The third round of the PDC World Darts Championship continues with the second session of action inside Alexandra Palace on Tuesday evening when six men return to the stage looking to book their place in the last 16 of the tournament.
The line up for this session is about as good as it gets and if the play on the stage lives up to the billing, or is even half as good as we saw on Monday night, then we are in for some evening of arrers to enjoy.
Rob Cross vs Daryl Gurney
The opening match of the evening could very well be a contest that took place much deeper in the tournament when the former champion Rob Cross takes on a man who has two TV majors to his name in Daryl Gurney.
Both men came through tricky opening assignments in the tournament. Cross outlasted a Raymond van Barneveld who faded quickly in their second round match, although we now know why that was the case, while Gurney saw off the spirited challenge of Ricky Evans in a game he played very well in. I mentioned ahead of the tournament that Gurney might just be coming back to something like his best form, while Cross showed at the European Championship that he is doing likewise. Although there is the fear of him perforating our eardrums again should he win, I’m hoping Gurney wins as I’m on him for the quarter and the route might open up for him if he wins this match. I do expect this to be a close contest though which makes me think the 180s will land here. These two men have met on the stage on plenty of occasions and they tend to average a 180 every other leg between them in the main. I think with the levels of practice that go into a tournament like this that can be elevated slightly. The two hit 13 between them in their opening matches in encounters which were four sets long. I think you can add another couple of sets to this one which should give us plenty of time to get over 13.5 180s to land.
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Peter Wright vs Damon Heta
The middle match of the evening sees the 2020 champion of this tournament Peter Wright looking to go another step closer to regaining the title when he takes on the dangerous Australian challenger Damon Heta, who might be feeling he has nothing to lose here.
Wright cruised through his opening assignment in the event and even though he wasn’t overly impressive, for a first game he certainly wasn’t terrible and we can expect him to build on that now he is into the tournament. Heta got the better of Luke Woodhouse in the first round but only really played like he can in the final set. Prior to that a mixture of poor scoring and missed doubles allowed Woodhouse to hang around, but the Englishmen caught the missed doubles bug. I expect both men to perform better here but I still don’t think Heta is good enough to beat a good version of Wright on a stage like this. Whether we get that version of Wright remains to be seen but whatever Wright turns up he’s a pretty relentless 180 hitter these days, while Heta usually ploughs in the maximums as well. Like the opening game, I expect more than 13.5 180s here too, especially if Heta can keep very close order.
Michael van Gerwen vs Chris Dobey
The final match of the evening session sees third former champion on show in as many matches as Michael van Gerwen looks to move another step closer to a fourth world title. He takes on a man who he basically owns in Chris Dobey.
I say that because these two have met on nine prior occasions and Dobey is still looking for a first win. Based on his showing against Rusty-Jake Rodriguez in the opening round that search isn’t likely to end here. Dobey deserves credit for coming from two sets down to win 3-2 in that match but he missed 23 darts at double in the contest and he can’t afford to do that here. Van Gerwen dropped a set to Chas Barstow in the opening round which might give Dobey a little more belief but MVG often drops sets in that first game then hits the afterburners. I expect van Gerwen to do a bit of a job on Dobey here but I’m slightly wary of him being close friends with Vincent van der Voort who had to pull out of the event with Covid. The two usually prepare together so that might have impacted MVGs preparation. He’s plenty short enough anyway so I’ll just watch and enjoy the closer.
Tips
Back R.Cross vs D.Gurney – Over 13.5 180s for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Boylesports
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Back P.Wright vs D.Heta – Over 13.5 180s for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Betfair
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