World Seniors Darts Championship: Free darts betting tips, predictions and preview for the Circus Tavern event featuring Phil Taylor

Darts betting tips: World Seniors

1pt Robert Thornton at 13/2 (Paddy Power)

1pt e.w. Lisa Ashton at 20/1 (bet365 1/3 1,2)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

What's not to love about this event?

An eclectic mix of 11 former world champions, cult heroes, and two widely unknown players who finally have a chance of making their own mark on darts history well into their 50s...even if it means scuppering all those potential 'dream' finals we've fantasised over.

And on top of all that it takes place at one of 'the' iconic darts venues, where 12 of these legends have graced and created memories during their illustrious careers.

Looking at the draw, there's at least 10 finals I'd love to see and although Dave Prins v Richie Howson isn't one of them, I'm sure if that did transpire we'd still all get caught up their unique fairytale along the way.

World Seniors Championship draw bracket

• Phil Taylor v Peter Manley/Deta Hedman
• Wayne Warren v Tony O'Shea/Kevin Painter
• Trina Gulliver v Robert Thornton/Bob Anderson
• John Lowe v Paul Lim/Dave Prins
• John Part v Les Wallace/John Walton
• Lisa Ashton v Terry Jenkins/Roland Scholten
• Keith Deller v Alan Warriner-Little/Larry Butler
• Martin Adams v Darryl Fitton/Richie Howson

Click here for full tournament guide including BBC & BT Sport TV schedule

Click here for Paul Nicholson's match-by-match and player guide

Now, previewing this event from a betting perspective is obviously so much different from any other on the darting calendar because there's hardly any form to go off.

If the exhibition circuit had been as prolific over the last 12 months as in the pre-pandemic days then a lot of these long retired stars would have a lot more match practice under their belt than they currently do and be more of a match for those who have recently been active in professional tournaments.

Even then, the likes of Peter Manley, Bob Anderson, John Lowe and Keith Deller clearly wouldn't have been playing formats as long as best-of-five sets so it's fair to say that players in that category are here for the glorious nostalgia, recreating their walk-ons and putting a smile on everyones face. Even Old Stoneface himself will crack the biggest one of his life.

It'll be fascinating to see what kind of standard they can conjure up and how much their competitive juices flow again. I saw John Lowe in an exhibition at Morley Town Centre a few years back and he was merciless with the poor members of the audience who expected him to go easy on them. To be fair he probably wouldn't have had to average more than 40 to win all his matches that night, but even so, if he's still fired up to beat nobodies then he'll have been working very hard at home to get ready for a possible battle with Paul Lim.

Nothing against Dave Prins, who finished runner-up in a qualifying event before being called into the line-up as a replacement for PDC Tour Card winner Kevin Burness, but I think we all want a Lowe v Lim showdown. The last time they met was way back in the 1999 World Championship when Lowe won for the seventh time in a row and the only time Lim got the better of him was their very first match at the Butlins Grand Masters of 1984!

Lim is obviously still operating at a pretty ageless standard and although he was involved in an awful match against Joe Murnan at the Alexandra Palace back in December, he's got a lot more recent big stage experience than most in this field, especially with his World Cup appearances for Singapore.

Prins did average 82 at Q School and only won three matches across three days of action so he could trouble Lim but whoever comes through that will surely end the three-time world champion's highly unlikely hopes of eventually facing Phil Taylor, who he last beat in 1990 and lost the other 12 matches since.

For many fans, the return of the Power to a stage where he won 11 of his 16 world titles and contested all of the 13 World Championship finals staged here before it moved to to the Ally Pally, is what this tournament is all about.

But this is one of the main reasons why I've even mentioned Dave Prins and Richie Howson before I got to Taylor; It's not just about him.

The hype surrounding the greatest player of all time, who we last saw in competitive action four years ago averaging over 102 in a World Championship final that he lost 7-2 to Rob Cross, means he's going off even-money favourite for glory.

During the 2020 lockdown he raised morale - and thousands of pounds for charity - by taking part in two online soft-tip matches from the comfort of his own home against Raymond van Barneveld (6-7), Mikuru Suzuki (7-5) and Fallon Sherrock (7-6) while on the steel tip board he was averaging in the mid-90s across his guest appearances in the MODUS Online Live Leagues that same year.

Almost two years on, what can we expect from the 61-year-old?

His participation in this event was confirmed last March so he's had more than enough time to prepare and there's no way he'll want to turn up a shadow of his former self. Especially for the old generation watching on the BBC. You may wonder why that's relevant but I distinctly remember him saying on numerous occasions ahead of the inaugural Champions League of Darts a few years ago how much he wanted to put on a good show for the 'old ladies who can't afford Sky'. And you know what, he battered MVG twice in that tournament, including in the final.

Take that with a pinch of salt, but I believe we could quite comfortably see a 90+ average standard from him, especially over best of five sets, and advance to the semi-finals.

Kevin Painter, who only retired from the professional at the start of 2021 after failing to regain his Tour Card, is certainly a big danger to Taylor in that mini section of the draw and would dearly love to get revenge for 'that' defeat in the 2004 World Championship final but he was only averaging in the mid-80s during the 2020 Challenge Tour.

The Artist, who produced some decent performances during his Online Darts Live Leagues last year and won half of his 50 matches, opens against former BDO stalwart Tony O'Shea before a second-round meeting with the last Lakeside champion Wayne Warren and that will be far from easy.

However, all this said, my pick to come through the top half of the draw is Robert Thornton and he also has to be considered at a best of 13/2 for the title.

Before we get into his ability levels right now, let's remind ourselves that he's won three majors in his career and one of them - the 2012 UK Open - came against Taylor in the final.

He also won the World Masters in his BDO days and then stunned Michael van Gerwen in the 2015 World Grand Prix final so that trademark grit and determination of his will certainly be handy when the competition gets serious.

The 54-year-old has undeniably struggled since then and lost his Tour Card at the end of the 2020 season but in the 12 Players Championship events he was still able to enter last year, he averaged a highly respectable 91 across his 29 matches and even reached a tournament semi-final last April, beating Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith along the way.

He was unable to regain a card at Q School last month but was again averaging around the 90 mark over seven tiring days so he'll surely have too much in the tank for Bob Anderson and Trina Gulliver before overcoming the winner of Lowe-Lim-Prins.

A Taylor v Thornton semi-final would be a cracker but I do feel the Power's titles odds are too short with such little knowledge on how he's playing compared to the impressive standard we know the Thorn is producing.

As for the bottom half of the draw, three-time Lakeside king Martin Adams is the the most widely fancied player to come through and reach the final but there are 10 other major champions out to stop him.

I wish I could say '11 other major champions' but sadly Terry Jenkins is probably still wondering why the Sporting Gods didn't allow him to win just one of his nine finals.

Well if you believe sporting fairytales are written in the stars then how about The Bull beating Taylor in the final and avenging four of those painful defeats? There really wouldn't be a dry eye in the house!

Jenkins was last on tour back in 2018 and before his appearances in last summer Online Darts Live League - which he entered purely to get some match practice for the World Seniors - he admitted he'd struggled to even find his darts, which eventually turned up in a suitcase he'd taken to Bahrain 12 months earlier!

To be fair he played some pretty handy darts in patches but if he gets past Roland Scholten, who was last seen chuckling in the background when Gary Anderson gave his infamous fartgate interview on Dutch TV, he'll more than likely bow out to Lisa Ashton in round two.

The Lancashire Rose will have felt mixed emotions about receiving an invite having only become eligible after the disappointment of failing to win back her PDC Tour Card at Q School but there's no doubt that the potential glory of winning this star-studded event - and a cheque for £30,000 - will be a real career highlight.

Ashton averaged around 87 during her two Players Championship seasons in 2020 and 2021 while she matched that level during last month's Q School, so we roughly know what to expect from her. Across her 39 matches last year, she only averaged in the 70s on a handful of occasions and managed 90+ 12 times, which is why her poor World Championship display against Ron Meulenkamp at the Ally Pally was so deflating.

The regular match practice on the PDC circuit for the last two years does give her a significant edge, especially in this half of the draw where so few of the legends have played competitively for a considerable about of time.

John Part went to Q School and averaged 82 across his four matches as he failed to reach stage two but that could still be enough to see off former Lakeside champions Les Wallace or John Walton, who lost all his five Online League matches to Adams, O'Shea and Darryl Fitton last year, before a probable meeting with Ashton.

In the bottom section of this half, we've got to side with Wolfie given how high a standard he was still able to produce at the age of 65 during the Online Darts Live Leagues, firing in two nine-dart finishes last year.

He was heavily active in the tournaments throughout the year and chalked up plenty of wins over the likes of Thornton, Burness, Chas Barstow, Ritchie Burnett, Painter and Fallon Sherrock - but that's not to say he didn't endure any off days.

His old BDO rival Fitton may well come unstuck against qualifier Richie Howson, who lives locally and will see this as a 'home event, but whoever he plays shouldn't be a real problem.

Then it will be either Keith Deller, Alan Warriner-Little or Larry Butler and there's no real logic to suggest any of that trio can suddenly produce the kind of quality needed to beat Adams.

Ashton will probably have to reach a high 80s average over the longest match she's ever had in a potential semi-final with Wolfie but the sustained experience against then men's elite will give her a better chance as anyone else in this section.

It would be quite some story if she walks off with the top prize but at 20/1, Ashton definitely has each-way value.

If you've got to the end of the preview and would like to know even more about what every legend has been up to as well as predictions for all the first and second round games, then I'd like to point you in the direction of Paul Nicholson's column on Sporting Life. The Asset has played against most of them plus he obviously has a lot of behind the scenes nuggets of gold due to his continued heavy involvement in the sport and appearances at exhibitions. It really is a great read. Just click on the image below.

World Senior Darts Championship Odds

• Phil Taylor (1/1)
• Robert Thornton (5/1)
• Martin Adams (9/1)
• Wayne Warren (11/1)
• Paul Lim (14/1)
• Terry Jenkins (14/1)
• Lisa Ashton (18/1)
• Darryl Fitton (20/1)
• Keith Deller (25/1)
• Kevin Painter (25/1)
• Richie Howson (33/1)
• Tony O'Shea (33/1)
• John Part (40/1)
• Dave Prins (80/1)
• John Walton (80/1)
• Roland Scholten (80/1)
• John Lowe (100/1)
• Larry Butler (100/1)
• Les Wallace (125/1)
• Bob Anderson (150/1)
• Deta Hedman (150/1)
• Peter Manley (150/1)
• Alan Warriner-Little (200/1)
• Trina Gulliver (250/1)

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