There are two sessions of darts on the second day of the World Matchplay in Blackpool and over the course of the two there should be some great darts thrown as three world champions are in action throughout the day.
From a betting perspective day one of the tournament didn’t go to plan but there is plenty of time to get that back. All four seeds came through on the opening night of the event but you would think a couple of likely to fall throughout the course of the day.
King vs Gilding
Looking at the afternoon session two high quality players take to the stage first up when Mervyn King takes on Andrew Gilding. Anyone who follows the tour closely will know that Gilding is an excellent player in the floor tournaments but he has struggled on the bigger stages and that would be a concern both for him and his backers. He has played in this tournament before but he lost 10-0 to Adrian Lewis which won’t bring back positive memories.
Mervyn King hasn’t done a huge amount in the floor events in 2015 but he has always been a big stage player and the longer the matches the better he is especially as he can get into a rhythm and reel off the legs in batches so I think he’ll go well here and even though he is odds on he is worth taking as his experience can see him to a win.
White vs Bunting
I’m really looking forward to the second match of the day where Stephen Bunting takes on Ian White. White goes into the match as the seeded player but it is Bunting who is the favourite although I suspect a lot of that is down to reputation. Bunting actually leads their head to head records but White has won the last two meetings which were both this year which could tell us something.
Stephen Bunting hasn’t been at his best in 2015. He has played in most of the tournaments and the only time he has been past the quarter final was in the UK Open and you don’t need me to tell you that isn’t the record someone as good as Bunting should be carrying. He has changed his darts this year although I think I noticed he’s gone back to his old ones when he played last week although he still lost to Jyhan Artut. I also wonder if the Premier League has scarred him.
Ian White doesn’t have any of those issues. In his last six tournaments he has made two finals, a semi-final, a quarter final and banged in a 9 dart finish so he’s going along nicely now. You know what you’ll get with White. He’ll give you sustained consistency and someone is going to have to play very well to beat him. Bunting is good enough to do that but on current form White has to be the call.
Pipe vs J Lewis
The third match of the afternoon sees Justin Pipe going up against young Jamie Lewis in a match which is unlikely to be over too quickly. Neither are the most fluent throwers in the world and as such it is hard to get a real feeling for the match. If I wasn’t already on two bets earlier in the day I’d probably look to back Pipe on a handicap but I’m always wary that he cops a bit of crowd abuse with his slow throw so there is no need to risk it. Lewis is capable enough of winning this match so I’ll sit this one out.
Smith vs Price
The last match of the session sees Michael Smith taking on Gerwyn Price in what should be an entertaining match. Both men throw at a nice pace and a nice rhythm so there should be some quality darts thrown. From a betting point of view this is a tough one to bet on. You would think Michael Smith will win and he’s in good enough form to but he can go missing on his doubles sometimes which isn’t good. If the match was in the evening session I’d be looking at the 180s but I don’t like taking them in the less charged atmospheres of the afternoon session so I’ll just sit this one out too.
Back M.King to beat A.Gilding for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Ladbrokes
Back I.White to beat S.Bunting for a 3/10 stake at 2.38 with Ladbrokes
