It is semi-final night at the World Matchplay on Saturday evening when both matches take place inside the Winter Gardens in Blackpool as four men look to secure their spot in the second biggest ranking event final on Sunday.
We have had a number of shocks and surprises this week but we still have four of the best in the game on show and with one of them guaranteed to be the new name on the trophy on Sunday we should expect some competitive darts.
Nathan Aspinall vs Joe Cullen
The opening semi-final of the tournament was expected to be Michael Smith vs Gerwyn Price but it is Nathan Aspinall and Joe Cullen who will meet for the first spot in the final on Sunday as both have come through the draw nicely so far.
Aspinall has been very impressive, regularly touching 100 on the averages and scoring like a dream and if he can continue that for a couple more days he will feel he has a strong chance of getting his hands on the biggest title of his career. Cullen has seen off some dangerous challengers though and while his scoring has just come a little below that of Aspinall, his finishing has been very good and if he can just find a little more consistency in his scoring and maintain his finishing levels then he will feel that he has a major shot at this as well. I think we are in for a close semi-final here, not just because of how evenly matched their form has been this week but also because of what is at stake for the pair of them. The leg line for this one is 29.5 which feels one too low to me. 17-13 or closer either way gets the job done here and that means two unanswered breaks of throw. This feels closer than that to me so I’ll play the over.
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Jonny Clayton vs Luke Humphries
The second semi-final appears to be the pick of the matches in terms of the rankings as the former Premier League champion Jonny Clayton takes on the highest ranked player left in the event in the sixth seed Luke Humphries.
Clayton started this tournament in ordinary fashion in his opening match against Gabriel Clemens but despite being well below his best he won the match and has gone from strength to strength since then with impressive wins over Dimitri Van den Bergh and Ryan Searle where his finishing was pinpoint on each occasion. His scoring is improving as well and he should really fancy his chances. Humphries started the tournament in excellent shape with wins over Jose de Sousa and Dirk van Duijvenbode but put in his least impressive display against Damon Heta in the quarter final. Whether that was because he suddenly became the tournament favourite only he will know but it is a strong coincidence to us on the outside looking in. Humphries’ scoring left him a touch in the quarter final and his finishing was very patchy and I think he needs to find the form of earlier in the week if he is going to come through this one. I’m already on Clayton outright but he doesn’t actually earn me anything for winning this match but he is going from strength to strength whereas Humphries might just be finding the going a little touch. Clayton has made a number of major finals in the last two years whereas Humphries is yet to make one outside of the UK Open where you don’t get much time to think between rounds. I wouldn’t have backed Clayton here with him carrying my money if he was the favourite with the bookmakers that I make him. He isn’t though so I will back him.
Tips
Back N.Aspinall vs J.Cullen – Over 29.5 legs for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Boylesports
Back it here:
Back J.Clayton to beat L.Humphries for a 3/10 stake at 1.95 with Spreadex
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