We are down to the final four of the World Matchplay darts at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool and by the end of Saturday night we will know which two men will battle it out for the title and the incredible £115,000 first prize on Sunday.
The tournament is still recovering from the surprise exit of Michael van Gerwen on Friday night but even without the world number one we have a semi-final line up to savour. We’re up to the best of 33 legs now and should be in for a couple of corking matches.
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Daryl Gurney vs Peter Wright
The opening semi-final will be between two men who are looking to make it into their first World Matchplay final when Daryl Gurney takes on Peter Wright in an interesting clash. This is their second major semi-final of 2017 after Wright beat Gurney in the UK Open semi-final.
The schedule and the format got the better of the inexperienced Gurney that night but I don’t think he has that to worry about here. In fact every box Gurney has needed to tick on the way to this semi-final he has done and I expect him to give a very good account of himself.
These two met last in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago and Gurney ran out the winner and I’ve a feeling he is ready to take the leap right into the big time and win here too. Wright won’t go without a fight that much is for sure but Gurney is playing really well and at 2/1 is the clear value.
I also expect to see a bunch of 180s in this one. In that aforementioned Las Vegas match they hit 13 in 15 legs between them. In the UK Open semi they hit 12 in 16 legs when both had played earlier in the afternoon and in a stage match in a European Tour event this year they hit seven in 10 legs. When you think this semi is going to see around 30 legs the numbers suggest we’ll be into the 20s for 180s when the winning double is pinned.
Phil Taylor vs Adrian Lewis
The second semi-final is a repeat of the 2013 final which was an absolute cracker and this one hopefully will be too. Phil Taylor goes into the contest off the back of that remarkable win over Michael van Gerwen on Friday night while Lewis outlasted Alan Norris.
Nothing has come easy for Adrian Lewis in this tournament and given how soon the event has come to his operation on his back he deserves full credit for making it this far but we could clearly see him fade the longer the match with Norris went on and that is a big concern here. Another concern would be the crazy number of doubles he missed in that match. He wasn’t punished there but he will be here.
I can’t hide the fact that I’m worried that Taylor might suffer the same fate every opponent who used to beat him suffered in the next round. Getting over an emotional high and back up the next night is never easy but when I watched his win over MVG back he wasn’t overboard with the celebrations.
I think Taylor means business here and I expect him to be on really good form. He can almost touch what would be a fairytale title now. If Lewis was fully fit this could have gone all the way but he isn’t and the longer it goes the more I fancy Taylor to pull away.
Tips
Back D.Gurney to beat P.Wright for a 3/10 stake at 3.00 with Ladbrokes
Back him here:
Back D.Gurney vs P.Wright – Over 19.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Betbright
Back it here:
WON – Back P.Taylor (-3.5 legs) to beat A.Lewis for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
Back him here:
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