World Darts Championship weekend predictions & 12/1 treble

But they can grossly overlook the quality of the RoW qualifiers, who make it to the Ally Pally thanks to their success on the Asian Tour, Development Tour, Women’s Series, and regional competitions.

Last year, international qualifiers won 33% of the opening 15 first-round matches in London. They cannot be written off.

With that in mind, there are potential against-the-odds upsets waiting to happen over Saturday and Sunday.

Below are three picks for from Saturday and Sunday’s slate of matches at the 2024 World Darts Championship, which combined create a 12/1 treble at .

(8.15pm Saturday)

Winless in his last six matches, Keane Barry has hit a bad patch at the worst time of the season. The Irishman has struggled in the Players Championship but will hope to secure a confidence-boosting win over Reynaldo Rivera.

It may not be so simple, though. Rivera comes into the Words having won Asian Tour 23 this autumn. He only made it through two rounds of October’s Asian Championship but is in relatively good form.

This is a tricky match for Barry, who fell at the first round to South Africa’s Grant Sampson last year. At 21, he’s still developing even if this is his fifth World Darts Championship.

Barry is a best-price 11/50 favourite with and that may be too short given his recent form. 

Our preferred option is over 4.5 sets at 14/5 with for what could be a nervy and drawn out affair.

(1.45pm Sunday)

2020 BDO World Championship finalist Jim Williams hasn’t made a huge impact on the PDC Tour in recent years but he remains a capable darter who should cruise through his first round clash.

The Welshman takes on 59-year-old Guyanese Norman Madhoo, who first made the Worlds back in 2004. Madhoo is a cult player on the international series but should be no match for Williams.

Indeed, Williams showed his form with a surge to the Players Championship 30 final back in November, where he came up short against Dave Chisnall 8-4. He’d beaten a string of big names along the way, including Danny Noppert and Kim Huybrechts.

Williams is several steps above Madhoo and a match treble of Williams winning the match, recording the most 180s and posting the highest checkout at 4/11 with is an option.

A win would see Williams face fourth seed Peter Wright in the second round. So that’s as far as his tournament is likely to stretch, but he can at least show off his skills on Sunday afternoon.

(9.15pm Sunday)

Fallon Sherrock knows all about Ally Pally and comes into the Worlds having struck decent form based on her recent Grand Slam and MODUS outings. She’s landed two nine-darters this year and says she needs to prove herself in London once again.

Undaunted by the additional attention she gets during major tournaments, Sherrock is more than capable of recording a first-round victory over Jermaine Wattimena.

Granted, the Dutchman is the favourite but he hasn’t escaped the first round in the last two World Championships either. Wattimena has also under-performed on the European Tour and his odds of 2/5 to win here are surprisingly short.

Sherrock is 2/1 with and of all the outsiders being backed to win their first round matches, she’s the one worth considering with our final PDC World Championship prediction.

If you are interested in following any of our PDC World Championship predictions over the weekend, make sure to check out our list of new bookmakers. 

Many offer to new customers as part of their sign-up up offers, while several will be running darts-specific promotions during the World Championship.

Joe Short is a freelance journalist and former editor at the Daily Express, covering politics, football, tennis and darts, among other things. He contributes sports betting tips for The Independent.