Lewis value at 17-2 to retain title

SPORTS BETTING: YOU can say what you want about Barry Hearn, but one thing is for sure – the man knows how to sell a sporting event to the public.

Hearn has come in for some stick in the last week or so for his handling of the professional snooker tour.

But if he is half as successful in promoting the game as he has been in revitalising darts, then the future on the green baize is bright.

Hearn’s influence on darts has been huge. The taproom, fag-ash, beer-swilling image is long gone and in its place has come a dazzling, almost showbiz feel with musical entries for the players and attractive females to escort them.

And the darts itself has been quite fantastic over the years.

The PDC World Championship completely overshadows its BDO counterpart in almost every aspect and attracts the cream of the world’s darting talent.

Standing head and shoulders above the lot of them is Phil “The Power” Taylor, who has won 13 PDC world titles and two BDO crowns.

There have been a few blips, most notably a quarter-final defeat in last year’s PDC Championship to Mark Webster, but Taylor has always bounced back and it is no surprise to see him installed the even money favourite to win another world title when the event gets under way at Alexandra Palace in London tomorrow.

Taylor is clearly the man to beat and comes into the tournament on the back of another successful season.But none of us are going to get rich backing an even-money shot, so where is the value?

Gary Anderson (17-2) is a dangerous player who scores heavily and can blow anyone away on his day. He is seeded to meet Taylor in the semi-finals, which is a bad draw for both of them.

The other semi-final will feature defending champion Adrian Lewis and the cool James Wade, if seedings work out.

Lewis, who was brilliant in beating Anderson 7-5 in last year’s final, is a realistic price at 17-2 and is a sporting bet to retain his crown as I would expect him to see off 11-1 shot Wade.


RECOMMENDATION: Adrian Lewis to win PDC World Darts Championship, 17-2 (Boylesports).