After a dramatic opening night of the PDC World Darts Championship we have two sessions of play at Alexandra Palace on Friday as the tournament begins to warm up nicely. 15 players will be looking to advance themselves in the biggest event of the year.
We saw the defending champion Rob Cross in action on Thursday and he made it into the third round. On Friday evening Gary Anderson will attempt to join him but we have eight players in the afternoon session to focus on first.
Michael Barnard vs Jose de Sousa
The opening match of the afternoon sees the steady Michael Barnard taking in the Portuguese qualifier Jose de Sousa for a place in the second round of the tournament where Jermaine Wattimena will be awaiting the winner.
Barnard is slow and steady but that doesn’t mean that he can’t play. He doesn’t get to play on the TV stage very often though and he certainly won’t be an emphatic favourite too often either and that brings about a completely different pressure. De Sousa is a debutant in this tournament. We haven’t even seen him in the World Cup so he is a complete unknown here so with nothing to go on I’m not interested in betting here.
Alan Tabern vs Raymond Smith
One of the more interesting first round matches is the one between Alan Tabern and Raymond Smith which acts as the second match of the afternoon. This is intriguing not just because it is Tabern’s return to the big stage against probably one of the worst draws but also because Michael van Gerwen will face the winner.
Tabern has definitely found his game again this season although that has predominantly been on the floor. He hasn’t been on the TV for a while and it is a different experience on that. We’ve seen Smith a fair bit in the second half of the year. He thrashed Michael Smith in one of the World Series events and then at the finals of that structure he saw off Keegan Brown and took Raymond Barneveld to a deciding leg.
That is definitely the standout form on show in this match and as long as the venue and stage isn’t too intimidating I would expect the Australian to come through this match without too many difficulties. Tabern is a faded force whereas Smith has enough about him to hold himself together and get the win.
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Paul Nicholson vs Kevin Burness
We have the same situation in the third match as a man making his return to the Alexandra Palace Stage faces a debutant as Paul Nicholson goes up against Kevin Burness for the right to return in the evening to play Gary Anderson in the second round.
Nicholson might not have been on this stage for a while but he has qualified for a number of the TV events this year and acquitted himself nicely enough. Burness made it into this tournament by winning the Tom Kirby Memorial Trophy prior to the World Grand Prix final. He beat Mick McGowan 6-3 but didn’t average 80 in the match which suggests he could be there for the taking.
I expect Nicholson to come through here. In fairness to him he has worked hard on his game this year and the fact he is back in this tournament has shown the effect his work has had. Burness is likely to feel the nerves. Hopefully for the spectacle he is competitive but I don’t see him taking more than a set.
Jamie Lewis vs Cody Harris
The only second round match in the afternoon session sees the semi-finalist of 12 months ago in Jamie Lewis taking in the New Zealand winner from Thursday evening in Cody Harris for a place in the third round.
Lewis will be under a bit of pressure and scrutiny here. Not only will people be expecting him to emulate his results of last year but also he has had a rubbish 12 months since then so he needs a big return for peace of mind as much as anything. Some of the international qualifiers will be delighted to make it to the second round but I don’t see Cody Harris being one of them. He has given up a lot to crack at the Challenge Tour and wants a shot at the PDC circuit. A couple more wins here would open a lot of doors.
There is something inside me that tells me that Harris has half a chance here and if I’ve had a good afternoon I might well indulge in a small punt on him but at the same time I do respect Lewis enough not to go wading in too heavily. I’ll have a watching brief unless the side markets yield something better when they go up.
Tips
Back R.Smith to beat A.Tabern for a 4/10 stake at 1.90 with 888sport
Back him here:
Back P.Nicholson (-1.5 sets) to beat K.Burness for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Boylesports
Back him here:
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