More PDC Darts Than Ever in 2024 – Betting Bonanza Predicted
Following the exploits of Luke Littler – the then 16-year-old darts sensation who reached the final of the World Championship in January – the sport of darts is set to reach new heights in 2024. In the professional ranks, more tournaments than ever are scheduled this season. There will be one hundred and seventy days of competition, of which 60 days of live action will be broadcast on Sky Sports.
Teenage sensation Luke Littler has raised the profile of darts, meaning 2024 will be the sport’s biggest year to date. ©PDC
Sky Sports has the broadcast rights to Dart’s biggest tournaments. In 2024, its coverage will include the World Darts Championship, the Premier League, Betfred World Matchplay, the Grand Slam of Darts, the World Grand Prix and the World Cup of Darts. Additionally, its sister channel, Sky Documentaries, recently announced the commission of an access-all-areas documentary series.
A Simple Title for a Fascinating Series
The new show, called ‘Darts’, tracks players from pre-tournament preparation to the final appearances. It follows up-and-coming hopefuls to top-seeded players, the families who support them to achieve their dreams, and those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to create this global phenomenon.
Announcing the new series, Tom Barry, Commissioning Editor of Sky Documentaries, said: “This year’s World Championship has shown how Darts can captivate the nation. Going beyond just the competition, for the first time, we are thrilled to bring audiences closer to the action and give them a glimpse of what it takes to make it to the top.”
A Sky press-pack added: “Darts is one of the most popular sports on TV, yet little is known about the players themselves. This series charts what it’s really like to be a darts player in today’s world: the ups and downs, the humour, the camaraderie, as well as the sacrifices they make to win the biggest prize in the game.”
Second Only to Football on Sky Sports
A record audience of over 4.8 million people tuned in to watch the World Darts Championship decider between Luke Humphries and Luke Littler. Sky reported that an impressive peak audience of 3.71 million people – a 143 percent increase on the 2023 final – gave the match the largest non-football audience for a single event in the broadcaster’s history.
“This year’s World Championship was record-breaking on every level, and it’s fitting that its final reached the biggest audience in the history of the PDC and Sky Darts,” said Matt Porter, the Professional Darts Corporation’s Chief Executive. PDC chairman Eddie Hearn was equally happy. Unable to contain his enthusiasm, he Tweeted the following:
Scrap that!!!! 3.71m peak and 4.8m total audience for the final last night..highest ever non football audience on @SkySports – darts is MASSIVE! 🎯 https://twitter.com/eddiehearn/status/1742524034598707526
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) January 4, 2024
MGM Has Joined the Premier League
Unsurprisingly, major bookmaking brands are keen to be associated with the PDC’s most significant events. A relative newcomer to the online betting marketplace, BetMGM became the official sponsor of the Premier League at the start of the year.
The competition began on February 1, in Cardiff, where Michael Smith prevailed ahead of Gerwyn Price in the nightly final. Seven days later, Michael van Gerwen narrowly prevailed in Berlin over Luke Littler, taking his first nightly final by a 6-5 scoreline. The Dutchman won again in week three.
Future Premier League nights – always staged on a Thursday – are scheduled for Newcastle, Exeter, Brighton, Nottingham, Dublin, Belfast, Manchester, Birmingham, Rotterdam, Liverpool, Aberdeen, Leeds and Sheffield before the Play-Offs in London.
Ladbrokes Are Back in the Sponsorship Scramble
Ladbrokes has a long-held association with the PDC, having sponsored the World Darts Championship from 2003 until 2014. The British company also backed the Players Championship Finals from 2018 until 2021 and the UK Open from 2019 to 2021.
Established in 1886, the company returns to the fold in 2024 with sponsorship of the ever-popular annual festival of darts, the UK Open. It will take place from March 1-3 at Butlin’s Minehead Resort.
Ladbrokes will also sponsor November’s Players Championship Finals. Also played in Minehead, this is the last event on the busy 2024 calendar before the World Championship begins. Both the UK Open and Players Championship Finals are broadcast on ITV.
Other significant tournaments sponsored by UK darts betting sites include the World Matchplay. Between July 13 and 21, the cream of the darting crop will congregate on Blackpool to fight over the sport’s second biggest prize in terms of prestige. Betfred will sponsor the World Matchplay for a sixth successive year; ÂŁ800,000 in prizemoney is on the line.
Boylesports money will be on offer in October’s World Grand Prix. The Irish company has backed this unique ‘double-in, double-out’ competition five times in the past. In 2023, it served as the breakthrough event for winner Luke Humphries. The 29-year-old would claim the Grand Slam of Darts, the Players Championship Finals and the World Championship in the following three months.
Wright and Noppert Need to Find Form
Who will win the bulk of the impressive prizemoney on offer during 2024? Luke Humphries’s superb surge during late 2023 – and his World Championship victory during the opening days of 2024 – pushed him to number one on the world standings. The rankings, better known as the PDC Order of Merit, are based on prize money won over a two-year period by players in ranking tournaments. The current standings are:
| Pos. | Player | Prizemoney |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luke Humphries | ÂŁ1,479,500 |
| 2 | Michael van Gerwen | ÂŁ1,125,000 |
| 3 | Michael Smith | ÂŁ1,105.250 |
| 4 | Nathan Aspinall | ÂŁ641,500 |
| 5 | Gerwyn Price | ÂŁ626,000 |
| 6 | Rob Cross | ÂŁ585,750 |
| 7 | Danny Noppert | ÂŁ528,750 |
| 8 | Peter Wright | ÂŁ498,250 |
| 9 | Jonny Clayton | ÂŁ486,500 |
| 10 | Dave Chisnall | ÂŁ483,250 |
The notable big-name players missing from the top-10 include Luke Littler. The teenage sensation currently sits in 30th place with ÂŁ218,500 in accumulated prize money. Another notable absentee is Stephen Bunting. The 2014 BDO World Darts Championship winner enjoyed his biggest moment on the PDC tour when taking February’s televised Masters tournament.
However, as that event did not carry ranking status, Bunting remains in 17th position on the PDC Order of Merit. In their current form, Bunting and Littler are predicted to quickly ladder up the rankings and claim a spot in the all-important top 16.
The same cannot be said of Danny Noppert. The surprise 2022 UK Open champion could fall out of the top 16 during the autumn unless he rediscovers his best form. Peter Wright is relatively safe, but not since 2012 has he been ranked lower than his current eighth spot. The 2020 and 2022 World Champion appears to be regressing and could drop further in 2024.
Rock One of Three Players to Follow in 2024
The PDC World Youth Championship has proven an excellent guide to the sport’s stars of the future. Future World Champions Michael Smith and Luke Humphries landed the event. Luke Littler – who needs no introduction – is the reigning champion.
2022 World Youth Champion Josh Rock has not matched those players’ giddy heights. But, on the 2023 PDC Pro Tour, he reached the final of four Players Championship events and the Austrian Darts Open. Rock reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts, where he lost 15–16 to James Wade.
SIMPLY SENSATIONAL! 🤯
Josh Rock goes 19-D20-D20 for a sublime 99 finish and he’s within a leg of the match! Incredible!#WCDarts | R3 đź“ş https://www.pdc.tv/news/2022/12/15/how-watch-202223-cazoo-world-darts-championship pic.twitter.com/6q9WvCH5bh
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 27, 2022
Currently world-ranked 21, Rock is fancied to enjoy deep runs in many of 2024’s ranking events, and the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland could be worth following at big prices in forthcoming tournaments.
Anderson Coming Back to Brilliant Best
Gary Anderson could be considered an unoriginal recommendation as a player to follow. 53, a five-time World Darts Championship finalist (winning twice), he has little to prove. Age suggests his best days are behind him, and the veteran’s end-of-season 27 ranking says a lot about his 2023 form.
But the Scott is going enjoying a renaissance. Following two years in the relative wilderness, ‘The Flying Scotsman’ showed his brilliance had simply taken a break when landing a Player Championship event earlier this week. The victory saw him rise two places in the PDC Order of Merit.
Anderson produced four 100-plus averages across the competition and missed double 12 for a nine-darter on three occasions, the last of which came in the final leg of the final against Ryan Searle. Earlier in the day, Anderson had beaten Daniel Klose, Adam Gawlas, Daryl Gurney, Andy Baetens – where Anderson recorded an outstanding 117.12 average – and Peter Wright.
Ryan Will Be at Home in Minehead
Ryan Searle has played the World Championship six times and reached the third or fourth round every occasion. He has only progressed beyond the semi-final of a PDC premier event just once, but 2024 could be his year.
All round consistency sees the 36-year-old that uses the alias ‘Heavy Metal’ ranked 20. This week, he made the final of back-to-back Players Championship events, earning ÂŁ20,000 in prizemoney. He is only ÂŁ27,000 shy of passing Ross Smith on the Order of Merrit – it would place him in the world’s top 16.
Brilliant on doubles, with a nine-darter logged in November 2023, Searle has enjoyed many deep runs in the UK Open. Currently throwing some excellent darts, he is predicted to go close in the 2024 event, which is staged in his home county of Somerset.
