The evening session on day four of the PDC World Darts Championship on Sunday sees another three first round matches being completed as well as a second round game on what looks like a potentially decent night of action.
The former semi-finalist and two-time TV major finalist this year Nathan Aspinall is the headline act over the course of the evening but the three first round matches are among the better in the draw so we should get a great evening of darts.
Mike de Decker vs Jeff Smith
The opening match of the night sees the Belgian rising star Mike de Decker looking to make it into the second round of the tournament when he takes on the former Lakeside finalist Jeff Smith, with Mensur Suljovic awaiting the winner.
Smith has had an up and down year which you would have to say has been mostly down hence why despite playing most if not all of the Players Championship events this season he couldn’t qualify for the tournament through that route. De Decker did make it in that way courtesy of a semi-final fairly recently. The Belgian probably has this match in his hands because he is highly likely to outscore Smith, who doesn’t hit many maximums at all, but what the Canadian lacks in scoring power he makes up for in finishing ability and clutch finishing. That could make this an interesting contest and I wouldn’t be surprised if Smith wins it but I don’t really like betting on players where the opponent has the game in his hands.
Scott Williams vs Ryan Joyce
The second match of the evening could swiftly become the best one of the night as the improving Scott Williams, one of the debutants in the tournament but who is rising in the game all the time, takes on a Ryan Joyce who is way too good to have needed to go through the PDPA qualifier to make it into this competition.
Joyce has shown that he can deliver when it matters a couple of times over the last few weeks. He made the last 16 at the Players Championship Finals and then came good at that PDPA qualifier to make it here. The fact that Williams has qualified for this tournament through the Pro Tour is even more remarkable when you consider that he doesn’t have a tour card at present. That is about to change but technically he is a non-PDC Tour player in the main event. We’ve seen him come good in recent times too. He won Players Championship 17 earlier in the season, got into the Grand Slam of Darts courtesy of his Challenge Tour exploits where he beat Ryan Searle in what was the group of death. He made the last 16 in Minehead last month too and beat Dave Chisnall there so both these men look to be coming in here in decent touch. This isn’t a match I want to predict the winner in but the 4.5 180s line for Williams looks very low. In recent TV outings he nailed seven in 10 legs against Dave Chisnall in Minehead, six in 17 against Cullen in a losing effort there and six in eight legs beating Searle at the Grand Slam. In PDC events in 2022 Williams has hit 180s at roughly one every three legs and you’ve got to think we’ll get at least 15 legs in this one and probably more so there should be ample time for the debutant to hit five maximums here.
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Matt Campbell vs Danny Baggish
The first round action on Sunday evening concludes with a North American battle as the Canadian player Matt Campbell, who I always think of as one of the smarter cookies on the circuit, takes on Danny Baggish who made a name for himself here a couple of years ago.
Campbell went to the European Q-School and got his Tour Card and he has made the most of it by qualifying for this tournament as well as a number of others with his efforts throughout the year. Baggish also has a card but he hasn’t quite had the same impact with his but I’m not going to hold that against him. He has good memories of this stage though and you would imagine that those memories will inspire him here. I doubt either of these two will want to lose to the other and I expect this to be very close. Just on the year so far I’d favour Campbell in this one but he’s a player I prefer as an outsider rather than a favourite so I’ll take a watching brief here.
Nathan Aspinall vs Boris Krcmar
The second round match on the evening sees the former semi-finalist Nathan Aspinall in action. He takes on the big Croatian player Boris Krcmar for a place in the third round after Christmas and is quite a warm favourite to achieve it.
I certainly hope he does that as he is one of the two outright picks for us in this tournament and if the Croatian plays like he did in his first round match then Aspinall should coast through. Krcmar is better than that though so we should expect him to play well here but that is only likely to make Aspinall play well anyway. I would look to get involved in ‘The Asp’ in this match if it wasn’t his first outing here but I expect him to cruise through. That will do me though as I’m on him outright so I’ll leave the closer for the evening alone too.
Tips
Back S.Williams – Over 4.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Boylesports
Back him here:
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