The second of two sessions in the PDC World Darts Championship takes place at Alexandra Palace on Saturday evening and after the dust has settled on the afternoon some big names come out to begin their campaigns in what should be a good session of darts.
All eyes will be on the twice winner Gary Anderson to see how he looks in comparison to Michael van Gerwen earlier in the week but once again the cast supporting him is strong. They include a former world champion and a previous world finalist.
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Jeff Smith vs Luke Humphries (P)
Canada Country England
42 Age 22
Debut PDCWC Best Debut
N/A Last Year N/A
0 Head to Head 0
The preliminary round match in this session on paper at least looks to be the pick of the round as the former Lakeside finalist Jeff Smith takes on the Development Tour champion Luke Humphries for the right to face Gary Anderson later in the evening.
We know all about Smith and it will be interesting to see how he goes at this level even if his inclusion in the event is controversial but he wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t failed in the BDO qualifiers and that alone suggests he may not be the force of two years ago. Even when he made the Lakeside final he lacked scoring power and in the PDC you must score.
Humphries should be full of confidence going into this match. He has dominated the Development Tour and performed well on the Challenge Tour to make it here. He only lost out in the World Youth Championship in a deciding leg to eventual winner Dimitri van den Bergh in the semi-final and we’ve seen that form franked already here.
We have to acknowledge a lack of stage experience for Humphries but if he can take to the big stage you would think he will have the game to cause what might look like a big upset but on current form may not be one. I don’t normally bet on preliminary matches but this does look a notch above the level so I’ll have a small punt on the youngster.
Joe Cullen vs Jermaine Wattimena
28 Age 29
Last 32 PDCWC Best Last 64
Last 32 Last Year Last 64
0 Head to Head 1
The opening main draw match of the evening sees two of the younger players taking to the stage when Joe Cullen takes on Jermaine Wattimena for a place in the second round which is pretty rare territory for both men.
Wattimena has had a decent enough year on the floor having made it to three semi-finals but he hasn’t really ever transferred that onto the stage which would be a concern. A lack of poise under pressure often goes against him and with that in mind his record here is no surprise.
To be fair Cullen’s record in this tournament is poor for a man of his class but having finally got a win here last year he should be more comfortable this year. I think he’s improved significantly in 2017 and I expect to see him go well here. There’s no real weakness in his game and I expect him to come through with plenty in hand in this one.
Jelle Klaasen vs Jan Dekker
33 Age 27
SF PDCWC Best Last 64
Last 16 Last Year DNQ
0 Head to Head 0
The third match in the evening session sees two Dutch players who had plenty of success at Lakeside going up against each other. Jelle Klaasen was a former winner there while Jan Dekker twice made the semi-final at that famous venue.
Dekker has forged out a better PDC career than I thought he might have had given that he has never really had the necessary scoring power to compete but all through his career he has shown that if you give him chances he will punish you.
Klaasen has the ability to be a class act but sometimes consistency goes begging for him which is less than ideal. That said his scoring power should lead him to plenty of opportunities at the end of legs. Injuries have hampered Klaasen over the course of 2017 but he looks to be ok on that front and I expect him to cruise through here.
Gary Anderson vs Jeff Smith/Luke Humphries
46 Age
Winner x2 PDCWC Best
RU Last Year
N/A Head to Head N/A
The best is saved for last in terms of big name players as Gary Anderson begins his quest for a third world title in the last match of the evening. He will face the winner of the preliminary match so he is in for a tricky test whoever comes through.
It will be interesting to see how Anderson goes in this match because the last time we saw him he was nursing an injury and he had off-stage issues in his mind. The chances are he will be fine and for the tournament I hope he is but given that we don’t know his opponent that is the only thing of interest in the match at this stage.
Tips
Back L.Humphries to beat J.Smith for a 3/10 stake at 2.50 with Coral
Back him here:
Back J.Cullen (-1.5 sets) to beat J.Wattimena for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Paddy Power
Back him here:
Back J.Klaasen (-1.5 sets) to beat J.Dekker for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Bwin
Back him here:
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