After a quite remarkable end to 2015 on the oche, 2016 is set to begin with a huge bang as the quarter finals of the PDC World Darts Championship are played in one massive day of darts on New Year’s Day.
All four matches will be played across two sessions of action. Eight of the best darts players in the world are on show and with each match the best of nine sets we are guaranteed some amazing arrers throughout the day.
The opening match sees two men with significant BDO success to their name in action. Jelle Klaasen won the BDO title in 2006 while Alan Norris made the final there in 2014 and now one of them will make the semi-final here.
Klaasen had the win of his life in the last 16 when he beat Phil Taylor in an epic match but now he has the challenge so many have failed at which is to back up that performance in his next match in the tournament.
Norris eased past a disappointing Mark Webster in the last 16 to become the second debutant in as many years into the quarter final after Stephen Bunting achieved the same thing 12 months ago. Norris’ power scoring has been a feature of this tournament and if his doubling holds up he’s going to go close here.
Regardless of the fact that Klaasen has to back up the win over Taylor, Norris is a big price in this match and given that he is used to playing his best in the afternoons I think he’s worth backing to come through here.
That isn’t the only bet that interests me in this match. Klaasen hit 15 180s in his win over Taylor but it is Norris who I am focusing on with maximums here. His line is at 8.5 and having hit 11 in five sets against Joe Murnan and nine in his five sets against Mark Webster there is every chance that line gets covered in a best of nine set match.
Norris slammed in nine 180s against James Wilson in the quarter final at Lakeside the year he made the final and he’s probably a heavier scorer now so that line looks way too low.
Gary Anderson continues the defence of his title in the second match of the afternoon when he takes on James Wade for a place in the semi-final.
Wade used to enjoy a decent record against Anderson but the world champion is now undefeated in their last eight encounters which is an alarming statistic for Wade.
I think it is fair to say Wade hasn’t been at his best in this tournament and he had a bit of a fever in the last round which he’ll have had to overcome. He will need to find his best darts in this match because Anderson is looking very good.
The concern for Wade here is even if he plays his best he’s still probably going to need Anderson to miss doubles for him to have a chance and so far in this tournament Anderson has checked out at 35%, 40% and 40%. A repeat of that should see him through with plenty to spare.
The evening session is packed with heavy scorers and 180s will come along at a right rate as will big finishes and great darts.
Raymond Barneveld took out Michael van Gerwen in one of the matches of all time in the last round and now he has Michael Smith in his way. Smith cruised past Benito van de Pas in the previous round and appears to be going from strength to strength.
Barneveld won the first five meetings between these two but Smith has won all of their meetings in the last two years and that could be significant.
You only had to look at the Dutchman’s reaction after beating van Gerwen and his subsequent interview afterwards to know how much that result meant to him and how much emotional energy it took out of him. He has to find a way to back that up but that isn’t always easy.
Michael Smith finally has nothing to lose now. For the first time in the tournament he is the outsider and can give it his all with the pressure on the opponent to win. That coupled with the emotional rollercoaster Barneveld has been on this week gives Smith the advantage in my eyes.
Smith is another player who slammed in the maximums in the previous round. He hit 12 in four sets against van de Pas and given the mileage this match is likely to have I’m expecting as many here if not more. His 180 line is 10.5 and given this is an evening match where the preparation time is maxed and the atmosphere that to induce great darts I expect Smith to plough in at least 11 180s here.
The last quarter final could just steal the show of the entire day as two of the players of the tournament so far collide when Peter Wright meets Adrian Lewis.
Lewis tends to have the upper hand when these two meet and I fancy him to come through here but everything suggests this one will be tight. Wright withstood Dave Chisnall’s heavy scoring in the last round which will give him some confidence but Lewis will take comfort from the fact he has won six of their eight meetings in 2015.
That head to head could be decisive and I think Lewis will win but both are playing too well for either of them to run away with this so the over 7.5 sets line just looks too low to me so I’m firmly on the overs there.
I’m also taking the overs on a 180 line too. Peter Wright has hit nine 180s in four sets and 14 in seven in the last two rounds so a line of just 9.5 in this match is surely too low. Wright has been scoring well for a while and if this goes anywhere near the distance he only needs one 180 a set on average. He’s currently averaging two a set since Christmas.
Back A.Norris to beat J.Klaasen for a 3/10 stake at 3.50 with Boylesports
Back A.Norris Over 8.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Ladbrokes
Back G.Anderson (-1.5 sets) to beat J.Wade for a 5/10 stake at 1.75 with Sportingbet
Back M.Smith to beat R.Barneveld for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with William Hill
Back M.Smith Over 10.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
Back A.Lewis vs P.Wright – Over 7.5 sets for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with Betway
Back P.Wright Over 9.5 180s for a 5/10 stake at 2.00 with Paddy Power
