The final day of the UK Open takes place in Minehead on Sunday when eight players play down to a champion over two sessions of play on what is always a dramatic last day of the first televised ranking tournament of the year.
The quarter finals of the competition take place in the afternoon session with the semi-finals and the final in the evening. As ever with this event the time restrictions will deny us the chance to go through the latter stages but we’ll take a look at the last eight matches here.
Andrew Gilding vs Martin Schindler
The opening quarter final sees two players for whom a spot in the semi-final would go down as a massive achievement when Andrew Gilding takes on the German number two Martin Schindler in an even looking match.
Schindler is treading new territory in this match. He has never played in a solo quarter final on TV before so this is a big occasion for him. Gilding has been here and done it and actually made the last four of this very tournament in the past so he knows what the day is all about. Gilding also has the advantage of knowing he has won all four meetings against the German star. I think it is fair to say Gilding struggled more of the two on Saturday but a lot of the Schindler success came through big finishing and that always concerns me because that just isn’t sustainable over an extended period of time. Gilding showed he can hang tough on Saturday and a run to the quarter final of PC3 shows he is in decent touch. I think the more experienced player in this environment can come through here.
Michael van Gerwen vs Nathan Aspinall
The pick of the quarter finals is the second one to take to the stage when two men who met in the Premier League on Thursday evening battle again here as Michael van Gerwen takes on Nathan Aspinall for a spot in the last four.
Both these men have won the title in the past and whoever wins this match will probably begin the last four as the favourite to win it this year so there is plenty on this quarter final. Van Gerwen has seen off a couple of dangerous challengers in Dave Chisnall and Luke Humphries this week but Aspinall took care of both Dirk van Duijvenbode and Joe Cullen on Saturday so both men look in great touch. This one could well come down to doubles. That has let Aspinall down in the Premier League but I suspect some of that is related to the format and he should be stronger over the longer distance. It is hard to go against MVG but I wouldn’t want to be against Aspinall too strongly either so this is a pretty easy swerve.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THIS TOURNAMENT! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Rob Cross vs Adam Gawlas
The third of the quarter finals on the stage on Sunday afternoon sees two men with a point to prove for different reasons battling it out when Rob Cross goes up against the Czech youngster Adam Gawlas for a spot in the semi-final.
Cross was the beaten finalist in the last tournament in this venue and will be out to show that he can go all the way here while Gawlas has been talked up for a while without really delivering anything. He has the chance to show that he isn’t a hype train and that he can fulfil the promise he has shown. You’ve got to think experience will play a big part here. For all Gawlas has done well this weekend, the draw has been kind for him with him yet to face anyone in the top 32 in the world rankings until now. Cross has had to do it much the harder way with wins over Raymond van Barneveld, Jeffrey de Zwaan and Steve Beaton who were all playing well. It is hard to see past Cross here but the odds are fully reflective of that so I’ll leave this one alone.
Richie Burnett vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
The last of the quarter finals is very much the old against the new breed of the game with the veteran Richie Burnett looking to continue to roll back the years when he takes on Dimitri Van den Bergh in what could turn into something of a mismatch.
Burnett has done ever so well to make it through to this stage. He took care of Peter Wright on Saturday night but since the former went up to the best of 19 legs he has averaged 79.95, 87.98 and 86.96 so he has been very fortunate to make it through. I refuse to believe those sorts of averages are going to get the job done on finals day so either Burnett has to seriously up his game or else he’ll be going home. Van den Bergh has averaged over 95 in all three of his matches and that is the level he is camped in at present. I don’t see Van den Bergh dropping off so this is all about whether Burnett can find the needed improvement. I don’t think he will but at 1/4 and shorter I’m happy to let the Belgian win here.
Tips
Back A.Gilding to beat M.Schindler for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with BetVictor
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2023
