Titanbet braced for Van Gerwen's double darts titles
2 Dec 2015
The online bookmaker can't get enough of darts after its first foray into sponsorship of the sport at the weekend.
Titanbet was the official betting and gaming partner for the £300,000 Cash Converters Players Championship Finals and offered a special 5/1 double on Van Gerwen winning that event, and following up by winning his second World Championship crown in three years at Alexandra Palace.
The bet was snapped up and after the Dutchman stormed to his second Players Championship with a thrilling 11-6 victory over Adrian Lewis in a cracking final on Sunday, he is now a well supported 11/10 favourite for the World Championships.
MVG claimed his maiden world crown with a 7-4 triumph over Peter Wright at Ally Pally in 2014.
He was stunned in the semifinals last year by Gary Anderson, with the "Flying Scotsman" going on to take out Phil Taylor in the final to win his first world crown.
Taylor will be gunning for a 17th world title and, having lost to Van Gerwen in the last month's Grand Slam final, the veteran thrower is still a potent threat to his successor at the top of the world rankings.
Van Gerwen says he will now take a rest to make sure he is in top shape for the World Championship and Titanbet knows it could be left licking its wounds after its generous offer proved so popular amongst punters.
"We will be hit for six at the Worlds if Michael throws arrows like he did at Minehead but we knew it was a big-priced double and wanted our punters to have some extra value and fun," said Russell Yershon, U.K. sports manager for Titanbet. "And what a load of fun everyone had. We are new to darts sponsorship but we were there and loved every minute of the tournament and so did many of our punters who availed themselves of the 5/1 we offered.
"It does look to be a very big double now but you never know with 16-time World champ Phil Taylor (9/2) and defending champion Gary Anderson (6/1) among the opposition, it's certainly not over yet. The competition at Alexandra Palace will be tough for Van Gerwen and we can't wait for the fun and games to begin."