Surprise at the Ally Pally?
In the last days it was quiet in the Alexandra Palace of London. But after Christmas the PDC World Darts Championship now really picks up. The deciding rounds are on the schedule. In a few days we will know who is the World Darts Champion. Michael van Gerwen is again a hot candidate this year. In the third round the Dutchman will have to deal with local hero Chris Dobey.
For seven years, MvG was the absolute reference of the arrow throwers. Already it is a legend in darts. However, the Dutchman is still hungry and has his sights set on taking back the World Championship title from Gerwyn Price and then reclaiming the top spot in the Order of Merit.
The big showdown in the Ally Pally can only happen in the final. Before that Mighty Mike first has to solve the compulsory task against Englishman Chris Dobey, who after all is number 30 in the ranking, but probably not a big challenge for the Dutchman.
With a win the local hero could book his place in the fourth round of the World Darts Championship. He has only managed that before in 2019 and 2020. So if the Englishman wins he will set his best World Championship result at Alexandra Palace. But we think you will only be successful in the match Michael van Gerwen against Chris Dobey with a tip on a Dutch win.
Michael van Gerwen – Statistics & current form
Current Position Order of Merit: 3
Seeded position: 3
Michael van Gerwen has won everything there is to win in his sport in his career. After Phil Taylor he has probably the biggest name in darts. But in the meantime he is only number three in the Order of Merit behind Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright. That is reason enough that the Dutchman is now back on the road to success.
Without a major title in 2021
2021 was not Mighty Mike’s year. Sure other players would be happy about his performance this year, but Michael van Gerwen didn’t win a major tournament. That last happened to him in 2011. However, he remains a hot contender for the World Championship title as the 32-year-old continues to make it clear that he is the man who decides how matches end.
So if he performs at his best, he’s hard to beat, probably not by Chris Dobey. However, Mighty Mike struggled in his opening match. After a walk-through in the first round he met Chris Barstow. With an average of 94.54, the Dutchman fell a little short of expectations.
Nevertheless, he won clearly in the end with 3:1 after sets. With that, he has won 20 of the last 23 matches. From that point of view, one should not talk everything down. Especially at Alexandra Palace the Dutchman feels very comfortable and that’s why between Michael van Gerwen and Chris Dobey we look first and foremost at the odds for a clear win for Mighty Mike.
Last matches of Michael van Gerwen:
World Darts Championship
12/18 2021 – Michael van Gerwen 3 – 1 Chas Barstow
Players Championship Finals
11/28 2021 -Peter Wright 10 – 6 Michael van Gerwen
11/27 2021 – Michael van Gerwen 10 – 6 Gary Anderson
11/27 2021 – Michael van Gerwen 6 – 3 Raymond van Barneveld
11/26 2021 – Michael van Gerwen 6 – 3 Kevin Doets
England Chris Dobey – Statistics & current form
Current Position Order of Merit: 30
Seeded position: 30
Chris Dobey is a player who usually competes in the big tournaments, but doesn’t usually pull up any trees there. The Englishman celebrated his greatest successes in 2019 with semi-final appearances at the World Grand Prix and the Players Championship Finals. In 2021, however, he did not deliver a good performance overall.
Start-up trouble in opening match
The highlight of the year that is now over was his sixth-round appearance in the UK Open. Otherwise he failed early in the Grand Slam of Darts and in the Players Championship Finals. In total Hollywood lost five of the last seven matches. In this condition we don’t dare to predict a win for the underdog in the match between Michael van Gerwen and Chris Dobey.
The Englishman had big problems to find into the tournament at the World Championship. He too had a walk-through in the first round and had to deal with Austrian Rusty-Jake Rodriguez in his opening match in the second round. Only when Hollywood was trailing 0:2 in sets did he get better into the match.
But with a strong performance Chris Dobey could turn the match in his favour with an average of 92,68. Against Michael van Gerwen he won’t be able to afford such a phase because against the Dutchman it won’t be possible to turn around an early deficit. That’s why we expect that the Englishman will not play a decisive role in this year’s World Darts Championship.
Last matches of Chris Dobey:
World Darts Championship
12/23 2021 – Chris Dobey 3 – 2 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Players Championship Finals
11/26 2021 – Chris Dobey 5 – 6 William O’Connor
Grand Slam of Darts Group D
11/15 2021 – Chris Dobey 5 – 3 Ryan Joyce
11/14 2021 – Chris Dobey 3 – 5 Stephen Bunting
11/13 2021 – Chris Dobey 3 – 5 Rowby John Rodriguez
Michael van Gerwen – Chris Dobey Direct comparison / H2H record
Every now and then Michael van Gerwen and Chris Dobey run into each other on the tour. As a rule, these are not pleasant meetings for the Englishman. Eight times both players met so far and all eight matches went to the Dutchman. At times, however, Hollywood was able to keep the matches open for a long time.
At the World Cup, the paths of the two hurlers will cross for the first time. There were two direct duels in 2021. At the Players Championships 14 and 20 in Milton Keynes and Coventry, the Englishman was defeated early on by Mighty Mike. The prospects of a win for Chris Dobey on Tuesday should therefore be rather manageable.
Michael van Gerwen – Chris Dobey Tip
Michael van Gerwen has a lot on his plate these days from London. He is the clear favourite against Chris Dobey in the third round, especially as in this phase the match is played in best-of-seven-sets mode, which makes a surprise for the outsiders much harder than in the first two rounds, where already three sets were enough to win the match.
Mighty Mike has not had a weaker year in ten years, but the three-time world champion is always a force to be reckoned with at the Ally Pally. His performance in the opening match was capable of improvement, but we know that the Dutchman is capable of improving. That’s why we’re leaning towards a bet on the Dutchman to win between Michael van Gerwen and Chris Dobey in the Bet365 app.
Eight times the two hurlers have dueled so far and Mighty Mike has won all eight duels. We therefore think there will be a relatively clear result in favour of the Dutchman in London on Tuesday. That’s why we decided to play the betting odds between Michael van Gerwen and Chris Dobey on a 4:1 win for the favourite
