History Says Stick With the Favourites in Darts World Grand Prix
The 2023 BoyleSports World Grand Prix is underway. The 26th edition of the tournament – a unique double-start event – began on Monday night at Leicester’s Morningside Arena. It will conclude on Sunday before Sky TV’s cameras when the champion will collect a £120,000 prize.
An elite World Grand Prix field of 32 darts players consists of the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit and the top 16 non-qualified players from the ProTour Order of Merit. Only the top eight players on the Order of Merit have been seeded for the tournament.
The in-form Dave Chisnall believes he is due a big title. Could this be his week? ©PDC
Reigning champion Michael van Gerwen headlines the field, which includes : World Champion Michael Smith and 2020 winner Gerwyn Price. Last year’s runner-up, Nathan Aspinall, and 2021 champion Jonny Clayton also feature among the eight seeded stars in the £600,000 event.
At the outset, darts betting sites made van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price 4/1 joint-favourites. Amongst the outsiders were 2017 champion Daryl Gurney (100/1) and the 2011 runner-up, Brendan Dolan (250/1).
Tough but Easy for MVG
Six-time champion van Gerwen has dominated the double-start event since his maiden triumph in 2012. He proceeded to take the title in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2022. In a huge upset, Robert Thornton did manage to relegate the Dutchman to second in 2015’s final.
“I am happy with my game at the moment,” van Gerwen told the darting press ahead of the competition. “But this is a really tough event to win, and with the short format in the early rounds, you can’t afford to make any mistakes.” The 34-year-old was priced 2/5 to proceed to the second round on Tuesday night at the expense of Josh Rock.
Two-time Grand Prix runner-up Dave Chisnall was also quoted on 2/5 to reach round two – by beating debutant Luke Woodhouse. “I think I’m due a big title with the way I’m playing,” said Chisnall on Saturday. Less than seven days after taking the Hungarian Darts Trophy, the St Helens ace followed up with a ProTour success in Barnsley last Thursday.
Can Wade or Anderson Join the Party?
The list of major 2023 PDC competition winners shows that the current darts season has been very open.
| Cazoo World Darts Championship | Michael Smith |
| Bahrain Darts Masters | Michael Smith |
| Nordic Darts Masters | Peter Wright |
| Cazoo Masters | Chris Dobey |
| Cazoo UK Open | Andrew Gilding |
| Cazoo Premier League | Michael van Gerwen |
| bet365 US Darts Masters | Michael van Gerwen |
| MyDieselClaim World Cup of Darts | Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton |
| Superbet Poland Darts Masters | Michael van Gerwen |
| Betfred World Matchplay | Nathan Aspinall |
| NZ Darts Masters | Rob Cross |
| PalmerBet NSW Darts Masters | Rob Cross |
| Jack’s World Series of Darts Finals | Michael van Gerwen |
| Interwetten Baltic Sea Darts Open | Dave Chisnall |
| Interwetten European Darts Open | Gerwyn Price |
| Interwetten International Darts Open | Gerwyn Price |
| Interwetten German Darts Grand Prix | Michael Smith |
| Interwetten Austrian Darts Open | Jonny Clayton |
| Dutch Darts Championship | Dave Chisnall |
| Blåkläder Belgian Darts Open | Michael van Gerwen |
| Gambrinus Czech Darts Open | Peter Wright |
| Interwetten European Darts Grand Prix | Rob Cross |
| Interwetten European Darts Matchplay | Luke Humphries |
| Interwetten German Darts Open | Krzysztof Ratajski |
| Hungarian Darts Trophy | Dave Chisnall |
A name missing from the list of 2023 tournament winners is James Wade. The often-controversial left-hander has won the World Grand Prix twice in the past. At the outset, Wade – one of five former champions in the field – was priced 66/1 by the event’s sponsor, Boylesports.
Another veteran, Gary Anderson, is trading considerably shorter at 18/1. Following a challenging 18 months, the two-time World Champion has recently shown glimpses of his former brilliance. He could conceivably take the Grand Prix title for the first time.
In a warning to punters, the Scotsman said: “I think it’s going to be wide open this year. You can’t really say an outsider [will win it], but I don’t think it will be one of the favourites. Maybe it could be an old 52-year-old; you never know!”
Helpful World Grand Prix Information
The Boylesports World Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners, including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland-based subscribers).
| Second-Round: | Wednesday 4th October 7 pm start |
| Second-Round: | Thursday 5th October 7 pm start |
| Quarter-Finals: | Friday 6th October 7 pm start |
| Semi-Finals: | Saturday 7th October 8 pm start |
| Final: | Sunday 8th October 8 pm start |
| First-Round | Best of Three Sets |
| Second-Round | Best of Five Sets |
| Quarter-Finals | Best of Five Sets |
| Semi-Finals | Best of Seven Sets |
| Final | Best of Nine Sets |
All sets are ‘best of five legs’. All games are double start and double finish. It means players must first hit a double before they can begin scoring in each leg. The bullseye will count as double 25.
| Winner | £120,000 |
| Runner-Up | £60,000 |
| Semi-Finalists | £40,000 |
| Quarter-Finalists | £25,000 |
| Last 16 | £15,000 |
| Last 32 | £7,500 |
| Total | £600,000 |
Who will win the 2023 World Grand Prix?
Daryl Gurney (2017), Robert Thornton (2015), and Alan Warriner (2001) are the only shock winners of this tournament. The prize normally goes to one of the favourites, but in-form players do not always perform well in this competition. For example, despite a number of years at the top of the sport, Peter Wright has just a single final appearance to show for his 11 previous Grand Prix attempts.
Michael Smith, who took the World Darts Championship at the start of the year, looked good when beating Callan Rydz in the first round. With several first-round exits, this has never been a strong competition for Smith. But, with the first hurdle successfully negotiated and future games being ‘best of five sets’ or longer, the number one seed has a chance to set the record straight.
