The darting spotlight might be on the World Grand Prix this week but before that begins we have the continuation of the PDC Home Tour II as the third of the second phase groups are played out in the homes of seven men on Monday.
Four more players will qualify for the third stage of the tournament on Monday with another potentially joining them from a group which has a nice blend of big names and up and coming players who will be looking to make a big impression.
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.
Phase 2 Group 2 Recap
Krzysztof Ratajski was the man heavily expected to top the group last Wednesday and that is exactly how it played out as his five wins was enough to seal top spot from Bradley Brooks and Kai Fan Leung who both finished with eight points. The fourth qualifier for the next stage was Gabriel Clemens. Mickey Mansell came fifth with four points but his leg difference wasn’t good enough for him to progress. Ted Evetts and Martin Schindler were the other two men to exit the competition at this stage.
It was a day of crossbar hitting for us on Wednesday as we sided with Bradley Brooks and he was one win away from landing the 20/1 gamble on him to top the group and then he lost his match with Ted Evetts 5-4 when Evetts hit an excellent 177 to leave tops in the deciding leg with Brooks nicely placed to get over the line and potentially bring both bets in. Hopefully we get a bit more luck on Monday and beyond.
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Phase 2 Group 3 Line Up
The Favourites
The favourite to come through this group is Jeffrey de Zwaan. He was only third in his first phase group but to be fair to the Dutchman it was a great deal stronger than this one looks on the face of it. James Wilson actually topped his group in the last round with five wins from his six matches although like de Zwaan his section wasn’t the strongest one we saw. Nick Kenny needed two bites at the cherry to secure his place in this round but on his second go he won all six matches in a group which contained Chris Dobey so there is an argument that he sets the standard here.
The Outsiders
Geert Nentjes impressed in the first Home Tour but had to rely on being one of the best fourth placed players to make it through the first stage here. He wasn’t involved in the strongest group either it has to be said. Adam Hunt did well to make it to this stage and he has taken that form onto the tour with him and could be dangerous if he has maintained that confidence in his game. Carl Wilkinson went well in PDC Home Tour I but looks up against it here while Kirk Shepherd will need his best if he is going to come out of this group.
Group Betting
He might not have topped his first group but I do think this day is going to be all about Jeffrey de Zwaan. If he plays to anything like his best then he should have too much for these, particularly when you think that James Wilson hasn’t been showing his best on the tour for a while now. I’m keen to keep Nick Kenny on side and I’m tempted to back him at 6/1 but I said at the start of this section that I would only get involved in group bets that were insane value. I’m not so sure this one hits that category.
Of the rest we should give a note to Geert Nentjes who has the ability to be dangerous over the course of the day but whether he has the consistency is another thing entirely. You would say the same about Carl Wilkinson and Kirk Shepherd. Adam Hunt has been in good form recently and if we could have got a double figure price about him I might have had a dabble on that but we can’t so I won’t. Nothing really takes my fancy here.
Match Betting
I said above I’d like to keep Nick Kenny onside and I’ll do that in the match betting where I think the 4/5 on him beating Geert Nentjes is a decent bet. I’ve already mentioned that Nentjes scraped through to this stage by the skin of his teeth. He only won three of his six matches in his first group, losing to players such as Adrian Gray and Andy Boulton, neither of whom are as good as Kenny is at present I don’t think.
I mentioned when I took Kenny to win his group last week that he has been in good form on the tour in recent times. He is a seriously heavy scorer and appears to be hitting his doubles nicely which is never a bad combination. It is that finishing which can sometimes let Nentjes down and in a best of nine when you haven’t got the throw that is something the Dutchman can ill afford. I like the way Kenny is playing at the minute and I’ll back him to come through here.
Tips
Back N.Kenny to beat G.Nentjes for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
Back him here:
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