There is one last quarter of the PDC World Darts Championship draw to go through before the biggest event of the year gets underway on Thursday evening and it is the bottom section, headlined by former champion Michael van Gerwen.
He has cleaned up in four TV tournaments in 2022 but he would swap all of them I am sure to get his hands back on the Sid Waddell Trophy. There are some high class players opposing him in this quarter though it has to be said.
Draw
(3) Michael van Gerwen v Niels Zonneveld/Lewy Williams
(30) Mensur Suljovic v Mike De Decker/Jeff Smith
(14) Dirk van Duijvenbode v Karel Sedlacek/Raymond Smith
(19) Ross Smith v John O’Shea/Darius Labanauskas
(6) Rob Cross v Scott Williams/Ryan Joyce
(27) Mervyn King v Matt Campbell/Danny Baggish
(11) Gary Anderson v Madars Razma/Prakash Jiwa
(22) Chris Dobey v Martijn Kleermaker/Xicheng Han
Preview
Once again I’ve split the draw up into a red section and a green one to make it easier to go through. The red section is expected to be dominated by Michael van Gerwen but while he should win his first two matches, things could get more difficult for him in the last 16 regardless of who he plays. Ross Smith has won a TV title this year and is in great form while Dirk van Duijvenbode has made a TV final. Raymond Smith and Jeff Smith are always more than just dangerous floaters.
In the green section we have two former champions who will be looking to set up a last 16 showdown as the 2018 champion Rob Cross and the 2015 and 2016 winner Gary Anderson are on a collision course at that stage of the tournament but the form of the latter is anything but guaranteed and in truth the former can throw in some shockers as well, albeit he does come here with the confidence of having reached the final of the Players Championship Finals. Mervyn King is in no form either but Chris Dobey could be a threat. Of the unseeded players Scott Williams, Ryan Joyce and Matt Campbell are all capable competitors.
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Betting
I think Michael van Gerwen is a worthy favourite to win this quarter but he is likely to have to navigate an awkward last 16 clash and then face someone in the quarter final so there might just be some value in taking him on. Clearly I want someone to beat him before my player faces him if possible so I’m going to look to a player in the green section and although the claims of Rob Cross are fairly obvious, Chris Dobey has had a really good year and at 14/1 looks a big price.
He beat Michael van Gerwen at the European Championship on his way to the semi-final so he knows he has the better of him and while the likes of Gary Anderson and Rob Cross are established campaigners, Dobey will feel he has the beating of both of them if he plays to the level that he can do. Dobey has reached the last 16 of this event in three of the last four years and gone out in a deciding set on each occasion so with an ounce more luck he could have gone very deep in this tournament before. I’ll pay to see if something happens early to MVG or whether Dobey can beat him should they meet.
Tips
Back C.Dobey to win 4th Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 15.00 with BetVictor
Back him here:
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