2023 PDC World Champion Michael Smith is going for a hat-trick of wins this year when he lines up at the 2023 Nordic Darts Masters this Friday. Can Smith continue his outstanding form and win again? Here we take a look at his chances in our latest free Darts betting picks.
- What; Nordic Darts Masters
- Where; Forum Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- When; Friday, January 20th - Saturday, January 21st
Surely the newly crowned PDC World Champion Michael Smith can’t win again this weekend? The latest sports betting news tells us that Smith has only played two competitions this year, and he’s won them both.
Standing in Smith's way this time is not only Gerwyn Price (the man Smith defeated to win the Bahrain Darts Masters), but also Michael van Gerwen. Former three times world champion van Gerwen is sharing the favorites tag with Smith in Denmark this weekend, after not taking part in last weekend’s event in Bahrain.
In total, the top seven ranked players in the world are competing in Denmark, alongside the world number 11, Dimitri Van den Bergh. This means that as well as Smith, van Gerwen and Price, fans attending this weekend will also see Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Jonny Clayton, and Luke Humphries in action.
Competing against the eight PDC superstars are the top eight players from the Nordic and Baltic region. This will be a great opportunity for the best players in the region to really make a name for themselves.
Nordic Masters 2023 1st Round Draw
The first round draw is as follows. The PDC players are the names on the left.
- Luke Humphries v Marko Kantele
- Jonny Clayton v Daniel Larsson
- Dimitri Van den Bergh v Madars Razma
- Michael van Gerwen v Andreas Harrysson
- Gerwyn Price v Benjamin Drue Reus
- Peter Wright v Dennis Nilsson
- Michael Smith v Darius Labanauskas
- Rob Cross v Vladimir Andersen
This is a repeat of the format used at the Bahrain Darts Masters last week. Using this method, the eight regional players all get to test themselves against a PDC superstar in the first round on day one.
🇩🇰 The draw & schedule for the 2023 Nordic Darts Masters has been confirmed...
Dimitri Van den Bergh will open his title defence against Latvian star Madars Razma, while World Champion Michael Smith will take on Darius Labanauskas.
Full details 👉 https://t.co/OIrINPTitJ pic.twitter.com/Lc84hkYcbm
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 16, 2023
If one wins, then great, as we have a giant killing on our hands. While if all goes to form and the eight PDC players all get through, then the local support will be treated to eight of the current best darts players in the world fighting it out for the win on the Saturday.
Bully Boy wins the inaugural Bahrain Darts Masters
Also known as Bully Boy, Michael Smith won the inaugural Bahrain Darts Masters at the Bahrain International Circuit last Friday.
Smith barely took time out to celebrate his maiden world title. He was straight back on the horse, competing in Bahrain in the two day event last week, winning the title by defeating Gerwyn Price 8-6 in the final.
🏆 SMITH IS THE CHAMPION! 🇧🇭
The World Champion, world number one and now the inaugural Bahrain Darts Master!
What an incredible 2023 so far for Michael Smith who takes the title in style, defeating Gerwyn Price 8-6! pic.twitter.com/rD4L64R21v
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 13, 2023
There was no Michael van Gerwen last weekend. But Smith still had to defeat Van den Bergh and van Barneveld en route to the final against Price.
In his quarter final against Belgium's Van den Bergh, Smith had to fight back from 3-1 down to eventually win 6-4. Then in his semi final against the legendary Raymond van Barneveld, Smith had to also come back from behind to beat a determined Barney.
Smith eventually went on to win 7-5 and set up a showdown with Gerwyn Price in the final.
Nordic Darts Masters Betting
The best online Darts betting sites are struggling to split Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen. Both men are +250, with Gerwyn Price next in the betting at +450.
Having van Gerwen in the market has drastically changed the betting outlook this week. At the Bahrain Darts Masters last week, Smith was +225 to win. Despite winning the competition, Smith’s odds have drifted to win this week thanks to the presence of MVG.
It has also had an effect on the rest of the field. The likes of Rob Cross and Luke Humphries were around +700 in Bahrain, they are now all out at +1200.
Full odds can be found below in our darts betting odds table. The odds used in the above section are taken from Bovada. You can read more about them in our Bovada sportsbook review.
| Nordic Darts Masters 2023 Winner Betting |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael van Gerwen | +250 | +250 | +250 |
| Michael Smith | +250 | +250 | +250 |
| Gerwyn Price | +450 | +450 | +450 |
| Jonny Clayton | +750 | +750 | +750 |
| Luke Humphries | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Peter Wright | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Rob Cross | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Dimitri Van den Bergh | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Madars Razma | +8000 | +8000 | +8000 |
| Darius Labanauskas | +10000 | +10000 | +10000 |
Our Betting Picks
It’s really difficult to pick a winner from this market due to the presence of seven of the world’s top 10 in the competition. All the players are well able to beat each other, and the shorter format used in each match makes an upset all the more possible.
Can Michael Smith win again? He’s in form, that’s for sure. But he can’t keep on winning, and it makes some sense to oppose him this week.
Last week, Gerwyn Price defeated Jonny Clayton 6-4 in their quarter final, and then beat Rob Cross convincingly (7-3) in their semi final. Price also ran Smith close in the final. That sounds like a man in decent form to me.
Price has better odds than van Gerwen at +450, and backing at those odds also allows us to choose a second pick to win the competition. So, our first pick for the Nordic Darts Masters is Gerwyn Price at +450.
Dimitri Van den Bergh made it to the semi-final of the world championship. He was destroyed 6-0 in sets by MVG, but he still did well to make it that far.
The Belgian will have learnt a lot from that defeat, and with this being a completely different format to the world championships, he can park that defeat and put it down to experience.
We know Van den Bergh is in good form if he has just made the last four of the world championship. So at odds of +1400, I think that makes him a decent second pick to win the Nordic Darts Masters.
