PDC World Darts Championship - King to take the Crown?

The King is dead, long live the King! Phil 'The Power' Taylor's shock loss to Dave Chisnall looks to have blown this year's championship wide open, we didn't have a preview before that game as Taylor was looking in imperious form during the build up & was difficult to oppose, yet still difficult to back with the short odds on offer. Now that Taylor has exited the competition & the market seems to be shaping up we've picked out our best bets for the tournament by considering the remaining players potential, form, temperament & the all-important draw. As ever you can follow us on Twitter @likebuyingmoney where you can get notified of our latest blogs & we talk about sports & betting in general, it's very good fun & we're always delighted when you tell your friends about us if you like what you see!

(Dave Chisnall beat Phil Taylor but could that be draining?)

We'll start off with Taylor's conqueror Dave Chisnall as according to the betting markets he's become a genuine contender following that impressive 4-1 shock win against the tournament favourite & he's now priced up at a best price of 9/1. Chisnall also looked good in his first round game where he beat Mark Dudbridge without dropping a set & he is a heavy scorer in general although his doubles aren't usually up to the standard that he has shown so far in this tournament. This is his 1st year on the PDC tour & he's performed ok but winning this would be an insane step up from his previous level of performance, his best finish in a 'big' tournament this year was getting to the quarter finals of the UK Open. It might be that his performance against Taylor spurs him on but we've seen many a time what beating Taylor does to a man as the effort & emotion affects their very next game. Taylor was clearly nowhere near his best there either & whilst Chisnall was very good he didn't need to be incredible to win, the current odds on offer are clearly an overreaction & we'd advise to avoid.

As a 3 time world champion John Part has to be considered a live outsider & at odds of 40/1 there are certainly worse bets out there, he doesn't seem to get massive averages too often (he's on 90.32 for the tournament) but is one of the players capable of getting up over 100 when he's on his game. We think he's every chance of beating Kevin Painter in the next round even though he's a slight outsider & that would likely put him up against James Wade, that would be a lot tougher but he's only dropped one set so far & is one of the few who has no questions at all about his temperament.

(Taunton's Justin Pipe can win the 3rd quarter of the championships)

Another 'JP' Justin Pipe is our hometown player & looking to do Taunton proud in the championship, he's really come to prominence in the 2nd half of this year with 3 players championship wins coming in the space of just about a month in October & November. He's got some class about him as he's had a 9 darter this year & out gritted Phil Taylor for the first of his championship wins, it won't be easy here in front of the huge crowds & cameras but he's already shown he can handle it by coming from 2 sets down against Wes Newton to win his 2nd round match. We don't have Terry Jenkins as a 1/2 favourite to win their 3rd round match & there's value in backing Justin in that one, the best value however is for Pipe to win the 3rd quarter at overpriced odds of 7/1 with Bet365, there are only 4 left in the quarter, we think he can beat Jenkins & the big favourite Adrian Lewis is not someone we'd ever want to trust our money on. At odds of 40/1 for the title we're tempted but the each way is only on offer for the 1st two so we'll be keeping our noses dry.

We've already said we don't fancy last year's winner Adrian Lewis to win his quarter of the draw & that means we also don't like the odds of 5/1 for him to follow up overall. He's won just once since the 2011 Championship & that was back in March, he did manage a couple of finals in November but overall we can't see him hitting the jackpot this time around.

(James 'The Machine' Wade looks to have the easiest of quarters & is a genuine threat to all)

The player to beat down in the bottom half of the draw looks to be James Wade, he knows how to win, has dropped just one set in his two games so far & should progress with the minimum of fuss against Steve Farmer in his next game (he's 1/9 to win). If he goes through he'll be up against Painter or Part & would be a heavy favourite to win against either, they wouldn't be easy prey but he should do it & odds of 8/15 to win the 4th quarter of the draw are pretty generous & should be taken for a quick profit. Best odds of 5/1 with Skybet for the title & 13/8 to reach the final are just about on the money too & we won't put anyone off who wants to take those bets - he's a real live contender now that Taylor's gone.

Back to the top half of the draw & we find the new favourite Gary Anderson & when he's on form he's one of the scariest players around, finding the treble 20 with alarming regularity, he's also a proven winner as shown by his 8 tournament wins since his loss in the final last year. Back in September he averaged a record 123.5 in a win against Mark Dudbridge which shows just how formidable he can be, he is however lucky to be in the tournament after just scraping through in the 1st round. The big question surrounding Gary is whether he can do it on the biggest stage, of 5 major finals he's reached he's won just one but that was the Premier League & he did avenge his World Championship defeat by beating Lewis in that one. It becomes a little tiresome to question Anderson's 'bottle' (if that's the right word) but there's still something telling us not to get on at odds of 7/2.

Paul Nicholson was ruthless in taking apart Alan Tabern in his 2nd round match & has had his best finishes in 5 of the PDC premier events in 2011 showing he must be brimming with confidence, his brash style doesn't endear himself to the crowd but it can help him have a psychological edge over opponents. We don't think he's quite spectacular enough to score the win here & we think Sportingbet are sensible by being best priced about him with odds of 12/1 but he should provide plenty of entertainment for however long he's about.

Simon 'The Wizard' Whitlock has the highest average overall in the tournament so far at 105.11 with that coming courtesy of his win against Dennis Smith in the 1st round where he dropped just one leg, he's one of the major players tending to perform to a high level in the biggest tournaments. The worry here is that he hasn't reached a final all year, he's done pretty well in terms of semi finals & quarter finals but you need a real winning mentality to get this one & 2010's finalist doesn't look value at 9/1 even with Taylor gone.

(Not everyone's cup of tea but Mervyn King has a live chance at 25/1 for outright glory)

The players in the top half of the draw where Taylor was situated before his loss will surely feel a little psychological boost because of that, there is also the bonus for everyone apart from Chisnall, not just that he's out but that they won't have had to be the ones to have knocked him out & therefore have the weight of expectation on their shoulders. That could benefit our fancy at a big price Mervyn King who has already reached two world championship finals in the BDO version as well as the semi final of this in the 2009 tournament. He tends to hit consistently high averages & shouldn't let anyone boss him in a game, we were very taken by his 1st round win where he won every leg & averaged 98.02 looking very calm & confident, he will almost certainly beat Michael van Gerwen in his 2nd round match on Wednesday afternoon & then will face Whitlock or Steve Beaton, he won't be having sleepless nights over either. Gary Anderson looks his biggest stumbling block but the heat that King generates from the crowd could be more likely to negatively impact on Gary than him & if he could get to the semi he may even be in the unlikely position of being crowd favourite if taking on Paul Nicholson. Mervyn King is a big price & it won't be easy but if the going gets tough we think he could tough it out best of all & odds of 25/1 mean our money is on The King.

Selections:
Mervyn King to win the PDC World Darts Championship each way at 25/1 (general)
Justin Pipe to win 3rd quarter at 7/1 (Bet365)
James Wade to win 4th quarter at 8/15 (Bet365)