The second round of the World Matchplay darts tournament comes to a close on Wednesday evening and it does so with four intriguing matches to follow one of the very best nights of arrers the Blackpool stage has ever seen.
The action on Tuesday was brilliant and the tournament will still be reeling from the loss of Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson and while they were in the other half to those on show on Wednesday, the opportunity from here on in will not be lost on anyone.
Daryl Gurney vs Keegan Brown (H2H: 3-0)
The first match of the night sees the Players Championship Finals winner Daryl Gurney taking on the impressive but inconsistent Keegan Brown, who had a good win over Jonny Clayton in the first round and will be looking to make the quarter final of the tournament for the first time.
Although the end numbers didn’t necessarily suggest it, I thought Gurney played really well against Ricky Evans in the first round and a repeat of that is highly likely to be enough here. Brown had legs where he was excellent but he had some quiet ones in his win over Jonny Clayton and I just wonder if he can possibly finish as well here as he did there. I suspect the answer will be no so with much the better scoring power and consistency that Gurney has I expect him to cover a 2.5 leg handicap.
Stephen Bunting vs Ian White (H2H: 8-5)
The second match of the evening sees Stephen Bunting looking to continue his resurgence on the big stage when he goes up against an Ian White who will be determined to show that his European Tour dominance can be translated into the world level.
Bunting saw off a determined challenge from Gerwyn Price in the first round while White mullered Joe Cullen, who in fairness never really showed up and could still be playing now and wouldn’t have hit a double. There is no doubt White will be tested more here but he’s been in great form in recent months and there are signs he is finally taking that to the big stage. Bunting is coming back to form so this should be a good match but I’m not sure where the standout bet lies so I’ll leave this one alone.
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Rob Cross vs Krzysztof Ratajski (H2H: 4-2)
The third match of the evening is a huge one for Rob Cross as he looks to make up some of the £400,000 ranking loss he is going to suffer at the end of the year. He takes on Krzysztof Ratajski for a place in the quarter final in a match the former world champion should win.
Cross was ruthless in beating Chris Dobey in the first round. Dobey kept threatening to come back into that match if the door ever came open for him, but it never did, and Cross won comfortably. Ratajski had a good win over Darren Webster in the opening round but while there is no doubt he is a class act, particularly on the form where his record is impeccable, I’m not sure he is yet ready to deliver his very best game over this distance which he’ll need to do to win. Ratajski is what I call one-paced at this level so the odds against on Cross to win, have the most 180s and hit the highest checkout looks good to me here.
Peter Wright vs Simon Whitlock (H2H: 17-1-9)
The final match of the round sees Peter Wright taking on Simon Whitlock in what should be a really entertaining way to round off what has been a wonderful last 16 in the tournament. Both these men have gone deep here in the past and look primed for another decent run.
Wright stuck in the performance of the tournament thus far in destroying Vincent van der Voort in his opener while Whitlock held his nerve to take care of John Henderson in the first round so both men look to be throwing well. I have to say I was a little concerned with the tape on Whitlock’s arm and is was clear to see the longer his match went on the more erratic he became. That makes me think Wright will win this but whether he does so by enough to cover a fairly big handicap I’m not sure. I’m on him outright though and getting excited by his chances and that is enough of an interest for me.
Tips
Back D.Gurney (-2.5 legs) to beat K.Brown for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfair
Back R.Cross to win, most 180s and highest checkout vs K.Ratajski for a 3/10 stake at 2.63 with Betfair
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