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PDC World Darts Championship tips: Smith and Wright seven sets away from darting supremacy

A total of 96 players entered but only two remain standing as Michael Smith and Peter Wright prepare to go head to head in the PDC World Darts Championship final.

Following a tournament full of nine-darters, controversies and thrillers, we're left with one final match to determine the winner of the Sid Waddell trophy.

Both men are no strangers to the final having previously reached the sport's richest match. However, while Wright is a former world title holder, Smith is yet to get over that final hurdle.

Despite being billed as a world champion in waiting, the bookmakers are expecting Smith to suffer his second final defeat.

Bully Boy, who was beaten 7-3 by Michael van Gerwen in the 2019 showpiece, is priced at 11/10 to find a way past Wright.

Speaking of the Scot, the 51-year-old is currently available at 8/11 to win his second world title in three years.

Here's a look at all the key betting markets ahead of the 29th PDC world final.

Match 180s

Peter Wright booked his place in this year's showpiece with a 6-4 victory over two-time champion Gary Anderson.

On his way to the final, Snakebite broke the record for hitting the most 180s in a single world championship match - racking up a maximum 24 times.

In his post-match interview, Snakebite admitted the victory over Anderson was his "best performance ever". It's hard to disagree considering he averaged 104, enjoyed a checkout percentage of 42% and hit 53 scores of over 140.

Smith's 180 and 140 hitting in the semi-final wasn't as good. But then again, James Wade didn't exactly push Bully Boy to the limit.

The 31-year-old won 6-3 against the Machine and could have arguably done the job faster if not for a couple of missed doubles in the fourth set.

Nevertheless, Smith has hit the max 16 times in both the quarter and semi-finals. With the last game expected to last longer than his two previous encounters, that 180 haul could yet improve.

As things stand, the over 33.5 match 180s bet is priced at 10/11. This is a total which hasn't been reached since 2017 when Anderson and Michael van Gerwen hit a combined 42 maximums - a tournament record.
However, with Smith and Wright giving the treble 20 bed a hammering throughout the tournament, this is the perfect opportunity to back this bet.

With regards to individual 180 offers, Smith brings good value at 5/6 to hit over 16.5 maximums himself.

Wright also looks enticing at 13/8 in the over 18.5 market.

Highest checkout

One of the most impressive sights in darts is Smith's ability to checkout three-figure sums in the blink of an eye.

Bully Boy took out 114, 130 and 112 against Wade in the semi-final - all of them arriving in Smith's trademark lightning quick fashion.

Wright, on the other hand, is slower and more methodical but by no means any less exciting.
Snakebite's highest finish against Anderson was a 138 which he produced in a losing set against his compatriot.

Wright's second ton-plus finish came in the final leg of the match as he sealed his place in the final with a 116.

Looking at the highest checkout market, the current odds on the biggest finish being under 150 is priced at 11/10.
Smith is yet to hit a 150+ finish in the tournament while Wright has only produced one finish of that calibre - a 161 checkout in a fourth round clash with Damon Heta.
The world championship final often pushes players to the limit - something we saw last year as Gary Anderson hit a 170 finish while eventual winner Gerwyn Price pulled a 161 out of the bag.

With that in mind, our recommendation is to back the highest match checkout to be above 150.5.

Correct score

Throughout the history of the PDC worlds, there haven't been too many finals which have gone the distance. The last such game took place in 2015 as Anderson beat Phil Taylor 7-6.

Interestingly, four of the last five finals have produced a 7-3 scoreline - one of them being Wright's world title win over Michael van Gerwen in 2020.

However, considering this year's tournament has been full of final set deciders, our recommendation is to back the over 11.5 sets bet at 6/5.
With regards to a correct score, we like the look of a 7-6 win for Wright at 6/1.
That same score in favour of Smith is currently available at 13/2. Don't forget, Bully Boy has already been involved in two games which have gone the distance. Who says we couldn't get another classic?

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