The World Matchplay gets underway on Saturday evening and it does so with a cracking card which should be full of excitement and entertaining darts inside the iconic Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
Among the stars on show across the four match schedule is the world number one and former champion Michael van Gerwen. Adrian Lewis, Dave Chisnall and Michael Smith should ensure a high quality session of darts.
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Adrian Lewis vs James Wilson
The opening match of the tournament sees the back in form Adrian Lewis taking on a man who hasn’t had the 2018 he would have liked in terms of being in the latter stages of tournaments in James Wilson.
There is plenty of time for Wilson to change all that though and a good run here would certainly help him. That said, he might well be getting Adrian Lewis at the wrong time here. Lewis has sparked back into life and he enjoys Blackpool so I’m expecting Jackpot to come through here. These opening matches of tournaments tend to be slower starting and closer than expected which puts me off taking Lewis to cover 3.5 legs. I’ll sit out the opener.
Dave Chisnall vs Keegan Brown
When Keegan Brown qualified for this tournament the draw he probably would not have wanted was Dave Chisnall. I say that because the two men have met 11 times in their career and Chisnall has won each and every match.
Admittedly a fair few of them have been close but such a record can’t be doing much for the confidence of Brown, who in truth has gone a little too quiet over the last couple of months. Chisnall should have a much better record here than he has because his scoring power should dominate opponents but for some reason he tends to miss doubles in bunches. I’m tempted by over 16.5 legs here but Brown’s dip in form puts me off a touch.
Michael van Gerwen vs Jeffrey de Zwaan
The world number one is in action in the third match of the evening in an all-Dutch clash as Michael van Gerwen begins his quest for another major title against Jeffrey de Zwaan. These two met in the UK Open earlier in the year when de Zwaan took care of van Gerwen so the Green Machine will not be taking this one lightly.
On this stage you would think van Gerwen will have enough to repel the danger of de Zwaan but there is a clear angle to attack this match from. Both these men hit a huge number of 180s and with MVG not taking his opponent lightly I’m expecting him to plough them in. De Zwaan is very accustomed to hitting 180s so over 9.5 180s is the way forward here. Even if this is one-sided there should be enough time for this to land.
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Michael Smith vs Jonny Clayton
The final match of the opening night sees the form horse Michael Smith in action when he faces the fast improving Welshman, Jonny Clayton, in what looks like being a tasty tussle on paper and a good way to end the evening.
Smith has many reasons to be confident here. He won the tournament in Shanghai last weekend and has generally been threatening on the European Tour this season while he also holds a 4-0 head to head advantage on the Welshman too. Clayton has burst onto the scene in the last 12 months but he makes his debut here and this is a really tough ask on his first time on this stage. Smith’s scoring power is insane and with the confidence of a win behind him I expect him to pin the doubles tidily. As long as he doesn’t put too much pressure on himself to the point that it shackles him, Smith can cover 2.5 legs in this one.
Tips
Back M.van Gerwen vs J.de Zwaan – Over 9.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Coral
Back it here:
WON – Back M.Smith (-2.5 legs) to beat J.Clayton for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with BetBright
Back him here:
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