Will This Week’s Masters Be a Sixth Van Gerwen Masterclass?
The Darts Cazoo Masters begins on Friday. At 5/2, Michael van Gerwen tops the betting for the £275,000 event. The Dutchman is a five-time Masters winner, but he has not reached the final of the Milton Keynes event since 2019.
World number one Michael Smith follows in the betting. Successful in 19 of his last 21 games – a sequence that has seen him take the World Championship and Bahrain Darts Masters – the St Helens player can be backed at 9/2 with the best darts betting sites.
Michael Smith complimented his World Championship victory with success in the Bahrain Darts Masters. ©Bahrain International Circuit
The 2023 Cazoo Masters, which will take place over three days in Milton Keynes, will see 24 players in action at the Marshall Arena. And it is an elite line-up featuring the top 24 on the PDCs Order of Merit.
A Date with the Top Eight
Players that are residents of the world’s top eight receive an automatic bye into Saturday’s Masters second round. In ranking order, those players are Michael Smith, Peter Wright, Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Luke Humphries, Rob Cross, Jonny Clayton and Danny Noppert.
On Friday, eight first-round matches – featuring contestants seeded nine to 24 playing in best-of-11 legs matches – will unfold before ITV cameras. Amongst the highlights, two-time 2022 televised finalist Nathan Aspinal will face a resurgent Stephen Bunting.
2014 Masters champion James Wade plays debutant Callan Rydz. World Championship semi-finalist Dimitri Van den Bergh meets two-time World Champion Gary Anderson. And last year’s Masters’ semi-finalist, Jose De Sousa takes on German trailblazer Gabriel Clemens.
The opening match of this year’s competition will see Ryan Searle meet 2022 Masters runner-up Dave Chisnall. A first-round clash of real intrigue is Joe Cullen versus Chris Dobey. Cullen won this tournament twelve months ago. But Dobey is climbing up the world rankings, and he reached the quarter-final of the World Championship less than a month ago.
Is There an Unpredictable Winner Lurking?
Nevertheless, the respected darts betting sites do not believe the 2023 Masters can fall to anyone other than a top-seven player. The eighth seed, Danny Noppert, can be backed at 33/1. And all players ranked lower than him are available at greater odds – prices of up to 150/1.
But it is hard to say where the value lies amongst that ‘big seven’. Last weekend’s Nordic Masters underlined just how competitive and unpredictable the game currently is at the highest level.
A Peter Wright versus Gerwyn Price final represented a return to form for two players that had looked short of their best for the past few months. And ‘form horses’ Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen both exited in the second round after beating local hopes in their opening matches.
How, When and Where Can I Watch the Masters?
Following Saturday’s second-round action, the Masters will conclude on Sunday, January 29th. This action-packed day will feature quarter-final matches during an afternoon session, followed by the best-of-21-legs semi-finals and final.
The 2023 Cazoo Masters will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners, including DAZN and Viaplay, and via the best live streaming betting sites.
