15 time world champion Phil Taylor is 5/6 to reclaim his title when the PDC World Darts Championship kicks off atAlexandraPalaceon Thursday. Having returned to winning ways in the big tournaments this year Taylor is again the man to beat and Paddy Power offer 10/11 for any other player to beat ‘The Power’ to the title.

Defending champion Adrian Lewis is seen as the man most likely to prevent Taylor reclaiming his crown at 13/2 with last year’s runner-up Gary Anderson ever dangerous at 17/2.

Scot Rand is the outsider many have had a tickle on at 150/1 following his recent performance at the Player’s Championship, where he knocked out both Barneveld and Wade before losing in the semi finals, which saw his world title odds slashed from 500/1. Kevin Painter, who went on to win that tournament, is also a loser in Paddy Power’s early book having also seen support at 80/1.

Paddy Power are also offering 6/4 for a nine-dart finish in the tournament, with Taylor the 4/1 favourite to throw it and Barneveld, who’s done it twice previously at the tournament, at 9/1. However punters are firmly not expecting to see one this time round and are resolutely backing no nine darter at 1/2. Gary Anderson is the 13/8 favourite to throw most 180s in the Championship, Lewis is the market leader for the highest tournament checkout at 5/1 whilst Taylorleads the way for the highest three dart average in a match at 11/10.

Darren Haines, spokesman for Paddy Power, said: “After last year’s blip whenTaylorturned up at Ally Pally never looking like he was going to retain his title, all the darts are once again pointing to The Power. He’s the man to beat and 5/6 is a good enough price to be enticing the punters.”

PDC World Darts 2012 Betting

Winner

5-6 Taylor; 13-2 Lewis; 17-2 Anderson; 11 Wade; 22 Webster; 28 Newton; 33 Whitlock, Van Barneveld; 50 King, Jenkins, Nicholson; 66 Chisnall; 80 Painter, Walsh, Pipe; 125 Stompe, Part, Wayne Jones; 150 Baxter, Lloyd, Hamilton, Rand, Van Der Voort; 200 Bar

e/w ½ odds 1, 2

Betting w/o Taylor

9-4 Lewis; 9-2 Wade; 8 Anderson; 9 Webster; 13 Newton; 20 Jenkins; 30 Painter, Walsh, Pipe; 33 Whitlock, Van Barneveld; 40 Wayne Jones; 45 Baxter, Stompe; 50 Nicholson, Part; 66 Bar

Taylor v The Field

5/6       Taylor

10/11    The Field

Nine Dart Finish in Tournament

6/4        Yes

1/2        No

Player to throw a nine dart finish in the tournament

4/1       Taylor

9/1        Lewis

9/1        Van Barneveld

11/1     Anderson

14/1      Wade

20/1      Webster

25/1     Newton

25/1      Nicholson

Most 180s in Tournament

13-8 Anderson; 2 Lewis; 7-2 Taylor; 11 Barneveld; 16 Whitlock; 20 Newton; 25 Wade; 33 Jenkins; 40 Webster; 50 Nicholson

Highest Tournament Checkout

5 Lewis; 11-2 Taylor, Anderson; 6 Whitlock; 7 Wade; 15-2 Van Barneveld; 8 Newton; 9 Webster; 11 Nicholson; 12 Jenkins

Highest 3 Dart Average in a match

11-10 Taylor; 5-2 Lewis; 10-3 Anderson; 14 Barneveld; 18 Whitlock; 20 Wade; 25 Newton; 33 Webster

Who will knockout Taylor?

5/6        No one

6/1       Anderson

10/1      Chisnall

12/1      Van Barneveld

16/1      Lewis

16/1      Nicholson

18/1      Van Der Voort

20/1      Dudbridge

22/1     Hamilton

25/1      Wade

28/1      Whitlock

Name The Finalists

7/2       Taylorv Lewis

11/2     Taylorv Wade

12/1     Taylorv Webster

14/1     TaylorvNewton

14/1     Andersonv Lewis

22/1     Andersonv Wade

28/1     Taylorv Jenkins

35/1     Taylorv Pipe

40/1     Andersonv Webster

Stage of Elimination

In Dublin it is double in and double out so a player encountering double trouble can find themselves floundering as their opponent steams away. Whitewashes are not unknown.

It is also not unknown for the early couple of rounds to be littered with big name casualties. Round one is a favourite’s graveyard so it’s a great opportunity to take the bookies on and get some return on your hard earned cash.

We have lots of help for you on the site in our bulging Dartabase - analyse the Head2Head records of all the first round match ups, pour over the players’ stats including their recent form, have a look at recent results, see how a player has performed in major tournaments and in the World Grand Prix. With all this help available you have a good chance of bashing the bookies so what does it throw up for us?

There are six Dublin debutantes this year – Dave Chisnall, John Henderson, Justin Pipe, Mark Hylton, Mark Webster and Peter Wright are all getting their first taste of the City West stage and at least one will be in round two given that Pipe (5/4) & Henderson (5/6) lock horns on Monday. Pipe is the one to back at the greater odds having nearly beaten Phil Taylor Saturday’s Players Championship. He also leads Hendo 3-0 in the head to head.

Wright (7/1) takes on The Power (1/8) and has his work cut out but a look at Taylor’s history in this tournament will give Snakebite hope. Until last year’s semi final exit Taylor either won the trophy (9 times in all) or went out first round to a rank outsider.

My advice is to look beyond that match and Mark Hylton (11/8) to beat Mark Walsh looks a good bet. Walsh has a poor WGP record, in seven appearances he has only four wins and has never got past round two. Mile High leads 4-2 in the head to head so he knows how to beat Walshy.

Mark Webster is 8/13 favourite in his opener but opponent Andy Hamilton looks the better option at 11/8. Webster could be anything but Hamilton’s WGP record is impressive – L32, QF, SF, QF. I’m going for The Hammer to nail Webby, especially when backed up by a superior 4-1 head to head record.

Another value bet from round one is Kevin Painter (6/5) who is a veteran of eleven appearances (best of Quarter Final) and takes on the speedy Vincent van der Voort (9/10) who is yet to win in four attempts. Painter is somewhat of an enigma who lies low until the television cameras are focused on him, then he comes alive. VvdV leads the head to head 8-5 but for me the odds are the wrong way round in this one so get stuck into The Artist.

Taking his shirts back to the 80′s has helped Denis Ovens (9/10) bring his game to a new level and he can halt a terrible WGP record of two wins in ten visits. Only twice has The Heat reached round two, and not since 2003. His opponent, Jamie Caven (11/10), has lost his way recently and Ovens can take advantage and continue a much improved year. He leads Jabba 6-2 in their meetings to date so looks good value.

If you like a punt on the outright winner you are faced, as usual, with the ‘to Taylor or not to Taylor’ conundrum. Do you take the 6/4 on offer for the perennial favourite or try to find some outsider value?

The best approach is normally to select somebody from the opposite half of the draw; this would put James Wade (8/1), Raymond van Barneveld (14/1), Adrian Lewis (8/1) & Wes Newton (20/1) on the shortlist. Wade can never be overlooked in any major and has won this title twice. He is one of only three ex-champions in the field (Colin Lloyd is the third) but has exited in round one in three of his six appearances. World Champion Lewis was runner up last year, has reached two quarter finals, and has always won his first round match, while Newton has yet to get past round two in five tries.

Of this quartet it is Barney who has the most solid previous form. His last four WGP appearances have yielded Semi Final, Runner Up, Runner Up, Semi Final. Pretty impressive stuff and only missing a title. Could this be the big man’s year? An each way outright bet appears good sense.

The players to keep an eye on in Taylor’s half of the draw are man of the year, Gary Anderson (7/1), the beard to be feared, Simon Whitlock (16/1), and Taylor’s latest agitator, Paul Nicholson (40/1).

On the face of it Nicholson is huge odds but he is slated to meet Taylor in round two and Taylor came out on top in the Pro tour event on Saturday. Remember, if Taylor wins his first game he usually goes on to lift the trophy so Nicholson’s time may have to wait. Whitlock might have to get past Taylor and Anderson and I don’t see that happening so I’m going to overlook the Aussie on this occasion.

The man with the credentials, and the form, to topple Taylor is Gary Anderson. Hitting the doubles can be his achilles heel but one would presume this area is the focus of his practice regime and he followed up a round two appearance in 2009 with a quarter final spot last year. This steady improvement can continue this year and The Flying Scotsman looks like the biggest threat to Taylor in the top half of the draw.

The World Grand Prix can be something of a minefield for betting where last year’s champion can bite the dust at the firs hurdle. Some players love it, many hate it. It is probably a tournament to keep your money in your pocket but if you back the right horse the dividends can be high. If you are going to take on the favourites do it in the early stages and always expect the unexpected.

If you are not confident in wagering some real moolah why not have a go of our free-to-enter Beat the Tipster competition? This time around we have a fantastic first prize donated by Bulls Darts. Full details will be released on Monday but trust me it is a great prize. All you have to do is predict the outcome of all the matches in Dublin and if you better our resident Tipster you stand a chance of winning our super-duper prize. The more accurate you are in round one the more chance you have of scoring points in the latter stages.

To win – Phil Taylor (6/4)
Each way – Raymond van Barneveld (14/1) and/or Gary Anderson (7/1)
First round tips – Hamilton (11/8), Hylton (11/8), Painter (6/5), Justin Pipe (5/4), Denis Ovens (9/10)

Two fat ladies for Lowebo

The great John Lowe advised me that Phil Taylor provided him with two fat ladies last week – and it only took Lowebo the time for Taylor to win his match against Whitlock to ‘Phil’ his boots. Now, that must have been something special…

Winning £88 on one match…now that’s something to get excited about…what did you think I was talking about?

If you’re willing to put on a fillet ‘stake’, punters, the rewards are obvious…as are the risks. Personally, I can only afford a bit of rump so here go the predictions:

Booze in Scotland?

It’s the Rocket against the Machine up in Aberdeen and the Scots will be in for a trick (as opposed to a treat) as one of the men they love to boo (great English player), James Wade, will continue his excellent form. The Scots do tend to dislike many of the English, don’t they? Their disdain will remain for James tonight as he puts Ronnie to bed. I love Ronnie but he missed the launch last week and it will be goodnight from him as he might begin waving goodbye to the coveted top 4 spot. Get on Wade @ 2/5.

More booze? Of course, and English King is here!

Now, I wouldn’t advise old ‘stone face’ to pile in on Taylor this week as he’s up against the King of England. Now, Kings of England always triumph in Scotland, don’t they? And I’ve got a funny feeling that Merv will be on his ‘A’ game and will swerve the Scottish bullets up in Aberdeen to give the power a taste of his own medicine. King responded like a true English monarch last week as he demolished Adie Lewis and no-one could have predicted that (including me!) and I think he will take his sharpened, more accurate arrers up to bonny Scotland. He might need some ear muffs too (to drown out the accents, I mean boos!). King is around 6/1 on Skybet.

More pain for Raymond?

It’s Barney Jenkins in a basement battle as Barney attempts to turn his season around as the Bully just might have done last week. OK, it might be too late for both of them in the premier league but both will want to impress after languishing near the foot of the table for the whole season. Pompey fans can empathise. Terry Bullied Baxter last week whereas Barney was on the end of James Wade’s ass kicking. This one will be close, I feel, but it will be Jenks who administers more pain for the Raym’n. 11/8 about Jenks.

Draw your swords

The last match tonight is between the Jackpot and the Wizard. On current form, I can’t see past the wizard and on current size I can’t see past Adie. He’s a big player but often succumbs to the big occasions. This one’s a big’un as nothing else but a win will do for Lewis; alas I think Whitlock’s magic will prevent a Lewis victory. 7-7 for me and 7/2 is a niiiiiice priiiiiice: I liiiiiiiike!!!

Trebles for show

Get on King/Wade/Jenkins all to win for at least a 16/1 pay out. £80 for a fiver.

Doubles for Dough

King to beat Taylor and Lewis/Whitlock draw: well over £250 for your tenner