting with Martijn Kleermaker while the likes of Ian White and Cullen are potential opponents he has no reason to fear.
Quarter Four
- (3) Michael van Gerwen v (62) Darius Labanauskas
- (30) Jonny Clayton v (35) Mickey Mansell
- (14) Glen Durrant v (51) Wayne Jones
- (19) Mensur Suljovic v (46) Jeffrey de Zwaan
- (6) James Wade v (59) Niels Zonneveld
- (27) Dirk van Duijvenbode v (38) William O'Connor
- (11) Brendan Dolan v (54) Luke Woodhouse
- (22) Ryan Joyce v (43) Andy Boulton
Sky Bet odds to win quarter: MVG 1/1, Wade 5/1, Durrant 6/1, Clayton 12/1, van Duijvenbode 14/1, de Zwaan 14/1, Joyce 16/1, Dolan 16/1, O'Connor 33/1, Webster 50/1, Mansell 100/1, Woodhouse 100/1, Boulton 100/1, Jones 125/1, Labanauskas 125/1, Zonneveld 125/1
Verdict: Jonny Clayton
Jonny Clayton's big price stems from the fact that he 'should' face Michael van Gerwen in the second round, but the best-of-11 format gives him a better chance to do a number on him than later in the tournament.
That said, the Ferret stunned the world number one 10-6 in their last meeting at the season-opening Masters in January - a result which you could argue contributed to setting the tone for MVG's difficult season - and if anything he's probably more confident about the prospect of beating him in any format now than he was back then.
Clayton, who reached the German Darts Championship final back in September, thrived on winning the World Cup alongside Gerwyn Price earlier this month and since then enjoyed some decent wins at the Winter Series before making it through the Grand Slam group stage as runner-up behind his fellow Welshman.
He was blown away 10-3 by a rampant Dimitri Van den Bergh in the last 16 but he should get back to winning ways against Mickey Mansell before a probable clash with MVG. After that he could meet the out of form Glen Durrant or Mensur Suljvoic while he'd also fancy his chances against anyone from the bottom half of this relatively weaker section. Even if that ends up being Grand Slam runner-up James Wade.
Posted at 2300 GMT on 26/11/20
Players Championship Finals: Daily schedule
Friday November 27
Afternoon Session (12.45pm)
First Round (Best of 11 legs)
Main Stage (TV Coverage: ITV4)
- Dirk van Duijvenbode v William O'Connor
- Michael Smith v Boris Krcmar
- Rob Cross v Jason Lowe
- Joe Cullen v Adam Hunt
- Devon Petersen v Luke Humphries
- Ryan Searle v Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Adrian Lewis v Simon Whitlock
Stage Two
- Brendan Dolan v Luke Woodhouse
- Ryan Joyce v Andy Boulton
- Stephen Bunting v Ryan Murray
- Krzysztof Ratajski v Karel Sedlacek
- Gabriel Clemens v Martijn Kleermaker
- Ian White v William Borland
- Jonny Clayton v Mickey Mansell
- Daryl Gurney v Callan Rydz
- Dave Chisnall v Mervyn King
Evening Session (7pm)
First Round (Best of 11 legs)
Main Stage (TV Coverage: ITV4)
- Nathan Aspinall v Scott Waites
- Gary Anderson v Keegan Brown
- James Wade v Niels Zonneveld
- Peter Wright v Ryan Meikle
- Michael van Gerwen v Darius Labanauskas
- Gerwyn Price v John Henderson
- Jose De Sousa v Mike De Decker
Stage Two
- Vincent van der Voort v Derk Telnekes
- Ricky Evans v Jamie Hughes
- Ross Smith v Kim Huybrechts
- Damon Heta v Maik Kuivenhoven
- Jermaine Wattimena v Steve Lennon
- Madars Razma v Chris Dobey
- Glen Durrant v Wayne Jones
- Darren Webster v Jeffrey de Zwaan
- Danny Noppert v Steve Beaton
Saturday November 28
Afternoon Session (12.45pm)
Second Round (Best of 11 legs)
Main Stage (TV Coverage: ITV4)
- Eight Matches
Stage Two
- Eight Matches
Evening Session (7pm)
Third Round (Best of 19 legs)
TV Coverage: ITV4
Main Stage
- Four Matches
Stage Two
- Four Matches
Sunday November 29
Afternoon Session (12.45pm)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 19 legs)
TV Coverage: ITV4
Main Stage
- Four matches
Evening Session (7pm)
TV Coverage: ITV4
Semi-Finals (Best of 21 Legs)
- Two matches
Final (Best of 21 legs)
- Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2
Plus PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship Final
- Joe Davis v Bradley Brooks
Best of 11 legs
What TV channel is the Players Championship Finals on?
The 2019 Players Championship Finals will be broadcast live on lTV4 and through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners. Stage Two will be streamed through PDCTV.
Players Championship: 2020 Event Winners
Here is a full list of winners from the 23 Players Championship tournaments this season.
Click on the winners name for a review & results
Players Championship 1 (ProTour)
- Final: Gary Anderson 8-4 Jeff Smith
- Tournament Venue & Date: Barnsley, February 8
Players Championship 2 (ProTour)
- Final: Nathan Aspinall 8-3 Gerwyn Price
- Tournament Venue & Date: Barnsley, February 9
Players Championship 3 (ProTour)
- Final: Ryan Searle 8-6 Michael van Gerwen
- Tournament Venue & Date: Wigan, February 15
Players Championship 4 (ProTour)
- Final: Krzysztof Ratajski 8-7 Ian White
- Tournament Venue & Date: Wigan, February 16
Players Championship 5 (ProTour)
- Final: Peter Wright 8-6 Gerwyn Price
- Tournament Venue & Date: Wigan, February 22
Players Championship 6 (ProTour)
- Final: Gerwyn Price 8-7 Michael van Gerwen
- Tournament Venue & Date: Wigan, February 23
Players Championship 7 (ProTour)
- Final: Nathan Aspinall 8-4 Brendan Dolan
- Tournament Venue & Date: Barnsley, March 14
Players Championship 8 (ProTour)
- Final: Ian White 8-3 James Wade
- Tournament Venue & Date: Barnsley, March 15
Players Championship 9 (ProTour, Summer Series)
- Final: Michael van Gerwen 8-7 Peter Wright
- Tournament Venue & Dates: Milton Keynes, July 8
Players Championship 10 (ProTour, Summer Series)
- Final: Ryan Joyce 8-7 Dave Chisnall
- Tournament Venue & Dates: Milton Keynes, July 9
Players Championship 11 (ProTour, Summer Series)
- Final: Michael van Gerwen 8-3 Jose De Sousa
- Tournament Venue & Dates: Milton Keynes, July 10
Players Championship 12 (ProTour, Summer Series)
- Final: James Wade 8-2 Rob Cross
- Tournament Venue & Dates: Milton Keynes, July 11
Players Championship 13 (ProTour, Summer Series)
- Final: Peter Wright 8-3 Gerwyn Price
- Tournament Venue & Dates: Milton Keynes, July 12
Players Championship 14 (ProTour, Autumn Series)
- Final: Peter Wright 8-1 Madars Razma
- Tournament Venue & Date: Niedernhausen, Germany September 12
Players Championship 15 (ProTour, Autumn Series)
- Final: Damon Heta 8-4 Joe Cullen
- Tournament Venue & Date: Niedernhausen, Germany September 13
Players Championship 16 (ProTour, Autumn Series)
- Final: Michael van Gerwen 8-1 Mensur Suljovic
- Tournament Venue & Date: Niedernhausen, Germany September 14
Players Championship 17 (ProTour, Autumn Series)
- Final: Gerwyn Price 8-7 Devon Petersen
- Tournament Venue & Date: Niedernhausen, Germany September 15
Players Championship 18 (ProTour, Autumn Series)
- Final: Gerwyn Price 8-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
- Tournament Venue & Date: Niedernhausen, Germany September 16
Players Championship 19 (ProTour, Winter Series)
- Final: Michael Smith 8-6 Jermaine Wattimena
- Tournament Venue & Date: Ricoh Arena, Coventry, November 10
Players Championship 20 (ProTour, Winter Series)
- Final: Michael Smith 8-7 Jose De Sousa
- Tournament Venue & Date: Ricoh Arena, Coventry, November 11
Players Championship 21 (ProTour, Winter Series)
- Final: Gerwyn Price 8-6 Damon Heta
- Tournament Venue & Date: Ricoh Arena, Coventry, November 12
Players Championship 22 (ProTour, Winter Series)
- Final: Peter Wright 8-7 Jose De Sousa
- Tournament Venue & Date: Ricoh Arena, Coventry, November 13
Players Championship 23 (ProTour, Winter Series)
- Final: Joe Cullen 8-4 Krzysztof Ratajski
- Tournament Venue & Date: Ricoh Arena, Coventry, November 14
Players Championship Finals: Past winners
- 2009 Phil Taylor 16-9 Robert Thornton
- 2010 Paul Nicholson 13-11 Mervyn King
- 2011 (Feb) Phil Taylor 13-12 Gary Anderson
- 2011 (Dec) Kevin Painter 13-9 Mark Webster
- 2012 Phil Taylor 13-6 Kim Huybrechts
- 2013 Michael van Gerwen 11-7 Phil Taylor
- 2014 Gary Anderson 11-6 Adrian Lewis
- 2015 Michael van Gerwen 11-6 Adrian Lewis
- 2016 Michael van Gerwen 11-3 Dave Chisnall
- 2017 Michael van Gerwen 11-2 Jonny Clayton
- 2018 Daryl Gurney 11-9 Michael van Gerwen
- 2019 Michael van Gerwen 11-9 Gerwyn Price
Players Championship Finals Prize Fund
- Winner £100,000
- Runner-Up £40,000
- Semi-Finals £23,000
- Quarter-Finals £12,500
- Third Round £8,000
- Second Round £5,000
- First Round £2,500
- Total £460,000
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