The second round of the Grand Slam of Darts comes to a close on Thursday evening when the eight players in the bottom half of the draw battle it out for a spot in the quarter final over what is shaping up to be a special weekend in Wolverhampton.
We’ve already seen four top drawer acts book their places in the last eight of the competition and plenty more big names will be looking to join them on what looks a great session of darts over the course of Thursday night.
Michael Smith vs Joe Cullen
It is a sign of how good the night promises to be when the likes of Michael Smith and Joe Cullen are opening up the evening. Both are still searching for their first TV title but they have done pretty much everything else in the game.
These two are pretty familiar foes having met on 16 previous occasions, with Smith holding a 9-7 lead in those past battles. I wouldn’t want to predict the outcome of this match though because both of these players have a tendency to miss crucial doubles. If I was picking one I’d side with Cullen but there would be no confidence behind that at all. Where I am confident is that we’ll see plenty of 180s here. These two have two of the most natural throws and rhythms in the game and I don’t expect any histrionics or anything. Generally when these two meet there are a load of 180s and I expect over 11.5 of them here.
Peter Wright vs Jose de Sousa
There are four genuine contenders for match of the night on Thursday evening but one of them which might well lead the way is the second one between the World Matchplay winner Peter Wright and the defending champion Jose de Sousa.
Wright came into this tournament under a bit of a grey cloud form wise. I wouldn’t say he has massively impressed thus far but he has done enough to make it through his group as a group winner. De Sousa is defending a TV title for the first time this week and he has done an acceptable job of it so far but he did lose his final group match to Luke Humphries and hasn’t scored like we know he can do. I think Wright wins this but I don’t think there is a huge amount of value in him but given that he is scoring much better than de Sousa there might be an ounce of value in the match treble in Wright’s favour.
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Mensur Suljovic vs Fallon Sherrock
It says everything about the impact that Fallon Sherrock is making in the game of darts at the minute that her second round match against Mensur Suljovic has the prime third match of the evening slot as they battle it out for a quarter final place.
Suljovic has looked very good in this tournament so far but it is hard to dismiss Sherrock, who has pretty much played knockout darts in her last two matches and who had to win four successive legs in her last match to make it through here. She won those four legs and crowned the run with a special 170 checkout which had to go. Her fairytale isn’t running out of chapters just yet. Much will be made of the meeting these two had at the World Championship a couple of years ago when Sherrock upset Suljovic, however the Austrian was in a deep spell of bad form then and he isn’t in that here. I think Sherrock meets her match here but you have to respect her enough to be able to hang around and if she does the pressure could come onto Suljovic. I hope it doesn’t as I’m on him outright and that is more than enough interest for me in this one.
Michael van Gerwen vs Gary Anderson
On any ordinary evening of darts we would be looking to the final game of the evening as the highlight but there are so many of those. Nevertheless, when Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson meet it is always a great occasion and this promises to be no different.
There have been signs this week that MVG is back to something like his best form. You can tell by his demeanour that he think he is back in a good groove and that always spells trouble for the rest of them. Anderson has had the luxury of working his way into this tournament and his 104 average in beating Raymond van Barneveld in what was a knockout final group match suggests he has built up confidence nicely and if he pins his doubles here like he did there then we have a right good match on our hands. That could very easily happen, and even if it doesn’t MVG isn’t completely reliable on them himself. I fancy this is a match to watch and enjoy rather than bet on, largely because van Gerwen is a worthy favourite but Anderson is more than capable of playing the role of the spoiler.
Tips
Back M.Smith vs J.Cullen – Over 11.5 180s for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Boylesports
Back P.Wright Full House (Win, Most 180s & Highest Checkout) for a 2/10 stake at 6.00 with Boylesports
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