It is trophy day at the Players Championship Finals on Sunday when the eight remaining players will go in search of the three victories which will give them the penultimate title of the season down in Minehead.
The format of this final day is the same as all the other ITV events with the quarter finals in the afternoon ahead of the semi-finals and final in the evening. As ever we will be able to preview the quarter finals but time restrictions will stop us doing the evening session.
Jose de Sousa vs Brendan Dolan
The opening quarter final sees the number one seed Jose de Sousa looking to make progress when he takes on the man who got rid of the world champion and tournament favourite Gerwyn Price on Saturday night in Brendan Dolan.
Both these men have had a good year on the floor and one of them will finish off the Players Championship at least in the semi-final but with no worse than an even chance of making the final should they come through here. I like de Sousa here. There were more than a few signs that the real Jose is coming back during his win over William O’Connor on Saturday evening. He banged in eight 180s and was decent enough on his doubles. Dolan held his nerve against Price but in reality Price never showed up in that match. He averaged less than 90 and misses an absolute stack of darts at double. Credit to Dolan for taking advantage but he’ll need a lot more than that to win here I sense. I’ll take de Sousa to win this relatively comfortably.
Daryl Gurney vs Ryan Searle
The second quarter final of the day sees the former champion Daryl Gurney taking on a man who isn’t just playing with the house money but might well have bought the casino in Ryan Searle who has dodged a bunch of bullets so far this weekend.
That might hint that his name is on the trophy but I still think he’ll need to find some better form here, especially on his doubles, else someone will put him out of his misery. That person might well be Gurney. He has had two confidence boosting wins over Michael Smith and James Wade in the last two rounds and importantly he has got better at his doubling as the week has gone along. Searle is still missing far too many doubles for my liking and while he might be able to outscore the likes of Simon Whitlock and Ryan Joyce he will do well to outscore Gurney over 19 legs. The Northern Irishman has won here before and can move a step closer to taking this title once again.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THIS TOURNAMENT! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Peter Wright vs Michael van Gerwen
The pick of the quarter finals is the third one between Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen as the number two and three in the world clash in a pre-World Championship crackerjack of a match, one which the winner will become the favourite to land the title.
I think it is hard to see beyond van Gerwen here. Wright openly admitted in the lead up to the tournament that he doesn’t like Minehead and I suspect one of the reasons for that is the constant air in the arena which affects the flight of his relatively light darts. Of course Wright can change darts to suit the conditions but it isn’t ideal. I don’t think MVG has been fantastic this weekend but his will to win regardless of performance and his intent on defending his title have served him well. It can do so again here but he’s a little on the short side for me to get involved in.
Jonny Clayton vs Vincent van der Voort
The last of the quarter finals sees the Welsh ace Jonny Clayton continuing his quest for an incredible fourth TV title of the year when he takes on the veteran Dutch ace Vincent van der Voort, who is rounding into form at the right time with Alexandra Palace a little more than two weeks away.
Clayton dodged a bullet in the previous round against Luke Humphries but he was well in control of that match before Humphries went on an insane burst. The Welshman held his nerve when it mattered though and that is the composure winning tournaments brings. Van der Voort doesn’t have that on his side but he has bags of experience and he won’t go down without a fight in this one. If there weren’t better bets elsewhere on the card I’d have a look at over 16.5 legs in this one but the better bets come in the first two matches so I’m happy to leave this one alone.
Tips
Back J.de Sousa (-1.5 legs) to beat B.Dolan for a 3/10 stake at 1.95 with William Hill
Back him here:
Back D.Gurney to beat R.Searle for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with BetVictor
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
