The German hopes are on Gabriel Clemens, the number one in the world is Gerwyn Price, still. But the top favorite is Michael van Gerwen, even if one aspect could distract him, as the German darts professional Max Hopp classifies on ntv.de.
Three top favourites, one a bit more than the other. A strong German who has nothing left to lose after the biggest success of his career to date. And a bold Englishman who is no longer laughed at. The Darts World Cup 2023 is turning onto the home straight. The quarter-finals will take place on New Year’s Day in London’s Alexandra Palace. In an interview with ntv.de, darts professional Max Hopp, who is the German record holder with eight World Cup appearances, analyzed the chances of the quarter-finalists.
1. Michael van Gerwen
The Dutchman Michael van Gerwen is going into the decisive phase of the World Championship as the top favourite. The champion of 2014, 2017 and 2019 returned to Dominator mode last year. The Premier League, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and Players Championship Finals titles went to “MvG”. The Dutchman is again the measure of all things, the 33-year-old is the only player to score an average of over 100 points in each of his three World Cup rounds.
“Ambition and experience speak for Michael van Gerwen”, estimates the German darts professional Max Hopp in an interview with ntv.de. “He’s just so ripped off in the crucial situations. And he’s playing really well at the moment because he’s regained the self-confidence that he lost for a short time. With the four major titles he’s won. That makes him so extremely dangerous.”
However, the argument against winning the fourth World Cup could be “that he is too busy becoming number one in the world again,” analyzes Hopp. For the top spot, van Gerwen has to bring in the 500,000 pounds in prize money for the world championship title. In the quarter-finals, the Dutchman will face the English outsider Chris Dobey, a duel with Gerwyn Price or Michael Smith is only possible in the final.
2. Michael Smith
After two runners-up titles in 2019 and 2022, the world title would be the logical next step in development for the “Bully Boy”. Michael Smith won a major tournament for the first time in November, and since this success at the Grand Slam of Darts the Englishman has played noticeably more freely. The fourth in the world rankings surprisingly won clearly against Joe Cullen in the round of 16, the 4-1 victory was a demonstration of power. One lap earlier, Smith had had to fight hard against the German Martin Schindler. “He seemed very nervous, you could see that from his red cheeks. I didn’t think that he would still win after being 1: 3 behind. He is definitely a hot title contender,” says Hopp ntv.de.
A look at past editions shows that later world champions often falter during the course of the tournament. Peter Wright even survived a match dart in the opening game against Philippine underdog Noel Malicdem at the 2020 World Cup, Gerwyn Price won three games on the way to his 2021 title only in the deciding set, Wright was twice at the 2022 World Cup by two sets. So maybe the game bodes well for the 32-year-old.
3. Gerwyn Price
Favored by many pundits and fans, Gerwyn Price has less of a chance of winning the world title than Michael Smith. Unlike Smith, the world number one has won all of his games with ease so far, but Price was not really challenged either. “I haven’t played well so far, it was all about winning at first. I won’t show my best game until the quarter-finals,” said the Welshman after beating José de Sousa in the last 16.
“Your self-confidence decreases the longer it takes until your A-game is there. It’s always a topic in the media. Then it gets even more ingrained. Guys like that sleep better when they’ve played well . They’re eaten up by ambition,” analyzes Max Hopp. The fact that Price is a master at actually adapting his level to the opponent speaks for the “Iceman”. “Gerwyn seems extremely focused this week.” Is that enough to put on the second World Cup crown after 2021?
4. Jonny Clayton
Among others, fellow Welshman Jonny Clayton will object. “The Ferret” is a former rugby player, just like Price. The seventh in the world rankings must be on the list after his convincing 4:3 victory against darts “prodigy” Josh Rock. “Apart from Gabriel Clemens, I would give Jonny the most to win the World Cup. I have an extremely good, relaxed relationship with him,” says Hopp in an interview with ntv.de.
For Jonny Clayton it is the first World Cup quarter-final appearance in his career. The 48-year-old has had great successes at other tournaments so far. In 2021, Clayton did what Michael van Gerwen did last year, namely winning four major tournaments. In the quarterfinals, Clayton is capable of another win, but it shouldn’t be enough for more because of the strong competition for “MvG”, Smith and Price.
5. Dimitri Van den Bergh
Clayton’s quarter-final opponent is Dimitri Van den Bergh. Experts expect a competitive and balanced game. The 28-year-old Belgian is the youngest player in the last eight, having impressed with three easy wins so far. Van den Bergh dropped just one set throughout the tournament, the best of any quarter-finalist. It is questionable how the world number 15. plays when he’s put under real pressure for the first time. If there’s an easy favorite in the game with Clayton, it’s unlikely to be the Belgian. His performances in 2022 were not consistent enough for that.
6. Gabriel Clemens
The “German Giant” wrote German darts history in the previous round. In 30 years of the professional darts world championship, no German had made it to the quarter-finals. Clemens made it into the last eight with three consistently strong games. So far, the 39-year-old from Saarland has not had to remove a seeded player from the tournament. But that should not hide the fact that Clemens has played at a higher level than his upcoming opponent Price. Clemens had to do that too, otherwise he would have been eliminated against the extremely strong Jim Williams in the third round. Clemens even survived a match dart against the Welshman.
Clemens’ chances will definitely not diminish, his looseness will also. When asked if he sometimes thought about becoming world champion, Clemens emphasized: “I don’t think about it. I just want to play my game.”
The training diligent Clemens had laid the foundation for his top performances in the run-up to the World Cup. “He has prepared very well, has also worked with a mental coach, so he does a lot aside from playing darts,” reports Max Hopp.
On paper, Clemens is of course a clear outsider against Price, but the German number one does not have to hide playfully at the moment. “Maybe not by name, but by performance, he can currently compete with Gerwyn Price.”
7. Stephen Bunting
The Englishman was ridiculed in the run-up to the World Cup for having declared the title as his goal. But now nobody laughs anymore. Stephen Bunting’s performances against top players Dave Chisnall and Luke Humphries were too good. In both games, Bunting achieved a point average of almost 100. “But he’s not a title contender. I’m not convinced that Bunting is now consistently bringing such performances to the board,” Hopp restricts to ntv.de. Against Michael Smith “The Bullet” is clearly in the underdog role, but he was in the last two rounds.
8. Chris Dobey
Chris Dobey has already defeated two former world champions. After the deserved successes over Gary Anderson and Rob Cross, “Hollywood” is also capable of a top performance against Michael van Gerwen in the quarter-finals. However, it is unrealistic for Dobey to progress through the third round from the outsider role for the third time in a row. If Dobey even lifted the Sid Waddell trophy on the evening of January 3rd, that would be a sensation. Even a semi-final entry via van Gerwen would have to be sorted into this category.