#DartsDay2k23 Is Officially Here But Not Without Some Controversy And Some Winners
The day has finally come. The annual gathering of Barstool Sports employees who head 2 blocks down 7th Avenue to The Mecca for one of the most electric events in sports, the US Darts Masters. 120 fellas all dressed to the nines creating cup snakes in the World's Most Famous. An event with no pretenses, just vibes and nine darters. These things must always come with a little bit of controversy however, and some of the premier stars are listed as doubtful for tonight's events.
In case you don't want to listen to Rico speak in tongues for two minutes, the Dart Father himself and his maybe-laughs-too-much friend have allegedly opted for a weekend at the shore instead of the one day a year everyone at Barstool Sports besides the Mean Girls have marked off on their calendar. Others are speculating that what once was a family affair has now become far too big of a spectacle for these fellas to attend. Fear not, there is a new Dart Father in town:
Tonight is the second and final day of the US Darts Masters and we've already got some massive upsets. Jim Long knocked off the #1 ranked darts player in the world, reigning World Champion, and -10000 favorite Michael Smith last night at the Garden.
What does this mean for Day 2? The field is open for everyone's favorite dartist, Michael van Gerwen. Take one look at this guy and tell me he's not a born winner:
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The good news is you can bet tonight's action responsibly on the #BarstoolSportsbook and as a sharp of the darts game, I've got some picks for tonight's parade.
A lesser man would tell you that betting van Gerwen at +130 odds when he was +325 to win before the tournament is horrible closing value, but a bigger one would say you were just waiting for the competition to dwindle on Day 1. Ride van Gerwen +130 LIVE to claim his second US Darts Masters title and be apart of something bigger than us all.
My next play is one I love too much. In darts, a 180 is when you land all 3 of your throws in the triple 20. van Gerwen's 180 line is currently sitting at 2.5 with the over being +123:
van Gerwen is as clutch as it gets in big moments. What bigger moment is there than a packed theater in New York City with your #1 competition already out and your eyes set on a 2nd title? He averages 2.81 180s per game this season: trust the data and go with van Gerwen over 2.5 180s +123 in his first match versus Jim Long at 7:10 PM EST.
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The final play is to ride van Gerwen -4.5 +120 on the spread. Jim Long is coming off the luckiest win of his career and only has 4 Mickey Mouse titles (0 major, world championship, or TV ones) to his name. van Gerwen has 175. Enough said.
At the time of this writing, the fits are already starting to drop, so here's the early frontrunner for fit of the year:
Good luck out there to the lads continuing tradition tonight when sometimes it seems like that's going away. This may be the last truly great Darts Day with everyone's move to Chicago, and it's a shame some won't be around to participate for a table at the Parker House. Regardless, what can go wrong at an event completely set up by this guy:
Let's go van Gerwen.