There are two sessions in the PDC World Darts Championship on Saturday with a tasty line up over the course of the day. The action all gets underway in the afternoon at the Alexandra Palace in London as the preliminary and first rounds continue.
The ever popular Terry Jenkins is the headline name in action in the afternoon but once again there is a decent support cast which includes the rising star Benito van de Pas.
Tengku Hadzali Shah vs Masumi Chino (P)
48 Age 29
Malaysia Country Japan
N/A PDC Ranking N/A
Debut WC Best Debut
DNQ Last year DNQ
0 Head to Head 0
The afternoon gets underway with the preliminary round match to determine who will face Benito van de Pas later in the session. We’ve seen Masumi Chino on our screens before in the Japan Masters. Earlier this year he banged in a couple of ton plus checkouts in a 6-3 defeat to Michael van Gerwen which isn’t too shabby. He hit two 180s in that match too so it is something of a surprise the Japanese is the outsider here.
We don’t know as much about the Malaysian but he did beat Paul Lim in qualifying for this tournament so that is a result which catches the eye. How he’ll be on the big stage over this distance remains to be seen.
I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved in the preliminary matches unless I was certain about both players and given I’m not sure what to expect from Shah I will leave this but just based on the fact Japanese darts is pretty strong in Asia I’m expecting Chino to win and those more braver than me may do well to have an interest in him.
Terry Jenkins vs Josh Payne
53 Age 29
18 PDC Ranking 48
SF WC Best Debut
Last 32 Last year DNQ
2 Head to Head 1
There is talk that this could be Terry Jenkins’ last ever World Championship so I’m sure he’ll be looking to go out with a bang but he has a tricky opening game against the dangerous youngster Josh Payne.
There aren’t many as experienced on this stage as Terry Jenkins but he might need to use all of that because it has to be said that his recent form hasn’t been fantastic. Missed doubles has been the real issue but you would imagine he will be right on the ball here.
This match largely depends on how Josh Payne settles. He has played on some big stages in the past but nothing quite like this. We’ve seen through his results on the tour this season that he’s a dangerous customer. He won a tournament back at the beginning of the year beating Mensur Suljovic and James Wade along the way so he can’t be written off.
I expect Payne to play well but I fancy Jenkins’ experience will just be enough to come through here. I certainly don’t see it being a routine 3-0 win though so the best bet in this one would appear to be for Jenkins to win and both to win a set.
John Henderson vs Andrew Gilding
43 Age 46
32 PDC Ranking 34
Last 32 WC Best Last 32
Last 16 Last year Last 32
2 Head to Head 1
The most even match of the first round in terms of ranking is this one with just two spaces between them on the Order of Merit. There isn’t a lot between them in terms of their game either with scoring the best part of their game and both guilty of missing doubles.
Henderson is the more experienced of the two and that might count for something but I can’t see there being too much between the two and I wouldn’t be surprised if this one goes the distance. Neither have been in great form and so this is tricky to call. That is reflected in the prices which are pretty even too.
All sorts of things could happen in this one so I’m not going to get involved in it. Nothing would surprise me about this match so I’ll take a watching brief on it rather than a betting one.
Benito van de Pas vs Tengku Hadzali Shah/Masumi Chino
23 Age
15 PDC Ranking
Last 16 WC Best
Last 16 Last year
N/A Head to Head N/A
The afternoon finishes with the young Dutch star taking on the winner of the preliminary match. As with the respective match on Friday night it is hard to bet on these matches a) because we don’t know who van de Pas will be playing and b) we don’t know how that person will react to playing a second time.
I like van de Pas and if he is on it he is capable of beating anyone 3-0 but we’ve seen in recent TV events he has a raft of missed doubles in him so maybe the best thing to do here is to leave it well alone. That’s what I’ll do.
Tips
WON – Back T.Jenkins to win and both to win a set for a 4/10 stake at 2.25 with Betfred
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