The second round of the World Grand Prix gets underway on Tuesday evening inside the CityWest Hotel in Dublin and the cast for the first of two nights of last 16 action is a stellar one with three of the top five in the world on show.
Michael van Gerwen will continue his quest to win another TV title when he features on a card which includes the defending champion Daryl Gurney and the man in form Gary Anderson. The format remains quirky so we can expect some fireworks.
Dave Chisnall vs Raymond Barneveld
It might be that we get going with the best match of the night as Dave Chisnall takes on Raymond Barneveld in a clash between two men who are seasoned campaigners at this stage of major tournaments.
Both men played some good stuff in the opening round so both will be confident of setting up a quarter final spot here. This is one of those matches which really could go either way and will probably be settled by who clicks in and out the best. They are not really the sort of matches to be steaming into though so I’ll sit this one out.
Gary Anderson vs Jeffrey de Zwaan
Match two of the evening is a repeat of the World Matchplay semi-final as the winner of that tournament and last week’s Champions League, Gary Anderson, faces Jeffrey de Zwaan who is making a right name for himself.
Anderson oozed class in his first round win but in terms of averages de Zwaan was bettered by just two men in that opening round and if he can replicate that sort of form he’ll be sensationally tough to beat. I think there will be plenty of meat on this bone and as a result I like the look of over 16.5 legs in a match which surely has four sets in it and could very easily have all five.
Daryl Gurney vs Ron Meulenkamp
The defending champion Daryl Gurney continues his title defence when he takes on one of the surprise packages from the opening night of the tournament in Ron Meulenkamp for a place in the quarter finals.
Gurney seems to like this tournament having won it last year as he was pretty good in dispatching John Henderson in the first round. Meulenkamp came through against Joe Cullen but he’ll be the first to admit his opponent never got going and as a result I think he’s vulnerable to the classy Gurney here. I expect the defending champion to cover a 1.5 set handicap in this one.
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Michael van Gerwen vs Darren Webster
The final match of the night sees the world number one and former champion Michael van Gerwen taking on the star of the first round in Darren Webster, who has shown before that he doesn’t fear MVG and will be out to give him a right game.
Both men looked in good touch in the first round and so I’m expecting a really good game here. I’m tempted to take the over 15.5 legs because I can see Webster winning a set but the problem is the sets MVG win could be 3-0 which is enough of a concern for me to sit this one out and enjoy what should be a great match.
Tips
Back G.Anderson vs J.de Zwaan – Over 16.5 legs for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Betfair
Back it here:
Back D.Gurney (-1.5 sets) to beat R.Meulenkamp for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill
Back him here:
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