The first round of the PDC World Darts Championship concludes on Thursday afternoon and the second round gathers in momentum as four more matches take place inside the Alexandra Palace down in London.
That means we get to see the four qualifiers who are yet to get their campaigns underway doing just that while another four get to sample the Alexandra Palace stage once again on what looks like a competitive afternoon.
Justin Pipe vs Benjamin Pratnemer
The afternoon might be a bit of a slow burner because the opening match of the day doesn’t look the best in the quality front it has to be said. Justin Pipe will be looking to set up a clash with Daryl Gurney when he takes on the Slovenian qualifier Benjamin Pratnemer, who is making his debut in the competition.
We saw Pratnemer at the recent Winmau World Masters where he went out in the last 32 with an 85 average but there is enough in that to think he can be competitive against a Justin Pipe who is no longer all that consistent and who can really struggle in the latter stages of legs. I would still expect Pipe to come through this but he looks crazily short given the year he has had and the potential for the crowd to get on his case. I’ll leave this one alone.
Special Offer
Bet on the World Championship with Boylesports and get double winnings as a free bet on ALL markets if the final checkout is 100+! All customers! Click the image above to bet on this fantastic offer! 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Ryan Joyce vs Jan Dekker
The final match of the first round of the tournament fittingly given all the attention Fallon Sherrock is quite rightly getting, sees the two men who went up against the women in this event last year doing battle when Ryan Joyce meets Jan Dekker.
Joyce took care of Anastasia Dobromyslova without dropping a set 12 months ago before taking care of Simon Whitlock and James Wade on his way to the quarter final. Dekker saw off the challenge of Lisa Ashton last year but then went down in a deciding set to Mervyn King before embarking on a terrible 2019 which has seen him finish it with just two wins since the middle of July so to say his form is lacking would be something of an understatement.
I like Joyce here. He is much the heavier scorer of the two and that is significant. Dekker can’t be all that confident with the year he has had so his deadly finishing isn’t likely to be there either. As long as Joyce pins his doubles he should have few problems here, especially if he gets in front early. I’ll take him to cover a 1.5 set handicap.
John Henderson vs James Richardson
The first of the second round matches on the afternoon sees John Henderson going up against James Richardson in another one of these games which has an interesting dynamic to it with Henderson a deserved favourite but potentially a reluctant one.
Richardson has already had a match on the stage but we can’t really judge him on that because he would have been under all sorts of pressure to beat Mikuru Suzuki, which to be fair to him he did. He’ll need to improve on that here but that improvement should come naturally with him having a lot less to lose in this match. Henderson is a capable campaigner but he does look vulnerable to me although not enough to merit a bet.
Special Offer
Bet on the PDC World Championship with Betway and get paid out as a winner if your player leads 2-0 in sets whether they win or lose! Click the image above to bet. All customers! 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Steve Beaton vs Kyle Anderson
The last match of the afternoon session is a clash between Steve Beaton and Kyle Anderson, who have already met on this stage twice in the past with each man winning one of those two battles, so the trilogy game is here.
Anderson has actually won their last four meetings in all tournaments and he has won them with a huge amount in hand too but their most recent battle was 2017 and so much has changed since then, not least the form of the Australian. He looks a bit of a mess at the minute and has done for a while. He wasn’t just missing doubles in the first round but firing wides a lot of the time. His scoring was erratic too and if it wasn’t for his Chinese opponent seeing the winning line Anderson might well be out.
Beaton is nothing special but at the same time he doesn’t do a lot wrong in terms of missing big numbers and making amateurish mistakes. If Anderson doesn’t significantly improve, especially on the doubles I don’t see how he can win. If Beaton gets in front early on and gets the Australian under pressure he could find this is an easier afternoon than the odds suggest.
Tips
Back R.Joyce (-1.5 sets) to beat J.Dekker for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Betfair
Back him here:
WON – Back S.Beaton to beat K.Anderson for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2019
