The opening day of the Players Championship Finals promised so much but in reality it was a bit of a let down with missed doubles dogging the event and top class performances few and far between on a busy first stanza.
Hopefully now that the format extends to the best of 19 legs from the second round onwards on Saturday the players will relax a little bit and treat us to some of the brilliance we’ve seen over the last month.
The second round is played out in full across two sessions of action in Minehead on Saturday with four matches in the afternoon and then four more in the evening.
Michael Smith begins proceedings when he takes on Mensur Suljovic in a battle of two of the better performers on Friday. Smith is a favourite but Suljovic is a genuine danger. I’m already on Smith outright so I’m hoping he comes through there unscathed.
Arguably the match of the round comes second in the afternoon when Adrian Lewis plays Alan Norris. I’ve a feeling Norris could keep this one closer than the odds suggest but I can’t be getting involved on him with all the doubles he missed on Friday. Although he should play better here it is too risky.
James Wade missed a few doubles against Mark Webster but he was peppering the wires and I think he can take care of a Benito van de Pas who missed an equally similar amount of doubles against Stephen Bunting.
One thing which was clear to see against Webster was how well Wade scored and that scoring power can see him get plenty more chances to redeem himself on the doubles here. I fancy Wade to put it all together and take care of the young Dutchman with a fair bit in hand in this one.
Dave Chisnall takes on Jamie Lewis in the final match of the afternoon and it is hard to see anything but a Chisnall win but all the lines look about right to me so I’ll stick with just Wade in the afternoon.
Ian White came past Raymond Barneveld on Friday night and his reward for that is a clash with Gerwyn Price. I wouldn’t say White was brilliant in that match and the key thing to take from it was the number of doubles he missed.
White just looks slightly off the top of his game at the minute. I know he’s been practicing with Adrian Lewis and I just wonder if that has hampered him rather than helped.
Price was one of the better performers in the first round and looks like he’s getting more and more confident on the big stage. The Welshman scored well against Jelle Klaasen and apart from the last leg he finished really well too. He’s value to see off White here for me.
Another man who should be good value is Peter Wright. He is playing some lovely darts right now and I think he’ll take care of Simon Whitlock. Whitlock is improving again, there’s no doubt about that but anyone who is a fan of his will be concerned about the amount of doubles he is missing.
He won’t get away with many misses against Wright who is scoring brilliantly and giving little away at the end of the legs. I think Wright’s leg on leg scoring pressure will force Whitlock to crack on the doubles and the Scot can come through this with a bit in hand.
Gary Anderson pleased most of the field when he took care of Phil Taylor on the opening night and Daryl Gurney stands in his way next. Gurney was the player of the first round and if he plays like that again here Anderson has a battle on his hands.
You would think Anderson will come through this but beating Taylor still takes it out of people and so he could be vulnerable here. That said Gurney misses a lot of doubles when he’s under pressure so this one really could be an unpredictable match and one which is best watched rather than gambled on.
Finally best friends meet when Michael van Gerwen takes on Vincent van der Voort. These two tour the world together on the circuit and the latter was best man to the former at his wedding so this will be a tough match for both.
It will be a really tough match for Vincent given the form that MVG is in at the minute but given the emotional ties between the two I can’t say I’m rushing to get involved here.
Back J.Wade (-2.5 legs) to beat B.van de Pas for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Coral
Back P.Wright (-2.5 legs) to beat S.Whitlock for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Coral
Back G.Price to beat I.White for a 3/10 stake at 2.50 with Boylesports
Blog darts YTD: +9.57pts
