12 Jun 2019
The PDC rolls into Milton Keynes this weekend for its second event of the calendar year following a breath-taking World Darts Championship at the Ally Pally earlier this month.
Rob Cross, making his debut in the World Championships just 11 months after turning professional, walked away with the title, beating some of the biggest players in the world en-route.
In the semi-finals, he beat world number one and current Masters champion Michael Van Gerwen, before dismantling all-time great Phil Taylor in the final.
The 2018 World Darts Championships proved to be Taylor’ss last tournament on tour and although he’sll be sorely missed in Milton Keynes, spectators can still expect a star-studded line-up.
The Masters features the PDC’ss top 16 players in the world and Van Gerwen, a three-time winner of the Masters event, will take to the field and face number 16 seed Kim Huybrechts in the first round.
Englishman Cross will also feature in the tournament and faces fellow countryman Ian White in the first round in what will be his first match since the win over Taylor.
In addition, former Masters runners-up Dave Chisnall, Gary Anderson and Raymond Van Barneveld, along with world number two Peter Wright will also grace the oche at Arena MK.
After a disappointing result at the World Championships, Van Gerwen will be hungry for revenge and look to secure his first title of the year.
At the age of just 28, Van Gerwen has won everything there is to win in the game, including two World Championships and two World Matchplays.
It’sll be no surprise then, that the Dutchman goes into the tournament as the favourite, despite his loss in the World Championship semi-final, and punters can get darts betting odds of 3/4 on Van Gerwen to secure his fourth Masters title.
While Van Gerwen will go into the tournament as the hot favourite, his semi-final defeat at the recent World Championships proves he is a beatable opponent, despite his dominance in recent years.
Rob Cross’s triumph over Van Gerwen in those World Championships will not only give himself, but others belief that the Dutchman can be beaten once more, and who better to do so than Cross himself?
The pair aren’st drawn to meet until the final of the tournament and with his confidence undoubtedly at an all time high at the moment, perhaps a punt on Cross at 4/1 might pay off.
Many may look at the draw for the Masters and see a closed competition between Cross and Van Gerwen. However, everyone loves an underdog and with experience in the sport aplenty, Raymond Van Barneveld will be looking to roll back the years and win yet another title.
Barney looked in fine form at the World Championships and lost out narrowly to his Dutch counterpart Van Gerwen in the quarter-finals.
Despite a tough draw, he heads into the tournament as the fifth favourite to win it and those looking for an outside bet can get Van Barneveld to win at 28/1.
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