Who Is Best of the Elite Eight in Nordic Darts Masters?
Author:
Roy Brindley
Dimitri Van den Bergh will begin his defense of the Nordic Darts Masters title against Madars Razma in a blockbuster first-round tie at Forum Copenhagen on Friday. 2023s second PDC World Series of Darts event will see a 16-player field compete for the ￡20,000 winner’s prize.
Dimitri Van den Bergh will begin his Nordic Darts Masters defense against local hope, Madars Razma. ?PDC
The tournament features eight ‘elite’ PDC players and eight regional qualifiers. Newly crowned world champion Michael Smith heads the cast. Last weekend ‘Bully Boy’ won the year’s first World Series event that was staged in Bahrain. It took Smith’s recent record to 17 wins from his last 18 matches.
However, it is serial tournament winner Michael van Gerwen that the bookmakers marginally favor. The Dutchman sits third on the PDCs Order of Merit ranking system courtesy of ￡1.05 million in winnings during the past two years.
Razma the Best of the Home Defense
According to the leading darts betting sites, Madars Razma is the best of the eight players representing the Nordic and Baltic regions. The Latvian number one is currently world-ranked 35. It places him 24 spots below Friday’s first-round rival, Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Just won my 8th Latvian national singles title???????? pic.twitter.com/AziAbVZuWz
— Madars Razma (@MadarsRazma) January 15, 2023
Whereas other Nordic players Darius Labanauskas, Vladimir Andersen, Daniel Larsson, Marko Kantele, Dennis Nilsson, Andreas Harrysson and Benjamin Drue Reus range between 7/1 and 14/1 to beat their first-round elite opponent, Razma is just 3/1 to dispose of the reigning Nordic Darts Masters champion.
Former World Champion Could Be Handicapped
Seeking some betting value in the first-round matches could lead you to Sweden’s Dennis Nilsson. The 46-year-old faces former world champion, Peter Wright. But he could push his established rival close and potentially defy his 8/1 match odds.
Wright is not playing anything like his best darts. In last weekend’s Bahrain Masters opening round, he dropped three legs to Japanese soft tips darts player Toru Suzuki. He trailed in the match at one point before finally prevailing 6-3.
Nilsson could also be able to put forward some meaningful resistance, and the advice is to support the underdog in the handicap markets offered by the best darts betting sites.
9/1 Makes the Ferret Each-Way Value
Predicting the finalists in this four-round ITV4 televised event is more difficult. Smith and van Gerwen are housed in the top half of the draw – so only one can make the decider. That suggests there could be some each-way betting value about those housed in the bottom draw bracket.
Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, Jonny Clayton and Dimitri Van den Bergh are the PDC’s elite players at the foot of the draw. At 9/1 – double the odds of Gerwyn Price – our value-bet pin drops on Clayton.
The Welshman had an exceptional season in 2021 when he won four televised events including the Premier League. 2022 was less fruitful, but ‘The Ferret’ enjoyed deep runs in tournaments towards the end of the year and reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship beating the outstanding Josh Rock en route.
