If you've been following along with our PDC Home Tour Darts coverage, you know what our basic strategy is for the early part of this first-of-its-kind event. Given the unfamiliar environment and format for this tournament– the players are at home, play is sometimes interrupted by phone calls and the matches are short — it seems unwise to back big favorites.
Thursday marks the first fortnight of the PDC Home Tour and thus far I'd say this one-of-a-kind tournament has been a rousing success, relative to expectations. It's been a clinic in making lemons out of lemonade, and as long as you accept The Home Tour for what it is and don't go into it hoping it will feel like a normal sporting event, you should come out of each match entertained. And that's all we can ask of Skype Darts.
The entertainment should continue on Thursday as Group 14 seems like it could be a real rodeo.
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PDC Home Tour Night 14 Betting Odds and Picks
Thursday, April 30 at 2:30 p.m. ET
- No. 20 Chris Dobey (-118)
- No. 99 Kai Fan Leung (+335)
- No. 49 Ron Meulenkamp (+375)
- No. 111 Ciaran Teehan (+700)
- Chris Dobey (-360) v Ciaran Teehan (+260)
- Ron Meulenkamp (-110) v Kai Fan Leung (-118)
- Ciaran Teehan (+180) v Kai Fan Leung (-240)
- Chris Dobey (-250) v Ron Meulenkamp (+190)
- Ron Meulenkamp (-190) v Ciaran Teehan (+150)
- Kai Fan Leung (+150) v Chris Dobey (-200)
Buckle up, Group 14 is going to be quite the ride.
Let's start at the top with Chris "Hollywood" Dobey, the World No. 20 and a mainstay in the "next player to breakthrough" conversation. It's no surprise to see Dobey at the top of the odds the fact that he's the odds-on favorite does jolt me a bit. Don't get me wrong, Dobey is clearly the best player in this set but, on paper, this could be the most competitive group we've seen in the PDC Home Tour so far.
Dobey will be joined by Kai "FatBeautiful" Fan Leung, Ron "Bomb" Meulenkamp and Ciaran "The High Tower" Teehan. The odds tell you the story, Fan Leung and Meulenkamp are both worthy contenders and both can score in bunches, while Teehan, a 21-year-old at the beginning of his career, is being priced like cannon fodder.
Dobey has the highest scoring average over the past year at 94.28 but "FatBeautiful" is right there at 93.72 and Meulenkamp is just half-a-point behind him at 93.22. These three players can beat anybody on their day, which is why I was a bit shocked when I saw the prices for Thursday's fixtures.
Underdogs have had plenty of success through the first 13 days of The Home Tour so you'd expect that the bookmakers would start to reel in the prices on some of these favorites.
Not only do I think Dobey's odds are too short in each of his matches, but I think Teehan is worth a punt in each of his matchups. Everything in betting comes down to price and it's pretty clear, in a tournament that has produced upset after upset, that the value is on "The High Tower" at these odds.
PDC Home Tour Night 14 Betting Picks
- Ciaran Teehan (+260) over Chris Dobey
- Ciaran Teehan (+180) over Kai Fan Leung
- Ron Meulenkamp (+190) over Chris Dobey
- Ciaran Teehan (+150) over Ron Meulenkamp
- Kai Fan Leung (+150) over Chris Dobey
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PDC Home Tour Betting Record: 17-27, +4.75 units
PDC Home Tour Odds and Schedule
PDC Home Tour Group Winners
- Group 1: Jamie Lewis (+600)
- Group 2: Luke Woodhouse (+600)
- Group 3: Dave Chisnall (-134)
- Group 4: Geert Nentjes (+250)
- Group 5: Nick Kenny (+450)
- Group 6: Ryan Searle (+180)
- Group 7: Jelle Klaasen (+200)
- Group 8: Jonny Clayton (+130)
- Group 9: Martijn Kleermaker (+350)
- Group 10: Nathan Aspinall (-177)
- Group 11: Mike van Duivenbode (+300)
- Group 12: Max Hopp (+175)
- Group 13: Carl Wilkinson (+450)
PDC Home Tour Darts Tournament Rules and Format
- If you're unfamiliar with the rules of darts, click here.
- The tournament will feature 32 groups of four players who will play a round robin to determine a group winner.
- One group plays per day, for 32 days in a row. Yes, 32 days in a row.
- All group-stage matches are best-of-9 legs and two points will be awarded for a win. If there is a tie at the top of standings, the first tiebreaker will be leg difference.
- After the 32-day group stage, the winners will advance to the second phase of the competition. I'm assuming that means a single-elimination, bracket-style tournament. But, the PDC website didn't go any further than that.
- The action will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. local time) each night and stream on PDC.tv, free of charge.
- The first eight groups have been announced, along with the order of play, though the PDC has yet to confirm the remaining competitors.