The second day of action at the European Championship sees the entire second round of the tournament being played across two sessions of play out in Germany on a day where there is a feeling that the event comes to life.
That is because the format moves up to the best of 19 so all those who made it through the short sprint on Thursday can relax and work their way into their match here as the 16 remaining men go about booking a place in the quarter finals.
Afternoon Session
The opening match of the day sees two men who pulled off surprises on the opening day of action meeting when Jamie Hughes takes on a William O’Connor who might well feel he is playing with the house money given that he only made it into the field when Glen Durrant tested positive for Covid-19. Once they are done two players with good wins on Thursday meet when Devon Petersen takes on Martijn Kleermaker in what could be one of the best matches of the day.
The third match of the afternoon session sees the nine dart man back on the stage as Jose de Sousa takes on Jonny Clayton in a clash between two men who have had very good times of it on the European Tour this season. The afternoon concludes with what looks to be the pick of the four matches on paper at least when the Premier League finalist Nathan Aspinall meets the former winner of this event in James Wade.
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Evening Session
We have a tasty evening session in store for us on Friday and that gets underway with a couple of heavy scorers on show when Michael Smith will take on the man who recently made the final of the World Grand Prix in Dirk van Duijvenbode. The second match of the evening is without doubt the pick of the second round matches as the world champion Peter Wright faces off against the winner of the World Grand Prix and various other events in recent times in Gerwyn Price.
The world number one Michael van Gerwen will look to build on his fine win and performance in the first round on Thursday when he attempts to see off Ian White for a place in the quarter finals in the penultimate match of the evening. The final game of what is another busy day of darts over in Germany sees the in form Mensur Suljovic taking on arguably the biggest surprise winner from the opening day in Steve West, who saw off Krzysztof Ratajski on Thursday.
Betting
There is something about Michael Smith that isn’t quite right at the minute and I think he is vulnerable in the evening opener against Dirk van Duijvenbode. I was interested to see how the Dutchman would go in this match because it is the first time we’ve really seen him since he made the final of the World Grand Prix and he needed to show that run wasn’t a fluke. He did that in an emphatic 6-0 victory and while Danny Noppert was all over the place against him, Dirk averaged 98, scored well and finished creditably and looked the part. Michael Smith was involved in a right ding dong with his namesake Ross Smith with ‘Bully Boy’ coming through a deciding leg but he never averaged 90 for the match and continues to look disinterested or disillusioned with life on the stage at the minute. This match could easily come down to the doubles and right now I’d fancy the Dutchman in that department so at the price I think the Grand Prix finalist is worth a bet here.
The final match of the night sees Mensur Suljovic taking on Steve West and I’m a little surprised that we can get West at 5/6 to hit the most 180s. His throw looked so smooth against Ratajski on Thursday and that is often a sign that he is in a good place and playing well. Suljovic might have beaten Daryl Gurney in a fairly routine manner but there wasn’t as much about his win that was as convincing it has to be said. His throw looked very jerky and his third dart kick even more pronounced than it normally is so it is hard to see the Austrian ploughing in the 180s. West generally scores for fun when he’s on song and I think he’s a warmer favourite than the odds suggest to hit the most 180s here.
Tips
WON – Back D.van Duijvenbode to beat M.Smith for a 3/10 stake at 2.38 with BetVictor
Back him here:
WON – Back S.West Most 180s vs M.Suljovic for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
Back him here:
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