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The World Matchplay is a professional darts tournament played in a legs format which is run by the Professional Darts Corporation ( PDC ). Since its inception in 1994, the tournament has been held every month of July at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, Lancashire in England.
This year’s darts World Matchplay will take place from July 20-28, 2019. The defending champion of the tournament is Gary Anderson of Scotland. The Flying Scotsman won last year’s tournament with a 21-19 victory over Mensur Suljovic in what is the longest final in the tournament’s history.
Anderson is a +700 favorite to win again this year. But the defending champion isn’t the man on top of the odds board. World #1 Michael Van Gerwen is the odds on favorite to win the 2019 World Matchplay at a price of +100. Rob Cross, the #2 player in the world is priced at +700, just behind Van Gerwen and the same as Gary Anderson.
Here are the odds to win the World Matchplay 2019. Odds were taken from TitanBet as of 6/28/19:
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Michael van Gerwen | +100 |
| Rob Cross | +700 |
| Gary Anderson | +700 |
| James Wade | +1600 |
| Peter Wright | +2000 |
| Gerwyn Price | +2000 |
| Michael Smith | +2200 |
| Daryl Gurney | +2500 |
| Mensur Suljovic | +2800 |
| Ian White | +3300 |
| Glen Durant | +3300 |
| Dave Chisnall | +4000 |
| Nathan Aspinall | +4000 |
| Adrian Lewis | +4000 |
| Jeffrey De Zwaan | +5000 |
Who Are The Favorites?
Michael Van Gerwen is the #1 ranked player in darts today and is the top darts betting favorite to win this tournament. Following his victory in 2014, Van Gerwen became the youngest winner of the PDC World Championship. Van Gerwen has won all of the PDC’s major tournaments at least once in his career. The 30-year old from Boxtel, Netherlands holds the record for most PDC Pro Tour events at 79 as if June 2019, surpassing Phil Taylor’s former record of 70 last February.
This year, Van Gerwen has already won three major tournaments and these were the PDC World Championship, Masters and the Premier League Darts. When it comes to the World Matchplay tournament, Van Gerwen has reached the quarterfinals in three out of the last four years, winning back to back in 2015-16. However, Van Gerwen was ousted in the first round of the 2018 World Matchplay by compatriot Jeffrey de Zwaan.
Rob Cross is ranked next to Michael Van Gerwen in the official rankings of the PDC or the Professional Darts Corporation. The 28-year old from Pembury in Kent, England won the World PDC Championship 11 months after joining the PDC competition. He was also the 2018 PDC World Darts Champion in 2018. This year, Cross finished as runner-up in the UK Open and the Premier League of Darts.
Gary Anderson is a former BDO and WDF world number one darts player. Andreson is a back-to-back PDC World Champion and a 13-time major winner between the BDO and PDC. He is currently ranked #4 in the world but has won several tournaments this year including the 2019 PDC World Cup of Darts. Anderson won the 2018 World Matchplay, defeating Mensur Soljivic 21-19 in the final.
James Wade is ranked 10th in the PDC’s Order of Merit. The 36-year old from Aldershot in England won the World Matchplay way back in 2007 to become the youngest player to win a major PDC tournament. His last win came last year when he topped the 2018 European Championship. This year, Wade was a semi-finalist at the Premier League Darts and the losing finalist in The Masters.
Peter Wright is ranked 5th by the PDC and the winner of the 2017 UK Open. Wright has made at least the semi-finals in three out of the last editions of the World Matchplay. In the 2017 World Matchplay, Wright lost to Phil Taylor 18-8 in the finals. That stands as his best finish in this tournament.
Who Wins?
Michael Van Gerwen has been the most dominant darts player in recent years. From 2015-2017, he won twenty out of 29 major PDC tournaments and last year, he won 3 of 10 and made it to at least the semi-finals in another four. This year, Van Gerwen is off to a fast start with wins in three out of the first four major darts tournaments.
Rob Cross has never made it past round two of the World Match Play. Gary Anderson won this tournament last year but he’s made it past round two in three out of 10 overall appearances. Van Gerwen was eliminated in Round 1 of the World Match Play last year but in the previous six seasons, he made at least the quarterfinals, including back to back wins in 2015 and 2016.
When it comes to current form and experience in the World Matchplay, there’s no question that Michael Van Gerwen is the man to beat. He may have the shortest odds right now as the top favorite but he’s still at plus money so you better hurry and make that bet now. Prediction: Michael Van Gerwen
