The second round of the European Championship darts tournament concludes in Dortmund on Saturday evening with the European Tour season just over 24hrs away from ending when the session of arrers gets underway.
Everyone in action on Saturday night will be fully aware of the opportunity that is in front of them after Michael van Gerwen’s shock demise on Friday evening and that might just ratchet up the pressure a notch or two.
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Gerwyn Price vs Dave Chisnall
The evening opens up with a clash of two players who have been in the Premier League in the not too distant past as two of the five remaining men in the tournament to have competed in a major final clash for a quarter final spot when Gerwyn Price meets Dave Chisnall.
Price had to come through something of a battle in the first round but won the last three legs to defeat Kyle Anderson 6-4. That was nothing compared to Chisnall who had to take out a 157 checkout with his back glued to the wall to see off Adrian Lewis in a deciding leg epic. We certainly saw the fighting spirit of both men on Friday which suggests this one will be keenly contested. I think this will come down to a missed double here or a fancy checkout there and they are not the sort of matches I like to get involved in so I’ll sit the opener out.
Cristo Reyes vs Darren Webster
The second match of the evening will see two men who would have to be blind not to notice the massive opportunity that is in front of them going at it when Cristo Reyes takes on Darren Webster for a quarter final berth.
Both men took out established opposition in the first round on Friday. Reyes put out a disappointing Mensur Suljovic while Webster took the best Stephen Bunting had to offer and still dumped him out and I’m backing Webster to continue his run here. Suljovic was so poor that Reyes beat him 6-3 despite only hitting three scores of 140 or more, including 180s, in nine legs. He isn’t going much further with that scoring record. Contrast that to Webster who flirted with a 100 average and hit 12 140+ scores with his two 180s. Webster is looking more and more comfortable to me on the big stage and with Reyes likely to bungle a bunch of doubles at any point the Demolition Man can cause a bit of a wreckage in this one.
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James Wade vs Ricky Evans
James Wade is one of just three men left in the tournament to have won a PDC major title and he will be looking to take another big step towards a further big success when he takes on Ricky Evans in the third match of the evening.
Evans deserves credit. He looked like he was going to be on the end of a hiding from Daryl Gurney in the first round but he came back from a storm to come through and win and he’ll fancy his chances against Wade. Wade is a canny operator though as Martin Schindler found out on Friday afternoon. I’m looking forward to this one. I wouldn’t be completely surprised if Evans sneaks this but the odds feel about right and with better bets elsewhere I’m happy to sit this one out.
Max Hopp vs James Wilson
The man the crowds will come to see is last on stage on Saturday evening when the darling of the German crowds, Max Hopp, faces a James Wilson who is looking like he is in the middle of a rich vein of form.
Wilson was one of just two men to average more than a ton on Friday and if he keeps that form up he should have too much for Max Hopp over this distance. Of course he will have to fight the crowd as well as his opponent but he’ll be used to that by now. Hopp is a game opponent but he isn’t yet that player who will blast someone away with sustained scoring over this distance and 6/22 on doubles against an opponent who put him under no pressure at all in the first round doesn’t speak too well. When Wilson gets going he can reel off 12 dart legs like they are going out of fashion. A few of them early can silence the crowd and allow his path to victory to be as comfortable as it can be on away soil.
Tips
Back D.Webster (-2.5 legs) to beat C.Reyes for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with Betfair
Back J.Wilson to beat M.Hopp for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfair
Back them here:
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