There are two sessions of action at the PDC World Darts Championship on Saturday. We have an afternoon session and an evening session inside Alexandra Palace on what is a busy day in the showpiece event.
The bigger names have been saved for the evening but that means we have a competitive looking schedule in the afternoon which might actually make for some better action to get the day going.
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Alan Ljubic vs Brendan Dolan (P)
Croatia Country Northern Ireland
Unknown Age 44
Debut PDCWC Best Last 32
N/A Last Year Last 32
0 Head to Head 0
The opening match of the day is the preliminary round game between the Eastern European qualifier Alan Ljubic and the Northern Ireland veteran Brendan Dolan for the right to face Robert Thornton later in the day.
Ljubic is one of the leading players in the soft tip world and if he can take to the proper dart stage then there should be nothing for him to fear because Dolan’s game has long since gone down the Khyber. That said Dolan did well to make it as far through the PDPA qualifier as he did and that needs to be respected. I keep saying I’m not a prelim player and I’m not playing here either.
Benito van de Pas vs Steve West
24 Age 42
Last 16 PDCWC Best Last 64
Last 16 Last Year Last 64
3 Head to Head 1
One of the more even matches of the first round is the opening main draw match of the day when the Dutch youngster Benito van de Pas takes on the more elder statesman Steve West for a place in the second round.
Van de Pas has a pretty good record in this tournament but he arrives here in absolutely no form whatsoever. He has only been past the last 16 of two events since early May which for someone who plays in everything is clearly not good.
West isn’t exactly pulling up trees but he has less to lose here and doesn’t really need confidence to play well. If he gets off to a good start on the doubles I think he’ll take this. We know he’ll score so it is all about the doubles for him. If he can get in front he can pile the pressure on van de Pas and get his rewards.
Mervyn King vs Zoran Lerchbacher
51 Age 45
SF PDCWC Best Last 64
Last 32 Last Year Last 64
2 Head to Head 0
The middle main draw match of the afternoon sees a veteran of the darts world in action when Mervyn King begins his bid for a world title that has amazingly eluded him so far in his career. He takes on the Austrian player Zoran Lerchbacher for a place in the second round.
King has had a quiet year on the tour it must be said and he faces a player who has made a final on the floor so if the Norfolk man isn’t careful this could turn into a horrible afternoon for him. Although Lerchbacher made a floor final his route there didn’t see him take on anyone of significance so it is possible that he is overrated on that. Even if he isn’t playing on the stage is a different beast.
This doesn’t feel like a match to bet on in truth. I would expect King to win but he’s in no form at all and he is never wholly reliable with his back so I prefer to sit this one out.
Robert Thornton vs Alan Ljubic/Brendan Dolan
50 Age
QF PDCWC Best
Last 32 Last Year
N/A Head to Head N/A
The final match of the afternoon sees Robert Thornton in action against the winner of the earlier preliminary round match. I would imagine he will expect to be playing Brendan Dolan but nothing is certain where that is concerned.
In a weird way given his struggles on the main stage Thornton might have preferred to face someone who won’t have already had a match on the stage but either way this should be all about him and his mindset. If he is focused he should be fine but if he lets the thought that his opponent has had a match get into his head this could turn into a struggle.
We can’t really bet on the match for the simple reason we don’t know who Thornton is playing but in truth I’m not sure I’d have fancied anything anyway.
Tips
WON – Back S.West to beat B.van de Pas for a 4/10 stake at 2.50 with Bet365
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