Darts World Grand Prix Predictions and Betting Tips, 7th-13th October 2024

Darts World Grand Prix Preview

The World Grand Prix begins on October 7th at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester as Luke Humphries looks to defend his championship. Humphries beat Michael van Gerwen in the final last year to claim his first-ever major championship on his way to becoming world champion.

The World Grand Prix is a PDC Premier Event and one of the most exciting on the calendar. The best players in the world have competed in the tournament for over 25 years. Such is its difficulty, there are only three multi-time winners. This year, players will battle it out for a total prize fund of £600,000 in one of the unique formats in darts.

Darts World Grand Prix Format

The World Grand Prix is a straight-knockout tournament made up of five rounds. Every round is contested by sets instead of legs, like the format of the PDC World Championships. The first round is a best of three, the second round and quarter-finals best of five, the semi-finals best of nine and the final over the best of 11.

What makes the World Grand Prix so exciting is its double-in, double-out format. This means players cannot start scoring until they throw a double, including the bullseye. It is the only tournament on the PDC tour that follows the double-in, double-out format. This means players are in jeopardy from one poor throw.

Thirty-two players have qualified for the tournament through the PDC Order of Merit and ProTour Qualifiers. Five players will make their debut in the tournament this year, including World Grand Prix betting favourite Luke Littler. Let’s take a look at the players who have qualified this year.

World Grand Prix Predictions

World Grand Prix Prediction: Luke Littler to Win

Luke Littler’s rise from a young prospect to near-global superstardom has been incredible. The 17-year-old burst onto the scene at the World Championships not even ten months ago. While many expected him to give a good account of himself, he dazzled even his harshest critics and certainly looked to be one for the future. 

Littler blew his competition out of the water and reached the final. He defeated the likes of Rob Cross, Raymond van Barneveld, Andrew Gilding, and Brendan Dolan. Ultimately, he fell short at the hands of world number one Luke Humphries but was whiskers away from completing the most incredible Cinderella story in darts history. Littler is the favourite in the World Grand Prix odds.

Littler has proven his success to be far from a fluke on the tour this year. The Nuke claimed the first two majors of his career. in 2024 He defeated Luke Humphries in the Premier League Darts finals and world number two Michael Smith in the World Series of Darts Finals. 

Since the World Championships final, Littler has the most 180s on the tour at 570, the third highest average (98.59), and a 40.71% checkout rate. The Nuke has been in incredible form of late and our World Grand Prix prediction is for the teenager to secure a hat-trick of majors in Leicester, worth 10/3 with our online sportsbook.

Luke Humphries may be the man who stands in his way. He is the defending champion after claiming his first major with a victory in this tournament in 2023. Cool Hand and Littler have developed a spectacular competitive rivalry since their first clash in the World Championships. 

Humphries has risen to number one in the world rankings, but Littler boasts an 8-4 lead over him in their 12 career meetings. They have been seeded on the same side of the draw, meaning they could meet in the semi-finals. While our World Grand Prix prediction is for Littler to win, little separates the two in the darts betting markets with Humphries prices at 4/1.

Michael van Gerwen had a stop-start tour and is in real danger of having just his second major-less season in 12 years. However, the Dutchman deserves respect. Despite failing to reach a final in any of the four PDC Premier Events played so far, MVG is still ranked third in the world, with a value of £1,022,000. 

He is also the active player with the most World Grand Prix victories, lifting the trophy six times in his career. Only Phil Taylor has won more throughout history. If van Gerwen is going to win any major this year, this seems to be his best shot, given that he will avoid the likes of Humphries, Littler, Cross, and Nathan Aspinall on his route to the final. The world number three is 11/2 at Novibet to lift the trophy for a seventh time. Our darts prediction is for MVG to reach his first Premier Event final of the year in Leicester.

Josh Rock is the best of the Irish players at the World Grand Prix alongside Brendan Dolan and Daryl Gurney. The 23-year-old has surged up the PDC Order of Merit this year after strong showings in several Premier Events. Rocky finished in the last 32 of the World Matchplay and the UK Open and in the last 24 of the Masters. Add on a Dutch Darts Championship win and a Players Championship and he now sits 16th in the world. 

The youngster has looked destined for big things ever since he became the first player to throw a televised nine-dart finish in their debut year. Rocky is 40/1 in the World Grand Prix betting. His time is yet to come, but we have seen underdogs win this tournament before. His fellow countryman Daryl Gurney won in 2017 after opening at 33/1.

World Grand Prix Betting Tips

The first-round schedule includes some exciting clashes. The top 16 players face those who qualified through the ProTour. However, the depth of talent in darts in 2024 means that all 32 players are excellent with both sides of the seedings boasting former World Champions. Let’s look at some clashes and pick our best World Grand Prix betting tips.

Michael Smith vs Gary Anderson

One of the most exciting matches of the opening round pits two former world champions against each other. Gary Anderson won back-to-back title in 2015 and 2016. Bully Boy claimed the biggest prize in darts in 2023. Anderson has slipped out of the top-ranked players in the world since 2018 but has had an incredible tour in 2024. 

The Scotsman has the highest average of any player on the tour since the culmination of the Worlds in January with 99.95 and a near 42% checkout rate. Smith has had a respectable campaign so far but has frequently fallen short in the latter stages of tournaments. While Anderson missed out on our World Grand Prix prediction, the Flying Scotsman is our dark horse for the tournament at 12/1. He can get started with a victory over Smith and we like a bet on Gary Anderson to win, worth 4/5.

Rob Cross vs Luke Littler

Rob Cross and Luke Littler have met eight times, the first coming when Littler defeated the former world champion in the semi-finals of the Worlds in 2023. They clashed frequently in the Premier League and the Nuke looks to have Rob Cross’s number. Voltage has only beaten the 17-year-old once. 

The Nuke thrashed Cross 6-2 in sets in their first meeting, and this will be the first time they have clashed in a sets format since. This will be a shorter format, having played over the best of 11 sets in their first game. With just three sets played in the first round, we like a bet on Littler to win 2-0. The Nuke has been one of the most accurate maximum hitters this season, with an incredible 570 180s since January. He hit five over 11 legs against Cross in their last meeting. Take the over on his 180s in the World Grand Prix betting markets.

Peter Wright vs James Wade

Peter Wright has been an interesting case this season. The former world champion was stunned in the World Championships last year. He was knocked out in round two by Jim Williams after averaging just 83. Snakebite’s form fell off a cliff after that. He somewhat controversially made it to the Premier League, where he finished bottom of the table with four points and was the only player not to have made it to a final on any night. 

Wright failed to win more than two games in any Premier or Masters event between January and September. However, his form has picked up out of nowhere. Snakebite won his first European Tour event at the beginning of September. The Scotsman defeated the likes of Stephen Bunting, MVG, and Dave Chisnall before disposing of Luke Littler in the final. He then reached the semi-finals of the World Series of Darts Finals. Snakebite has hit form at the perfect time of the season and he could have another strong showing here. Bet on Peter Wright to begin his campaign with a victory over James Wade, worth 4/5 in the World Grand Prix betting.

World Grand Prix Schedule

The first and second round draws have been confirmed with session times announced for round one. The quarter-finals will be played on October 11th at 7:00 pm, semi-finals October 12th at 8:30 pm and the final on October 13th at 8:00 pm. Take a look at the schedule below and the pathways of players from our World Grand Prix prediction.

Monday October 7 (1800 BST)

8x First Round matches

• Josh Rock vs Ryan Joyce
• Brendan Dolan vs Martin Schindler
• Jonny Clayton vs Ritchie Edhouse
• Nathan Aspinall vs Ryan Searle
• Raymond van Barneveld vs Ricardo Pietreczko
• Luke Humphries vs Stephen Bunting
• Rob Cross vs Luke Littler
• Gian van Veen vs Ross Smith

Tuesday October 8 (1800 BST)

8x First Round matches

• Dave Chisnall vs Cameron Menzies
• Luke Woodhouse vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
• Mike De Decker vs Damon Heta
• Peter Wright vs James Wade
• Gerwyn Price vs Danny Noppert
• Michael Smith vs Gary Anderson
• Michael van Gerwen vs Daryl Gurney
• Chris Dobey vs Joe Cullen

Wednesday October 9 (1900 BST)

4x Second Round matches – order of games TBC

• Humphries/Bunting vs Van Barneveld/Pietreczko
• Clayton/Edhouse vs Van Veen/R Smith
• Cross/Littler vs Dolan/Schindler
• Aspinall/Searle vs Rock/Joyce

Thursday October 10 (1900 BST)

4x Second Round matches – order of games TBC

• M Smith/Anderson vs De Decker/Heta
• Price/Noppert vs Wright/Wade
• Van Gerwen/Gurney vs Dobey/Cullen
• Chisnall/Menzies vs Woodhouse/Van den Bergh