The PDC Home Tour II is back on Tuesday as the second stage of the competition gets underway with seven players back on their home oche looking to make it through to the third phase of the event and get ever closer to winning the competition.
Four spots in the next stage are up for grabs and a fifth player could come out of this group as well so there is plenty to play for in a group which doesn’t lack big names but which also has a couple of dangerous outsiders.
The Format
Each day seven players will be in action on their home oches in a group stage format looking to progress. In every group in the tournament the seven players will each play each other once. In the first round the top three players in each group and the five best fourth-placed players go through to the second stage. Five groups are played out in the second phase with the top four in each making it through to the third stage along with the best fifth-placed player. The final stage begins with three more groups with the top two in each and the best third-placed player qualifying for the Championship Group where the champion is crowned. Each match throughout is the best of nine legs and the tournament will be streamed live on PDCTV or the consoles on the bookmaker websites.
Group 10 Recap
Krzysztof Ratajski was the dominant force in the last of the first stage groups and his five wins were enough to top the table on leg difference from Kim Huybrechts. Stephen Bunting made the most of his second opportunity to make it through in third place. His three wins but a good leg difference was enough to see him finish above Carl Wilkinson and John Michael. Matt Edgar and Steve Beaton were disappointing over the course of the day and ended up with just the one win each.
It was a profitable but frustrating day for us. I say that because we were one leg away from the six wins we thought Krzysztof Ratajski could pick up on the day. He lost 5-4 to Kim Huybrechts but won every other match he played and won them easily so that was a decent priced shot that got away from us. The profit on the day came courtesy of Huybrechts having no problems beating Steve Beaton in their match to take us into the second stage with positive form.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THIS TOURNAMENT! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Phase 2 Group 1 Line Up
The Favourites
Jonny Clayton is the head man in this first group of the second phase of the competition and when you consider it was only 36hrs prior to this group beginning that he was competing in the final of the German Darts Championship he is a worthy favourite. That could work both ways though. Clearly his form is good but he’ll have been doing a load of rushing around in that time and might not be as fully motivated for this as he might be. That could bring the likes of Chris Dobey and Stephen Bunting more into the game while Jermaine Wattimena will be looking to hold his position in the market and make it through to the next stage.
The Outsiders
Kim Huybrechts looked very good on Thursday and he hasn’t had too long to keep his form going so he’ll be confident of getting the job done here. He is a pretty big looking 9/1 to do so when you consider he only lost out to Krzysztof Ratajski on leg difference on Thursday and there is nothing of that quality in this group right now. Daniel Larsson has already pulled off one surprise to make it to this stage and would need another if he is to continue to make it through to the third stage. Alan Tabern will need his best to make it through too.
Group Betting
I thought the first stage groups were tough to bet on but you’ve got to think that with the players involved in this phase and the amount of darts they are suddenly playing that there might not be the emphasis on winning the group that there might normally be. Players can come fourth and make it through so three wins with a decent leg difference is sure to be enough so you could have a situation where players later in the day have lost all motivation or are just playing for a few legs rather than wins.
If I was going to bet on this group I might take Jonny Clayton on given the whirlwind 36 hours or so that he would have had. Chris Dobey would be the obvious man to do it with but given all I’ve said above his price isn’t the greatest. It might be that the best value lies with Huybrechts at 9/1 but I just can’t bring myself to get involved in an event where winning isn’t the overriding aim. I’ll wait the play on Tuesday and if I’ve got that wrong and there is a battle to finish top I’ll gladly get involved in the last four groups but I’m not sure I am.
Match Betting
I will however put my money where my mouth is on Kim Huybrechts in the match betting department where he looks a big price to see off Stephen Bunting considering he has the throw in that match. Bunting was actually the only man to beat Bunting in the group on Thursday but that was a very strange match. Bunting won 5-3 but seven of the legs went against throw as Huybrechts missed a raft of doubles but I just don’t foresee that happening again here.
Huybrechts was just 3/14 on his doubles and he didn’t have the throw in that match. While Bunting was losing to the likes of Carl Wilkinson and John Michael, Huybrechts was beating everyone else in the group including Krzysztof Ratajski which makes me think that the indifferent display against Bunting from the Belgian was a freak rather than what we can expect here. That is a theory but one thing that isn’t a piece of guesswork is Huybrechts has the throw here so if he can get in front early and put some pressure on Bunting the Belgian can reverse fortunes, especially with the throw in a last leg if it goes that far.
Tips
WON – Back K.Huybrechts to beat S.Bunting for a 3/10 stake at 2.20 with William Hill
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2020
