The first round of the Unibet Masters comes to a close on Saturday evening when the final four matches are played out in the tournament in Milton Keynes. After an entertaining opening night we should be set for another decent evening of arrers in Buckinghamshire.
The world champion Rob Cross came through on Friday evening and on Saturday night we have two former champions of the world on show as well as a number of rising stars.
Simon Whitlock vs James Wade
We begin with the closest match of the opening round according to the world rankings as Simon Whitlock takes on James Wade for a place in the quarter finals on Sunday afternoon.
Both these men had disappointing World Championship’s and both will be eager to make up for that. Wade might be more so because he has missed out on the Premier League whereas Whitlock has got into the invitational event which begins on Thursday evening.
The last time Wade was left out of the Premier League, rather than take it personally he got his head down and found his best darts and came good again and I expect him to do that again here. Whitlock is a tough challenge for him but one I think the better board management of Wade can overcome. I like the Englishman at even money.
Daryl Gurney vs Gerwyn Price
Two debutants make their bow in the tournament in the second match of the night on Saturday when Daryl Gurney takes on Gerwyn Price in a battle between two men who will also meet in the upcoming Premier League.
Gurney broke through last year when he won the World Grand Prix but Price was a finalist in a TV event himself so both certainly deserve their place among this line up and I fancy they will deliver a decent match for us too. Nearly all of their previous meetings have been close and I see no reason why this one won’t follow that path either.
You could take over 16.5 legs with that in mind but it might be that the safer bet is over 9.5 180s where we may not need 17 legs to get this covered. Gurney is a serial 180 hitter while we saw at the World Championship that Price hits a bunch of them too. I don’t think it is asking too much to get 10 180s here.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Gary Anderson vs Benito van de Pas
For the second time in as many years Gary Anderson will take on Benito van de Pas in the first round of this tournament. Anderson won 10-3 here last year so the Dutchman will be looking to do better than that here.
Anderson should win this match but we saw throughout the World Championship and prior to it that he has been suffering with a shoulder issue. Hopefully the time off will have eased that and he can be back to normal but I would need to see it before I trust it. Van de Pas is bang out of form on the big stage though so Anderson should win if he’s fit. I’m in no rush to get involved however.
Michael van Gerwen vs Kim Huybrechts
In terms of the rankings at least we have saved the best until last in the first round as Michael van Gerwen concludes the opening round. He faces Kim Huybrechts against whom he has built up a little rivalry in recent times.
That should add some spice to the occasion and if MVG is up for this one as I expect him to be he could run away with this. Huybrechts has been struggling on the TV stage for quite a while and his World Championship exit was very tame indeed. A match against van Gerwen might inspire the Belgian but it would need to. Given the potential for a bit of a blowout about this one I’m not that keen on getting involved.
Tips
WON – Back J.Wade to beat S.Whitlock for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with William Hill
Back him here:
WON – Back D.Gurney vs G.Price – Over 9.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bwin
Back it here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018
