We have had all 20 nights of the regular season of the second Remote Darts League campaign. 16 players started out the competition and now only four remain and on Monday our champion will be crowned once again.
We have a pair of semi-finals and then the final on what should be a cracking night of action as James Richardson goes about completing a successful defence of his title. The four remaining men are all in good form so we’re in for a great night. Time restrictions will deny us the chance to preview the final but we’ll get stuck into the semi-finals.
The Format
The league phase of the competition will see the 16 players play each other once over the best of 10 legs across the first 20 nights of the season, with two points for a win and one for a draw. Four players play each night and compete in three matches in the sessions they play, so all 16 players will play in just five of the first 20 evenings of the campaign.
At the end of the league phase the top four will go into the playoffs on the final night where the semi-finals are played over the best of 15 legs and the winner will be determined over the best of 19 legs. The entire tournament is being streamed on the Remote Darts League YouTube channel and various bookmaker websites.
Sunday Recap
It promised to be a wonderful night of darts on Sunday evening but it turned into a little bit of a damp squib with only one match going beyond eight legs. It was a perfect night for the defending champion James Richardson who confirmed top spot with three wins to remain unbeaten for the regular season. It was not a good night for Paul Hogan as he lost all three matches and in the end clung onto his semi-final spot. Jim Williams needed three wins from the night to make the last four but could only pick up one while Tony O’Shea finished his campaign with a pair of victories.
It was a poor night for us betting wise with our bet on the 180s in the match between Jim Williams and Paul Hogan never getting out of the starting blocks. Williams looked like a man who knew his race was run while Hogan never really got going at any stage in the night with missed doubles clearly bringing his morale down over the course of the game.
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James Richardson vs Paul Hogan
That all means that the opening semi-final is a repeat of the final of the first season as James Richardson goes up against Paul Hogan in what would be successive matches in the competition after they closed out the regular season in the final match on Sunday evening.
These two have met on three occasions over the two seasons of this event. They drew their first meeting but since then Richardson has dominated with 10-3 and 6-2 victories and I expect him to win with a bit to spare here too. By finishing top of the league he has the advantage of throwing first so if he can hold his throw he’ll have Hogan under immediate pressure on his throw and when missed doubles are beginning to mount up that is an issue. Over this distance I expect Richardson to win no worse than 8-6 barring a mare of his own on the doubles, which hasn’t really looked like coming thus far.
Richard Veenstra vs John O’Shea
Two men who finished the regular season with a flourish meet in the second semi-final when Richard Veenstra takes on John O’Shea in what should be a belter of a match. It was only as recently as Saturday night when they last met. Veenstra won on that occasion and he is the favourite to win here too.
I think that is justified but I don’t think O’Shea should be ruled out. The Irishman looks to have sorted his doubling out which was a big issue earlier in the tournament and he has the scoring power to go with Veenstra, and possibly even outscore him. Veenstra is quality though and once he gets into a rhythm he can be relentless so the elevation in format should be right up his street. This is a match to watch and enjoy rather than bet on although it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise in the world if O’Shea pips the Dutchman.
Tips
Back J.Richardson (-1.5 legs) to beat P.Hogan for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Coral
Back him here:
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