There are two more sessions of play in the PDC World Darts Championship inside the behind closed doors arena of Alexandra Palace on Friday with the afternoon stanza looking to be a very competitive one as eight men look to progress in the competition.
Slowly but surely the standard is rising in this tournament and the matches are getting much more competitive and easier to watch as a result. There is no reason to think that anything changes in that regard on Friday.
Mickey Mansell vs Haupai Puha
The opening match of the afternoon promises to be a fairly close one as the experienced Mickey Mansell takes on the New Zealand debutant Haupai Puha for a place in the second round of the tournament where Ricky Evans will be waiting for the winner.
Mansell has plenty of experience on this stage but none of it is winning ones. He has competed here five times in the past and all he has to show for his efforts is a solitary set which came against Jim Long who isn’t exactly an opponent to strike fear into the hearts of many. Not only has he only won one set but his averages are little short of pathetic too. They read 82.70, 78.46, 87.65, 74.45 and 80.15. Only one of those has any change of getting the job done and his average was only that high because Kim Huybrechts battered him and restricted him to few darts at a double. Putting it simply Mansell does not perform well on this stage.
If there was a crowd here then I’d be all over Puha in an instant but there isn’t which might suit Mansell because he is actually a very good floor player. I’m not convinced New Zealand darts is in the greatest shape either at the minute and everything I’ve seen of Puha has been littered with missed doubles. I wouldn’t argue that there is a bit of value on the New Zealander but you can’t spend value. I’ll keep my coins in my pocket despite the temptation to take Mansell on.
Darius Labanauskas vs Cheng An Liu
The second match of the afternoon sees the man who was a surprise quarter finalist in this tournament last year beginning his campaign to emulate that as the Lithuanian number one Darius Labanauskas takes on the Chinese qualifier Cheng An Liu.
Labanauskas is actually a seasoned campaigner whether that is in this tournament or the BDO version and it would be one of the big shocks of the year if he loses here. We often see a Chinese player make it over for this tournament but we are yet to see one who is much cop and with all the difficulties in that part of the world this year I’m not expecting that to change here. To be fair to Liu he has done well to make it here after 15 years since he turned out at the Circus Tavern and in the Chinese qualifier for this event he averaged a shade under 88 in the final and banged out three ton plus checkouts so despite the obvious issues out in Asia he deserves to be respected. I expect Labanauskas to come through but there is a chance Liu could be more competitive than the odds suggest. There are too many unknowns with the year he has had to merit a bet here.
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Wayne Jones vs Ciaran Teehan
The last of the first round matches in this afternoon session sees the veteran Wayne Jones looking for a first win in five visits to Alexandra Palace when he takes on the Irish play Ciaran Teehan who won a match on his debut here last year and who pushed Mervyn King all the way in a cracking contest after that.
Jones is back on the PDC scene this season after getting his tour card back at the beginning of the year and he showed he can still handle it when he made the semi-final of one of the Summer Series events, although Glen Durrant aside he beat nobody of note in that run. Since then his form has dropped off a little bit with just six wins in 17 matches in all competitions although he was averaging in the 90s in the Players Championship Finals recently. Teehan has also been doing that. Indeed in the last three matches of the PDPA qualifier he came through to get here he averaged over 98 on all three occasions so he appears to be coming into form at the right time.
This has all the makings of a match which could go the distance but the pressure is all on Jones here really. He is the favourite and coming in here as an automatic pro tour qualifier but is not used to winning on the big stage these days. Just getting here is a result for Teehan and now he can enjoy himself and if he brings out the game which took King the distance here last year he could be a very tough nut to crack. I like him at the prices.
Jamie Hughes vs Adam Hunt
The second round match in this afternoon session looks like being a great game as Jamie Hughes begins his campaign against the man who broke the heart of Lisa Ashton on Wednesday evening in Adam Hunt with the winner coming back for more after Christmas.
Hunt didn’t just beat Ashton on Wednesday, he played incredibly well in doing so too. He averaged more than 94 and it was his finishing which really caught the eye. In four of the five sets he averaged over 90 and scored pretty well so if he has that form with him here then Hughes has got a right game on his hands. I like Hughes though. I think he’s a classy operator and I’ve a feeling his scoring consistency will get the job done in this one. I was looking at getting involved in the total legs market in this one but it is up at 17.5 for a decent price which is one too high so I’ll sit this out and enjoy what should be a top contest.
Tips
Back C.Teehan to beat W.Jones for a 3/10 stake at 2.20 with William Hill
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