The PDC World Championship continues on Wednesday with another double session of action as the biggest tournament on the globe heads towards the conclusion of the first round and begins to pick up pace nicely as we head for Christmas.
The event is still thriving from the amazing performance of Fallon Sherrock on Tuesday evening and so the eight players on show in the four matches in the afternoon session have plenty to live up to it has to be said.
Ron Meulenkamp vs Ben Robb
The action gets underway with the New Zealand qualifier Ben Robb taking to the Alexandra Palace stage for the first time when he takes on the Dutch player Ron Meulenkamp who often seems to over perform on the biggest stages.
Based on his exploits in the New Zealand Masters back in August, where he beat Simon Whitlock and lost to Rob Cross with averages in excess of 95 in both matches, Ben Robb could be described as the best Kiwi ever to qualify for this tournament so Meulenkamp is going to have to be on guard here it has to be said. That said, the Dutchman has made four semi-finals on the floor this season and a couple of quarter finals so he is no mug for sure. I’m happy to sit this one out despite the case for the Kiwi being value.
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Mickey Mansell vs Seigo Asada
The second match of the afternoon sees the Japanese ace Seigo Asada looking to make it into the second round for the second year in succession when he goes up against a Mickey Mansell who has been here four times and is still looking for a maiden success in the event.
That record will do nothing for the confidence of Mansell, which must be fragile to begin with, given the poor year he has had on the circuit. The Northern Irishman has only won two matches in the one tournament three times since the UK Open back in March, and he competes in all of them so he is finding wins hard to come by. It won’t be any easier against Asada, who took care of Krzysztof Ratajski last year and only just went down to James Wade in the next round. Asada has been a key player on the Asian Tour this season and that form is already working out nicely in this event. I’ll take the Japanese man to win this.
Harry Ward vs Madars Razma
It could be that the tightest match of the afternoon comes along in the penultimate clash of it as the youngster Harry Ward goes up against the leading light from Latvia in the form of Madars Razma, a man who is a veteran of many World Championship campaigns on the Lakeside stage.
Ward probably isn’t known to too many just yet but he is a good player, as he showed when he won a Players Championship event earlier in the season, where Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith were among his victims that week, highlighting his quality. Razma is used to the big stage so that gives him every chance here and I really wouldn’t be surprised to see this one going the distance, like so many before it have. I think the odds are just about right if I’m honest.
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Stephen Bunting vs Jose Justicia
As ever there is one match from the second round in the session and that one sees the former BDO world champion Stephen Bunting, taking on the Spanish star Jose Justicia who will be looking to progress to the last 32 on his debut appearance.
This match is all about Bunting for me. If he plays to anything like the best of his ability he’ll win this, but we shouldn’t ignore the pressure he is under as a favourite here. I like Bunting and I think his game is one big run in a big TV event away from getting back to where it was but the tension around the occasion could mean that we don’t see his best here. I still expect him to have too much for Justicia, but with the Spaniard entitled to improve for his first round run, I’m in no rush to get too involved in this one either.
Tips
WON – Back S.Asada to beat M.Mansell for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Coral
Back him here:
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