The PDC World Darts Championship is one of the highlights of the entire sporting year, with precision meeting passion at the iconic Alexandra Palace in London.
The top players in the world take to the oche in electric circumstances at ‘Ally Pally’, as the thousands of boisterous fans in attendance create an atmosphere like no other.
It takes a real sharpshooter to remain calm under the pressure of playing in such a prestigious tournament and not get carried away in the emotion of the atmosphere.
With all that said, and this year’s tournament firmly on the horizon, let’s take a look at the favourites in the World Darts Championship 2024 odds.
Michael van Gerwen – 4/1
Such is the prowess of Michael van Gerwen that the bookmakers install him as the favourite for the World Darts Championship almost every year.
The Dutchman has won the top prize three times in the last 10 years, but hasn’t gotten his hands on the silverware since beating Michael Smith in 2019.
Van Gerwen has been in two finals since though, losing to Peter Wright in 2020 before Smith got his revenge last time out.
‘Mighty Mike’ has had a pretty decent year on tour, winning two PDC premier events in the form of the Premier League and the World Series Finals amongst others.
Gerwyn Price – 9/2
Professional rugby player turned darts thrower, Gerwyn Price’s rise to the top of the sport in such a short period is astronomical.
The Welshman only joined the PDC tour in 2014. But within seven years on the circuit, he was crowned World Champion — beating dual winner Gary Anderson 7-3 in 2021 final.
Price has been knocked out in the quarter-finals in the two renewals since, but he has a few big wins this season — including in the European and International Darts Opens.
If on the right form, you can’t rule ‘The Iceman’ out at Ally Pally.
Luke Humphries – 6/1
A player hoping to get his hands on the prize for the first time, Luke Humphries is the third favourite in the darts betting at 6/1.
Another player who’s had a meteoric rise up the rankings, the 28-year-old first appeared in the tournament in 2018 and has reached the quarter-finals in 2019, 2020 and 2022.
‘Cool Hand Luke’ won his first premier event at the World Grand Prix earlier this year, and the World No.4 could certainly be a contender for the World Championship.
Michael Smith – 7/1
Nobody has successfully defended their world title since Anderson’s back-to-back triumphs in 2015 and 2016, but Michael Smith will be hoping to change that this year.
The former World Youth Champion was in red-hot form 12 months ago, winning the Grand Slam of Darts to land his maiden premier event.
‘Bully Boy’ was, therefore, brimming with confidence heading to Alexandra Palace and he ultimately prevailed with a 7-4 win over van Gerwen.
With a few more wins under his belt this year, World No.1 Smith might just have what it takes to keep hold of that trophy.