We are up to Group 9 in the PDC Home Tour on Saturday night and once again we have one of the biggest names in the PDC on show as the competition continues to rattle along at a hefty rate in a bid to keep us entertained during lockdown.
Friday night was one of the more enjoyable groups so far, not so much in terms of the quality on show which was fairly limited it has to be said, but for the banter flying around which provided plenty of laughs. We’ll get more of that on Saturday I would expect.
The Format
Each night four players will battle it out in a round robin format with the group winner progressing to the next stage of the tournament. All six matches in each group will be the best of nine legs with two points awarded for a win. If players finish level on points then leg difference will decide the outcome. If that cannot separate players then the head to head will settle the group winner. Were three players to be tied on points and leg difference the player with the highest overall average goes through. The entire tournament is being streamed live on PDC.tv, the Sky Sports App and various bookmaker sites.
Friday Recap
The action went to form on Friday night as the highest ranked player in the field, Jonny Clayton, came out on top courtesy of three wins from three. He scored pretty well in the main and while his finishing wasn’t as good, it wasn’t terrible either which saw him to glory. Adam Hunt finished second with a couple of wins while Dave Pallett and Richard North failed to get too deep into things even though the former had a chance going into the last match.
It looked like we were onto something from a betting point of view after the first round of matches when Dave Pallett won his opening match 5-2 but he was unable to build on that and faded the longer the night went on. He faded that badly that he offered little to the 180 count against Jonny Clayton so the required target never got touched. Work to do to recover those losses on Saturday.
Group 9 Line Up
The man who could be considered the favourite for any overall title that might come from this thing is in action on Saturday evening as Michael Smith invites us into his home setup. He is the odds on favourite to come through the group and although favourite backers haven’t been rewarded as much as they would have liked over the first eight groups, it is hard to see them not collecting here given the talent Smith has. He’s an 8/15 shot to win the group.
Harry Ward is the second highest ranked player on show on Saturday evening and he has already won a senior tour title, which should make him respected. It has to be said that his form going into the night hasn’t been the best with him winning just one match in the eight Players Championship events that were able to be held before the shutdown came along. He did make the last 64 of the UK Open but he’ll need his best game to justify his 6/1 odds here.
Matt Clark is no stranger to our TV screens. He has been around longer than the PDC itself and can still throw a mean dart or two even now. We often see him appearing in World Championships and European Tour events and already in 2020 he has a win over Jose de Sousa to his name which is no mean feat. At his peak Clark was a heavy scorer so don’t be surprised if that trend continues here but even if it does it is hard to see him landing his 11/1 odds.
Martijn Kleermaker is in his debut season on the PDC circuit but he showed his class and quality in the BDO World Championship prior to winning his Tour card. He has only had his card a couple of months before the sport grounded to a halt, but he has already made the last 16 of a European Tour event, with wins over Stephen Bunting and Joe Cullen to get there. This is a talented Dutchman who could be the spoiler in the party, if there is one. He is 9/2 to win the group.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THIS TOURNAMENT! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply Gamble Aware.
Outright Betting
I can’t see past Michael Smith winning this group. If there was a concern about how much practicing he has been doing recently then a case could be made for getting on one of the others, but we’ve seen throughout lockdown that he has been taking on fans online and practicing against his kids via videos on his social media feed and the honest truth is that unless he misses a barrel load of doubles he’ll be too good for this lot. This setup just isn’t the one to be taking odds on shots in though.
I did think about jumping on the 180s on the night, where the line sits at 20.5 which doesn’t feel high enough, although I am wary of the fact that Smith could dominate and we might see some one-sided scorelines denying us of those few extra legs where bonus 180s could come along. I still wouldn’t be surprised if it covers but if Smith has three easy wins and Kleermaker does a job on one of the others it might be touch and go. I’ll sit it out.
Match Betting
I’ll take two in the match betting over the course of the night though. The first comes in the opening match where I’m expecting plenty of 180s between Michael Smith and Martijn Kleermaker. I’m anticipating plenty of 180s all night from Smith as it goes and there is no reason why they won’t come along here. He is quite capable of covering a 3.5 line on his own in a best of 9 but I expect the Dutchman to contribute along the way. I’ve repeatedly said all week you have to go a long way to find a Dutch youngster or newcomer who doesn’t score. He isn’t one of them so over 3.5 180s looks on here.
Matt Clark has been around the blocks as long as you can imagine but I fancy it will be the younger man who wins the day with a bit in hand when he faces Martijn Kleermaker in his second match. The Dutchman won four titles on the BDO circuit last year, many of them over distances similar to this so he knows how to handle any pressure that comes his way. Although Clark can score I expect Kleermaker to score heavier and I expect him to finish better too. The Dutchman has the throw in this match so an early break and a couple of holds can have him three legs clear and he can ride that to no worse than a 5-3 success.
Tips
WON – Back M.Smith vs M.Kleermaker – Over 3.5 180s for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Coral
Back it here:
Back M.Kleermaker (-1.5 legs) to beat M.Clark for a 3/10 stake at 2.20 with Betfair
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2020
