The PDC World Darts Championship resumes after the Christmas break on Saturday as the third round of the competition gets underway inside the Alexandra Palace with an afternoon session which looks very competitive.
Six players will go in search of the opening three places in the round of 16 where the money starts to ramp up to something significant, which should ensure that we see some competition action and no shortage of drama throughout the afternoon.
Wesley Plaisier vs Krzysztof Ratajski
We begin the third round with two unseeded players going at it as the Dutch ace Wesley Plaisier takes on the Polish number one Krzysztof Ratajski in a clash where both men are likely to think that they have a strong chance of winning.
These two men took care of the big seeds in their little part of the draw in the last round and have opened the door to a potential quarter final without having to play anyone else in the top 20 in the world so this is a huge match in the career of these two men. Ratajski has the experience of the big stage in the PDC but Plaisier is twice a World Masters winner over on the WDF scene and he won a Players Championship event earlier in the year so although he might not be known to casual darts fans, this run isn’t a total shock. The statistics of the two Plaisier matches are pretty consistent but where my doubts come is with the Ratajski win over Ryan Joyce. Joyce was bang ordinary in that match and you wonder if the Pole is flattered as a result of that. Even if he isn’t Plaisier is more than entitled to be competitive here. He is finishing at over 50% for the tournament against two solid opponents, more than that in the case of Gerwyn Price, and if he is anywhere around that mark then he scores consistently enough to maintain the pressure on Ratajski and I’m not convinced the Pole will continue to score like he has to handle that scrutiny. I wouldn’t be completely surprised if this goes seven sets but if someone wins it easier than that I expect it to be Plaisier and at a solid odds against price he is my bet here.
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Andrew Gilding vs Luke Woodhouse
We have another competitive looking match in the middle game of the three on Saturday afternoon when the former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding takes on the man who is improving all the time in Luke Woodhouse.
Gilding had an excellent win over Chris Dobey in the previous round and there is certainly a case to be made to suggest that he is the favourite to reach the quarter final from this part of the draw now but Woodhouse is a dangerous outsider, more so than when he is a favourite, so he should be expected to lay down a decent enough challenge to Gilding. Woodhouse is going to need to play well though because Gilding has looked in excellent touch in this tournament. He averaged 97.89 in the first round and upped that to 99..01 when dismantling Dobey in round two whereas Woodhouse averaged 90.22 in the first round and improved to 92.48 in the second so he has around seven points to find on the averages which is a significant amount. We saw at the World Matchplay that Gilding can maintain his form over a decent period of time. He took 14 legs off Luke Littler in the last eight there averaging 98 over 30 legs so he can sustain his form. The question is whether Woodhouse can and there is no real evidence of it, especially over this length. Woodhouse has played three matches over this distance and averaged 90.41, 92.34 and 90.61. Gilding has a gear Woodhouse doesn’t seem to have over this format and as such I think the 4/5 on a Goldfinger win is perfectly acceptable.
Jonny Clayton vs Niels Zonneveld
The final match of the afternoon session will see the Welsh number one Jonny Clayton continuing his push to reach the Premier League by right when he takes on a Niels Zonneveld who has been one of the better performers in the competition so far.
The first thing to acknowledge is it will be interesting to see how Clayton goes here. This is his first match in almost a fortnight after he was given a bye in the second round when Dom Taylor was axed for failing a drugs test. That means ‘The Ferret’ hasn’t had a match in 12 days so it wouldn’t be surprising if he is a little rusty at the outset. Zonneveld is unlikely to be though. He has played really well in this tournament and is entitled to really lay it down to Clayton here, especially as he has won their last four meetings. I see no reason why Zonneveld won’t be competitive here but you would think that extra class of Clayton will come through the longer this one goes on but I don’t really want to be backing someone who might have to come from behind at the prices.
Tips
Back W.Plaisier to beat K.Ratajski for a 3/10 stake at 2.25 with Boylesports
Back him here:
Back A.Gilding to beat L.Woodhouse for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Spreadex
