The opening round of the Players Championship Finals will be played out across two sessions of frantic action in Minehead on Friday as the stars of the game look to put the finishing touches to their World Championship preparations.
As with most of the ITV events the opening round is played over the best of 11 legs so we can expect some shocks and surprises in a busy first day. There is no doubt what the highlight of the day is. It is the match between Gary Anderson and Phil Taylor.
That match comes in the evening session and there will be plenty of players watching this one hoping they bash each other up so they’ve got nothing left for the rest of the weekend. The reward for the winner might be a semi-final with Michael van Gerwen down the line so whoever wins is going to have it tough.
There are two world champions and plenty more world finalists on the card in the afternoon session on Friday which really underlines the quality on the PDC Tour these days. Stephen Bunting and Jelle Klaasen are the champions in question while Mervyn King, Simon Whitlock and Alan Norris were all one win from the Holy Grail themselves.
In terms of bets I like in the session there are three which catch my eye. The first sees Terry Jenkins taking on Alan Norris in what should be a high quality match. Both men are no strangers to the big stage which always helps the quality.
I fancy Norris to get the job done here and the reason for that is Jenkins has begun to miss some crucial doubles and doing that in this format is really costly and you just can’t afford to do it. Jenkins made the quarter final last week but he was extremely lucky to do so surviving match darts in the opening two rounds and he threw a couple of matches in the Grand Slam away too.
Alan Norris has the scoring power to stay with Jenkins and maybe outscore him at times so he’ll have Jenkins under pressure on his doubles and if he can force a crack in Jenkins’ doubling then Chuck will be there to take full advantage at a tidy price.
Moving through the afternoon Mensur Suljovic is a man in great form right now on the big stage and he takes on Mervyn King who he has beaten in three of their last four meetings. This is one of those battles you sometimes get in sport between a man who is improving and rising in the rankings and one on the decline moving down them.
It is always better to go with the improver in those situations but especially here given the form Suljovic is in. He’s taken care of Gary Anderson in the World Matchplay and made the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix where he lost to the eventual champion Robert Thornton so I’m firmly on the Austrian to take care of the stuttering King.
My last bet is on the man I backed outright which is Michael Smith. You don’t get easy draws these days but in Jamie Caven he’s found one perhaps easier than some. Caven has been out of form for a good while and I just wonder what is going to change to alter that form.
I don’t see where Caven gets in here. He won’t outscore Smith and I don’t see him pressuring Smith enough to finish better either so perhaps it is no surprise that Smith has won their last three meetings. I firmly expect him to make that four in a row with a bit in hand in this match.
Moving into the evening session and the big names keep coming throughout the night. I have to say this looks like a session more to sit and watch with a couple of cold ones than bet on.
There will be an upset over the course of the eight matches. This format is too quirky for there not to be but on the face of it picking where it will be isn’t easy. I guess Gary Anderson is the obvious choice but that isn’t a match I want to bet on so I’ll just enjoy the quality on show and have all my betting done in the afternoon.
Back A.Norris to beat T.Jenkins for a 4/10 stake at 2.30 with William Hill
Back M.Suljovic to beat M.King for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Paddy Power
Back M.Smith (-1.5 legs) to beat J.Caven for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
