There are two more sessions of darts at the Alexandra Palace on Thursday, as the PDC World Championship continues ahead of Christmas. Four second round matches make up a good looking schedule at the London venue.
Two former world champions and a beaten World Championship finalist make up part of the schedule in the first of the two sessions on Thursday with competitive matches throughout the card on what looks a great day of action.
Jermaine Wattimena vs Michael Barnard
We have a real clash in styles to get the action underway on Thursday afternoon when the rapid fire, erratic nature of Jermaine Wattimena takes on the slow, steady and measured approach of Michael Barnard for the right to play Gary Anderson in the third round of the event.
Wattimena has flittered with a couple of TV events in 2018 and has actually had a much improved year on the floor although I think it is fair to say that his form has dipped coming into this event. Barnard has done well on the Challenge Tour this term and overcame Jose de Sousa in a marathon first round epic but you would be lying if you said he was on top form although an 88.08 average over five sets was respectable.
Truth be told I’m not sure which way this one will go but there is a better bet than the match outcome anyway. These two are two of the lowest 180 hitters in the competition. To emphasise that, according to the wonderful Ochepedia on Twitter, Wattimena is 72nd in this field in 180s per leg and Barnard is down at 87. That is out of 96 players. There is no guarantee this one will go five sets but even if it does statistics suggest we won’t see more than 5.5 180s. I’m happy to play the under here.
Alan Norris vs Steve Lennon
The second match of the afternoon sees the former quarter finalist of this tournament and finalist at Lakeside, Alan Norris, taking on the Irish player Steve Lennon with a clash with Ryan Joyce in the third round on the cards.
One of the mysteries of 2018 is what has happened to Norris’ game. He has barely won a match in the second half of the year which is quite incredible given how good he is and can be. He is defending a decent amount in this tournament so this is a huge match for his career. Lennon is freewheeling a little to that extent but he will know there is an amazing chance to make the last 16 of the biggest tournament in the world.
On form you’ve got to fancy Lennon here. He won’t do a whole lot wrong and against an out of form opponent that is often enough but there is something in the back of my mind that thinks the importance of the match and the big stage will bring a performance out of Norris. I’ll leave this alone with the odds not really being massive enough to lure me in.
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Stephen Bunting vs Luke Humphries
The more intriguing match of the afternoon is this third one between Stephen Bunting and one of the highest rated youngsters in the game in Luke Humphries. The two do battle to face either Jonny Clayton or Dimitri Van den Bergh in the third round.
Bunting has shown an upturn in form recently but doesn’t have a huge amount to show for his efforts although he is a former world champion on the BDO circuit and a quarter finalist in this tournament which might count for something. Humphries was brilliant in seeing off Adam Hunt in the previous round. He averaged 97.58 and was so impressive and a repeat of that gives him every chance of the upset here.
There is no doubt Bunting has got back to his better form over the last 3-4 months but the one thing I’ve noticed in that time is that he is still vulnerable to confident players who score big. Dimitri Van den Bergh overwhelmed him in the last 16 of the Grand Slam of Darts and Danny Noppert overcame him in the Players Championship quarter finals. Humphries has that scoring power too and he has beaten Bunting in both their previous meetings. He offers up some value here.
Steve Beaton vs Chris Dobey
The final match of the afternoon promises to be the tightest match of the session, at least if the odds are anything to go by, as Steve Beaton takes on Chris Dobey, who is showing signs of his best form once again.
Apart from one run to a semi-final in October, where he didn’t really beat anyone and where Dobey made the final ironically, it has been a lean last few months of the year for Beaton. He hasn’t done a lot whereas Dobey has been in good form. After that final on the floor he went on to make the quarter final of the Players Championship Finals where he offered little against Daryl Gurney in fairness but he came through the first round here nicely.
We’ve seen that already having a match on this stage is doing wonders for the non-seeded players in this round. I’d have probably fancied Dobey for this one without that but the evidence of the tournament so far suggests he could be tough to beat in this match.
Tips
WON – Back J.Wattimena vs M.Barnard – Under 5.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with BetVictor
Back it here:
WON – Back L.Humphries to beat S.Bunting for a 3/10 stake at 2.60 with William Hill
Back him here:
WON – Back C.Dobey to beat S.Beaton for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Coral
Back him here:
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