The second round of the World Grand Prix gets underway on Wednesday evening when it is the players in the top half of the draw who take to the stage inside the Morningside Arena in Leicester looking for a quarter final spot.
We saw a couple of big name casualties from this half of the draw in the opening round which gives a bit of a lop-sided feel to the action over the course of Wednesday night but with the format up to the best of five sets now we should see the quality improve.
Andrew Gilding vs Gary Anderson
The opening match of the second round sees the UK Open champion Andrew Gilding going up against a rejuvenated Gary Anderson for a spot in another major quarter final for whoever comes out on top in it.
Anderson looked very good in the first round despite dropping the opening set to a Jose de Sousa who came flying out of the blocks. For three sets of double in play, Anderson ended with an overall average of 95.41 which was 113.92 if you took out the missed doubles to start. He got in with his first turn on 85% of his chances and hit six 180s in a very convincing display. That 95.41 average was more than 20 points bigger than the 74.93 that Gilding finished with. Gilding was poor on the starting double with just 12/47 hit and he won’t get away with 35 missed darts at a double against an Anderson scoring as well as he is. It wasn’t a great deal better at the other end of the leg where he was 6/18. If Gilding doesn’t clean that doubling up he has no chance here and even if he does he’s an outsider to an Anderson in this form. On a night where the favourites look good things Anderson is a good start to a multiples bet.
Stephen Bunting vs Martin Schindler
The one second round match on Wednesday evening where there isn’t a huge discrepancy in the odds is the game between the former world champion Stephen Bunting and a Martin Schindler who is at this stage of the event for the first time.
Bunting is perfectly experienced in this competition and his doubling often gives him the edge over most players. He wasn’t brilliant in a 2-1 win over Nathan Aspinall but he had the World Matchplay winner covered. Where I did like Bunting was he got away with the first dart in 43% of legs and he is scoring well enough these days to protect his throw or maintain his advantage when he does get going. You can understand the numbers for Schindler being poor in his win over Raymond van Barneveld in the first round. Firstly that was his first win in this tournament and secondly he would have known what a huge chance to progress he had but the question is whether he can continue his 57% first dart start. He is not a good doubler in the main so I suspect he won’t. That is guessing though and I don’t like doing that so I’ll leave this alone, especially as I’m on Bunting outright.
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Gerwyn Price vs Krzysztof Ratajski
The penultimate game of the evening sees the former champion Gerwyn Price on show when he goes up against a European Tour event winner this season in Krzysztof Ratajski in a tasty game if both play to their best.
You would argue Price didn’t do that against Danny Noppert in the first round, at least not in the early stages of that match, but the longer it went on the much the better the Welshman was and now he goes up against a Ratajski who should be out of the competition. The Polish player 2-0 down to James Wade in the deciding set in the first round before the wheels of ‘The Machine’ came right off. It wasn’t a great display at all from Ratajski and he is going to need to up both his doubling and his scoring if he is going to live with Price here. The problem the Pole has is Price likes this format having gone winner, final, semi-final in the last three years and I just don’t see him getting three sets off the Welsh star here.
Michael Smith vs Brendan Dolan
The last match of the night sees the world champion Michael Smith continuing his quest for a maiden World Grand Prix title when he takes on a player who has been one win away from getting his hands on this trophy in the past in Brendan Dolan.
Smith looked in mean mood in the first round when he destroyed Callan Rydz, losing just the one leg and averaging 96.14 with a real average of 117.76 if we take the missed starting doubles out of the equation. With only two 180s in those seven legs there might even be more to come from Smith now he can settle down and enjoy the longer format. Dolan has good pedigree in this tournament but 36% on the start double and 38% checkout is going to give Smith too long to get his much superior scoring into play so the Northern Irishman needs to be so much cleaner on the doubles if he is going to come through here. Dolan looked like he was going out in the previous game when Dirk van Duijvenbode was all over him but he folded like a cheap suit. The world champion won’t do that and I expect him to complete the treble of favourites.
Tips
Back G.Anderson, G.Price & M.Smith all to win for a 3/10 stake at 1.92 with Bet365
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