It took a lot of organising and a lot of upheaval and controversy in the making but finally the third staging of the BDO World Trophy was confirmed and it will run throughout this upcoming Bank Holiday Weekend.
The tournament was given a little extra profile when it was confirmed that it would be held at the iconic Lakeside venue in Surrey and it had another boost when free to air station Dave picked up the rights to show the whole event.
Both the men and the women are involved in this tournament. I’m only going to preview the men’s event here but when I get into the matches on Sunday and Monday I will reflect on the women’s tournament as well.
Top Quarter
The top half of the men’s draw includes the man many people see as the best in the BDO right now in Glen Durrant. He is the top seed and looks to have a nice path into the semi-final of the tournament but as we saw in the World Championship that doesn’t guarantee success.
On paper Martin Phillips is the biggest danger to Durrant in the top quarter which suggests Durrant should be good for a place at least in the last four although over the best of 11 and 13 legs who knows for sure. Andy Fordham, Ted Hankey and Darryl Fitton are blasts from the past in this quarter which is slightly harsh on Fitton who remains a very good player but I suspect this might be beyond him.
Darius Labanauskas and Craig Caldwell are two overseas players in the opening quarter and both meet each other in the first round while recent PDC UK Open star Barry Lynn completes the eight man line up in that part of the draw.
Second Quarter
Jamie Hughes is the heavyweight name in the second quarter but this one looks a really tough little field. Hughes will face the improving Ross Joyce in the first round which is no easy walk in the park. Defending champion Geert de Vos is housed in this area of the draw too. He faces Roger Janssen in the first round.
The other four men in this quarter should give us two good first round matches as the German Masters champion Wesley Harms goes up against Nick Kenny and Mark McGeeney takes on Jeff Smith in the standout tie of the entire first round.
Third Quarter
The big names keep on coming in this part of the draw. Welsh Open champion Scott Mitchell and Dutch open winner Martin Adams are two former world champions in this part of the draw but it is a section which also contains the Dutch star Danny Noppert who is making excellent strides on the BDO scene.
Adams faces the lanky Latvian Madars Ramza in the first round while Scott Mitchell has it much tougher on paper against the Scotland international Ross Montgomery. Noppert plays the capable Japanese player Seigo Asada with Dean Reynolds, another wonderfully talented youngster, and Dave Cameron making up the draw.
Bottom Quarter
World champion Scott Waites is in this part of the draw and I don’t think he’ll be too disappointed with what he sees when he checks out the section he is in. He faces Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski in the opening round with either Brian Dawson or Jim Widmayer waiting in the second round.
Jim Williams faces Peter Machin while one of the ties of the opening round sees Richard Veenstra taking on Tony O’Shea. The World Championship semi-finalist has a tough match on his hands there against the rejuvenated O’Shea who has already won in the Isle of Man in 2016.
Betting
I’m going to go with two players outright. Scott Waites is my main bet this week. He is the world champion for a reason and while his form since lifting that title isn’t fantastic he has always been a player for the big stages and the big competitions of which this is one.
In fairness considering the BDO has plenty of detractors there isn’t what you would call a weak quarter in the draw but I think Waites has probably come out of things the best and given his scoring power, his confidence and his class I fancy him to convert that into another sizeable cheque this weekend.
I’m also going to have a little dabble on Mark McGeeney in the top half. There is no doubting the quality of the ‘Gladiator’ but he seems to run into opponents in excellent form in these tournaments. He brought the very best out of Scott Mitchell in a Lakeside epic in the World Championship and since then has made the quarter final in the Isle of Man where Martin Adams was too good for him.
Not many in the BDO have the scoring power that McGeeney possesses and if he can land those nervy, pressure doubles then there is a huge tournament waiting for the England international. This might just be the one.
Tips
Back S.Waites to win BDO World Trophy (e/w) for a 2/10 stake at 7.00 with Bet365 (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back M.McGeeney to win BDO World Trophy (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 41.00 with Boylesports (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
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