In what has been an exciting, at times controversial and, unfortunately, disrupted PDC World Darts Championship, we at least now have a final befitting of what has been arguably one of the toughest and also one of the most intriguing World Championships to date.
Only two players now remain standing in the event, former Champion Peter Wright, my tip for the tournament if you remember a couple of weeks back, and the losing finalist from 2019, Bully Boy Michael Smith.
The final will be contested tonight with the winner spending the year as the PDC World Darts Champion of 2022.
There will of course be plenty of punters very interested in having a bet on the outcome of tonight’s game, which will also see the announcement of which players will be competing in this year’s Premier League if the PDC follow their usual schedule.
Bet365 Sport is a great place to enjoy all your darts betting every year with a wide range of tips available on each game, including extensive In Play betting, as well as pre-match bets and outright tournament options too.
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Before we preview tonight’s final, let’s give you a run-through of some of the highlights and major talking points of the 2022 World Darts Championship so far.
PDC World Darts Championship Review
With the return of crowds for this year’s event, the 2022 World Championships has been played in its festive and jovial atmosphere once again, but the tournament has not been able to escape the issues affecting society at the moment.
Three players, the much-fancied Michael van Gerwen, compatriot Vincent van der Voort and Dave Chisnall, all tested positive for Covid-19 and were forced to withdraw from the event. Raymond van Barneveld tested positive shortly after he was eliminated from the tournament.
That led to the 2021 Champion Gerwyn Price claiming the tournament had been devalued by their withdrawals, a statement he later recanted but despite this there was still plenty of excitement in the early rounds.
A number of seeds didn’t win a game as unseeded players made their mark, most notably Callan Rydz who played superbly to earn a place in the quarterfinals before being ousted by Peter Wright 5-4.
Both female competitors, Lisa Ashton and Fallon Sherrock fell at the first round, but it is likely both will be back to compete again next year.
In the end, it was Peter Wright and Michael Smith who came through their semifinals against Gary Anderson and James Wade respectively to reach tonight’s final.
2022 PDC World Darts Championship Final Preview
Peter Wright (Scotland)
- Seeded – 2
- Current World Ranking – 2
- Nickname – Snakebite
- Age – 51
- Born – Livingston, Scotland
- Odds To Win The Final – 8/11 favourite
- Major Victories – PDC World Championships (1) 2020, World Matchplay (1) 2021, European Championship (1) 2020, UK Open (1) 2017, Players Championship Finals (1) 2021, Masters (1) 2020 World Cup Of Darts Champion (Scotland team) (2) 2019, 2021
Wright’s Tournament Performance
- Round 1 – Bye
- Round 2 – beat Ryan Meikel – 3-0
- Round 3 – beat Damon Heta (31) 4-2
- Round 4 – beat Ryan Searle (15) – 4-1
- Quarter Finals – beat Callan Rydz – 5-4
- Semi Finals – beat Gary Anderson (6) – 6-4
An Impressive Year For Wright
2021 was a good year for the second seed. He became only the fourth player to win over 30 Players Championship titles, he also landed his first-ever World Matchplay title, beating Dmitri Van den Bergh in the final and then picked up the Players Championship Final defeating Ryan Searle 11-10.
He also took Scotland to World Cup of Darts glory in tandem with John Henderson, the second time he has been part of a Scotland team that lifted the trophy.
Wright has now won five of the last six Major finals he has contested after winning just one of his first eleven and his form throughout the tournament has steadily improved, especially when beating Callan Rydz and Gary Anderson in the later rounds of the competition.
It will be interesting to see what flamboyant outfit Wright goes with for tonight’s final against a player he has a very good head-to-head record against. Winning 18 of the 31 games between the two, Smith winning 11 with two games drawn (both in the Premier League in 2019).
Michael Smith (England)
- Seeded – 9
- Current World Ranking – 2
- Nickname – Bully Boy
- Age – 31
- Born – St Helens, England
- Odds To Win The Final – 11/10
- Major Victories – None – Runner up at World Championship (2019), World Matchplay (2019), Premier League (2018) and The Masters (2020)
Smith’s Tournament Performance
- Round 1 – Bye
- Round 2 – beat Ron Meulenkamp – 3-0
- Round 3 – beat William O’Connor – 4-2
- Round 4 – beat Jonny Clayton (8) – 4-3
- Quarter Finals – beat Gerwyn Price (1) – 5-4
- Semi Finals – beat James Wade (4) – 6-3
A Positive End To A Tough Year For Smith
Having long been lauded as one of the most talented players in the game, it is high time that Michael Smith backed that up with a win in a Major final. He has lost all five of his Major finals over the years and failed to reach any Major final in 2021.
Not too many people have the 9th seed too much of a thought ahead of the tournament but solid performances throughout the first two rounds were then followed by superb performances in the next three as he beat the much-fancied Welsh duo of Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price, as well as besting James Wade in the semifinal.
Bully Boy will start the final as the underdog and he will be hoping that he can get into his rhythm in this game to earn his first Major title and become a first-time World Champion.
2022 PDC World Darts Championship Final Tips
At the start of this tournament, I backed Peter Wright to win it and I am not going to sway from my original choice here. I think Wright has the edge in a number of key areas, notably having more experience, having been a World Champion previously and also having a more consistent game than Smith.
Smith, for all his immense talent, does tend to blow hot and cold during games and that can be hard to come back from if you start giving an opponent the quality of Peter Wright an advantage.
So in my darts betting tips of the day, I’d back Wright to win and I’d go for a 7-4 victory, which is a 13/2 shot with bet365.
