Best outright bets for the PDC World Darts Championship

Adam Scriven provides his best bets for the World Championship at Alexandra Palace, with Rob Cross tipped for success.

There is nothing quite like Dartmas at the Alexandra Palace and the stage is set for another cracking three weeks of PDC World Championship action. 

The terrific trio of Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwyn dominate the market, but there is no guarantee that one of that elite trinity will be victorious in north London. 

The tournament certainly has a more open feel than 3/1 the field suggests and there are reasons to oppose the market leaders.

Humphries has been the dominant force this season, but Cool Hand fell to Stephen Bunting in the fourth round of the World Championship last year and the 28-year-old has never made it past the quarter-finals. 

Van Gerwen is a three-time world champion, but was poor at the Matchplay, Grand Prix and Grand Slam this season and there have to be question marks over the Green Machine. 

Price has to be given a major chance on the form he has shown on the floor this term, but the hostile Alexandra Palace crowd is a major concern for backers of the Iceman. 

It’s also worth bearing in mind that 23 players have won titles on the Pro Tour this season and there is no shortage of arrowsmiths capable of a big show on the biggest stage in darts. 

Best bets

Rob Cross to win the World Championship @ 16/1

Jim WIlliams to win the second quarter @ 40/1

Voltage can power to second title 

Defending PDC World Champion Michael Smith has been struggling to adapt to new equipment and the poor form of the tournament’s number one seed could open up the first quarter of the draw. 

Rob Cross burst into the big time when lifting the 2018 Ally Pally crown on his debut in the event and Voltage looks to hold a strong chance of landing a second world title this year. 

The Hastings battler has made the final of the Masters and Grand Slam this season and that indicates that Cross has returned to something like his best form. 

The 33-year-old is inside the top 10 on the Pro Tour averages this term and there is no doubt that Voltage can perform under pressure at the biggest show in darts. 

Cross is running at 40 per cent on checkouts this year and that’s a number that lends itself well to the set-play format at Ally Pally. 

At 16/1 Voltage rates a powerful each-way bet.

Quiff a stylish bet in second quarter

Jim Williams is a former BDO World Trophy winner and BDO World Championship finalist and the Welshman is a huge price at 40/1 to win the second quarter. 

Of course, Price and Gary Anderson are the big runners in the section, but that deadly duo will have to face each other before any potential clash with Williams and the Quiff can avoid that pair until the quarter-finals. 

Williams should have no problems getting past South American qualifier Norman Madhoo in round one, and the seeded quartet of Andrew Gilding, James Wade, Peter Wright and Raymond van Barneveld are all shorter in the betting, but that looks wrong. 

Williams would have achieved more if he was able to commit fully to the PDC Tour, but the Welshman is in the top 20 when it comes to three-dart averages this season and the Quiff could outrun huge odds.