We move into May with Group 15 of the PDC Home Tour providing some of the entertainment to start what we all hope will be the final weekend of lockdown, as once again four men battle it out in their homes for some live sporting action.
We saw some of the young stars of the PDC on show on Thursday evening but it is the turn of a couple of veterans to headline what should be a very competitive group on Friday, which should produce an excellent night of darts.
The Format
Each night four players will battle it out in a round robin format with the group winner progressing to the next stage of the tournament. All six matches in each group will be the best of nine legs with two points awarded for a win. If players finish level on points then leg difference will decide the outcome. If that cannot separate players then the head to head will settle the group winner. Were three players to be tied on points and leg difference the player with the highest overall average goes through. The entire tournament is being streamed live on PDC.tv, the Sky Sports App and various bookmaker sites.
Thursday Recap
It was a rare occasion on Thursday where the form book and the rankings were followed as Chris Dobey eased to top spot in the group. So emphatic were his opening two wins that he was guaranteed the group win before he played his final match, which might well have taken the edge off him enough to slip up. In the end Dobey won the group on leg difference from Rom Meulenkamp, who also recorded a couple of wins while Ciaran Teehan and Kai Fan Leung, playing in the early hours in the morning out in Hong Kong, registered a win each.
It was a quiet betting night for us on Thursday but that suited is perfectly because the one bet we took won. I highlighted in the write up for the bet that having the throw could give Ron Meulenkamp an extra edge over Kai Fan Leung as well as the time issue and that is how it proved as the Dutchman used his advantage in the final leg wisely to run out a 5-4 winner. After a couple of bad nights that was needed and gives us something to build on.
Friday Line Up
As ever we have a member of the top 32 in the world rankings on show headlining a group and here it is the turn of Darren Webster to take the spotlight. Webster has been around the scene for a long time but just how much he will have been pounding a practice board in lockdown remains to be seen. Webster is a quality player but you have to go all the way back to May for the last time he reached a quarter final of a tour event which suggests his form is indifferent. A huge lack of scoring power is a concern.
Scott Baker is the second highest ranked player in the group, which highlights how weak it is because he is sat at 73 on the Order of Merit. Much of that is down to a couple of Players Championship semi-final appearances but they were early on in the frame last season. His form this term has been indifferent. Although this is his second year on the PDC circuit he is probably best known for pushing Glen Durrant to a deciding set at Lakeside in 2019. He does have a win over Rob Cross on the tour this year though.
The third ranked player in the group needs little in the way of introduction as it is the former World Championship finalist Andy Hamilton. The Hammer has been a PDC regular for 15 years or more but he lost his card a couple of years ago and although he has it back now, he went on the BDO scene for a couple of campaigns and offered little of note. He hasn’t been past the last 64 of a Players Championship since his return to the scene but he did reach the last 32 of the Belgian European Tour event. Nevertheless he’s nothing like the player he was a decade ago.
Bradley Brooks is the young man of the group. He lost his Tour card last year but won it back at Q-School at the beginning of this season taking care of Damon Heta to make it back on the circuit. He hasn’t taken advantage of that in the regular tour events having lost in the first round of all eight Players Championship competitions prior to lockdown although he did make a couple of quarter final runs on the Development Tour and offered up some promise at the UK Open. In a strong group you’d give him little chance but this might not be that so he can’t be written off completely.
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Outright Betting
This is a hard group to call. My gut feeling is that the favourite might prevail again but Darren Webster isn’t really a player I want to get stuck into in an event like this one. The other three all look capable but at the same time they could all easily chuck in a stinker or two and be done before their race has got going, hence why the favourite is a 9/5 poke and the outsider just 5/1. This probably is as competitive as those odds suggest.
I’ve thought for a while that these home events is a young man’s game so that would bring Bradley Brooks into the equation but I can’t find a line of form that I’m happy with to take him. Apart from opposing Andy Hamilton there isn’t really a route I want to take in this group so rather than back something I’m not comfortable with, I will keep my powder dry and hit the match betting instead.
Match Betting
It is the second match of the night which takes my interest. As I have said above I’m keen to take Andy Hamilton on in this thing and Scott Baker feels like the man to take him on with. Baker, like a lot of players who served their apprenticeship in the BDO, is a heavy scorer and if he can pin some doubles he is going to be hard to beat all night, let alone in this first match against Hamilton. The danger is that Baker takes a while to settle but that is a risk I’m prepared to take.
This is not the Andy Hamilton that reached the World Championship final back in the day, or the final of the Grand Slam of Darts prior to that, the one who pounded a practice board alongside Phil Taylor. Hamilton is no longer that power scorer and his confidence around the doubles was anywhere but at the o2 at the BDO World Championship earlier in the year. It is fair to say Baker hasn’t pulled up trees on the Tour but he has a win over Rob Cross to his name this year. That is enough of a form guide for me to take the even money on Baker to get off to a winning start, especially given that he has the throw.
Tips
WON – Back S.Baker to beat A.Hamilton for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Sky Bet
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