As Boris Johnson provides a roadmap to get the UK out of its lockdown on Sunday night, four more players will battle it out for our entertainment in Group 24 of the PDC Home Tour, while we wait for the restrictions to gradually be lifted.
We’ve seen a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly over the previous 23 nights of this tournament, but in truth it has just been a relief to see some sporting action at this time. It remains interesting to see what we get from the Sunday quartet.
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.
Saturday Recap
It was an evening of some good darts mixed in with some very ordinary ones on Saturday evening but Swedish number one Daniel Larsson won’t care much about that as it is he who topped the group with three wins from his three matches. What is more, he only dropped four legs all night in what was a thoroughly convincing performance. Dirk van Diujvenbode came second with Martin Schindler third. It was a pretty rough night for Kyle Anderson who finished last.
We came out of the night with a small profit after Schindler walloped Anderson 5-0 in the match we had our match bet in. Unfortunately van Duijvenbode couldn’t buy a double in what turned out to be the key match of the night against Daniel Larsson which meant that the profit we made on the night was minimal, but after a pretty decent week of things it was better than nothing.
Group 24 Line Up
The Polish star Krzysztof Ratajski heads up the group here. The world number 18 is absolutely relentless on the Players Championship scene, and while we haven’t seen his very best game consistently on the bigger stages, this setup should be right up his street. If it is then he could be very tough to stop. In seven Players Championship events this term, the ‘Polish Eagle’ has a win, a semi-final and a quarter final. He is a relentless scorer and seems to finish no problems without the crowds pressurising him. He is even money to come out on top.
Jamie Hughes currently sits just outside the top 40 in the world rankings, but he is on the second year of his Tour card so once darts returns he’ll find himself in the top 32 in no time at all. He is a very underrated player, one who has already got a European Tour event up his sleeve and anyone who wins them can throw a mean dart. He was a quarter finalist at the recent UK Open where Brendan Dolan and Mensur Suljovic were among his victims. If it all comes together in a potentially alien environment, ‘Yozza’ could easily take this down.
It isn’t often in this group stage that we get down to the third man before we find a World Championship quarter finalist but that is the case here, with the player in question being Lithuania’s finest in Darius Labanauskas. That showed that the former BDO star should not be underestimated although it has to be said he hasn’t really pulled up any trees in the events since then. If he is a ‘big stage’ player that isn’t likely to do much for his cause here, but he’s a very good finisher and if his scoring finds the mark do not count him out.
The final man in this group is a man who has graced the big stages on plenty of occasions in Toni Alcinas. The Spanish number two is as experienced as anyone in this group and has made the last 32 of two Players Championship events, seeing off the challenge of Dave Chisnall in one and a certain Jamie Hughes in the other. The latter might serve him well here. Consistency is an issue with Alcinas but when it all comes together he is capable of going toe to toe with anyone and even at 10/1 he shouldn’t be underestimated.
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Outright Betting
If I’m honest I haven’t got a clue who I think will win this group. When that is the case I often try and take the value and ride with that but the prices all look about right to me. You can genuinely make a case for all four men here and the fact they are all ranked in the top 64 in the world shows how competitive this is likely to be. I think this could come down to a missed double here or there which makes me think Darius Labanauskas could be the one to be with but the only match he throws first is in potentially the hardest one against Krzysztof Ratajski which isn’t exactly ideal.
There is a chance that Ratajski could steam all three opponents if he is bang on it here but I’m not sure there is a huge amount of value in him at even money. I’m a big fan of Jamie Hughes but his 11/4 quotes look about right and while the 10/1 on Alcinas looks like a big price, he might need to win all three matches to come out on top. I’m not convinced that is happening. I can’t pick a winner so I’m not going to try.
Match Betting
If I am honest there isn’t a huge amount that I like in the match betting over the course of the night either. Although we are getting used to seeing shocks in this event, the match odds look about right to me. There isn’t one of those 50:50 matches where the player with the throw is priced higher than he should be when that is taken into account, the sort of matches that we’ve profited from a lot in this competition so that leaves me looking elsewhere for a bet.
If there is a confident way into the proceedings it probably comes in the form of the 180s where for all his excellent darts, Krzysztof Ratajski doesn’t actually hit a lot of them. He is someone who switches at the first sign of something he doesn’t like whereas on the other hand Jamie Hughes will throw at a brick wall to get a treble 20. That makes me think that the even money on Hughes to hit the most 180s in their meeting is a shade on the high side. Ratajski probably shouldn’t be opposed for the win with the throw but Hughes hits more than his fair share of 180s and can land the most in the pick of the matches on the night.
Tips
Back J.Hughes Most 180s vs K.Ratajski for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with 888sport
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