The first round of the PDC World Darts Championship concludes at the Alexandra Palace on Thursday evening when the final four matches of the round takes place. At the end of the evening we will know the identity of the 32 men who will be going forward to continue their battles for the title.
As with every other night of the event so far one name is a household one and that is Dave Chisnall on Thursday evening but in fairness there are some really great players on show from start to finish on what should be a belting night of darts.
Jelle Klaasen vs Jeffrey de Graaf
32 Age 26
10 PDC Ranking 70
SF WC Best Debut
SF Last year Debut
0 Head to Head 0
The action begins with an all-Dutch clash between Jelle Klaasen and Jeffrey de Graaf. Both are good young players with fast actions so this should be a really good watch while it lasts. Klaasen will be aiming to go a couple of steps better than he did last year while de Graaf will be hoping he can pick up his first win on this stage a lot quicker than he picked up his first Lakeside win.
Klaasen is a class act and he is really beginning to show that on the box and he is our tournament pick so we’re not going to get too involved in this one. I’ll take a back seat and judge his form before deciding which way to go in on his matches to come. De Graaf is capable of winning a set or two at his best but I’ve got to like Klaasen here.
Vincent van der Voort vs Max Hopp
41 Age 20
20 PDC Ranking 38
QF WC Best Last 32
Last 16 Last year Last 64
2 Head to Head 0
The all-European battles keep on coming and this should be a fantastic one to watch between two classy and fast throwers who always make watching much easier. Van der Voort is the man under pressure here as he has tailed off a bit towards the end of 2016. Max Hopp is a man on the up and you get the feeling he is ready to lay down a huge challenge here.
We saw Vincent van der Voort at the Players Championship Finals but the fact we hadn’t seen him on our screens since the World Matchplay prior to that is a concern and he might take a little while to settle here. Max Hopp wasn’t in Minehead but he has played in all the other recent TV events which should see him settle quicker and that can be the difference here.
I’m happy to take Hopp to win but I can’t ignore a 7.5 180s line. Barring something out of the ordinary this isn’t going to be a three set match and the way these two both score if we get four sets we would only need an average of one 180 each per set. That is well within the range of both men so it is the overs for me too there.
Dave Chisnall vs Rowby-John Rodriguez
36 Age 22
7 PDC Ranking 41
Last 16 WC Best Last 64
Last 16 Last year Last 64
2 Head to Head 1
For the second time in succession these two meet in the opening round of the tournament. This match is exactly 12 months to the day that they met in last year’s event when Chisnall came through and won 3-0.
Chisnall got Rodriguez on a bad night but you have to wonder whether there is a good night in the Austrian because he has clearly gone backwards in recent months. He has made a couple of quarter finals on the floor this year but he is better than that. If Chisnall isn’t full of confidence now after his run in Minehead last month he never will be so I’m expecting Chisnall to win and win well.
That said I expected him to go well in the Grand Slam and he hardly turned up with missed doubles flying back into his game. That is enough to put me off any handicaps so I’m happy to sit this one out.
Kim Huybrechts vs James Wilson
31 Age 44
13 PDC Ranking 36
QF WC Best Debut
Last 64 Last year Debut
2 Head to Head 1
The first round ends with one of the best matches of the round as Kim Huybrechts meets James Wilson on TV for the second time in three months. Wilson got the better of the Belgian when the two met in the European Championship but Huybrechts has started to find his form again and he’ll fancy the job in this one.
Since that defeat to Wilson at the European Championship, Huybrechts has averaged over 100 in five of his six TV matches to highlight the fact that he has really found his form and he’ll have a point to prove here after losing in the first round last year.
James Wilson is a confident player himself but like a few in this tournament I do wonder if this tournament is a month too late to catch him when he form was at its very peak. I don’t expect Wilson to go down quietly but I do expect him to be beaten in what could be a real cracker to end the first round.
Tips
WON – Back M.Hopp to beat V.van der Voort for a 3/10 stake at 2.63 with Betfair
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WON – Back V.van der Voort vs M.Hopp – Over 7.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 1.95 with Bwin
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Back K.Huybrechts to win and both players to win a set for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Betfred
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