The opening night of the PDC World Darts Championship sees three first round matches and a second round match on the schedule in what is going to be the only session of play inside the Alexandra Palace in London to be played in front of a crowd before Christmas.
We already know the identity of the three first round matches on the Tuesday evening card but the second round match will only be finalised after the opening game of the night. What we do know is that it will contain the defending champion Peter Wright.
Steve West vs Amit Gilitwala
The opening match of the tournament will see Steve West taking on the Indian qualifier Amit Gilitwala in the first round of the event with the winner of this one progressing to take on the defending champion Peter Wright in the final match of the evening.
We don’t know a lot about Gilitwala but what we do know is that he is significantly up in class to anything he will have competed against before given that this is his debut in the tournament. Indian players don’t have a great record here at the best of times let along in a year when hardly any amateur darts has been played around the world. That means this should be something of a comfortable piece of work for West but that is fully reflected in the odds where a 3-0 West win is odds on. That is probably one for the accumulators but with it being the first game of the tournament I’m happy enough to leave this one alone.
Steve Beaton vs Diogo Portela
The second Steve to be in action on the opening night of the tournament is the former world champion Steve Beaton, who meets Diogo Portela for the right to take on the Premier League champion Glen Durrant in the second round later in the week.
Beaton will go into this match as a favourite but the fact that he is in this first round highlights that he has dropped out of the top 32 in the world rankings, which in itself shows that there has been a decline in his game. Nevertheless, he holds a significant edge both in experience and quality on the Brazilian star Portela, although the South American probably doesn’t have a whole lot to lose in this match given that he is more an invite into the event rather than a qualifier with Covid denying the chance of a South American qualifying tournament. I expect Beaton to win this but he has flattered to deceive here in the past and with his game not in peak shape I’m happy to leave the match alone.
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Jeff Smith vs Keane Barry
The pick of the matches on the opening night card is the final first round game of the evening when the former world finalist Jeff Smith takes on the current BDO World Youth Championship winner Keane Barry, with Chris Dobey awaiting the winner on Wednesday afternoon.
This is a battle of experience against youth and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top in it. Smith showed his quality and that he can mix it on the PDC scene when he made the final of a Players Championship tournament earlier in the season and the Canadian is always hard to beat. Barry has a big reputation in the youth and development circles and anyone who watched the events that the Modus Darts team put on during lockdown will know all about the qualities of the Irish youngster and he will be a handful for Smith if his brings his best to this stage.
I’m not going to pick a winner of this one but a bet that I do like the look of is for Barry to hit the most 180s. Smith isn’t a serial 180 hitter. We’ve seen that throughout his BDO days and we’ve also seen that in his TV appearances this year. Barry can be relentless on the 60 bed and if his appearance here last year reduces any nerves he might otherwise have I expect Barry to land the most 180s regardless of whether he wins the match or not.
Peter Wright vs Steve West/Amit Gilitwala
The one second round match on the card will see the winner of the first game of the night between Steve West and Amit Gilitwala providing the opposition for the start of the title defence of the current champion Peter Wright.
As said above it would be a massive surprise if it isn’t West who is facing Wright and as he would have had a match on the stage there is a chance West could prove a significant hurdle to overcome. You’d think Wright will do it but it might take longer than he would desire. We have no odds or anything to go with here so while we can analyse the performance and form of West and bet on the match once we know the makeup of it, for now this one has to be a no bet.
Tips
Back K.Barry Most 180s vs J.Smith for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with 888sport
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