The WDF World Championship is heading closer to a conclusion and it continues to do so on Thursday when we have two sessions of play inside the Lakeside County Club in Frimley Green as the third round of the men’s draw is played out in full and the women’s second round comes to a close.
That all ensures that we are guaranteed a really good day of darts, one which by the end of it we will know the entire line-up for the Friday quarter finals in both the men’s and the women’s singles draws. Seeds meet for the first time in the men’s draw which adds another dynamic to the day.
Afternoon Session
We get the third round up and running with the fourth seed James Beeton looking to be the first man into the quarter final when he takes on Caleb Hope who is yet to drop a set in the tournament. When they are done Matt Clark will be back on the stage for his third round match. He goes up against the Belgian player Francois Schweyen in what should be a very good contest. We remain in the men’s draw for the third adult match of the session as Benjamin Pratnemer faces Sybren Gijbels. We then dip into the women’s draw for the only time in the afternoon as Aileen de Graaf gets her campaign underway when she meets an Eve Watson who was very impressive in the first round. When they are done we conclude the session with the latest leg of the Shane McGuirk title defence as he takes on the competent Finnish player Jonas Masalin in another good looking match.
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Evening Session
The evening session on Thursday looks absolutely stacked and it gets underway with the number one seed Jimmy van Schie looking for a quarter final spot when he takes on Paul Krohne. The second men’s match sees arguably the player of the tournament so far on show when Ben Robb meets Stephen Rosney in a competitive looking match. The young star Jenson Walker follows them when he plays the Australian player Raymond Smith in yet another tasty encounter. The last of the second round matches comes along in the women’s draw in the penultimate game of the night when the pre-event favourite Rhian O’Sullivan looks for a spot in the last eight at the expense of Jitka Cisarova before for the second night in succession the teenage starlet Mitchell Lawrie concludes the action when he meets Jeff Springer Jr.
Betting
We’re in for a cracking day of darts but in terms of bets there is only one which I really like and that comes in the afternoon session where I think Sybren Gijbels is good value at 7/4 to get the better of Benjamin Pratnemer. Pratnemer is the more established player of the two but he has never really impressed me on this stage and I wonder if being the favourite to reach a quarter final will be a tag which doesn’t sit too well with him. If it is then the door would be open to the Belgian.
Gijbels is largely free wheeling here having got in as an alternate and he is making the most of his opportunity and with a bit more freedom about him he can offer up a better showing. This feels like it is going to be close. There hasn’t been much between their averages so far but the Belgian might just have the edge on the scoring and over the full five sets that can be the difference. The Slovenian feels way too short to me so I’ll play the Belgian player at the prices.
Tips
Back S.Gijbels to beat B.Pratnemer for a 3/10 stake at 2.75 with Coral
