One of the most important tournaments of the year is World Matchplay in Blackpool, Winter Gardens. It is by far the most important tournament of the summer and most players have been preparing for this time.

Once again the favorites are the sacred monster Phil Taylor and the Dutchman who has managed to dethrone Taylor, o Michael Van Gerwen. Michael Van Gerwen is favorites from bookmakers in 3.00, while Phil Taylor is 4.00's second favorite. There is no other player to be awarded under 10.00, since he gives the third favorite of the event, the English Adrian Lewis.

Phil Taylor is a living story for the institution, since 20 has reached the 14 final and has won. He is the only player who made 9-darter at 2002 and is the first 9-darter in the history of darts, which was broadcast live on TV. In addition, he held an undefeated 30 racing series from 2008 to 2013, while in the 20-year history of the event he counts only 6 defeats. Unlike Taylor, Van Gerwen has not yet managed to impress the institution or to leave his mark. His most important achievement is 9-darter that made 2012 and has an important incentive to achieve something in the institution this year.

Michael Van Gerwen 9-darter

The strange thing is that both favorites do not seem to be in good shape. Both Taylor and Van Gerwen were eliminated in the 32nd round of the Gibraltar Tournament at the end of June, but both have shown that in serious tournaments they play much more focused and somehow reached the World Cup final at the beginning of June 2014 and there the Dutchman won.

The draw has brought Taylor and Van Gerwen to a different board, so it's most likely to have a final between the two giants of the sport. You can see the draw here.

Beyond the big favorites, we can find interest in  Peter Wright, a player who is the revelation of the year, is constantly improving his game and comes from winning the European Darts Trophy last week, while he was also in the final of the Dubai Masters 2 months ago. Of course the path for him will not be easy, as he will have to face very good players and Phil Taylor to reach the final.

On the other side of the board, there are three separate players, the Australian Simon Whitlock , the Dutchman Raymond Van Barneveld and the Englishman James Wade, who seem to be the only ones who can threaten Michael Van Gerwen in the semifinals. However, both have several weaknesses and their tradition towards the big star of the sport is not good.

Peter Wright vs. Simon Whitlock

The tournament has a way of reminiscent of Wimbledon in tennis, since each player must defeat his opponent with 2 legs difference and play until the difference is created. However, in order not to draw the game for many hours, this breakthrough breakthrough was introduced this year if after the 4 extension legs the winner has not been found. For example, the first round wins anyone who first gets to 10 legs. The winner must have a score of at least 10-8 or else 4 legs will follow to create the difference of 2 legs. If the score reaches 12-12 we will have the tie break.

The final of 2013

Looking at the two boards of the draw, it seems that Michael Van Gerwen will be able to reach the final, as the most difficult opponent will find him in the semifinals and will be one of Whitlock, Van Barneveld or Wade. There is more interest on Phil Taylor's side, mainly because Taylor had a difficult year with instability and many failures. At the age of 53, he shows that he is not in the best shape of his career and this leaves hopes for many to pursue the qualification to the final. Adrian Lewis, Peter Wright and Justin Pipe will have their chance.

As far as 9-darter is concerned, the 2013 tournament did not give us any 9-darter. But the three previous tournaments had 9-darter and all show that this year we will be able to have a player who will make this achievement. 1.80 given to most companies is an acceptable return that can be wagered.

Featured bets:

Outright Winner:

• Michael Van Gerwen @ 3.00 4/10, bet365, paddypower
• Peter Wright @ 26.00, 2/10 each way, bet365
• Adrian Lewis @ 10.00, 2/10, bet365

Nine Dart Finish: Yes @ 1.80, 5/10, bet365, paddypower

On 6 February, the new Premier League season has begun on the darts of the championship, where the championship championship is part of the championship, a title held last year by the terrible Dutchman Michael Van Gerwen.

The system of the tournament is a little strange, since 10 opponents play 9 racing against each other and at the end of the 9 racing, the last two of the scoreboard are excluded. Earns any player who reaches 7 legs first in a 12 legs race. The innovation is that there is also a draw, since if the opponents are at 6-6 no extra leg is played. 2 points get the winner, 1 for every draw and 0 the loser.

After the 9 first races, the remaining 8 players play other 7 races with each other and the 4 first of the final ranking passes to the final 4, where we have the two semifinals and the final to show the winner. 16 racing is taking place in 16 different venues throughout the UK and the big final is at Oxmin in London.

It is easy to understand that the favorites of the event are the two holy monsters of the area, Michael Van Gerwen and Phil Taylor, while the foot follows Adrian Lewis and Raymond Van Barneveld. This year, James Wade is not involved. From previous 9 events, 7 has won the legend Phil Taylor, 2013 won the title Michael Van Gerwen in his first run, while 2011 was a huge surprise by Scotsman Gary Anderson.

The races of the event are held every Thursday, and in the first race at 6 / 2 we had the first big shock as Michael Van Gerwen imposed Phil Taylor on 7-0 and began to look for history ever Phil Taylor lost video game without getting one leg. Adrian Lewis, who flopped Australian Simon Whitlock to 7-1, was also a great winner in a game that everyone was expecting to be a derby. In summary, the 1 racing results:

Dave Chisnall - Robert Thornton 7-5

Peter Wright - Wes Newton 7-3

Raymond Van Barneveld - Gary Anderson 7-2

Phil Taylor - Michael Van Gerwen 0-7

Simon Whitlock - Adrian Lewis 1-7

Beyond Van Gerwen, another Dutchman impressed on the first night, Raymond Van Barneveld showed that he was meeting the lethargy lately, crushing Gary Anderson by hitting 6 times 180 and 108.52's average scoring average, the second best night behind Michael Van Gerwen's compatriot. The event promises great emotions and big duels.

Michael Van Gerwen is offered to 2.4 as the winner of the event by paddy power, while Phil Taylor is at 3.5 at Bet365 and sportingbet. From there, Adrian Lewis is given a third favorite, 5 and the truth is in such a great series of races, it is not easy to expect a surprise from the rest of the participants. Logic says one of these three will be the final winner. 

Better betting interest I find in the player to succeed the most 180 in the tournament. There, Adrian Lewis, the genuine 180 maker, is the big favorite along with Van Gerwen. We find both of them in a slightly above 3 performance. However, the big surprise can come from the other Dutchman, Raymonv Van Barneveld, who is also one of the good 180 hitters and if he has actually found his hand and his old form, then he can easily overtake the others in him the sector. He is already ahead of the first game and is a solid player who is likely to reach the final 4 due to experience.

Raymond Van Berneveld's hit 180s @ 11, paddy power, 1 / 10

Another category with interest is in the two who will end in 2 last rankings and will be eliminated after 9 racing. THE Wes Newton is quite a weak player and seems to have mastered one place. For the other position, however, things are not so clear, since all the players are down to the same level and the details will judge the final ranking. A player who has problems with video games and seems to be bending over the anxiety of the big audience is Dave Chisnall, who although he is one of the very good darters, has two important elements against him. First is his first year at the tournament and he does not know the strategies and the tactics and secondly he is a very unstable player.

Dave Chisnall to finish bottom two @ 3.5, bet365, paddy power, sportingbet, 2/10

In closing, as in all major events, here we do not have to ask not to see at least one 9-darter. We have the best of the kind and some great evenings in front of us, I think is a reasonable demand from the fans of the sport.

Nine dart finish: Yes @ 1.83, bet365, paddy power, 6/10

Good luck what you choose and good fun.

Clearly favorite veteran Dutch Raymond Van Barneveld, who is at a time when his career is falling and has no stability in his performance.

In a tournament like this, where the surprises are constant and the performance of the players is fluctuating, and considering the fact that there was a big break for Christmas, it is not smart to bet on a handicap or some easy win of the favorite.

It is also Webster, who is in front of the biggest moment of his career for years and will fight a lot and will not give up any leg. Generally, it will not be an easy walk for Barney, but I can not guarantee that Webster will get 2 sets after having trouble with the doubles.

What seems to me most likely in this game is to see enough 180, since both Barney and Webster hit them with ease and have a very good relationship with t20. I think in a race that can reach at least 5 sets, the 10.5 line can be covered.