The second day of the PDC World Darts Championship concludes with an evening session which sees two former world champions colliding on a night where you sense the tournament might go up a notch inside Alexandra Palace.
The schedule is the same format as the afternoon session which means we open up with three matches from the first round before the one second round clash on the evening concludes a good looking night of action.
William O’Connor vs Dan Lauby Jr
The opening match of the night is a big one for the two competitors as the Irish star William O’Connor will look to follow in the footsteps of his World Cup teammate Steve Lennon and make it into the second round when he takes on Dan Lauby Jr.
This is a big match because the winner will face the heavily out of form Glen Durrant in the second round and would probably be fancied to make the third round of the event and coin in some decent cash. O’Connor hasn’t been pulling up many trees on the circuit this season so that money would come in handy for his ranking but he faces a very competent performer in the American who showed in the Online Live League that he hasn’t lost any of the ability that took him to a deciding set with Ryan Searle here last year. Lauby averaged around the 90 mark in a lot of his matches in the week he performed so well in the online event and if he has that form with him here he could well win this match against an O’Connor who in two of his three matches at the recent Players Championship Finals averaged less than 90. Given what is at stake here though we might see some doubling shenanigans if this one goes close so rather than take the talented American to win I’ll edge with a bit of caution and take the 11/10 on him to win two sets.
Ryan Meikle vs Fabian Schmutzler
Two of the younger brigade meet in the second match of the night when Ryan Meikle takes on the youngest player in the field this year in the form of the German teenager Fabian Schmutzler, with the former champion Peter Wright awaiting the winner in the second round.
Meikle is much more established at this level of the game but he has never really achieved anything in terms of TV success and he has been around for a while. That never used to be a bad thing but these days if you’ve got it you tend to come through straight away so it might be that if he settles early Schmutzler could have this match within his grasp. We’ve seen plenty of German youngsters enjoy themselves on this stage and if Schmutzler is another he holds claims of winning this but it might be one for the in running plays after we’ve seen how he settles.
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Ron Meulenkamp vs Lisa Ashton
The most intriguing match of the night comes in the last of the first round games when the Dutch player Ron Meulenkamp takes on a Lisa Ashton who is appearing at her third Ally Pally World Championship, with an elusive first win still to come her way.
Ashton doesn’t have a terrible draw here. Meulenkamp has been solid if a little unspectacular this season. He doesn’t have much in the way of results to fall back on but his season average of 91 will keep him more than competitive here. To be fair to Ashton, she was averaging around the 90 mark in her three Grand Slam matches but that was only over a short distance. Nevertheless, if she can have five-leg patches at that level here she could keep the pressure on Meulenkamp at the very least and see if he cracks. I wouldn’t put anyone off Ashton as some value but Meulenkamp probably should still get over the line.
Gary Anderson vs Adrian Lewis
When the second round draw came out one potential clash jumped off the page and thankfully Adrian Lewis confirmed we would see it as he goes up against Gary Anderson for a place in the third round of the tournament.
These two have met in two finals in this tournament in the past and hopefully we get to see them at that level here because we should get a cracking contest if they are. Lewis played pretty well in beating Matt Campbell on Wednesday evening, averaging 94 and coming through a competitive encounter, the like of which often boosts confidence. Anderson comes in here cold but it seems he has been putting plenty of work in with Ryan Searle in the run up to this tournament so he should arrive here in decent condition. I think this match is in the hands of Anderson. If he is respectable on his doubles I expect him to have enough to win but that is never a guaranteed thing with the Scot these days. I think this is one to watch and enjoy rather than bet on.
Tips
Back D.Lauby Jr (+1.5 sets) to beat W.O’Connor for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Betfair
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