The World Matchplay darts tournament continues inside the Winter Gardens on Sunday evening when four more first round matches take place in what should be one of the best sessions of daarts of the year so far.
The opening day already saw the shocks begin in this tournament so the bigger names on show on Sunday evening will be eager to ensure they are not the latest to fall by the wayside. The eight players on show have won 19 titles between them in 2022 so the schedule is stacked.
Joe Cullen vs Damon Heta
The opening match of the night sees the only unseeded favourite among the 16 lesser ranked players in action as Damon Heta takes on his seeded opponent Joe Cullen in what looks like a great way to get a top evening of darts underway.
I have to admit when I saw that Cullen was the outsider for this match I was taken by surprise because ultimately we are talking about a player who won The Masters at the beginning of the season and made the final of the Premier League six weeks or so ago. Heta won the World Cup last month but the format for that tournament is an absolute nonsense and while I’m not detracting from the achievement of the win, he had a partner with him there. Heta is a very good darts player but I still believe he flatters to deceive on the big stage and the fact he hasn’t been beyond the quarter final of a TV major would suggest that to be the case. Cullen hasn’t had consistency of performances this season but he has played well on the big stages this term. He’s also gone deep here in the past when he made the quarter finals in 2018, losing an epic to Gary Anderson having seen off Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney for the loss of just six legs to get to the last eight. It might be that his new status as a World Cup winner inspires Heta to push on now but we shouldn’t forget he lost a singles match to Daniel Larsson in that tournament. Until he does it on his own in one of these major events I’ll continue to have doubts so I’ll take the odds against on Cullen here.
James Wade vs Martin Lukeman
The second match of the evening sees the two players in action on the night without a title to their name in 2022 in action but both have made themselves known without winning silverware as James Wade takes on Martin Lukeman.
Wade might not have won anything in 2022 but he reached the final night of the Premier League against expectations from many. One thing we know about Wade is he loves Blackpool. He won the title 15 years ago and has been to five other finals, losing to Phil Taylor and MVG in those finals so but for two of the best ever Wade could have multiple Matchplay crowns on his CV. Lukeman has been one of the springer of the season so far having reached a European Tour final and delivered some good results on the floor. This is a level above that though and Wade is a seasoned campaign in this company. I expect Wade to win this match but we know he’s all about the W than looking flashy so I’m happy to leave this one alone.
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Michael van Gerwen vs Adrian Lewis
The pick of the first round matches on paper forms the third match of the evening as the former champion Michael van Gerwen begins his quest to get his hands on the trophy when he takes on the 2013 finalist Adrian Lewis in a standout contest.
All eyes will be on van Gerwen here because we’ve only seen him once since the Premier League due to elbow surgery and he wasn’t fantastic in that match. He will need to be close to his best here though. You probably wouldn’t have said that if this draw was made a month ago but Lewis comes here having won a floor event last Sunday and reaching the semi-final of another a couple of days prior to that so suddenly Lewis appears in a rich vein of form and there are no fears about him converting his floor form to the stage because he is as experienced as anyone in the field on this stage. There is a case for Lewis being the favourite here but the one doubt I have about him is he isn’t the smallest lad and that stage is going to be baking hot and the longer this goes the more he might fade. Van Gerwen might not be at his best though and I’m sure by the time the match starts I’ll have talked myself into backing Aidy but for now I’ll try and watch the game without a bet.
Luke Humphries vs Nathan Aspinall
The last match of the second night of the tournament sees the man who has won three European Tour events in Luke Humphries taking on a Nathan Aspinall who is battling his way back to the status he had in the game prior to his injury last year.
Humphries has had his breakthrough year having won those three European Tour titles as well as a couple on the floor but that brings its own pressures with it as now he’ll be expected to contend in these events where outside of the World Championship and a run to the final of the UK Open last term he hasn’t really delivered on his promise. This is just his second visit to Blackpool so it will be interesting to see how Humphries goes. Aspinall is having a good season and particularly recently. In the last month or so he has made a final, two semi-finals and a quarter final so we should be in for an absolute barnstormer here if Humphries doesn’t feel the pressure. These two are heavy scorers so I think they can combine for more than 10.5 180s here.
Tips
Back J.Cullen to beat D.Heta for a 3/10 stake at 2.38 with Betway
Back L.Humphries vs N.Aspinall – Over 10.5 180s for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Bet365
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