The second round of the World Grand Prix concludes inside the Morningside Arena in Leicester on Thursday evening when we find out which four men from the bottom half of the draw plays down to the quarter final.
That means we get to see the likes of Michael van Gerwen continuing his title defence while the likes of Peter Wright and Luke Humphries will also be looking to make progress on what looks like a good night of darts.
Luke Humphries vs Luke Woodhouse
The opening match of the Thursday evening session is a battle of the Luke’s as Luke Humphries takes on Luke Woodhourse to get the action underway with a quarter final spot very much up for grabs for both men.
Humphries came through his opening round very impressively against Daryl Gurney but it wasn’t as good as the performance that Luke Woodhouse put in to dispose of the in form Dave Chisnall in the first round. If Woodhouse plays to that level here he is entitled to be very competitive but you only need to look at his ranking to know that performances like that don’t come around very often. This one is all about Humphries and while I think he is improving as a favourite, I still don’t like trusting him with my money as one. I’ll sit the opener of the evening out.
Peter Wright vs Ryan Searle
The second match of the evening sees Peter Wright looking to find something resembling a return to form when he is the outsider to beat a Ryan Searle who has threatened big things but is yet to deliver them on a consistent basis.
Wright played much better than would have been expected of him in the first round when he blitzed Gabriel Clemens away while Searle was taken the distance in a decent game by Damon Heta. If we could get Searle as an outsider I might have been interested in him but although he beat Wright at the Matchplay, I’m not convinced he throws with the belief that he can beat these big names on the big stage. Wright showed enough against Clemens to suggest he can be competitive in this one and that puts me off getting involved.
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Michael van Gerwen vs Chris Dobey
The pick of the matches on Thursday evening is the penultimate one onto the stage as Michael van Gerwen continues his title defence against the man who won The Masters at the beginning of the year in Chris Dobey.
There was a lot to like about the way Dobey took care of Dimitri Van den Bergh in the opening round but van Gerwen saw off the potentially significant challenge of Josh Rock for the loss of just one leg. Van Gerwen seems to have the bit between his teeth this week and he is going to be tough to beat but Dobey has always fancied himself in this format and we saw further evidence of that on Tuesday evening in that win over Van den Bergh. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dobey wins this but I’m in no rush to oppose van Gerwen with his record in this tournament.
Joe Cullen vs Ross Smith
Two men who won TV tournaments last year conclude the second round when The Masters winner of 2022, Joe Cullen, faces the reigning European champion in Ross Smith for a spot in another TV quarter final.
These two men both won well in their opening match. Cullen eased past Mike De Decker while the Smith win over Jonny Clayton was eye catching not just because of the opponent but the manner in which he did it. I think we’re all set up for a good match here, one which is close as matches between these two men tend to be. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we need a deciding set to separate these two but I certainly don’t see this one being won in straight sets. That leads me to thinking the over 8.5 180s is a runner here. Both men know where the 60 is and if this goes four sets we only need one maximum each per set with one on top. If it goes the distance we won’t even need that. I like the over.
Tips
Back J.Cullen vs R.Smith – Over 8.5 180s for a 3/10 stake at 2.20 with Bet365
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