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Players Championship Finals 2024: Free darts betting tips and preview for the ITV4-televised major in Minehead

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Sat November 23, 2024 · 1M ago

The Players Championship Finals takes place this weekend so check out Chris Hammer's preview and selections for the ITV4- televised major.

Darts betting tips: Players Championship Finals

0.5pt e.w. Chris Dobey to win the title at 40/1 (General 1/2, 1,2)

0.5pt e.w. Wessel Nijman to win the title at 40/1 (Sky Bet 1/2, 1,2)

0.5pt e.w. Stephen Bunting to win the title at 28/1 (Boylesports, Betfred, 1/2, 1,2)

0.5pt e.w. Josh Rock to win the title at 33/1 (Boylesports, Betfred, 1/2, 1,2)

0.5pt e.w. Damon Heta to win the title at 40/1 (General 1/2, 1,2)

1pt Wessel Nijman to win quarter two at 13/2 (Sky Bet)

4pts a nine-dart finish in the tournament at evens (General)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

The biggest names in darts are heading to the bitterly cold Butlin's Minehead Resort this weekend for the last tournament before the season-ending PDC World Darts Championship.

Most eyes will be on Luke Littler as he chases back-to-back major titles following on from his majestic performances at the Grand Slam of Darts, where he lifted the Eric Bristow Trophy and moved past £1million in total prize money for the year, while defending champion Luke Humphries is bidding to bounce back from a shock group stage exit in Wolverhampton.

The seedings in the 64-player field are purely based on prize money earned across the 30 Players Championship tournaments throughout the year but obviously it's not exactly a fair reflection on talent levels when you consider that many of the top stars - especially those in the Premier League - tend to miss a good chunk of these events to manage their busy schedules.

The winners of the 30 Players Championship events in 2024

As you'll see from the charts above and below, Littler won three titles but ended up joint seventh in the Order of Merit while fellow three-time winner Chris Dobey is top of the pile ahead of six-time runner-up Stephen Bunting, who is close behind due to his incredible consistency when it comes to reaching the latter stages.

The seedings and Order of Merit based on the 30 Players Championship events in 2024

We've seen a hell of a lot of shocks in this year's majors and don't be surprised to see more this weekend, especially in the opening two rounds when the format is a dangerously short best-of-11 legs, before extending to best of 19 and 21 later on. You only have to ask the world number one about the pitfalls of the short format!

As usual for the majors, I'll go through each quarter of the draw and try and pick the potential winners...

Quarter One

(1) Chris Dobey v (64) Nathan Aspinall
(32) William O'Connor v (33) Niels Zonneveld
(16) Mike De Decker v (49) Richard Veenstra
(17) Michael van Gerwen v (48) Ian White
(8) Luke Littler v (57) Rob Cross
(25) Ritchie Edhouse v (40) Luke Woodhouse
(9) Danny Noppert v (56) James Hurrell
(24) James Wade v (41) Stephen Burton

Odds to win quarter: Littler 5/4, MVG 10/3, De Decker 11/1, Dobey 12/1, Cross 12/1, Noppert 14/1, Aspinall 16/1, Wade 20/1, Edhouse 22/1, Woodhouse 50/1, Zonneveld 100/1, O'Connor 100/1, Veenstra 100/1, Burton 125/1, Hurrell 125/1, White 125/1

What a quarter this is, featuring the last three major champions in Luke Littler, Ritchie Edhouse and Mike de Decker! On top of that we have five other major winners in Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Chris Dobey, Nathan Aspinall and James Wade.

Although the short format was Littler's downfall at the European Championship, when Andrew Gilding shocked him in the first round, he certainly made up for that disappointment in emphatic fashion at the Grand Slam where he won all three of his group matches in a hurry with 100+ averages.

It's almost like the Gilding defeat taught him a lesson not to take anyone lightly and if he's in that form again - and there's no real reason to suggest he won't be - then Rob Cross will struggle to keep up with him.

That said, it's still one of the toughest draws Littler could have been handed, with Cross seeded as low as 57 due to the fact he only played in 20 Players Championship tournaments and in the first four of those way back in February he hardly won any money.

Littler will probably come through this section and is clearly a very fair tournament favourite, but at such short prices, we've got to look at the potential dangers. After all, he's not had everything his way in the majors this season and potential quarter-final opponent de Decker did come agonisingly close to defeating him in the second round of the Grand Slam.

While de Decker's claims are strong due to his World Grand Prix triumph and his impressive displays at the Grand Slam, he'd potentially have a very tough second round match against van Gerwen before coming up against Dobey.

Hollywood was one of the bigger names not to qualify for Wolverhampton but statistically the number one seed is among the top 10 performers since the start of October and it's about time he converts his fantastic floor form this season to the big stage once again - just like he's done numerous times in the past.

He said: “I’ve had no luck on the stage so far this year; I’ve played alright, but my opponents have played better than me on the day. It’s not going to last for a lifetime. I will get my stage game back, and hopefully it will turn against Nathan Aspinall.”

On paper I'd say he has the easiest best-of-11 leg matches in this section and when it comes to the tougher end of the quarter he just better be at the top of his game, which is good enough to beat anyone.

CLICK HERE to back Dobey with Sky Bet

CLICK HERE to bet on quarter one

Quarter Two

(4) Ryan Searle v (61) Jeffrey de Graaf
(29) Gerwyn Price v (36) Thibault Tricole
(13) Wessel Nijman v (52) Kim Huybrechts
(20) Gian van Veen v (45) Scott Williams
(5) Dave Chisnall v (60) Joe Cullen
(28) Andrew Gilding v (37) Kevin Doets
(12) Ross Smith v (53) Dimitri Van den Bergh
(21) Wesley Plaisier v (44) Mensur Suljovic

Odds to win quarter: Price 9/2, Nijman 13/2, Searle 7/1, Chisnall 7/1, Van Veen 15/2, Smith 13/2, Van den Bergh 10/1, Cullen 16/1, Gilding 25/1, Plaisier 28/1, Suljovic 50/1, Doets 50/1, Williams 50/1, Huybrechts 50/1, de Graaf 50/1, Tricole 80/1

Gerwyn Price is favourite to come through this section despite a disappointing season and while I have no doubts he's been hitting the practice board hard after giving himself a real kick up the backside for failing to qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts, that won't necessarily restore his lost confidence on the big stage.

It would be great to see a prime Iceman battling it out with the likes of Humphries and Littler at the business end of tournaments again but he's averaging less than 95 since the start of October and has failed to sparkle in any of the majors in 2024.

Ross Smith, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Dave Chisnall, Joe Cullen and Ryan Searle are other prominent players who haven't been operating at their best levels in recent weeks so I'm sure I'm not alone in focusing on rising stars Wessel Nijman and Gian van Veen.

While the latter Dutchman enjoyed a real big stage breakthrough at the Grand Slam, his compatriot must still be wondering why his astonishing levels of performance didn't get the results he deserved.

Van Veen recorded a group stage record average of 108.89 before battering Ryan Joyce 10-2 in round two with a breathtaking 106.45 to reach the quarter-finals, where he valiantly bowed out to Gary Anderson 16-14.

Nijman averaged a whopping 107.7 in the same group as van Veen but somehow lost all three games via narrow margins (5-4 twice and 5-3) in what has to go down as one of the unluckiest campaigns in the competition's 18-year history.

Since the start of October his average of almost 98 is fourth only to Littler, Damon Heta and Anderson so he's certainly in a hot streak of form right now, and his experience in Wolverhampton will at least give him confidence that he can play to a ridiculous standard on the big stage.

The duo will probably meet in round two but I'm backing Nijman to get his revenge and go on to win the quarter.

CLICK HERE to back Nijman to win the quarter with Sky Bet

If he does go as far as the semi-finals then by that point he would be a very dangerous proposition for anyone left in the tournament over best-of-21 legs - even Littler - so I'll also recommend a small stake on him to lift the trophy.

CLICK HERE to back Nijman with Sky Bet

CLICK HERE to bet on quarter two

Quarter Three

(2) Stephen Bunting v (63) Mario Vandenbogaerde
(31) Martin Lukeman v (34) Connor Scutt
(15) Daryl Gurney v (50) Peter Wright
(18) Michael Smith v (47) Dom Taylor
(7) Josh Rock v (58) Ricky Evans
(26) Alan Soutar v (39) Jermaine Wattimena
(10) Jonny Clayton v (55) Florian Hempel
(23) Dirk van Duijvenbode v (42) Callan Rydz

Odds to win quarter: Smith 9/2, Bunting 9/2, Rock 6/1, Clayton 8/1, DVD 9/1, Wright 14/1, Gurney 16/1, Wattimena 16/1, Lukeman 25/1, Rydz 33/1, Scutt 33/1, Soutar 50/1, Evans 50/1, Hempel 50/1, Taylor 50/1, Vandenbogaerde 100/1

If you'd told Stephen Bunting after he won his maiden PDC major at the Masters back in February that he'd reach another six finals in 2024, he'd probably have thought he was about to dominate the world of darts.

As it turned out, they were all Pro Tour finals and he lost the lot!

On a positive note, it proves the Bullet is still winning a lot of matches while statistically he's among the top five performers on tour since the start of October.

Although his Grand Slam campaign ended in the second round against Gary Anderson, he averaged well over 100 in all three of his group games in Wolverhampton to underline just how well he's playing.

In general I feel he's been quite unfortunate with the draws he's received in major tournaments this year, including a pair of early round exits to Luke Humphries and another one to Anderson, but finally this one seems a lot more favourable.

That's no disrespect to Grand Slam runner-up Martin Lukeman, nor Michael Smith and Daryl Gurney - but he is playing better and more consistently than anyone in his mini section.

In addition to this, his last two outings in Minehead - the UK Open and last year's Players Championship Finals - have resulted in quarter-final runs so he'll be more than happy with the environment.

CLICK HERE to back Bunting with Sky Bet

I'm also going to have a small each-way play on Josh Rock, who I feel has been showing extremely promising shoots of form in the past few months and seems primed for a big major run.

The Northern Irishman was also unfortunate enough to find himself in the 'group of death' at the Grand Slam of Darts alongside Bunting, van Veen and Nijman, with all four players averaging over 99 in every game.

It was a superb standard and if Rock or Nijman had produced those performances in any other group they'd have surely gone through.

Rock is statistically well inside the top 10 players since the start of October with an average of 97 and there is nobody in his section of the draw who should strike fear into him.

I wouldn't be surprised to see him come up against Bunting in the quarter-finals and I'd be happy to have either in the last four chasing that each-way payout.

CLICK HERE to back Rock with Sky Bet

CLICK HERE to bet on quarter three

Quarter Four

(3) Damon Heta v (62) Mervyn King
(30) Krzysztof Ratajski v (35) Madars Razma
(14) Raymond van Barneveld v (51) Chris Landman
(19) Luke Humphries v (46) Gabriel Clemens
(6) Gary Anderson v (59) Ryan Meikle
(27) Brendan Dolan v (38) Martin Schindler
(11) Cameron Menzies v (54) Jim Williams
(22) Ryan Joyce v (43) Karel Sedlacek

Odds to win quarter: Humphries 11/8, Anderson 11/4, Heta 9/1, Schindler 14/1, Menzies 16/1, Joyce 25/1, Ratajski 25/1, van Barneveld 33/1, Dolan 40/1, Williams 50/1, Clemens 50/1, Razma 50/1, Meikle 50/1, King 100/1, Landman 100/1, Sedlacek 100/1

They often say 'beware the wounded animal' and in this quarter - and indeed the whole tournament - it's obviously Luke Humphries.

The world number one has lost grip of two of the major titles he held since the start of October - the World Grand Prix and Grand Slam of Darts - and he will be desperate to avoid an unwanted hat-trick ahead of his World Championship defence next month.

A group stage exit with a game to spare at the Grand Slam will have been a humbling experience for Humphries but he didn't let it show. Like a model professional, he refused to sulk and promptly thumped Mickey Mansell 5-1 with a 101.5 average to let everyone know he'll soon be back with a point to prove.

That said, we live in a darting world where nobody is scared of anyone.

If he faces someone high on confidence and playing well - like Jermaine Wattimena at the European Championship - then they won't fear him.

Gary Anderson is his obvious threat in this relatively soft quarter of the draw, especially given how the Flying Scotsman got his big stage mojo back during the Grand Slam of Darts and came so close to defeating Luke Littler in the semi-finals.

But before then, Cool Hand needs to watch out for Damon Heta, whose nickname feels very appropriate right now.

The Heat may well have gone under the radar in recent months due to his early exits in the majors and a failure to come through the Grand Slam qualifying event, but statistically he's been on fire in all competitions since the start of October.

His average of 99.9 is second only to Littler's 100.03 during this timeframe and has exceeded 100 in 17 of his last 32 matches.

Heta will be in those group of players watching those lower down the rankings achieving great things and wondering why he hasn't contended recently. This is a perfect weekend to put the record straight.

He's also got a liking for Minehead too having reached the semi-finals of the UK Open here back in February and also enjoying a run to the quarter-finals of the 2023 Players Championship Finals.

CLICK HERE to back Heta with Sky Bet

CLICK HERE to bet on quarter four

Will there be a nine-darter?

It's even-money with most bookmakers for there to be a nine-darter at any point during the Players Championship Finals this weekend.

There's been one in each of the last two editions - although both of those came courtesy of Michael van Gerwen and in the final, against Rob Cross (2022) and Luke Humphries (2023).

The Dutchman was also responsible for a perfect leg against Adrian Lewis back in 2019 while the tournament's only other nine-darter was struck by Alan Norris back in 2016.

Since MVG managed it in defeat to Humphries last year, we've seen four more perfect legs in televised PDC tournaments; Littler at the Bahrain Masters and the Premier League Final, Gerwyn Price during the PL season and Dimitri Van den Bergh in the World Matchplay.

Littler twice missed double 12 for a nine-darter during his triumphant Grand Slam of Darts campaign and if he enjoys another lengthy run in Minehead, I wouldn't be surprised to see him have another crack at it.

There have been a record 55 nine-darters hit in all PDC competitions this season and including the four mentioned above and on the European Tour, there has been 10 in stage events in front of crowds.

With all the top talent in action spurring each other on this weekend, the nine-darter could feel on the cards from the very first night and I'd rather be on that side of what bookmakers rate as close to a coin toss.

CLICK HERE to back a nine-dart finish with Sky Bet

Players Championship Finals: How to watch on TV

The 2024 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, and through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay. Coverage will also be broadcast on PDCTV (excluding subscribers in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland), while action from Stage Two will be broadcast worldwide on PDCTV on Friday and Saturday.

Players Championship Finals 2024: Daily Schedule

Friday November 22
Afternoon Session (1245-1700 GMT)
Main Stage

Gian van Veen v Scott Williams
Brendan Dolan v Martin Schindler
Ritchie Edhouse v Luke Woodhouse
James Wade v Stephen Burton
Ryan Searle v Jeffrey de Graaf
Martin Lukeman v Connor Scutt
Dave Chisnall v Joe Cullen

Stage Two

Andrew Gilding v Kevin Doets
William O'Connor v Niels Zonneveld
Krzysztof Ratajski v Madars Razma
Cameron Menzies v Jim Williams
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Callan Rydz
Ryan Joyce v Karel Sedlacek
Wesley Plaisier v Mensur Suljovic
Alan Soutar v Jermaine Wattimena
Wessel Nijman v Kim Huybrechts

Evening Session (1900-2300 GMT)
Main Stage

Daryl Gurney v Peter Wright
Gerwyn Price v Thibault Tricole
Chris Dobey v Nathan Aspinall
Michael van Gerwen v Ian White
Luke Littler v Rob Cross
Luke Humphries v Gabriel Clemens
Gary Anderson v Ryan Meikle

Stage Two

Damon Heta v Mervyn King
Jonny Clayton v Florian Hempel
Danny Noppert v James Hurrell
Raymond van Barneveld v Chris Landman
Stephen Bunting v Mario Vandenbogaerde
Mike De Decker v Richard Veenstra
Michael Smith v Dom Taylor
Josh Rock v Ricky Evans
Ross Smith v Dimitri Van den Bergh

Saturday November 23
Afternoon Session (1245-1700 GMT)

Main Stage - Second Round x8
Stage Two - Second Round x8

Evening Session (1900-2300 GMT)

Main Stage - Third Round x4
Stage Two - Third Round x4

Sunday November 24
Afternoon Session (1245-1700 GMT)

Quarter-Finals

Evening Session (1900-2300 GMT)

Semi-Finals
Final

PDC Winmau World Youth Championship Final
(To be held between semi-finals & final of Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals)
Gian van Veen v Jurjen van der Velde– Best of 11 legs