MVG favored to win remarkable seventh World Grand Prix Darts title

The 2023 World Grand Prix gets underway in Leicester this week. Defending champion and six-time winner Michael van Gerwen (+325) is the betting favorite, and he starts the defense of his title against Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock on the opening day of action. In our latest darts betting picks, we tell you if MVG is worth backing to win, and what the best value bets to make are.

• What; 2023 PDC World Grand Prix Darts
• When; Monday, October 2nd - Sunday, October 8th
• Where; Morningside Arena, Leicester, England

The World Grand Prix is one of the biggest darts tournaments of the season. It is also one of the most unique events on the PDC darts roster, with players required to hit a double to start and finish.

As well as being double in, double out, the World Grand Prix is also played in sets format, like in the World Championship. This is opposed to the straight race to a certain number of legs, which is the format used in most of the smaller darts tournaments.

The first round is over the best of three sets. The second round and quarter-finals are best of five sets, with the semi-finals best of seven, and the final, best of nine. Playing in sets format completely changes the dynamic of the competition, as one dart in every set can completely change the direction of any match.

Betting to win the 2023 World Grand Prix Darts

Michael van Gerwen is the defending champion. He defeated Nathan Aspinall five sets to three in the 2022 final.

As a result, van Gerwen is the favorite to win the 2023 World Grand Prix at +325 with the best online darts betting sites. MVG is the six-time winner of this event, showing that he performs well in the sets format.

Second in the betting is Gerwyn Price at +350. There’s not much between the pair now, but until recently, Price had been favored to win tournaments just ahead of the Dutchman. That has now flipped back in favor of MVG.

Michael Smith finds himself out at +700 to win the competition for the first time. The 2023 World Champion was closer in the betting to MVG and the Iceman earlier in the season. But such is the form of Smith compared to his two rivals, we are now seeing longer odds on Bully Boy winning events as the season has gone on.

Instead of challenging van Gerwen and Price, Michael Smith is looking over his shoulder at the increasing threat coming from Luke Humpries, who is +750 to win his maiden World Grand Prix.

More World Grand Prix darts betting is available on our darts odds table. All the odds we use are from the best online sports betting sites.

2023 World Grand Prix Darts Winner Betting
Michael van Gerwen	+325	+325	+325
Gerwyn Price	+350	+350	+350
Michael Smith	+700	+700	+700
Luke Humphries	+750	+750	+750
Nathan Aspinall	+1400	+1400	+1400
Rob Cross	+1600	+1600	+1600
Dave Chisnall	+1600	+1600	+1600
Jonny Clayton	+2000	+2000	+2000
Peter Wright	+2200	+2200	+2200
Dirk van Duijvenbobe	+2500	+2500	+2500
Gary Anderson	+2500	+2500	+2500
Josh Rock	+2800	+2800	+2800
Joe Cullen	+3300	+3300	+3300
Danny Noppert	+4000	+4000	+4000
Damon Heta	+4000	+4000	+4000
Dimitri van den Bergh	+4000	+4000	+4000
Ross Smith	+5000	+5000	+5000

MVG looks like the man to beat

With the first round being the best of three sets, there is always the possibility of an upset. The format gets longer after that, and at that point, the better players tend to come to the fore.

Of the opening-round matchups, MVG looks to have a difficult opponent in Josh Rock. The young Irishman has beaten MVG this season, whitewashing him 7-0 at the Austrian Darts Open last April.

JOSH ROCKS MVG!

Josh Rock cannot believe what he's just done! 😳

The World Youth Champion WHITEWASHES reigning champion Michael van Gerwen to reach his first European Tour final!

Incredible scenes in Graz!

📺 https://t.co/M782z4qQ7i | #ET5 pic.twitter.com/SjvQYFCwd2

— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 23, 2023

That was in straight-legs format, and as we’ve mentioned, this is in sets format. So we expect van Gerwen to come through this matchup. Rock will be a tricky opponent and it would be foolish to think this match is a done deal for MVG.

But van Gerwen is in good form. He recently won the World Series of Darts, beating Nathan Aspinall 11-4 in the final. And this was in his first tournament back after an extended summer break.

VAN GERWEN DOES IT AGAIN 🏆

He just loves this tournament... It's a fifth World Series of Darts Final title for Michael van Gerwen as he beats Nathan Aspinall 11-4!

Nine-Darter and three scintillating performances!

📺 https://t.co/GiC4g8Ylpo | #WSFinals pic.twitter.com/dVMCsOG2N8

— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) September 17, 2023

Chief Rivals

Over the past few days, Dave Chisnell (+1600) has won the Players Championship 23 and the Hungarian Darts Trophy. In Hungary, Chizzy defeated MVG 6-4 in the quarter-final stage and then went on to beat Luke Humpries in the final. So he is beating the top players in the world.

As is reflected in his odds, Luke Humpries (+750) is another contender for the title this week. In his loss to Chisnell in Hungary, Humpries threw a nine-darter and only lost by one leg (8-7). Humpries is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career, and a major title looks to be just around the corner for the Englishman.

Is Gerwyn Price a contender to win this week?

Gerwyn Price (+350) is having a solid 2023 and is just as likely as anyone to win in Leicester this week. But he has gone quiet over the past couple of weeks. This after winning two tour events at the end of August and the start of September.

The Iceman made it to the last four in Hungary, where he lost 7-4 to Luke Humpries in the semi-final. He may have gone slightly off the boil and might be worth avoiding this week.

Our Pick to Win

MVG has six World Grand Prix titles. Phil Taylor won this event an astonishing 11 times. Taylor is retired now. But what his and MVG's records show, is that certain match formats suit certain players. This format seems ideal for Michael van Gerwen, and along with his recent good form, MVG is our pick to win the World Grand Prix.

MVG To Win World Grand Prix Darts

+325

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