Can Resurgent MVG Win His Fourth World Darts Championship?

Michael van Gerwen won his sixth World Grand Prix title on Sunday night. He eliminated Peter Wright and Gary Anderson on his way to the final. In the decider he dismissed 2019 and 2020 world championship semi-finalist Nathan Aspinal. It was the second darting major won by the 33-year-old this season.

Van Gerwen was world-ranked number one for seven consecutive seasons starting in 2014. 2020 was his worst season since 2013. He won the valuable Masters tournament five times in succession and claimed the Premier League five time. 2021 saw him lose his status as the table topper on the PDC Order of Merit and finish the season as world's third-highest ranked player.

Van Gerwen is enjoying the Premier League more than 2021 or 2020. The Grand Prix is a proven form-pointer to World Championship success. Gerwyn Price won the event in 2020 before taking the biggest tournament of them all.

Michael van Gerwen is playing better than he has in the past two years. He is the current favorite for the next World Championship, which starts on December 15. The best odds suggest he is still some way below his best. The current PDC Order of Merit is listed below.

The year-to-date list is headed by van Gerwen. James Wade, Jose de Sousa, Jonny Clayton, Rob Cross, and Gary Anderson do not feature on it. Joe Cullen, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Luke Humphries, Nathan Aspinall do. Dimitry Van Den Berg won the 2020 World Matchplay title. Luke has only made one final during his career.

MVG is the defending champion. Peter Wright has played seven televised tournaments and won one title. Price has won the World Series of Darts and made the final of the 2022 World Matchplay. Michael Smith is highly-rated as the bookmakers’ fourth favorite in the betting list. Gary Anderson is regressing. Rob Cross has not reproduced the devastating darts that won him the world title in 2018. James Wade has never reached a World Championship final in 18 attempts.

Michael van Gerwen won the World Grand Prix final last weekend. He has won 44 PDC premier events since 2012. His current World Championship odds are 7/2. If he wins the European Championship, Grand Slam of Darts or Players Championship finals, his odds will be dramatically cut.