The second round of the World Matchplay comes to a conclusion inside the Winter Gardens on Wednesday night but before it does we have a match to savour as two legends collide in what should be a belting night of darts in Blackpool.
The whole card is littered with big names but the match between Phil Taylor and Raymond Barneveld will steal the show even on a night where Michael van Gerwen is in action.
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Dave Chisnall vs Alan Norris
We get underway with a good looking match between the underachieving Dave Chisnall and the aggressive Alan Norris in what should be a heavy scoring match. Both men are known for peppering the treble 20 but both can be fallible on the doubles which should create plenty of drama.
Chisnall smashed in seven 180s against Merv King in the first round while Norris was surprisingly absent in that column in his win over Kim Huybrechts but I don’t expect lightning to strike twice where that is concerned.
There is no reason why the 180s won’t flow here. They both know their way to the treble 20 and an 11.5 line looks perfectly reasonable to me. I’ll take the overs.
Adrian Lewis vs Rob Cross
The returning to action Adrian Lewis faces the rising star Rob Cross in the second match of the evening. Any fears that Lewis wouldn’t be ready for this tournament were unfounded when he saw off Steve Beaton in the first round with the minimum of fuss while Rob Cross outlasted Ian White.
Lewis averaged 95 in seeing off Beaton which might not sound a lot but for a first game back after surgery wasn’t too bad and we can expect him to improve on that. Cross only averaged 95.72 himself although for a first match in a real TV major that was no bad effort either.
There is the potential for this to be a close match which puts me off getting involved especially as there is also a chance that Lewis could run away with it if he is on form or if Cross feels the pressure. I’ll sit this out.
Phil Taylor vs Raymond Barneveld
The two legends meet for possibly the last time and certainly the last time in this famous tournament as Phil Taylor is retiring at the end of the year. All eyes will be on Raymond Barneveld to see if he can knock Taylor out of his final Matchplay.
Both men came through good wins in the first round. Taylor saw off Gerwyn Price in confident enough fashion while Raymond Barneveld held off a spirited fightback from Joe Cullen to set this clash up nicely. Taylor has won five of the last six matches between these two and we know he’ll be up for this.
He may well win again but at some point I’ve got to think emotion and nerves will come into play so I think the wiser bet could be taking over 18.5 legs. It is hard to see either of these winning by two clean breaks of throw which makes 11-8 or closer either way look attractive.
Michael van Gerwen vs Simon Whitlock
The final match of the second round sees the defending champion Michael van Gerwen look to continue his title defence when he takes on a Simon Whitlock he has an authoritative record against. MVG holds a 24-5 lead with a draw and he has only lost one of their last 19 meetings.
No wonder then that when questioned about Whitlock’s credentials the Green Machine shrugged off his potential challenge. Van Gerwen’s mind wasn’t completely on the job in the first round whereas Whitlock’s finishing was like the Whitlock of old. If those two things continue in this match it could be closer than it looks. I don’t expect that to happen though but I’m not confident enough to make a prediction so I’ll sit this one out.
Tips
WON – Back D.Chisnall vs A.Norris – Over 11.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with Bwin
Back P.Taylor vs R.Barneveld – Over 18.5 legs for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Bwin
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