There are some wide open sections in the PDC World Championship but the third quarter might be the biggest one of them all as the defending champion Rob Cross looks to make a successful defence from this part of the draw.
There are a number of players who will feel they can make the semi-finals from this quarter and one or two who will have their eyes beyond that. Sometimes the open opportunity creates nerves and tension so I’m expecting plenty of drama here.
Draw
(2) Rob Cross v Jeffrey de Zwaan/Nitin Kumar
(31) Cristo Reyes v Ricky Evans/Rowby-John Rodriguez
(15) Jonny Clayton v Dimitri Van den Bergh/Chuck Puleo
(18) Stephen Bunting v Luke Humphries/Adam Hunt
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(7) Mensur Suljovic v Ryan Searle/Stephen Burton
(26) James Wilson v William O’Connor/Yordi Meeuwisse
(10) Michael Smith v Ron Meulenkamp/Diogo Portela
(23) John Henderson v Gabriel Clemens/Aden Kirk
Preview
The biggest surprise would be if this quarter of the draw does not open up as it has the potential to go absolutely crazy. One reason for that is two of the qualifiers are so much better on the stage than they are on the floor and given that the Dutch pair of Jeffrey de Zwaan and Dimitri Van den Bergh are in the same half of this quarter it has the potential to be blown wide open.
It is not just the red half that could be blown apart. The green but could be too with the likes of Ryan Searle heading into the tournament in good form and Gabriel Clemens likely to be supported by plenty of German’s in the crowd. Three of those four qualifiers could face the highest four seeds in the quarter in the second round. Pick a name and get a run for your money here.
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Betting
I’m already on Jonny Clayton outright so it makes sense to cover him in this market too given that we can get 16/1 and don’t have to invest a million dollars to win a few quid. In fairness you could back at least 10 of the 24 here and get a run for your money but I’m not one for doing that. There is one I can’t resist though.
You could argue that the two men with the best chance in this quarter are Michael Smith and Mensur Suljovic but I just don’t want to be anywhere near Smith in a bunch of fifth leg deciders and I’m not sure Suljovic’s game is suited for this set play so I can’t resist a small play on James Wilson. It might not come to anything and in a way I hope it doesn’t given the potential on Clayton but Wilson is too solid to be 40/1. He has reached a European Tour final and the quarter final of the World Grand Prix in the last three months which is fair enough form in this section. He should have no problem getting to the third round and if this quarter opens right up he could come right through at a daft price.
Tips
Back J.Clayton to win 3rd Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 17.00 with BetVictor
Back him here:
Back J.Wilson to win 3rd Quarter for a 0.5/10 stake at 41.00 with Bet365
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