The beginning of June 2013 will see the 2013 UK Open of Darts step up to the oche to be contested. This will be the eleventh edition of the tournament and it will be hosted at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton. The allure and excitement of the UK Open is that it is a straight knockout, with no seedings involved. This has led to the event being known as the FA Cup of darts, because everything is totally random and big guns could go up against big guns early in the draw, and therefore some big casualties could fall early, as well as looking out for giant killing acts. Players go through regional qualifiers and the top 114 players in the order of merit will be joined at the tournament by 32 of those qualifiers. It is a big, exciting tournament with the action coming thick and fast.
Many will be eyeing up the list of usual subjects and be considering Phil Taylor to back. The Power goes as second favourite at a price of around 11/4 to take the title and it is a title which he hasn’t won since 2010. He reached the final last year, but was totally overpowered in the showcase match by Scotland’s Robert Thornton, losing 11-5. Taylor though is, with little surprise, the most successful player ever at the tournament, winning it four times during his career, making five of the ten previous finals. He regained his World Championship crown this season, beating off the hot rising star that is Holland’s Michael van Gerwen, but Taylor is still more vulnerable now than at any other point in his career. Still, he will be a force and will relish the atmosphere.
It is Dutchman Michael van Gerwen who is trading as the ante post favourite to take the 2013 UK Open title. Mighty Mike has been slowly ramping things up on his way to becoming one of the most feared players on the PDC. His best effort at the UK Open came last year when he reached the last sixteen. But if his heavy scoring and quick punches in the Premier League of Darts this season is anything to go by, he is going to take some stopping this time around. He has the ability to take over the dominance in the game, to take up the reins from Phil Taylor himself. So the power of Van Gerwen should get him very close to the title this year.
The defending champion Robert Thornton will no doubt be in good spirits for the battle as well. He was impressive in his debut Premier League season as well, just missing out on finals night, despite producing some great results through the regular season. Thornton is trading well out at a price of 25/1 to go and double up on last year’s success. But offering more value perhaps could be Holland’s Raymond van Barneveld. The Dutchman is a two time winner of the tournament, taking the title back in 2006 and 2007. He has rediscovered a bit of enthusiasm and power this season, going strongly in the Premier League, and he has been scoring very heavily for most of the year, with superb accuracy in landing maximums as well. A bigger threat in the field than perhaps he has been for a while.
Darts Betting Odds Roster
Many will be eyeing up the list of usual subjects and be considering Phil Taylor to back. The Power goes as second favourite at a price of around 11/4 to take the title and it is a title which he hasn’t won since 2010. He reached the final last year, but was totally overpowered in the showcase match by Scotland’s Robert Thornton, losing 11-5. Taylor though is, with little surprise, the most successful player ever at the tournament, winning it four times during his career, making five of the ten previous finals. He regained his World Championship crown this season, beating off the hot rising star that is Holland’s Michael van Gerwen, but Taylor is still more vulnerable now than at any other point in his career. Still, he will be a force and will relish the atmosphere.
It is Dutchman Michael van Gerwen who is trading as the ante post favourite to take the 2013 UK Open title. Mighty Mike has been slowly ramping things up on his way to becoming one of the most feared players on the PDC. His best effort at the UK Open came last year when he reached the last sixteen. But if his heavy scoring and quick punches in the Premier League of Darts this season is anything to go by, he is going to take some stopping this time around. He has the ability to take over the dominance in the game, to take up the reins from Phil Taylor himself. So the power of Van Gerwen should get him very close to the title this year.
The defending champion Robert Thornton will no doubt be in good spirits for the battle as well. He was impressive in his debut Premier League season as well, just missing out on finals night, despite producing some great results through the regular season. Thornton is trading well out at a price of 25/1 to go and double up on last year’s success. But offering more value perhaps could be Holland’s Raymond van Barneveld. The Dutchman is a two time winner of the tournament, taking the title back in 2006 and 2007. He has rediscovered a bit of enthusiasm and power this season, going strongly in the Premier League, and he has been scoring very heavily for most of the year, with superb accuracy in landing maximums as well. A bigger threat in the field than perhaps he has been for a while.
Darts Betting Odds Roster