The opening night of The Masters sees the top half of the draw playing out their first round matches, which means we get to see the world number one and defending champion Michael van Gerwen on show immediately in Milton Keynes.
He is the headline act on show but there are eight good players on show on what should be a wonderful night of action to open up the first event of the new PDC season. Quality should be guaranteed throughout.
Michael Smith vs Mensur Suljovic
The opening match of the tournament sees Michael Smith taking on Mensur Suljovic in a battle which is a clash of styles. Both men will be looking to avenge disappointing World Championship campaigns with a good run here.
These two have met a few times with this being their 19th meeting over the course of their careers. Suljovic has had the better of those games but he isn’t in the greatest form so there is going to be a vulnerability about him. Missed doubles has plagued Smith for too long now and you would think he’ll be vulnerable himself to being punished from Suljovic. There is a weakness about both these men which makes me swerve this one.
Nathan Aspinall vs James Wade
The second match of the night may well prove to be the closest one of the evening. That is certainly how the world rankings would suggest it will be with Nathan Aspinall in eighth position and James Wade just one below that.
I see it being like that too. Aspinall is the heavier scorer of the two men there is little doubt about that but Wade is probably more accomplished on the finishing, but these are two solid professionals who rarely have bad legs and who don’t give in at any point so it is hard to see this one not being a lengthy encounter. You can get 4/5 on over 16.5 legs in this one which is the way to play this match from a betting point of view.
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Michael van Gerwen vs Jonny Clayton
The third match of the night is where we will see Michael van Gerwen begin his defence of the title when he takes on the last man into the field in the form of Jonny Clayton, who has a daunting task ahead of him here but not a lot to lose.
I think we might see a strong MVG here as he will still be smarting from defeat at the World Championship to Peter Wright, and Clayton might feel the full force of that. The truth is though that we don’t know because everyone has had a month off since then. My gut feeling is this will be an easy win for van Gerwen but I’m in no rush to get involved as Clayton is capable of a big performance to nullify any handicaps and things.
Rob Cross vs Adrian Lewis
The final match of the first night of the new season sees the former world champion Rob Cross looking to kick his campaign into life when he takes on an Adrian Lewis who is trying to get his career back on track after a few quiet years.
On paper this looks like being the match of the night and if we were a little more down the line in terms of action this season I would probably play the 180s between two sustained scorers but I am a little wary of rust and things here. My gut feeling is Cross will have enough to come through the match but the handicap lines and prices are either too short in price or too big in legs and that is another issue. I’ll leave this one alone.
Tips
Back N.Aspinall vs J.Wade – Over 16.5 legs for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Boylesports
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