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Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen
Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen

Grand Slam of Darts final: Michael van Gerwen v Peter Wright predictions, odds, betting tips, order of play & TV start time

Darts
Sun November 19, 2017 · 7y ago

Michael van Gerwen will play Peter Wright in the final of the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton tonight. Here's all you need to know...

Two-time defending champion van Gerwen saw off arch-rival Phil Taylor 16-8 in a one-sided semi-final this afternoon to set up a clash with Snakebite, who produced one of the finest comebacks in televised darts to see off Gary Anderson 16-15.

Here, we have Chris Hammer's prediction and best bets, head-to-head records, each players' results so far and the latest Sky Bet odds. You can also click here to look back at the group standings and full tournament results.

Grand Slam of Darts: Sunday November 19

  • Click on the odds for more Sky Bet match markets
  • TV Coverage: Sky Sports Action/Main Event (7pm)
  • Final: Best of 31 legs

Michael van Gerwen (1/6) v Peter Wright (4/1)

Head-to-head record

Overall
Van Gerwen 46 wins, Wright 11 wins, 2 draws

2017 meetings

Grand Slam of Darts Results so far

Michael van Gerwen

Peter Wright

Preview

Quite how Peter Wright got here is beyond me. His nickname should be changed to Houdini.

Trailing Gary Anderson 14-8, Snakebite produced one of the most incredible darting comebacks seen on TV by winning eight of the last nine legs to triumph 16-15 and reach his first Grand Slam of Darts final.

To do this against any player is one thing but to do it against one of the greatest of all time is something else. He always seems to struggle in his rivalry with Anderson and it looked like the same old story was being played out this afternoon until he somehow found an extra level from nowhere and the Flying Scotsman blew apart like never seen before.

It's going to be another incredibly tough ask to mentally regroup in time for tonight's final but he should just try and focus on enjoying the opportunity to claim his second major TV title, as the underdog, considering he really shouldn't be in this position!

In the other semi-final, Michael van Gerwen ruthlessly ended Phil Taylor's dream of winning a seventh Grand Slam title before his retirement at the end of the season while the 16-8 triumph also healed some of the wounds he's suffered in this rivalry.

Having been battered by the Power during the summer's World Matchplay and then being dumped out of the Champions League of Darts back in September, he wanted to make sure he got potentially got the last word in potentially their final ever meeting.

MVG left nothing to chance either, blistering clear from 11-8 up and ending the match with yet another 100+ average of 106.87 while he also nailed three 100+ checkouts, including a stunning best of 164 in the 13th leg to take an 8-5 lead.

The world number one, who entered the tournament back in top form having scooped the last two TV titles, will be extremely confident of lifting his third Grand Slam of Darts trophy in a row, especially given his psychological advantage against Wright.

Sure, the Scotsman ended a 16-game losing run against him back in February before defeating him in two European Tour finals, including a thumping 6-0 victory in Germany, but MVG got revenge in a big way by triumphing in that thrilling Premier League Darts final in May.

The UK Open champion missed six darts for what would have been by far his finest ever success but he choked and allowed MVG to swoop for an 11-10 win.

That hurt Snakebite and although he's still managed to win 11 PDC titles this season, if it comes close tonight then those memories could well play to the Dutchman's advantage.

In any case I don't think it will be that close but the odds of 1/6 mean there's not too much value about.

Given his obvious strength on the 180s and how he's been peppering the high 100+ checkouts during this awesome run of momentum then I have a couple of options

MVG to win, score over 9.5 180s and have a checkout of over 129.5 is Price Boosted to 7/2 from 5/2 although a very one-sided scoreline will hinder his chances of reaching all those targets.

Therefore going for the match treble of MVG to win, hit the most 180s and the highest checkout at 13/8 is worth some interest too.

Prediction: Michael van Gerwen 16-10 Peter Wright

Sunday evening's suggested darts bets

AFTERNOON SEMI-FINALS

  • Afternoon Session
  • TV Coverage: Sky Sports Action (1pm)
  • 2x Semi-Finals: Best of 31 legs

Peter Wright (11/8) v Gary Anderson (4/7)

Head-to-head record

Overall
Wright 12 wins, Anderson 23 wins, 1 draw

2017 meetings

Grand Slam of Darts Results so far

Peter Wright

Gary Anderson

Preview

A semi-final showdown between the PDC's number two and three was always on the cards but the statistics above clearly show only one of them has got to this point with flying colours.

Apart from a sloppy opening win, Gary Anderson has hammered the 100+ averages and the victory against Michael Smith was particularly mesmerising has he won all his legs in 15 darts. Even MVG would have struggled to live with that relentless scoring and finishing that night.

It's also highly impressive he still managed an average of just under 102 despite missing plenty of doubles in a war of attrition against his bogey player Mensur Suljovic, and having rested up following that mental struggle on Friday night, he'll be firmly focused on producing his free-flowing best.

By contrast, Peter Wright would have bowed out in the group stages had Alan Norris converted his match dart but it was a much tougher pool - especially in best-of-nine legs format - than the Flying Scotsman's.

Snakebite upped his game significantly to see off Stephen Bunting and was well on course for a landslide win over Glen Durrant before the BDO world champion's comeback in vain took the glow off the scoreline.

Although Wright broke his major duck at the UK Open back in March and has won 11 PDC titles in a superb 2017, he's rarely able to produce that same stunning standard that Anderson is not only capable of, but has demonstrated this week. He's typically peaking at the right time.

The two-time world champion has also won six of their seven matches in 2017, including the most recent at the Champions League of Darts. while Wright has only beaten him twice in their 15 matches dating back to 2014. They don't like each other off the oche and Anderson seems to cope better in these needle occasions.

Prediction: Wright 10-16 Anderson

Michael van Gerwen (2/7) v Phil Taylor (13/5)

Head-to-head record

Overall
Van Gerwen 25 wins, Taylor 34 wins, 2 draws

2017 meetings

Grand Slam of Darts Results so far

Michael van Gerwen

Phil Taylor

Preview

Michael van Gerwen may well be the "best right now" but it's the "best of all time" who holds the psychological advantage over him in head-to-head meetings over the past year or so.

The Power makes no secret of how he loves to get one over on the Dutchman and sometimes you wonder if just knocking him out of tournaments feels just as satisfying as winning one these days.

The 57-year-old has beaten MVG seven times in their last 10 meetings, which included a 16-6 hammering at this summer's World Matchplay and a decisive victory at September's Champions League of Darts, which saw the world number one exit in the group stages.

In my pre-tournament preview, I mentioned how Taylor's struggles with mental and physical fatigue as he winds down towards retirement would mean a best-of-31 leg semi-final after a long week is just too much for him this time. Irrespective of how determined he'd be to chalk up yet another win over his arch-rival.

However, as it's turned out, he almost seemed deliberately in first gear during the group phases as not to expend too much mental focus while he made such short work of Darren Webster and Daryl Gurney that he's probably still feeling pretty fresh.

It was very much a vintage performance to demolish Gurney 16-4 after winning 12 legs in succession and only allowing his opponent five darts at doubles or the bull during that run - and if he can maintain those levels into Sunday then he'll apply real pressure on MVG. And that was the secret to his other recent victories against him.

There's no denying van Gerwen's brilliance over the past few weeks in claiming back-to-back TV titles at the European Championship and World Series of Darts Finals while he's produced no shortage of eye-popping darts in Wolverhampton this week, particularly in both showdowns with rising star Rob Cross.

After beating Cross in an epic quarter-final, MVG admitted he really needs to beat Taylor on the televised stage as it could potentially be their last ever meeting - but that's also a huge motivation for the Power.

If we're expecting a thriller then plenty would say it's worth backing Taylor at 13/5 but I'd rather swerve picking a winner and instead go for the 11/10 about there being over 25.5 legs, a checkout of over 126.5 and more than 14.5 180s.

Prediction: MVG 16-14 Taylor

Sunday afternoon's suggested darts bets

Sunday afternoon's darts double

Related darts links