Two of the biggest players left in the PDC World Championship look to make it through to the last 16 of the tournament in the evening session at Alexandra Palace on Saturday when Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson take to the stage once again.
Both men will have witnessed the carnage that has taken place already in the competition and will be out to avoid having their names added to the list of big names being sent tumbling from the tournament.
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Ryan Searle vs William O’Connor
Two men who have a massive opportunity in front of them meet in the first match of the evening. This was meant to be Mensur Suljovic against James Wilson but that script never reached Ryan Searle or William O’Connor.
Things are getting pretty real for these two now and one of them will be into the last 16 where the money becomes extremely significant to men of their world ranking. Both players had great wins in the previous round and will be looking to take their form from those victories onto the stage with them.
Given the chance that is in front of them I’m expecting to see some nerves in this match and I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if this one needs a deciding leg before it ends but as to which way it will go that is anyone’s guess. Bookies have this as a pick ‘em and I do too but I can’t pick one so I won’t.
Gary Anderson vs Jermaine Wattimena
The second match of the evening sees the former champion Gary Anderson looking to get a step closer to regaining his title when he takes on Jermaine Wattimena over the best of seven sets where the winner could get a crack at Vincent van der Voort or Chris Dobey in the last 16.
Anderson was what we come to expect in the second round. He scored brutally and finished strongly and he always says the first round is the hardest so I think we can expect to see more from him in this match. Wattimena eased through too but this one is a different level, although he only lost 10-6 to Anderson in the last 16 of the UK Open in Minehead earlier in the year which could offer him some solace.
This isn’t an evening where bets are obvious but there is one that I like in this match and that comes in the form of the 180s handicap. I highlighted the lack of 180s that Wattimena hits in the previous round and he duly backed me up with just one 180 in that match. He isn’t likely to score more than a couple here whereas Anderson is often around the 7+ mark in this round of previous World Championships and has already hit seven here. He is being asked to give up four 180s here but I still think he can cover that. Were Wattimena to not hit more than two, and he has never hit more than that in a PDC World Championship match, Anderson would need seven. That’s not even two a set so that’s within his range.
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Michael van Gerwen vs Max Hopp
The final match of the penultimate day of darts before Christmas sees another former champion looking to move a step closer to regaining his title as Michael van Gerwen steps into third round action to take on Max Hopp who could cause a major upset here.
There were chinks of weakness in van Gerwen in the second round. He might have averaged 102.59 but he dropped a set to Alan Tabern which will encourage Hopp. The first thing the German has to do here is believe that he can win the match. If he doesn’t think he can win he won’t but MVG doesn’t always have these early rounds his own way. That said though I still expect the Dutchman to come through and I have my doubts on Hopp covering a handicap. That is a hunch though and not one strong enough to bet so I’ll sit this one out too.
Tips
Back G.Anderson (-4) Most 180s handicap vs J.Wattimena for a 4/10 stake at 2.38 with Betfair
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