PDC PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS TIPS: 3 BEST BETS FOR MINEHEAD
A year of relentless graft on the floor circuit comes to a head inside Butlin’s Minehead as 64 players battle it out at the 2025 PDC Players Championship Finals.
The Pro Tour grand finale brings a comprehensive tungsten test with the early rounds a best-of-11-leg sprint before the format extends to best-of-19 for the third round and quarter-finals and best-of-21 for the semis and final.
With defending champion Luke Humphries smarting from losing both the Grand Slam of Darts final and his world number one spot to great rival Luke Littler earlier in the month, is Cool Hand primed for an instant riposte in Somerset?
We’ve crunched the numbers and studied the form to deliver three best bets for your weekend wagering…
When is the 2025 Players Championship Finals & where to watch
- Location: Butlins Minehead Resort, Somerset
- Dates: Fri 21st November – Sun 23rd November
- Format: Leg play (first two rounds best of 11, third round & quarter-finals best of 19, semi-finals & final best of 21)
- How to watch: Live on ITV4
Tip 1 – Gerwyn Price to win Q1 & James Wade to win Q4 @ 13/1
This two-pronged attack backs a pair of seasoned campaigners to navigate their respective sections of the draw and reach the semi-finals.
Price is enjoying a resurgent 2025. The Welshman arrives as the top seed on the Players Championship Order of Merit and his underlying numbers are superb.
He has made the quarter-finals or better in seven majors this year, including semi-final runs at the BetMGM Premier League, World Series Finals and Grand Slam of Darts.
Price sits behind only Luke Littler and Stephen Bunting for 180s hit this year with 576 and is second only to the Nuke for 110+ averages into the bargain.
His path begins against bottom-seed Max Hopp. While the German did snatch a floor win against him in April, Price has dominated their other encounters.
Formidable names like Rob Cross and Martin Schindler likely lie in wait, but Price has won three of his last four against a currently out-of-sorts Cross and dispatched European Tour standout Schindler from the Grand Slam just last week.
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Rank these five darts players best to worst 👇 pic.twitter.com/fIeNAgKr6e
Seeding suggests world number four Stephen Bunting would be his quarter-final opponent. The Bullet started this year on fire – particularly in World Series events – but comes into the Players Championship Finals with one win in nine games stretching back to mid-October.
That run includes three straight losses in the Grand Slam group stage, incidentally making 2024 European champion Ritchie Edhouse a potentially attractive sleeper pick to beat Bunting in round one at odds of almost 3/1.
In quarter three we turn to Wade, who is experiencing a throwback year.
The Machine has reached the finals of both the Matchplay and the UK Open – the latter held at this very venue – and sits fourth on tour for checkout percentage, a testament to his enduring class under pressure.
His draw, while not a cakewalk, is certainly manageable. He starts against the tricky Mickey Mansell before a likely clash with Joe Cullen, who Wade has beaten in two of their three meetings this year.
A quarter-final against Damon Heta or Jermaine Wattimena holds few fears; Heta often struggles to translate floor form to the big stage and Wade will be desperate to avenge his World Championship exit to Wattimena, where uncharacteristic slack finishing cost him dearly.
Tip 2 – Day 1 Acca: Chisnall vs Joyce over 3.5 180s, Nijman most 180s vs Veenstra, Van Veen vs Humphries over 9.5 legs & Cullen most 180s vs Wright @ 11/2
For Friday’s action, this four-fold accumulator could be worth supporting. Let’s take it selection by selection:
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Dave Chisnall vs Ryan Joyce over 3.5 180s: Chisnall is a maximum machine, capable of hitting 180s for fun even when not at his best. With over 800 in the last two years, he remains one of the most prolific scorers in the game despite a relative downturn in tournament success. Ryan Joyce, meanwhile, is as consistent a tour performer as you’re likely to find. He made the quarters of the recent European Championship as well as the sixth round of the UK Open here at Minehead and his excellent finishing will push Chisnall all the way, giving this leg every chance.
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Wessel Nijman most 180s vs Richard Veenstra: Nijman is a rising star and a phenomenal scorer with 550 maximums this year – the same as Gian van Veen and more than world number two Luke Humphries. As the second seed and winner of two Players Championships this year, he’ll be keen to make a statement against Richard Veenstra, who has hit around 400 fewer 180s in the same period.
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Gian van Veen vs Luke Humphries over 9.5 legs: Newly-crowned European champion Gian van Veen boasts the best checkout percentage on tour in 2025 at 46% and, crucially, has won both of his premier event meetings with Humphries this year (10-8 and 11-10). Sure, Humphries will be looking to take out his frustration at losing his world number one spot on someone, but Van Veen has all the tools to ensure this is another close-run affair.
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Joe Cullen most 180s vs Peter Wright: Both players have struggled for form on the big stage over the past year or two but Cullen’s 180 hitting has remained potent whereas Wright’s maximum count has dwindled and he has exited at round one in his last four singles majors appearances. While Snakebite can never be written off, Cullen rates a solid bet to win the 180s battle.
Tip 3 – Beau Greaves vs Gian van Veen over 9.5 legs @ EVS
Sandwiched between the semi-finals and final of the main event on Sunday, the PDC World Youth Championship final could well be the most entertaining game of the day.
This best-of-11 leg match pits reigning youth champion Van Veen against the sensational Beau Greaves
Greaves, a three-time women's world champion, defeated new world number one Littler to make this final and proved her mettle against the world's best at the Grand Slam.
The 21-year-old from Doncaster took both Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen to last-leg deciders before defeating Niko Springer.
Her scoring and finishing can and should match the brilliant Van Veen, making a tight game – 6-4 or closer either way for this selection – highly likely.
At Evens, over 9.5 legs in what could be the Sunday show-stealer looks a fantastic price.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change
