The final day of darts before Christmas takes place inside the Alexandra Palace on London on Saturday and it begins with an afternoon session at the PDC World Championship where four more second round matches are played out.
There are eight spots left to fill in the third round of the tournament and half of those will be taken up over the course of the afternoon, a session where the likes of Jonny Clayton and Daryl Gurney begin their campaign.
Kim Huybrechts vs Richard Veenstra
We begin with a battle of the continent as Kim Huybrechts opens up another World Championship campaign when he takes on a Richard Veenstra who made a positive debut in the event in the first round and who will be looking to kick on from here.
Huybrechts will be expected to make progress as the seeded player but he could have had easier draws than Veenstra, who beat Michael Smith at the Players Championship Finals last month and who looked good in the opening round here. The one thing Huybrechts will appreciate is that Veenstra isn’t the heaviest 180 hitter going around so if the Belgian can bring his scoring power to the party then he might feel he can get some joy. Huybrechts has seen all his countrymen fall by the wayside in this tournament so he is playing for Belgian darts here. He’ll give it his all but I think this will be a real close clash. The odds reflect that entirely though so I’m happy to take a watching brief in this one.
Callan Rydz vs Ricardo Pietreczko
The second match onto the stage on Saturday afternoon sees two of the better younger players on the scene battling it out when Callan Rydz takes on the rising German star Ricardo Pietreczko in another match which could be close.
Rydz is a rare beast this week in that he is a seed who is the outsider to win his match but he has won a Players Championship event this season and made the semi-final of another and he has enough stage experience to think he’ll go well enough here. Pietreczko comes into the event with a European Tour title under his belt and he breezed through what many thought might be a banana skin of a clash with Mikuru Suzuki in the opening round. A repeat of that effort will make him tough to beat but in truth these are two inconsistent players on the big stage and that makes betting on it quite difficult. My gut feeling is experience might lead Rydz to the win but I wouldn’t be betting it with any confidence so I’ll leave this one alone too.
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Jonny Clayton vs Steve Lennon
The biggest name on show in the afternoon session on Saturday in terms of world ranking is Jonny Clayton and he takes on a Steve Lennon who will be relieved from having won his first round match to pretty much ensure his professional status for next season.
That might well free the Irishman up to give this one a real good go and there are some judges that think Clayton might be a vulnerable seed here but I don’t see it that way. I think if Lennon wins he’ll have to play mighty well to do so because I expect a good showing from Jonny Clayton. These two do tend to get embroiled in close matches when they meet and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is closer than maybe the world rankings would suggest and if it is then the 6.5 180 line doesn’t look nearly high enough. Lennon hit six of them in his first round win and Clayton can hit enough to contribute to the line. Even in a straight sets win, which I don’t really see happening, we only need one 180 per player per set with an extra one on top. I like the potential of that taking place so the over looks a fair call here.
Daryl Gurney vs Steve Beaton
The last match onto the stage on Saturday afternoon sees Daryl Gurney beginning another tilt at the World Championship when he takes on a man who has already lifted the BDO version of this title in his career in the form of the legend Steve Beaton.
Gurney might wish for a better draw than this because this had the potential to be tough for him at the best of times given that crowds don’t really like him that much but now he is going up against the darling of the crowds who has made it clear his career is in its twilight period so the punters are likely to get behind him even more. Beaton had a good win over Wessel Nijman in the opening round and a repeat of that effort would have him more than competitive here. I expect Gurney to put up a decent challenge but whether the crowd gets in his way of winning remains to be seen. I suspect he will have to fight off some of the booing but if he does that he’ll probably have enough to come out on top here. I’m not sure it will be easy though so I’ll take Beaton to force a deciding set, if not get over the line.
Tips
Back J.Clayton vs S.Lennon – Over 7.5 180s for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with William Hill
Back it here:
Back S.Beaton (+1.5 sets) to beat D.Gurney for a 3/10 stake at 1.95 with Boylesports
Back him here:
