PDC World Darts Championship Betting Guide

dart hitting the bulls eye next to the words Professional Darts Corporation and the logo of the William Hill World Darts Championship

The World Darts Championship, which is organised by the PDC, came into existence back in 1994, and in the decades since it has become one of the biggest events in the professional darts calendar. It takes place in London at the Alexandra Palace and is well known for having one of the best atmospheres in the darts world. In the following article, you shall find all that you have to know about placing bets on this popular darts tournament.

Best World Darts Championship Betting Sites by Category

🎯 Best World Championship Betting Site:

Ladbrokes

🎁 Best World Championship Free Bet Offer:

Bet365

📡 Best World Championship Live Betting Site:

Betway

💯 Best World Championship Odds Betting Site:

Bwin

The Sites to Go for World Darts Championship Betting

Logo of the William Hill World Darts Championship

Darts, a number of decades ago, was considered by the masses as being nothing more than a pub game that people play to pass a bit of time with their friends. However, things have changed a lot since those days, and now darts can claim to be one of the world's more popular sports. All of the biggest darts events, and the World Darts Championship is one of the biggest, are played out in front of big crowds, with many others enjoying and placing a bet on the action from home.

Darts has become a very popular sport for sport betting fans to put their money on, and now all of the best betting sites will have a variety of markets and competitive odds for all of the huge tournaments such as the World Darts Championship. However, when it comes to particular categories, there are some bookies that have an edge over their rivals, and this is what we are going to take a look at now.

Best WDC Betting Site - Ladbrokes

Logo of Ladbrokes since it is chosen as the best darts betting site for this tournament and a photo of the best players in the event

If you are on the lookout for a sportsbook where you can place bets on the World Darts Championship, then you really should take a look at Ladbrokes. To tell you that their coverage is very comprehensive would be an understatement, that is for certain. With a wide variety of dart specials and a plethora of live betting options, Ladbrokes definitely have all their bases covered when it comes to betting on the World Darts Championship. In addition to this, Ladbrokes are more than happy to provide their punters with a variety of free bets and other great promos, which is always awesome to hear.

Best WDC Free Bet Offer - Bet365

Logo of bet 365 chosen as the tournament best free bet offers and a photo of a dart board and trophy

Thanks to the really competitive nature of the sports betting world, bookmakers are obliged to offer their customers regular https://www.betinireland.ie/guide/free-bets/ if they want to make sure that they remain happy and stick around for a long period of time. It is great to entice someone to sign up with a welcome offer, but if they leave a few days later, then all that effort was for nothing. A bookie that does not offer their punters free bets regularly is one that will lose a high number of customers. When it comes to bookmakers that offer awesome free bets, you will not find many that can compete with Bet365. Not only do they offer free bets regularly to their loyal customers, but they chuck in a €50 Welcome Bonus to boot.

Best WDC Live Betting Site - Betway

Logo of betway chosen as the best site for live betting on this tournament and a photo of the top 3 players

When it comes to huge darts events such as the World Darts Championship, you can make a bet before one of the matches has started or you can place your wager while the match is still in action - doing the latter is known as making a live bet. Being able to place live bets is great because there is often a lot of value to be taken advantage of. When it comes to live betting on darts, there is one sports betting site that sits head and shoulders about the rest, and this is Betway. This is a great place for live betting because they have a wide variety of live markets and offer some of the best live odds around.

Best Betting Site for WDC Odds - Bwin

Logo of bwin as it is the best site that offers favourable odds on this tournament and a photo of 5 tournament players

When you are betting on a darts event such as the World Darts Championship, then it is vital that you do so using the best odds possible as this is how you make sure that you will walk away with the highest profit possible should your selected bet go on to win. Therefore, it is very important that you sign up with a sportsbook that offers their punters competitive odds. With regard to betting on the World Darts Championship, Bwin is the bookmaker that has some of the best odds for the different markets that they have on offer.

World Darts Championship Betting Odds

The 2022 PDC World Darts Championship, also known as the 2022 William Hill World Darts Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the 29th edition. This tournament will be played from the 15th of December until the 3rd of January at London's Alexandra Palace.

In the table below, you will find the current World Darts Championship betting odds for the top 20 players - since there are close to 100 players in this competition, we are not going to provide you with the odds for all of them, as we would be here all day and we do not want to end up boring you.

PlayerBet365William Hill888sportBetway
Gerwyn Price10/310/310/3100/30
Michael van Gerwen10/310/310/3100/30
Jonny Clayton11/25/111/211/2
Peter Wright7/17/17/17/1
Dimitri van den Bergh11/111/111/111/1
Jose de Sousa17/119/119/117/1
Rob Cross24/124/124/119/1
Nathan Aspinall24/124/124/124/1
Michael Smith24/124/124/124/1
Krzysztof Ratajski49/139/149/139/1
Dave Chisnall49/149/149/149/1
James Wade49/149/149/139/1
Gary Anderson39/131/139/132/1
Luke Humphries54/165/154/149/1
Ryan Searle54/149/154/139/1
Dirk van Duijvenbode69/165/169/165/1
Danny Noppert79/179/179/149/1
Chris Dobey99/179/199/199/1
Damon Heta99/179/199/199/1
Stephen Bunting99/179/199/199/1

World Darts Championship Markets

One of the great things about darts betting is that no matter what tournament you are betting on, you will always have a plethora of markets that you can try your luck with. Below are some of the more popular markets that you can place bets on when the World Darts Championship is being played.

Match Winner

As is evident from the name of this type of market, all you are doing here is putting money on the player that you feel will go on to win a particular match. If your chosen player goes on to win the match, then you make a profit. If your chosen player loses, then you lose your wager. Things do not get much simpler than that.

Tournament Winner

Instead of putting your money on the player that you feel will win a certain match, you can do a bit of outright betting and put your hard-earned cash on a player that you feel will win the title. If the player that you select goes on to win the trophy and the cheque, then you will make yourself a tidy profit. With this kind of market, we recommend that you place your bets early since the odds will not improve as the tournament wears on.

Highest Checkout

In a game of darts, the highest checkout that a player can make is 170, which is made up of two treble 20s and the bullseye. This is not an easy checkout to make, so many sports betting sites will offer very good odds for such a market. With this kind of wager, all you have to do is predict the player that will notch the highest checkout in a match.

Most 180s

180 is the highest score that a player can score on a visit to the oche, and the crowd love it when a player scores one. The majority of sports betting sites will allow their darts betting punters to put money on the player that they believe will hit the most 180s in a game.

Correct Score

With this kind of bet, you need to guess the correct final score of the game. This kind of market is lucrative when it comes to smaller competitions with short matches, but it is tricky to predict the scores of big tournaments like the World Darts Championship since the matches are long. However, tricky is not always bad as this means that there will be some great odds up for grabs.

Nine-Dart Finish

In a standard game of darts, both of the players are racing to score 501 first, and there are many different ways that it can be done. The least number of darts that a player can checkout in is nine, but this is really hard to do, and is akin to a 147 in snooker or a hat-trick in football. Any bookmaker that offers markets for darts should have a nine-dart finish market that you can put your money on.

Alternative World Darts Championship Bookies
1.
Lunubet Sports
Bonus:
€100

18+ | New players only | Min. deposit 20EUR | Max number of winnings using bonus funds is 10,000 EUR | Bonus validity 14 days from receipt | Free spins given within 5 days from bonus activation, Wagering req. : 6x bonus + deposit | Wagering, banking, terms & conditions apply | Play Responsibly

2.
DirectionBet Sport
Bonus:
€100

18+ | New players only | Min. deposit 10EUR | Max number of winnings using bonus funds is 10,000 EUR | Bonus validity 14 days from receipt | Wagering req. : 16x bonus | Wagering, banking, terms & conditions apply | Play Responsibly

3.
Funbet Sports
Bonus:
€100

18+ | New customers only | Min qualifying deposit is EUR10 | Wagering, banking, terms & conditions apply | Play Responsibly | www.gambleaware.org

World Darts Championship Tips

There are plenty of great betting tips that you can make use of when you are betting on darts events such as the World Darts Championship. You obviously do not have to pay attention to any of them, but it will be in your best interest if you do. If you think that betting and hoping that Lady Luck is on your side is the best way to bet, then you should not be surprised when you lose more bets than you win. So, let us have a look at some great betting tips that can improve your chances of landing a win when betting on the World Darts Championship.

Check out Head-to-Head Records

Darts players, just like sportsmen that play other sports, have other players that they do really well against and those players that they always struggle against for some reason or another. For instance, in the darts world, Michael Smith, who finished as the runner-up in the Premier League and the World Darts Championship, has a bad record against Peter Wright and James Wade. Additionally, when he takes on Michael van Gerwen, he seems to have a mental block and has lost against him at every big tournament they have played each other.

So, before jumping right in and betting on someone to win, we suggest that you do a quick search on Google to see how that player has fared against their opponent in the past. If it turns out that they have a bad record, then you should consider betting on someone else or another market.

Check out the Form

Form is vital in all sports, there can be no doubt about this. Those who have watched plenty of darts in the past will have seen even the best darts players struggle thanks to a dip in form and confidence. However, the nature of this sport is that a win against another quality player can click them back into gear.

In the world of darts, the best players face each other quite regularly, so their form is a really good indication as to how a certain match could play out. However, nothing can be guaranteed since anyone can beat anyone in the darts world, which is what makes it such an entertaining sport.

Do Not Bet on Only One Player to Win

Backing one participant and hoping that they go on to win the trophy is one of the more traditional ways of betting on this sport. However, choosing a winner before the tournament begins is a difficult way to land a profit because just one bad match can see your chosen player knocked out of the tournament. Thus, we suggest that you do some research before you go ahead and make an outright bet and then place your cash on two or three players that you feel might go on to win. While it is true that you will end up with a smaller profit this way, we believe that it is much better to win small cash prizes frequently instead of a big cash prize once in a blue moon.

Accumulator Strategy

If you are thinking about relaxing and watching some of the entertaining matches in a darts event such as the World Darts Championship, but do not want to follow your selected players all the way through to the end of the tournament or until they have been knocked out, then you can use an accumulator strategy instead. With an accumulator, or acca, you only win your bet if all the outcomes that you predict ring true.

Sometimes, it will not be worth your while betting on a solitary game because the odds are rubbish - there is no point betting on someone to win a match if you have to put a lot of money on them to win a small profit. However, when you add a number of matches to an accumulator, your odds will be multiplied together, and this can lead to high odds and a lot of profit if your bet comes in.

Top World Darts Championship Betting Offers

The sports betting world is one of the most competitive industries out there, and this is actually one of the main reasons why sportsbooks have to come up with different ways to appeal to punters more than their main competitors. If a rival bookie happens to be more appealing, then you do not need a degree in quantum physics to know that they will see more new players register with them instead. In such a competitive industry, it is vital that sportsbooks attract as many punters as they can.

One of the main ways that bookmakers attempt to outdo all their main rivals is by offering bonuses that people will find hard to ignore. In the following table, you will find five bookmakers that we believe have the best bonuses on offer at the current moment.

BookmakerOfferClaim
Bet365€50 worth of bet credits Claim Now
William HillMake a €10 wager and receive €30 worth of free bets Claim Now
888sportPlace a €10 bet and receive a free bet which is worth €30 Claim Now
BetVictorMake a €5 bet and recieve €30 worth of free bet bonusesClaim Now
UnibetReceive a 100% match bonus up to €50Claim Now

N.B. When it comes to different bonuses and promotions, there is something important that we must emphasise, and this is that bookmakers are constantly altering their bonuses in order to remain nice and fresh and to try and stay one step ahead of their main rivals. Thus, there is the chance that the offers you have just read about above are not the ones that are on offer when you go to register. If this happens to you, then do not threat too much since the replacement bonuses should be as good. Additionally, with regard to bonuses, you need to read all the T&Cs that apply before claiming them so that you do not end up making a mistake that costs you your bonus.

World Darts Championship Format

There is a total of 96 players that qualify for this tournament - the top 32 players in the PDC Order of Merit start in the Second Round, while the Top 32 players from the Pro Tour Order of Merit and 32 international qualifiers start in the First Round. A draw is then done live on Sky Sports News to see who will play who, and it is a knockout tournament, meaning that players are eliminated if they lose one game. There is a staggering £2.5 million in prize money up for grabs, and the champion will walk away with a cheque for £500,000.

Round One and Round Two

Round One of the 2022 edition of this competition will be played from the 15th to the 21st of December, and each match is the best of five sets, which means that a player needs to reach three sets first to book their place in the next round. The Second Round will take place from the 15th until the 23rd of December, and is also the best of five sets.

Third Round, Fourth Round and Quarter-Finals

The Third Round will take place from the 27th to the 29th of December and is the best of seven sets, or the first player to reach four sets. The Fourth Round will be played on the 29th and 30th of December and is also the best of seven sets. The quarter-final matches will be played on the 1st of January, and the first player in each match to five sets will book their place in the semi-finals.

Semi-Final and Final

The two semi-final matches will be played on the 2nd of January, and the first player in both matches to win six sets will book their place in the final. The final will be played on the 3rd of January, and the champion will be the player that wins seven sets first.

The 2022 Tournament Schedule

Above we mentioned the dates for each round of the 2022 World Darts Championship, but we thought that we would make things much easier for you by putting all that information into a table. This way, you will not need to keep checking all the text above for the dates of each round.

RoundDateBest of (Sets)
First Round15-21 December5
Second Round15-23 December5
Third Round27-29 December7
Fourth Round27-29 December7
Quarter-final1 January9
Semi-final2 January11
Final3 January13

World Darts Championship Players

Logo of William Hill and the Players of World Championship of Darts Tornament

There are 96 players taking part in this competition, and many of them will believe that they have the talent to walk away with the huge cheque worth £500,000. However, the usual suspects are the favourites with the bookmakers, and these are Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton, and Peter Wright. Let us take a closer look at these four players and what they have done over the last year or so.

Gerwyn Price

Gerwyn Price was a professional rugby player before he decided to take up darts, and it was a decision that worked out well for him as he has had a really successful darts career to date. In 2021, he won the World Darts Championship, so this time around he will be looking to reclaim his title. He is the fist Welshman to win this competition and his victory in this competition saw him jump to the top of the darts world rankings. Alongside this big win, he also made it to the semi-finals of the Masters, UK Open, and the PDC World Cup of Darts.

Michael van Gerwen

The Dutchman has been one of the best darts players in the world for many years now, and he even spent seven years at the very top of the world rankings. However, he is yet to win a single competition in 2021, and he will be eager to rectify this by winning the World Darts Championship. This year, he made it to the semi-finals of the UK Open, Premier League Darts, World Matchplay, and the World Series of Darts, but he lost them all. He might have had an average 2021, but you can never rule someone of his talent out.

Peter Wright

The Scotsman has plenty of bravado and character, and he backs this up with his skills when he takes to the stage. In 2021, he won the PDC World Cup of Darts and the World Matchplay title, while also finishing as the Grand Slam of Darts runner-up. He will be relatively happy with the success that he has had this year, but he will be looking to start 2022 on a real high by winning the World Darts Championship on the 3rd of January.

Jonny Clayton

Jonny Clayton has had a really successful 2021 - he won the Premier League Darts, The Masters, the World Series of Darts Finals, and the World Grand Prix. He has been the most successful player in 2021, and will be looking to make 2022 just as successful. If he manages to keep up the type of form that he has been showing recently, then there is absolutely every chance that he will get his 2022 off to a flier by winning this competition.

Previous Championship Winners

It is always a good idea to have a look at the previous winners of a certain competition as it can give you a very good idea as to who might go on to win the next edition of the same event. Therefore, with this in mind, we have decided to give you a table which shows the previous winners of the World Darts Championship.

YearChampionScoreRunner-Up
1994Dennis Priestley6-1Phil Taylor
1995Phil Taylor6-2Rod Harrington
1996Phil Taylor6-4Dennis Priestley
1997Phil Taylor6-3Dennis Priestley
1998Phil Taylor6-0Dennis Priestley
1999Phil Taylor6-2Peter Manley
2000Phil Taylor7-3Dennis Priestley
2001Phil Taylor7-0John Part
2002Phil Taylor7-0Peter Manley
2003John Part7-6Phil Taylor
2004Phil Taylor7-6Kevin Painter
2005Phil Taylor7-4Mark Dudbridge
2006Phil Taylor7-0Peter Manley
2007Raymond van Barneveld7-6Phil Taylor
2008John Part7-2Kirk Shepherd
2009Phil Taylor7-1Raymond van Barneveld
2010Phil Taylor7-3Simon Whitlock
2011Adrian Lewis7-5Gary Anderson
2012Adrian Lewis7-3Simon Whitlock
2013Phil Taylor7-4Michael van Gerwen
2014Michael van Gerwen7-4Peter Wright
2015Gary Anderson7-6Phil Taylor
2016Gary Anderson7-5Adrian Lewis
2017Michael van Gerwen7-3Gary Anderson
2018Rob Cross7-2Phil Taylor
2019Michael van Gerwen7-3Michael Smith
2020Peter Wright7-3Michael van Gerwen
2021Gerwyn Price7-3Gary Anderson
2022TBDTBDTBD

As you can see from the table above, they might as well have renamed this tournament the Phil Taylor Championship as he was completely dominant in it, winning the title no fewer than 14 times. Luckily for the players on the circuit today, Phil Taylor has retired, so they now have a better chance of winning it themselves. To give you an idea as to just how dominant Taylor was, the second most successful player in this tournament is van Gerwen, who has won it three times. Gary Anderson, John Part, and Adrian Lewis have all won it twice.

The Official PDC Order of Merit

In the world of darts, rankings are vital as they are what determine whether a player will get invited to particular PDC events like the World Darts Championship, World Matchplay, and the World Grand Prix. These rankings are based on the amount of prize money that a player has accumulated over the previous two years. In the following table, you will find the top 20 players at this moment in time.

RankPlayerEarnings(£)
1Gerwyn Price1,246,750
2Peter Wright1,091,500
3Michael van Gerwen816,750
4James Wade479,750
5Dimitri Van den Bergh438,750
6Gary Anderson412,500
7José de Sousa397,250
8Jonny Clayton380,250
9Michael Smith350,750
10Nathan Aspinall345,000
11Rob Cross327,000
12Krzysztof Ratajski315,250
13Joe Cullen301,250
14Dave Chisnall285,500
15Stephen Bunting241,750
16Dirk van Duijvenbode234,250
17Danny Noppert223,750
18Simon Whitlock217,250
19Luke Humphries214,500
20Mervyn King213,750

FAQs

What is the Best Bookmaker for Betting on the World Darts Championship?

This, it must be said, is a pretty subjective question since we all have our own personal opinions, and this is what makes life fun. Thus, we me might classify as the best sportsbook, you might not, and this is totally fine. Therefore, the best answer that we can give you here is that the best sportsbook for World Darts Championship betting is whatever one provides you with what you are looking to get from your sport betting experience.

How Do Players Qualify for the World Darts Championship?

The top 32 players in the PDC Order of Merit qualify for the second round of the tournament, while the 32 top players from the PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit and 32 international qualifiers join the competition in the first round.

What Prize Money is on Offer?

There is £2.5 million in prize money, with the winner walking away with £500,000 and the runner-up getting a cheque for £200,000.

Who Will Win the 2022 World Darts Championship?

Gerwyn Price is the favourite to win the 2022 World Darts Championship and retain the title that he won at the start of 2021, and we would not bet against him doing so. He has been one of the form players over the last year or so and will be confident of defending his title.