There is just the one session of action at the PDC World Darts Championship on Tuesday and it comes along in the evening when some big names take to the stage inside Alexandra Palace looking to make progress in the competition.
The second round seed on show is the former winner of this title in Raymond van Barneveld but before he comes along we have the Queen of the Palace in Fallon Sherrock and plenty of other great players so we should be in for a decent evening.
Jim Williams vs Sebastian Bialecki
The opening match of the evening sees the former world finalist Jim Williams beginning his campaign for glory at the end of a year where he has already won a PDC title on the floor. His opening opponent is Sebastian Bialecki, the highly rated young Polish player.
Bialecki announced himself to everyone at the UK Open when he made it all the way to the quarter final and was only denied going further in a deciding leg against Willie O’Connor. He breezed through the qualifier from his part of Europe too and on a couple of occasions averaged well into the high 90s and above so if he doesn’t suffer from stage fright on debut he is entitled to go well. Williams has got that PDC tour title under his belt and he was involved in this tournament last season when he only went down in a deciding set in a great game with Joe Cullen in the second round. Williams is never the sort to worry about the opponent and always gives a solid account of himself and I fancy his consistency might just win the day but this has five sets written all over it and not much between them so I’m happy to leave this one alone.
Jamie Hughes vs Jimmy Hendriks
The second match of the evening will see Jamie Hughes on show looking for his first win on the Alexandra Palace stage at the fourth attempt when he takes on the Dutch qualifier Jimmy Hendriks who will be hoping to turn an average year around here.
It is quite incredible that Hughes has never won a match on this stage when you consider how good a player he is and has been over the last few years. He has had to deal with a few injuries which haven’t helped but he’s a lot better than three straight losses, particularly when two of them have been in the first round. He would have been favourite to beat Zoran Lerchbacher, Adam Hunt and Raymond Smith but lost all three, although in fairness he averaged 95.47 against Lerchbacher and 96.05 against Smith last year so it isn’t like he’s played badly. Hendriks denied Max Hopp a place in this competition in the final of the European qualifier that he won and averaged around 94 in the process which shows has a decent level in him but he’s offered little of note on the tour this year and if he delivers a performance similar to the two I’ve highlighted this should be the first win on this stage for Hughes and potentially with something to spare, but the Tipton man is a little short given the circumstances.
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Ricky Evans vs Fallon Sherrock
The last of the first round matches over the course of Tuesday evening sees Fallon Sherrock looking to show she deserves a place in this tournament despite all the controversy about her entry. She meets Ricky Evans whose record might have been much better had he not run into Michael van Gerwen in successive years.
There is no reason to suggest that Evans won’t go well here. He is so fast the crowd won’t even have a chance to get on his case and once he starts to flow he can be extremely tough to handle. Sherrock performs well on this stage as well though although she will have to shut out the noise of the controversy of her selection if she is to follow her boyfriend Cameron Menzies into the second round. Sherrock hasn’t been in brilliant form in recent times but you would imagine she will be motivated by the incentive to prove herself again and I fancy a performance from her too. I think Evans has a gear that might be too high for Sherrock but this feels like a close match. With that in mind, I like over 5.5 180s here. Evans can punish the 60 when he gets going but Sherrock has always been a useful 180 hitter. We’re going to get at least three sets here so if that is all we get we only need a 180 from each in each set but I fancy we’ll get more than three sets and that should be ample time for half a dozen 180s.
Raymond van Barneveld vs Ryan Meikle
The second round match sees the return of Raymond van Barneveld to the stage from which he retired from a few years ago. The former champion bids for a place in round three against the world number one Gerwyn Price when he takes on a determined Ryan Meikle.
Meikle survived a bit of a square in the opening round when Lisa Ashton came from 2-0 down to force a decider against him before he finally got over the line to set up this clash from which he probably doesn’t have a lot to lose in. In fact, if he plays like he did in the opening two sets against Ashton he could be a tough nut to crack here. Barneveld heads into this tournament buoyed by his run to the last four of the Grand Slam of Darts and if he has the form with him that he showed there in this tournament he is going to be hard to beat. This feels like one of those matches where the fifth legs are going to be crucial to the outcome of the match. That means Meikle might be value but I think the better bet is to take Barneveld to cover 3.5 180s. He was smashing them in at the Grand Slam and hit six in 10 legs in a 6-4 defeat to Kim Huybrechts at the Players Championship Finals so Barney is scoring very well again. If Meikle takes a set, and I’d be surprised if he doesn’t, then we would only need one 180 per set from Barneveld were he to win the match and he’s more than good enough to provide us with that. His 180 line looks set for a 3-0 win but even then it is only one per set with one more on top. I like the over here.
Tips
Back R.Evans vs F.Sherrock – Over 5.5 180s for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Coral
Back R.Barneveld – Over 3.5 180s for a 3/10 stake at 1.87 with BetVictor
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