We have reached the last day of the Players Championship darts campaign with the quarter finals, semi-finals and the final of the last event of the season to be played on a bumper day of action at Butlins in Minehead.
The quarter finals will be played in the afternoon session before the last four and the final are staged in the evening session. As ever with these weekend events time restrictions will deny us the chance to preview the semi-finals and final but we will cover the quarter finals.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Rob Cross vs James Wade
We get going with two men who are class acts at their very best when Rob Cross meets James Wade. Cross went into the weekend in excellent form with Wade not quite at his best. We’ve seen Cross maintain his form while Wade has shown something like his best form, especially in the last 16.
Wade hit nine 180s against Ian White in that round and that is him scoring at his very best. If he does that in this quarter final he can’t be ruled out. I still don’t think he will win because Cross looks to be right at the very top of his game right now but that scoring potential puts me off getting involved in the match either from an outcome point of view or a handicap.
Daryl Gurney vs Justin Pipe
It is no surprise to see Daryl Gurney at this stage of a major tournament. He is seeded number two this week and has played up to that billing. It is slightly more of a surprise for local lad Justin Pipe to have made it this far and he will want to maximise his opportunity now that he is here.
I would be surprised if Gurney doesn’t come through this match. I think he will have too much scoring power for Pipe but he does like a rhythm does the Northern Irishman and he isn’t going to get that here which is a concern. I still expect Gurney to win but I wouldn’t be surprised if Pipe frustrates him and stays closer than expected. That is guesswork though which isn’t really my thing so I’ll leave this alone.
[the_ad id=”16641″]
Jonny Clayton vs Steve Beaton
The third quarter final of the afternoon looks like potentially being the closest contest for a couple of reasons. The first being that Jonny Clayton and Steve Beaton are relatively evenly matched and the second being that this is a massive opportunity for both men to make a TV semi-final.
Given what is at stake here I expect both to be a little nervy, especially later on in the match, and I expect both to give their all so I am fully expecting to see a tight and tense tussle. Given that the obvious bet is to take over 16.5 legs. This has all the hallmarks of one of those matches where hitting the winning double takes a while and as we wait we can get to leg 17 if we’ve not got there already.
Michael van Gerwen vs Jan Dekker
The last of the quarter finals looks like the biggest mismatch of the lot as the defending champion and huge favourite to win the tournament Michael van Gerwen takes on his Dutch compatriot Jan Dekker for a place in the semi-final.
Van Gerwen has an incredible record on the Sunday’s of these events and having seen all the top players with the exception of Daryl Gurney, in terms of the world rankings, depart the event he will be looking to kick on and win another prize to take into the World Championship with him.
Dekker will take any chances that he is given but he lacks the scoring power to get too many. You would think van Gerwen will win this as easily as he wants to but that is reflected in the prices so I won’t get involved here either.
Tips
WON – Back J.Clayton vs S.Beaton – Over 16.5 legs for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Bwin
Back it here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2017
