The second round of the PDC World Championship continues on Friday afternoon with four more intriguing matches taking place inside the Alexandra Palace as spots in the last 32 and the longer formats are up for grabs.
In terms of upsets, the tournament is gradually quietening down but there is no reduction in the drama and we could be set for even more of that here as the likes of Mervyn King, Jonny Clayton and Ricky Evans take to the stage for the first time in the event.
Darren Webster vs Yuki Yamada
The action begins with Darren Webster looking to begin another deep run in the tournament when he takes on the Japanese qualifier Yuki Yamada who took advantage of a nice draw to see off Ryan Meikle in the opening round of the event.
Yamada was solid if unspectacular in the opening round and you would think he will need to find an improvement in that if he is going to come through here, but Darren Webster hasn’t had the best year to date and all the pressure is on him so it wouldn’t rank as the biggest shock in the world if the Japanese player takes this, or is competitive to say the least. There is nothing to merit a bet on this one though so I’ll wait for a better chance.
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Mervyn King vs Ciaran Teehan
The second match of the afternoon sees Mervyn King in action when the veteran begins another tilt at the title as he takes on the Irish youngster Ciaran Teehan, who was pretty impressive in the opening round and gave the opinion that there is more to come.
I was impressed with Teehan in the first round and a repeat of that will give him every chance of pushing King close here. We know King struggles with the long matches and he has always struggled on hot stages so it was interesting to hear Gerwyn Price suggest this venue was the hottest he has ever played in. That certainly isn’t going to help King, and while Merv has shown signs of better things recently, I’m expecting Teehan to score well enough to live with the Norfolk man and if he hits the doubles crisply enough he can push King all the way if not take him out.
Jonny Clayton vs Jan Dekker
The third match of the afternoon sees the Welsh ace Jonny Clayton taking on the Dutch former Lakeside semi-finalist Jan Dekker for the right to take on Stephen Bunting in the last 32 of the event later in the piece.
Anyone who watched Dekker on Thursday afternoon will have seen a man battling his own demons with regards to just throwing the dart so he should be given credit for coming through. You would think his run ends here but Clayton has had an ordinary year and has turned missing doubles into something of an art form with the regularity he has been achieving them. I wouldn’t want my hard earned on him to cover a handicap and then watch him cough up chance after chance. He should win and should do so at a canter but I’ll let him do it if he is good enough to.
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Ricky Evans vs Mark McGeeney
The final match of the afternoon looks like being the best one as far as paper is concerned as the talented Ricky Evans meets a Mark McGeeney who has made a world final in his BDO days and who looked quite assured in his opening match here earlier in the week.
I think Evans is a much improved player and when he gets on a rhythm he can rattle off sets in no time, but I don’t think McGeeney is here to take it easy and roll over. His 93 average from the first round was extremely credible, especially as he was a warm order in that match, and playing under that pressure is never easy. He can relax a little here and could well throw even better as a result. I see this one as one which could go either way. There is probably an ounce of value in McGeeney but not enough to lure me into a bet.
Tips
WON – Back C.Teehan (+1.5 sets) to beat M.King for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Coral
Back him here:
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