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PDC World Championship of Darts Quarter Finals Preview
Eight players remain in this year’s World Darts Championship as we approach the Quarter Finals stage on New Year’s Day.
Our blog previews the four quarter final ties on New Year’s Day.
Bet on the 2025 PDC World Championship of Darts here
Chris Dobey vs Gerwyn Price
To kick off the afternoon session, we have arguably the hardest game to call of the day between Chris Dobey and Gerwyn Price.
The pair are both priced at 10/11 to win the tie, showing how hard it is to split them. Price has won the last eight ties between the pair; however, these have been over far shorter formats than the best of nine sets here.
Dobey has posted a higher average than Price over the course of their three matches, but this is by far the hardest opponent he will have faced so far. Price has had to come through tough games, where he survived match darts to Joe Cullen before dispatching of fellow Welshman Jonny Clayton.
It’s so hard to split the pair, so it may be worth looking at alternative markets for a bet, Gerwyn Price to get over 10.5 180’s is boosted to 11/8. He scored 13 maximums against Joe Cullen and will likely have to produce a similar level of scoring if he is to get past Dobey here.
Michael van Gerwen vs Callan Rydz
Attenders of tomorrow’s afternoon session are in for a treat as Michael van Gerwen vs Callan Rydz follows the opening game.
A fascinating encounter here as we have the three-time World Champion in MVG taking on Rydz, who has had a brilliant run this tournament. Despite never winning a major, Rydz’ ability has always been clear to see, he has been one of the revelations of the tournaments.
He progressed through the first two rounds with consummate ease, not dropping a set, but it was his third-round demolition of Dimitri van den Bergh that really made the darts world sit up and take notice. Averaging 105.31 in his 4-0 victory over the Belgian, there’s no doubt that was one of the performances of the tournament so far.
In van Gerwen, he faces a far tougher opponent than anything he’s had to deal so far this year, but a reproduction of that form will make him seriously hard to beat. MVG by comparison hasn’t done anything wrong so far this tournament, there is a reason he is 4/1 second favourite to lift the title, but he’s looked streaky in his games and Rydz could put him under pressure here if he can maintain his form.
Peter Wright vs Stephen Bunting
Undoubtedly the performance of the tournament so far was Peter Wright’s 4-1 triumph over reigning World Champion Luke Humphries. It’s been a tough year for Wright, who looked out of his depth during the 2024 Premier League campaign, but he appears to be back to his best in Ally Pally. After ousting the well-fancied Humphries, there’s no reason to believe he can’t go the whole way this year.
He’s 13/10 here in his quarter-final tie against Stephen Bunting, who has been in great form himself. A popular player with the fans, Bunting completed his own round four destruction of Luke Woodhouse, when he won 4-0.
Wright has been victorious on the 180’s count in all three of his victories thus far, 3/1 in the Most 180’s market looks a good way of getting the Scotsman onside here.
Luke Littler vs Nathan Aspinall
The last match of New Year’s Day is between tournament favourite Luke Littler and Nathan Aspinall. Whilst the current 4/5 title favourite Littler hasn’t been at his brilliant best throughout the tournament, he is still winning his games in style and is 1/6 to do so again here.
On the face of it, the 1/6 about Littler looks quite short based on his form throughout the tournament, as well as the fact he faces what looks like a rejuvenated Nathan Aspinall. Another player who has struggled throughout 2024 is the Asp, who has been battling with injuries and ‘dartitis’ throughout the season. He looks to have returned to form on the Ally Pally stage and it’s great to see him back at somewhere near his best, as he’s one of the most talented players on the circuit.
The game will likely go to Littler, who may just have too much scoring power for Aspinall over the long format, but the 7/10 on Aspinall winning two sets looks a good price, especially taking into consideration that Littler hasn’t covered the handicap in his opening three ties.
