Post World Championship Record

I've had a look at how some of the top players perform in the months that follow the World Championship to see if any suffer from a 'World Championship hangover'. I hope this will help your predictions for the upcoming Unibet Masters. The number in brackets is the amount of events the player participated in.

Players prize money won in 2014 up to and including UK Open.

Adrian Lewis- £65,000 (7)

Michael van Gerwen- £51,500 (8)

Gary Anderson- £39,500 (9)

Terry Jenkins- £32,000 (12)

Robert Thornton- £14,000 (8)

Phil Taylor- £13,500 (4)
Peter Wright- £11,000 (9)

Raymond van Barneveld- £9,000 (8)

James Wade- £8,500 (6)

Simon Whitlock- £6,250 (8)

Players prize money won in 2013 up to and including The Masters

Adrian Lewis- £25,500 (4)

Phil Taylor- £23,000 (2)

Michael van Gerwen- £15,500 (4)

Simon Whitlock- £6,100 (4)

Robert Thornton- £5,900 (4)

Raymond van Barneveld- £5,900 (4)

Peter Wright- £3,100 (3)

James Wade- £3,000 (1)

Gary Anderson- £2,300 (4)

Terry Jenkins- £2,100 (3)

Based on these findings and current form my 3 picks for the Unibet Masters are;

Terry Jenkins 66/1

Robert Thornton 35/1

Adrian Lewis 7/1

Who to Keep an Eye on in 2015

There were a few players that caught my eye at the tail end of 2014 through losing after playing well or by exceeding all expectations of them by progressing through to the latter stages of a tournament when looking like they will stumble at an early obstacle.

World Number 18 Jamie Caven falls into the unlucky loser category. He had a slow start to 2014 failing to get past the last 32 stage in any tournament until May but that was turned round towards the end of the year. 'Jabba' had an impressive run in the Players Championship reaching the Quarter Finals where he was an unlucky loser against 2-time World Champion Adrian Lewis. Caven was drawn against Ian White in the first round and won convincingly 6-4 with an incredible 85% checkout rate which set up a 2nd round tie against Robert Thornton. This proved to be more testing as he won the match in a last leg decider via the bullseye, a win none the less and on he went to the Quarter Finals but this would be as far as he would go, losing 10-9 to Lewis with a 98 average and 50% checkout rate, although he did collect one of the highest pay cheques of his career pocketing£11,500.

This good run of form came at the perfect time, because a month passed and its now time for the World Championships where he seemingly got an easy first round match against World Number 82 Jason Hogg, but Jabba made hard work of this only scraping through 3-2 in sets and averaging only 81 in a poor contest. He surely needed to improve massively on that if he was to eliminate the 5 time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld in the next round.

He did improve, A LOT, but not enough to get the better of the big Dutchman losing 4-3 in a very close contest which really could have went either way, but one of the players had to lose and unfortunately it was Jamie. This was as far as he would go, despite averaging 95, hitting 4 180s and having a 44% checkout rate.

Jamie Cave in my opinion is a fantastic player who is good to watch when playing well. His finishing is his strong point and when he is hitting the big scores not one player would like to face him in a match. I definitely think he is worth keeping an eye on this year and no one deserves to win a trophy more than Jabba himself.

I am a big fan of Benito van de Pas (as some of you may have noticed) and I think he has a bright future. He is creeping up the rankings a is now placed at number 41, mainly due to £18,000 he pocketed for reaching the last 16 of the World Championship. He is capable of big scores, high checkouts and has a lot of bottle when it comes to hitting important doubles despite his unorthodox style of throwing, but it seems to be very effective as he showed at the recent World Championship. The Dutchman faced an out of form Paul Nicholson in the first round in a tight contest but Benito edged the match 3-2 to set up a second round tie with St Helens star Dave Chisnall.
Benito stunned the World Number 9 with a 4-2 victory averaging 91.44 and he progressed into the last 16 to face Robert Thornton. This was to be as far as van de Pas would go losing 4-0 to the in-form Scotsman but he had a great tournament and surpassed everyone's expectations of him. He is improving with every tournament he plays in and I'm excited to see him in the coming months to see if he improves further and i expect to see him make at least 1 semi final in a televised tournament this year.

Keegan Brown has been tipped by many as a future World Champion and I can't find a reason to argue otherwise. His list of top players that he has got the better of is increasing with every tournament, Adrian Lewis, Raymond van Barneveld and Andy Hamilton to name a few. The World Youth Champion's run in the Grand Slam was incredible, he made it all the way to the Quarter Finals and averaged 96.91 over the tournament and was eliminated by Dave Chisnall losing 16-14 in a match he could have won. He is as short as 50/1 with some bookmakers to win next years World Championship so there is an expectation that he will improve into a top class player within the next 12 months.

Vincent van der Voort is, in my opinion, the most improved player in the PDC this year after fantastic runs in both the Players Championship and the World Championship. He made it to the Semi Final stage in the Players (losing to eventual winner Gary Anderson) and the Quarter Final stage of the Worlds (losing to eventual runner up Phil Taylor), not exactly easy matches, and to Vincent's credit, he put up a great fight against 16 time World Champion Taylor and was 3-2 ahead at one stage in the match. His throw looks reckless but he seems to find the treble 20 more than most would but his finishing is his downfall. During his last 16 match with Dean Winstanley in the World Championship, the commentator said "You will always get a chance against Vincent" in a reference to Vincent's reputation of missing doubles, but he turned that around during his good run of form where he only once had a checkout rate of under 38%. If he can keep his percentage around that mark for a few tournaments then I think he will go close on a couple of occasions and I'm sure the fans will not complain about that.

World Championship Predictions

Tomorrow is the start of the PDC World Championship and this blog post is highlighting who I think will go far or possibly win the tournament based on form and the draw. 

Consistency is the most important aspect in this magnificent tournament, winning a first to six legs match when playing badly is possible but sets format will expose players' inconsistency and it will prevent any flukes, this is what makes it the best tournament on the darting calendar.

If you have read this blog before then you will have noticed that I am a big fan of Robert Thornton. His big scoring is a joy to watch and when he is on form with his doubles he could beat anyone. The draw hasn't been too bad either, he meets World Championship debutant Andrew Gilding in the first round and should get through that without any hassle. The second round could be tricky with Ronnie Baxter or a qualifier waiting, especially if the qualifier is Daryl Gurney. The up and coming Northern Ireland man is a quality player who could ruffle some feathers this year if on his game although I think Thornton should progress into the last 16 where he could be up against either Justin Pipe or Terry Jenkins. This round isn't a certainty but the long format in the later rounds should help him and he usually steps up his game on the biggest stage of them all. Dave Chisnall or Michael van Gerwen may be next and it will be difficult for the Scotsman, but stranger things have happened. He is 80/1 at Bet365 which I think is very over priced...so over priced I think it will have my £1 each way bet.

If I was to choose which half of the draw is the most difficult, I would say the bottom half without a doubt. Current BDO World Champion Stephen Bunting must be cursing his luck after seeing that he is likely to come up against James Wade in the 2nd round, 'The Bullet' is one of my favourite players on the circuit but it's a tall order for the man from St Helens to go all the way on his debut as he also has Adrian Lewis, Jamie Caven, Brendan Dolan, Raymond van Barneveld, Michael Smith and Keegan Bradley in his quarter of the draw and if he made it past all of those he would likely face Phil Taylor in the Semi Finals. I think he will win this prestigious event in the coming years and I hope he can prove me wrong and win it this year. A big price of 33/1 sounds fair to me.

Vincent van der Voort is in the easiest quarter of the draw in my opinion with players including an out of form Simon Whitlock, Ian White, Dean Winstanly and Mervyn King. Phil Taylor is also in that quarter but van der Voort won't meet him until the Quarter Finals if all goes to plan. If he plays as well as he did in the Players Championship Finals when he made it to the semi final losing to eventual winner Gary Anderson, then I think he will have a chance of progressing far. The long format should suit the Dutchman as he always seems to get better as the match goes on. He's a player I will be keeping my eye on throughout and 250/1 is a huge price, although if he plays anything below his best he won't get past the second round.

The usual suspects all have obvious claims. Gary Anderson is fresh off the back of a great weekend which saw him win the Players Championship Finals beating World Number 2 Phil Taylor in a thrilling final and he will want to emulate that although Christian Kist or Jelle Klaasen will be his opponents in the second round and they won't be a walk in the park. Bookmakers have Fan Favourite Anderson at 13/2, just too short for me but he is very capable and I'm sure a few will have their quids on him.

Phil Taylor will be the one to beat this year but I'm sticking my neck out and saying that I think there will be a new champion this year. I can't wait to watch and with the amount of players on form, it should be one of the best World Championships ever.

Thornton/Gilding, Klaasen/Kist Preview

Only five days to go now until the start of the PDC World Championship. From now until Thursday I will post stats on some of the standout first round matches.

The number 9 seed Robert Thornton will face World Championship debutante Andrew Gilding in the first round. These two have only met twice in the past with 'The Thorn' winning on both occasions in a short first to six legs format.

Gilding's form has not been spectacular lately, he defeated Jelle Klaasen 6-0 in a Grand Slam qualifying match in November but hasn't done much since then losing to the likes of Mervyn King, Vincent van der Voort, Steve Beaton and Matt Edgar.

Robert Thornton was unlucky to be eliminated in the Players Championship  at the last 16 stage by Jamie Caven last weekend after coming back from 9-5 down to make it  9-9 in a first to 10 legs match but Caven held his nerve and took the match on the bull. The Scotsman's recent form has been decent winning against the likes of Darren Webster, van der Voort and Rowby-John Rodriguez and it would be a surprise to see him being eliminated in the early stages of the tournament with either Ronnie Baxter, Daryl Gurney or Scott Mackenzie waiting in the second round.

Arguably the best match of the first round is between Jelle Klaasen and Christian Kist. Both are in a good run of form and the match promises to be outstanding. Kist recently made it to the last 16 at the Grand Slam of Darts and the last 16 in a 128 player Pro Tour event. His most recent to match was in the Players Championship Finals second round where he lost to eventual winner Gary Anderson and if truth be told, he was unlucky not to win.

Klassen made it to the last 16 of the Players Championship losing to Dead Winstanly, but he produced one of the best performances of the weekend against an in-form James Wade winning 6-4 in the first round where he averaged 108.7 and had a 75% checkout rate. If he can reproduce that form then he will be hard to beat. Klaasen also had an impressive European Championship where he made it to the Quarter Final stage eliminating Adrian Lewis and Jamie Caven in the first two rounds before losing out to eventual finalist Mervyn King.

The two Dutchmen have met once this year where Kist triumphed 6-5, but this match will be decided on who can hold their nerve on the biggest stage.

Players Championship Finals Preview

This weekend will be our final chance to see the World Championship contenders fighting it out on the big stage. The winner of this tournament has went on to win the 'Big One'on three of the last 5 years , so its should not be taken lightly as a big performance here could see them being taken very seriously next month.

The first round of The Players Championship Finals is best of 11 legs.

Robert Thornton hasn't had much going for him recently. He had an dismal Grand Slam tournament which resulted in three defeats in the group stages, but the bare result doesn't tell the whole story as he averaged 90+ in all of the matches and even managed a 97 average against Vincent van der Voort. 'The Thorn' will face Darren Webster in the first round, a match that he will be favourite to win considering he has won all five of their previous meetings. The draw has been kind as he will avoid Phil Talylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and James Wade until the Semi Finals if all win accordingly. The Scotsman will feel he is due a good run in a tournament and I feel that this could be his chance.

Benito van de Pas faces Peter Wright in the first round this weekend. 'Snakebite' Wright has not been anywhere near the form that he showed this time last year when he went all the way to the final in the World Championship although he came 2nd in a tournament last weekend. Van de Pas is capable of an upset here and will fancy his chances against either Andy Hamilton or Vincent van der Voort in the 2nd round if he is successful on Friday. He could meet Wade in the Quarter Finals but his price of 250/1 is very big considering his talent which has saw him claim the scalps of Newton, Pipe, Thornton, van Gerwen and van der Voort in recent months.

Simon Whitlock is another player who is capable of more than he has been producing lately but the draw has been kind to him this weekend. He may meet Wade in the 2nd round but if he can get over that obstacle then he will have a relatively easy Quarter Final match. His record against World Number 5 James Wade is impressive as he has won 19/33 meetings (57%) . He has drawn Dean Winstanley in the 1st round and the Aussie has the better of him in the head-to-heads winning 4/6.

Stephen Bunting is a regular on the blog. He is the current BDO World Champion and since his switch to the PDC in January, he has flew up the World Rankings to number 27 defeating many of the top players along the way including a 10-9 win over Phil Taylor in the European Championships last month. The man from St Helens is up against World Number 21 Steve Beaton and in the only previous meeting between the pair, Bunting won 6-2 in February. A stiffer task lies ahead in the latter stages as he will likely face Gary Anderson in the last 16 and Phil Taylor in the Quarter Finals but his high scoring and great checkouts will help him overcome any challenges he will face.

Predictions:

Robert Thornton - 35/1

Benito van de Pas - 250/1

Simon Whitlock - 33/1

Stephen Bunting - 22/1

World Championship. Who's Involved?

It's approaching that time again, on December 18th the World Championship will commence and it will showcase the best the PDC has to offer and will surely be the hardest to predict in recent times.

Phil Taylor has dominated this event for the best part of a quarter of a century but this years edition will not be as easy as some years have previously been. 

Even though 'The Power' is fresh off the back of an impressive Grand Slam which saw him being crowned champion for the 6th time and averaged over 100 in every game, he still faces stiff competition with many players in scintillating form, no more so than World Number 1 Michael van Gerwen. The Dutchman has had an impressive 2014 winning the World Grand Prix, The European Championship and of course The World Championship in January. He will no doubt feature in the latter stages and fans will be drooling at the prospect of a Van Gerwen and Taylor final.

James Wade is for me one of the best players never to be crowned World Champion, but he does have strong claims this time round after a fine 2014, most notably his triumph in the Masters where he showed great character coming from 9-2 down to win the match with a 135 checkout 11-10 against a stunned Mervyn King. Bookmakers make him a fair 10/1 third favourite to go all the way, not many would argue against that possibility.

Current BDO World Champion Stephen Bunting is also in the frame on his debut after quickly adapting to life in the PDC rocketing to number 23 in the Order of Merit despite only joining in February. Phil Taylor speaks highly of the man from St Helens saying that he has a lot of time for Bunting and that he's 'One to watch'.
'The Bullet' has produced some great performances recently averaging 100+ multiple times and his devastating success rate on double 16 is an incredible trait to have, every time he steps up to hit the green bit, I have no doubt that he will close out the leg accordingly.

Mervyn King may be a dark horse for the World Title but he is the most consistent players in the PDC at this current time. He is in the form of his life recently making the Quarter Final in the World Grand Prix (losing to eventual winner van Gerwen), Semi Final in the Grand Slam (losing to eventual winner Phil Taylor) and came second in the European Championship. 50/1 shows that he may have slipped under the radar yet again and could be a bit of value.

Kim Huybrechts had a great Grand Slam, but it was something i didn't see coming, he had failed to get past the last 16 stage in any televised tournament since November 2013, but if he can reproduce the form we seen last week then he will make an impact. He deafeated Michael van Gerwen in the Quarter Final averaging 104 and even hit a 9-dart-finish. He was unlucky to lose in the Semi Final to Dave Chisnall in a sudden death leg and it will be interesting to see if this form continues.

Phil 'The Power' Taylor is 7/4 favourite and its justifiable, but the amount of players on form is nothing short of incredible. If he wins his 17th World Title, it will probably be his best one to date. 

Master Half Time update

The Quarter Final produced arguably the match of the tournament so far between James Wade and Adrian Lewis. 'The Machine' Wade won the match 10-6 and averaged 105 in the process but it wasn't as easy as it sounds. Lewis averaged 107 and hit eight 180s in defeat, he averaged higher than any player in the Quarter Finals but too many missed doubles seen him lose important legs.

Lewis later tweeted "Missed a few doubles but at least my form is coming good for next couple of majors".

Wade will now face Phil Taylor in the Semi Final and if he keeps his standard up I think he is in with a real chance, although, Taylor is no stranger to winning tournaments and will feel he is well overdue a trophy.

Michael van Gerwen is continuing his winning ways and will face King in the other Semi Final and they way he is playing, it's hard not to see him in another final.

Quarter Final Results 

Mervin King    10 - 6   Justin Pipe

James Wade  10 - 6   Adrian Lewis

Phil Taylor       10 - 6   Gary Anderson

MVG               10 - 7   Dave Chisnall 

Semi Final Matches

James Wade     v       Phil Taylor

MVG                  v      Mervin King