PDC World Darts Championship Final 2023 Tips: van Gerwen to edge past Smith in thriller
Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith will clash at the Alexandra Palace this evening in the final of the 2023 PDC World Darts Championship, and here at BettingOdds.com we preview the battle on the oche and pick out our best bets for the match...
Three times PDC World Darts champion Michael van Gerwen will bid for a fabulous fourth victory in the prestigious showpiece when he takes on Michael Smith, who is looking to finally taste victory in the event at the Alexandra Palace. 'Mighty' Mike last won this event back in 2019, where he incidentally beat Smith in the final 7-3, but the Dutchman could face a stiffer test against 'Bully Boy' Michael Smith, who has been one of the stars of the last 12 months.
Smith not only suffered defeat in the 2019 final, but the Englishman was beaten 7-5 by Peter Wright in last year's final, so he will be hoping it's third time lucky this evening, but he will head into the contest as the underdog with the bookmakers, as he looks to claim a maiden world title.
van Gerwen, who also won this event in 2014 and 2017, has been installed as the red-hot 1/3 favourite with the bookmakers, while Smith is available at 11/4 with some firms to claim the victory. First to seven sets, both players head into the final in excellent form with van Gerwen cruising to victory in his semi-final last night, as he obliterated Dimitri van den Bergh 6-0. Averaging a whopping 108.28, 'Mighty Mike' will be full of confidence heading into tonight's final, which will be live on Sky Sports, and the third seed is entitled to be a warm order.
Smith faced the surprise package Gabriel Clemens in his semi-final and having been two-apiece in sets, Smith then went on to claim the next four sets to win convincingly 6-2 - averaging 101.85 in the process. Hitting 19 180s during that match, Smith has been heavy scoring for most of the event, so if he can get van Gerwen on the back foot early then he could well give him a huge scare in the final.
Michael van Gerwen has lost to Michael Smith in their last three meetings, but prior to that he won seven of their last eight clashes, so he's entitled to be a warm order here and the longer format is sure to suit him. Smith landed victory in the Grand Slam Of Darts last year to break his hoodoo in front of the television cameras and he has been superb throughout the tournament.
However, van Gerwen has shown how he can deliver on the Ally Pally stage and he should be able to overpower a gutsy Smith 7-5. That scoreline is available at 13/2 with William Hill, which looks more than fair, as the pair are very evenly matched, but van Gerwen just has that little extra ability to up his scoring a little further at crucial stages of the game, and he can duly rack up a couple of sets in no time.
Smith has hit 44 180s in the event, while van Gerwen has only hit 32, so it's no surprise to see Smith available at 1/2 in the 180s market, while the standout bet away from the correct score betting is for there to be a 170 checkout in the match. Available at 4/1 with bet365, 'The Big Fish' has been hit by both players in the tournament already and van Gerwen is certainly one to leave the highest checkout with relative frequency, so the 4/1 is more than fair.