The Icon of Darts event goes into its second day on Tuesday, when once again five players battle it out in their homes for our entertainment and betting fix, as the competition continues having made a pretty good impression on the first day.
The event had to undergo a few teething issues on Monday but when they were overcome the competition ran quite smoothly and offers up something from which to get some enjoyment out of the afternoon.
The Format
Each day from Monday to Saturday five men will battle it out in a round robin group with the overall champion being determined on Saturday May 2. Matches will see the players compete over the best of 9 legs with each of them at home in front of a webcam throwing at their own individual dartboards. Scores can be found on Dart Connect and the tournament will be streamed on the bookmaker live streaming consoles and hopefully one of Modus’ social media sites.
Monday Recap
It was the unknown man of the quintet – Wessel Nijman – who came from nowhere to steal the thunder on the opening day of the tournament to win Group 1. The Dutch player, who failed miserably a Q-School earlier in the year, won all four of his matches and was only made to sweat in one of them on a day where his performances were extremely strong. The same could not be said for the other Dutch ace in the field as Raymond van Barneveld lost all four of his matches and looked pretty average in doing so at times.
The other veteran in the first group wasn’t a great deal better as Mark Webster could only win one match, although he did lose a couple 5-4. David Evans ended up finishing second on leg difference from Paul Nicholson. One of Evans’ wins was against Webster which ensured we delivered a profit on the opening day of action in the competition.
Tuesday Line Up
There is only one change to the five men who are competing on Tuesday, with former PDC star Andy Jenkins coming in for Mark Webster and joining Monday winner Wessel Nijman, Paul Nicholson, David Evans and Raymond van Barneveld in what should be another entertaining group. Despite flopping completely on Monday, Barneveld remains a 5/2 favourite for Tuesday’s play, with Nijman a 16/5 shot. Nicholson can be backed at 4/1 and Evans 5/1.
The unknown in terms of form this week is that of Jenkins. At his best he was a PDC World Championship semi-finalist but having offered little of note at Q-School earlier in the year and winning just three matches in total in the first four Challenge Tour tournaments, he would appear light years away from that sort of form, although he did reach the quarter final of a Players Championship event in October. Those who have faith in Jenkins delivering can get him at 10/1.
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Outright Betting
I didn’t think Paul Nicholson did a whole lot wrong on Monday. He won his first two matches against Mark Webster and Raymond Barneveld well and scored decently enough in both but ran into a monster showing from Wessel Nijman and then his fate was sealed by the time he met David Evans in the final match of the afternoon. I’m not prepared to give up on Nicholson just yet.
I wondered if Barneveld would deliver strongly based on the proposal that he has a meeting with Phil Taylor on the horizon but he didn’t. He was terrible and even at 5/2 I can’t be tempted in. If Nijman delivers that standard again he’ll take some beating but if he was that consistent he would have a Tour card and he doesn’t. Evans could be the spoiler in the pack but I’m not too worried about Jenkins. Nicholson threw some good darts on Monday and there’s enough juice in the 4/1 on him to come good on Tuesday.
Match Betting
There isn’t a lot I like on the match front on Tuesday, partly because of the unknowns I’ve highlighted above, and also because of the fact that Monday’s play has been factored into the prices. I don’t think Raymond Barneveld will be as bad as he was on the opening day but I’m not ready to take him on. I would prefer to have Evans and Nijman on side but I’m happy to oppose Andy Jenkins. That forms the basis of my bet.
It has been a good while since Jenkins showed anything of any note and while these are different circumstances it is important to remember that floor events on the PDC are played behind closed doors so there isn’t a lot of difference. One thing we saw on Monday was active players have the edge on the inactive ones. It is all about who to take Jenkins on with and I’ll go with the heavy scoring Wessel Nijman. He won three of his four matches 5-3 or easier on Monday and the even money on him doing it again here looks too good to refuse.
Tips
Back P.Nicholson to win Group 2 for a 2/10 stake at 5.00 with Boylesports
Back him here:
WON – Back W.Nijman (-1.5 legs) to beat A.Jenkins for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Betfair
Back him here:
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