The second round of the World Grand Prix concludes inside the Mattioli Arena on Thursday evening when we find out which four men will make it through to the quarter final in the bottom half of the double start tournament.
Three seeds have made it into the last eight in the top half of the draw but only two remain in the bottom so we could be in for a competitive night of action given the huge opportunity that exists for a number of players.
Gary Anderson vs Mike De Decker
The opening match of the night sees the form horse of the PDC circuit at the minute in Gary Anderson going up against the heavy scoring and on his day incredibly dangerous Mike De Decker for a spot in the quarter final.
Anderson saw off Michael Smith in good fashion in the opening round on Tuesday. At no stage did he fail to get away with his first turn and started 11 of the 13 legs he played with his first or second dart. When you throw in the scoring power which hasn’t left him, if he is pinning the starting double that strongly then he is going to be very tough to beat. De Decker was even better than that. He never even needed a third dart to get underway in his 2-1 win over Damon Heta and if he can hit the double like that again then he will be dangerous because he too can score. I guess the outcome of this one will be determined by who could get the closest to replicating their starting double hitting from the first round as possible. The experience Anderson has would give him more than an edge but he’s a favourite here whereas he could have made the case for being the outsider against Smith so that might add a different dynamic to this one. I’ll sit this one out I think.
Gerwyn Price vs James Wade
The second match of the evening is the only one which sees two former winners on show when Gerwyn Price looks to continue his fantastic record in the tournament when he meets a James Wade who has always been perceived as a natural for this event.
Price was bang ordinary in the opening round and was lucky that Danny Noppert spurned a chance to take him out in the deciding set, which he surrendered from 2-0 up despite having the throw in two of the last three legs. Wade was much better in a 2-1 win over Peter Wright in the first round. As you would expect, his starting double was in good order and that will need to be the case here because you wouldn’t think that Wade is going to outscore Price. The question is whether Price will be as bad on his starting double again. I suspect he won’t and if he isn’t he should have enough here but he hasn’t looked his usual self for a long time so I don’t really want him carrying my money at odds on.
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Daryl Gurney vs Joe Cullen
Another former winner of the tournament will be on stage in the penultimate match of the night when Daryl Gurney takes on Joe Cullen who offered up a welcome return to form from his point of view in the first round.
Cullen took care of Chris Dobey and he did so with some brilliant starting and sustained scoring. The fact he did it from a set down made it all the more eye catching. Speaking of eye catching, Gurney took care of Michael van Gerwen in the previous round without losing a leg. He started well on the double and finished well too but he was under no pressure at all from a misperforming who was 0/8 on the checkouts. Gurney was solid but I think he’ll need more in this match, especially if Cullen plays like he did in the opening round. I do think Cullen will be happy as an outsider in this match and with everything being a bonus from here on in with the form he has been showing leading into the tournament, I fancy he might be the more freed up of the two and comes out on top here.
Dave Chisnall vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
The last of the second round matches will see the former finalist Dave Chisnall taking on the UK Open winner Dimitri Van den Bergh for the right to take on either Gurney or Cullen in the last eight on Friday evening.
Chisnall was as comfortable and emphatic as could be against Cameron Menzies in the opening round, coming through without dropping a leg which was a sign that his good form is continuing. Van den Bergh had to come through a deciding set against Luke Woodhouse and while he deserves credit for doing so, there wasn’t really anything that suggested that the ordinary form which he showed coming into the event had been improved. This one feels all about Chisnall to me. We know he has the scoring power to beat anyone and if he can hit the starting double like he has through the years here then he is going to be tough to beat. I wouldn’t be surprised if this goes the distance but I’m on Chisnall outright and I’m more than happy for that to be my interest here.
Tips
Back J.Cullen to beat D.Gurney for a 3/10 stake at 2.38 with Boylesports
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