The PDC World Darts Championship returns after the Christmas break on Friday with another double session of action which sees the resumption coming in the form of three matches in the afternoon inside the Alexandra Palace in London.
This is the day where the tournament ramps up a notch or two because it is the first time the seeds can face each other, everyone has played a match and got into proceedings and the format goes up to the best of seven sets.
Damon Heta vs Luke Woodhouse
Two dangerous dark horses get the third round of the tournament underway when the Australian number one Damon Heta takes on a Luke Woodhouse who is looking to make a huge move in his career over the next few days.
Heta had a good win over Connor Scutt in the previous round and that battle should have had him nicely primed for what is to come whereas Woodhouse wasn’t tested as much as he might have been by Mike De Decker before Christmas so he is probably going to need to find something more to be competitive here. If Woodhouse hits his doubles to an acceptable rate in this match then he certainly has the tools to be competitive but we are at the stage of the event where the class generally comes to the fore. If Heta replicates his showing against Scutt here he should have too much because that was a really good display, particularly having dropped the opening set, but in this round last year when he was a favourite he crawled past Berry van Peer which puts me off a bit. I’m happy to take a watching brief on the opener.
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Jonny Clayton vs Daryl Gurney
The middle match of the afternoon session sees Jonny Clayton back on show looking to make it into the last 16 once again. Daryl Gurney will be his opponent with both men knowing that with Michael Smith out of the way their section has already opened right up.
Clayton could be considered fortunate to be at this stage of the tournament having had to come through a cliffhanger against Mickey Mansell in the previous round. That was a pretty poor standard affair though and the Welshman looks vulnerable here. His form in 2024 has been nothing to write home about and although there were patches of him scoring well in that game, 36% on the doubling would be a worrying issue as he doesn’t tend to outscore many at this level. Gurney has consistent scoring power and I was impressed with him in the previous round. To be fair, he was almost my selection in this quarter so I wasn’t surprised he went well and I see no reason why he wouldn’t play well again in this match. Gurney was taken the distance by Florian Hempel but he averaged 98.31 overall, scored at around 106 and averaged over a ton in two of the three sets that he won so there was a lot to like about the display of the Northern Irishman. Matches between these two are generally close and I suspect this might be too but Gurney looks to be in better touch to me and I’ll take him as a live outsider.
Stephen Bunting vs Madars Razma
The last game of the afternoon session sees Stephen Bunting aiming to get back into the last 16 of the tournament when he goes up against the Latvian number one Madars Razma who will be aiming to reach round four for the first time in his career.
This is the second year in succession that Razma has reached the third round and having lost to Michael Smith last year he’ll be aiming to go better here. He has a similarly daunting task though because Bunting has plenty of experience on this stage and has gone deep on it before. Bunting carries the confidence of a TV event winner these days and if he checks out well it is hard to see him losing here. He would do well not to sleep on Razma though because the Latvian has scored surprisingly well in the two matches he has played to date and he can certainly finish well. Razma has taken a nine-dart against him in his stride and the best that Dirk van Duijvenbode offered for a couple of sets and has lived to tell the tale and he’ll believe he is playing well enough to win this. I wouldn’t rule it out but Bunting will need to miss some doubles to help him. I like the 180s here though. Razma has nine of them in the eight sets he has played in this tournament and although Bunting only hit two of them in his second round match we know his scoring power and with a little less pressure on him here and a better rhythm he can contribute to the total. The line is 10.5 here which is a fair enough line but one I expect to be covered in a match that can easily have six sets in it should Razma continue to score as he has been in the tournament.
Tips
Back D.Gurney to beat J.Clayton for a 3/10 stake at 2.20 with William Hill
Back S.Bunting vs M.Razma – Over 10.5 180s for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with William Hill
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