159 men arrived in Minehead for the UK Open on Friday and at the end of Saturday only eight will remain as the last 32 and last 16 round of matches are played out across the two sessions of play on the second day of the tournament.
The event is still reeling from the carnage which saw three of the four leading players in the world depart on Friday evening, with Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright and Gary Anderson all seeking directions back to the M5. As ever in this tournament, time restrictions will stop us previewing the last 16 in the evening but we can cover the last 32. Keep an eye on our twitter feed ahead of the evening as if I see any bets I will flag them like I did on Friday.
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Main Stage
Our pre-tournament bet James Wade gets the action going up on the main stage on Saturday afternoon. He faces off against the solid German player Max Hopp. The match of the round forms the second match of the session when Premier League pair Michael Smith and Daryl Gurney go up against each other. Mensur Suljovic then takes on a man who has had plenty of success on this stage in Dimitri Van den Bergh before the main stage proceedings conclude with Mervyn King, who having seen off the world number one Michael van Gerwen on Friday night, gets a shot at world no2 Rob Cross here.
Board Two
Another one of our pre-tournament outright picks opens up the afternoon on the second stage as Nathan Aspinall meets the former BDO man Madars Razma, the lowest player left in the competition. Our other outright bet follows them when 500/1 shot Gabriel Clemens meets Simon Whitlock before a couple of good quality matches take to this stage. Jamie Lewis meets Josh Payne in one of them and Jamie Hughes takes on Gerwyn Price in what has all the hallmarks of a brilliant match given the form of the two.
Board Three
The man who dumped the defending champion Gary Anderson out of the tournament, Steve Beaton, goes up against Keegan Brown in the first match on board three on Saturday afternoon. They are followed by two solid pros as Krzysztof Ratajski goes up against Jonny Clayton before Simon Stevenson faces off against a Kim Huybrechts who is surely eyeing up this weekend to revive his career at the top level. The final match on this board sees the one remaining Dutchman left in the tournament, Jermaine Wattimena, facing Luke Woodhouse for a last 16 spot.
Board Four
There is a battle of the Irishmen first up on board four on Saturday afternoon when the northern representative Mickey Mansell takes on the southerner Steve Lennon before Dave Chisnall continues his campaign against the other German member of the trio left in, in Martin Schindler. Ross Smith goes up against Steve West in the penultimate match on this stage and the final game sees Richard North facing off with Cristo Reyes.
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Betting
I like three bets over the course of the afternoon. On the main stage Daryl Gurney looks decent value to take care of Michael Smith. Gurney beat Smith in the Premier League recently and at odds against I think he can do so again. Smith had a good win over John Henderson on Friday night but he looked like he could barely move with this medical problem he has going on. Gurney wasn’t at his best against Reece Robinson but he didn’t need to be. Having won the Players Championship Finals on this stage, Gurney has good memories here and on the main board I expect him to be much more at it here and he can be the one to progress.
Over on board two the match between Jamie Hughes and Gerwyn Price looks like one which could go the distance. Both men look in sensational form at the minute and with that in mind we should be in for a top class, marathon contest. Neither man gives an inch on the stage so I’m expecting this one to go all the way, or very close to it. Over 16.5 legs is 4/5 in this match and that looks to have every chance of landing.
Two men who’ve offered nothing so far in 2019 meet over on board four where Richard North takes on Cristo Reyes and I think the Englishman can progress here. Reyes is probably the favourite based on the emphatic nature of his win over Ross Joyce on Friday night but it wasn’t the best match that has ever been played. North was a lot more convincing and with this match being out in the other room he should be relaxed enough to produce a performance capable of winning this match.
Tips
Back D.Gurney to beat M.Smith for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Betway
Back him here:
WON – Back J.Hughes vs G.Price – Over 16.5 legs for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Coral
Back it here:
Back R.North to beat C.Reyes for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with 888sport
Back him here:
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