The third round of the PDC World Darts Championship finishes on another busy day inside the Alexandra Palace in London on Thursday and after the two sessions of play we will know the identity of the eight men who will be fighting it out at the business end of the tournament.
We saw the biggest shock of the tournament so far on Wednesday evening when Peter Wright was well beaten by Jamie Lewis. Michael van Gerwen survived a scare and some big names will be hoping to do likewise over the course of Thursday.
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Antonio Alcinas vs Darren Webster
Antonio Alcinas: Round 1 beat Cristo Reyes 3-1 – Ave: 85.85 180s: 1
Round 2 beat Kevin Munch 4-1 – Ave: 91.11 180s: 5
Darren Webster: Round 1 beat Devon Petersen 3-2 – Ave: 90.81 180s: 4
Round 2 beat Simon Whitlock 4-1 – Ave: 90.20 180s: 4
Head to Head: 1-3
The opening match of the day sees two men with a wonderful opportunity ahead of them when the Spanish player Antonio Alcinas takes on a determined Darren Webster for a place in the quarter final where an unseeded player would await them. There really is the chance for these two to earn life changing money in the next 48hrs.
Alcinas was poor in the first round but he was infinitely better in the second round and if he scores like he did in the latter match he will have a chance here but Webster was a master of hitting what was needed at the right time against Whitlock and the 140s he scored made him very tough to beat.
I fancy this might be a tense and nervy one given the opportunity both men have and to be fair both are still largely inexperienced especially at this level of events like this. I think this will be an interesting watch but nothing truly interests me from a betting point of view.
Mensur Suljovic vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
Mensur Suljovic: Round 1 beat Kevin Painter 3-0 – Ave: 93.03 180s: 1
Round 2 beat Robert Thornton 4-2 – Ave: 90.66 180s: 1
Dimitri Van den Bergh: Round 1 beat Stephen Bunting 3-1 – Ave: 104.17 180s: 5
Round 2 beat Jan Dekker 4-2 – Ave: 94.91 180s: 6
Head to Head: 2-2
The second match of the afternoon sees Mensur Suljovic aim to avoid being the latest seed to clatter out of the tournament when he takes on the dangerous Dimitri Van den Bergh for a place in the quarter final. Neither man have been further than this in the tournament so this is a big deal for both.
Suljovic has not played well in this tournament yet. Whether that is the burden of expectation or something completely different to that I’m not sure but he has only hit two 180s in nine sets of darts which is terrible at this level. His opponent Van den Bergh has been the exact opposite. He’s played very well, has scored heavily and has yet to have a meltdown on doubles which used to cost him dearly.
I think the Belgian is value here. He is full of confidence having won the World Youth Championship recently and he is playing well. He has a decent enough record against Suljovic having beaten him twice and the two times he lost to him were both in deciding legs. Suljovic’s scoring, or lack of it, is concerning me and with Van den Bergh so proficient in that department he’s value for the win.
John Henderson vs Rob Cross
John Henderson: Round 1 beat Marko Kantele 3-0 – Ave: 90.09 180s: 2
Round 2 beat Daryl Gurney 4-2 – Ave: 95.89 180s: 5
Rob Cross: Round 1 beat Seigo Asada 3-0 – Ave: 104.12 180s: 6
Round 2 beat Michael Smith 4-3 – Ave: 102.65 180s: 16
Head to Head: 1-2
The final match of the afternoon looks like it could be the best one of the lot on paper as John Henderson, who is in a rich vein of form in Sky majors, takes on Rob Cross who is now more than a dark horse to win this tournament.
Both men enjoyed wonderful wins in the previous round. Henderson took Daryl Gurney on at his own game and came out on top while Cross came past Michael Smith in what was an Alexandra Palace classic so they should both be feeling good about their games.
In truth I don’t see Cross losing here even though I respect Hendo’s TV results in recent times. I see absolutely no reason why the 180s won’t continue to flow here though. Both men know where the 60 is. Cross is scoring so well at the minute but Henderson can rattle them in too so I’m fully expecting a dozen maximums before this one is done.
Tips
WON – Back D.Van den Bergh to beat M.Suljovic for a 3/10 stake at 2.75 with BetVictor
Back him here:
Back J.Henderson vs R.Cross – Over 11.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Betfair
Back it here:
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