World Darts Championship Day 1 Tips: Barry to beat Belgian opponent

• Luke Humphries is 3/14.00 to successfully defend his title

• Wattimena should win his opener

• Barry a much trickier challenge

Cool Hand Luke Humphries is the second favourite to go all the way at 3/14.00. The 29-year-old successfully defended his Players Championship Finals title in Minehead last month and could become just the fourth player in history to go back-to-back at the World Championship on 3 January.

Humphries will take on the winner of the opening match of the entire tournament between Frenchman Thibault Tricole and debutant Joe Comito.

Wattimena to win

Also in their quarter of the draw, a number of dangerous Dutchmen who you'd not be at all surprised to see spring a surprise or two. Jermaine Wattimena has made a number of tactical and technical changes in 2024 and it has helped elevate his game beyond the levels he was producing in 2019.

Reaching his first major final in Dortmund, The Machine Gun also has a different mindset now and has said himself that he is playing the darts of his career.

He's up against Stefan Bellmont who will be taking to the Alexandra Palace stage for the very first time, a winner on the Challenge Tour this year, he has also made a couple of quarter-finals when he's had the call-up to play on the main circuit this year but I do believe the world number 36 will have too much for the Swiss star. At 2/13.00 I'm backing Wattimena to win the match, hit the most 180s and highest checkout.

Keane Barry's form is improving

Kim Huybrechts is also in action on the opening night, now Belgian number three, he has watched fellow countrymen Mike De Decker and Dimitri Van Den Bergh pick up major titles this year and will want to pick up a couple of wins to help stop his slide down the rankings.

In his last five matches, his averages have ranged from 75 to 97, really lacking any consistency and he'll hope to rectify that on the biggest stage of all.

Taking on Keane Barry is certainly a different proposition now than it would have been even six months ago. The young Irishman made a dismal start to 2024, on the floor in particular, not picking up his first match win in a Players Championship event until the 10th event of the year but has recently rediscovered some form that I think could see him come out on top in this one.

Of his four previous meetings with The Hurricane, Barry has been victorious in each of them and he is 11/102.11 to record his third win on the Ally Pally stage.

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