The second round of the World Matchplay begins on Tuesday night as the four top half of the draw matches are played out on what is set to be a superb evening of arrers at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
In all there are two former world champions in action on the evening and two more former world finalists in potentially one of the best night of darts of the year so far. At the end of it we will know the two quarter finals in the top half.
Monday Recap
Monday was a very good day for us as both of our bets landed to return a profit of more than 11pts which we’ll be looking to build on for the rest of the week. Steve Beaton eased past Jelle Klaasen while Michael Smith delayed his win over Simon Whitlock just long enough to get us a 10th 180.
Elsewhere there was a shock defeat for Raymond Barneveld. He lost to Brendan Dolan while Phil Taylor was run close by Robbie Green but came through 10-8 in the end to set up a second round clash with Mensur Suljovic.
Robert Thornton vs Dave Chisnall
The start of the action on Tuesday is a really good game and it shows you how strong the card is that these two are opening it up. Robert Thornton finally got over the line in Blackpool on Saturday night when he edged out Josh Payne while Dave Chisnall powered past the dangerous Benito van de Pas.
The first thing you would have to say about both of those performances was how strong they were. Both men nailed half a dozen 180s and did what they had to do at the end of the legs and if they continue to play like that then this one could go beyond the scheduled 21 legs.
These two are no strangers to playing each other nor are they unfamiliar with playing over a similar distance to this. They have met in the last three Masters tournaments and I’m sure Thornton hasn’t forgotten their meeting this year when he led 8-0 and lost! Chisnall then beat Thornton 7-0 in the Premier League but there generally isn’t much between them as their 13-10 head to head in Chisnall’s favour highlights.
I can see this one going either way in fairness and if I was convinced about Thornton at this venue I’d have chanced him at the price but I’m not and the 180s and legs markets all look about right so it is a watching brief in the opener for me.
Peter Wright vs Ian White
Two more men who impressed in the first round meet here when Peter Wright and Ian White meet. Wright saw off Joe Cullen in ruthless style while Ian White battered a highly competent and dangerous opponent in Daryl Gurney.
Both men got ahead of their opponents early and never relented and it will be interesting to see who can seize the initiative in this one and whether they can maintain it. I’m on Wright to win this quarter so I’ve no need to go in on the match outcome here especially given the genuine threat White poses but there is a bet I like.
That comes in the form of the White 180s where the line at 5.5 doesn’t look high enough to me. White powered in no fewer than eight 180s against Gurney and to be fair he was all over the 60 and was following the first dart in it like an absolute dream. He might not score as solidly in this match but he’ll be playing a lot more than 12 legs I’m fairly confident of that.
I’ve mentioned before that White is so underrated when it comes to hitting 180s and this price and this line just further emphasises that. We know he’s in good touch from winning the last tour event and I expect half a dozen 180s from him here.
Michael van Gerwen vs Kyle Anderson
It says something about the quality of a night of darts when MVG isn’t likely to be involved in the stand out match of the evening. That said Kyle Anderson is more than capable of giving the Dutchman a fright and MVG knows that. The two met in Austria last month and Anderson beat MVG and that is a perfect warning for this one.
Whether Anderson can see van Gerwen off over 21 legs is a different story but that win in Austria shows we can expect this to be tight early on. That wasn’t a fluke result either. The two meetings between them prior to that both went the distance and Anderson pinched one of them as well so he likes what he sees from the Dutch star.
I don’t see Anderson winning this but I do expect him to be competitive. He is in an absolute dream position here in that there is no pressure on him and he can just leave everything on the dartboard and that is exactly what I expect him to do. He hits 180s with the best of them when he gets a nice rhythm going and he’ll get that here that’s for sure.
His personal 180s line is 4.5 and that is just too low for someone who scores as well as the Australian does. It isn’t in an Aussie’s make up to back down to anyone and Anderson won’t back down here. He’ll likely lose, and I say that as a massive fan of the guy, but he can hit five 180s before his fate is sealed.
Adrian Lewis vs Gerwyn Price
If you follow these two guys on Twitter then this will be the match you’ll be looking forward to the most in the evening. It is a repeat of their match at the same round last year where Gerwyn Price beat Adrian Lewis 13-10 and I guess that is where their beef started and boy have they ramped it up since they both won their opening match! I sense there is no love lost here and this will be fiercely competitive with plenty of machismo on display.
Away from the confidence or arrogance of Price, whichever way you interpret it, we shouldn’t ignore that he is fast becoming a quality darts player. You won’t win two PDC tour events in six months if you can’t play the game and that is what Price has done but he’s up against a real beast here and prodding him with a stick might not have been the wisest thing he could do.
A focused Adrian Lewis is normally a close to unbeatable machine and if it is that Lewis that turns up here no matter how good he is Price has problems. I fancy Lewis will win this match. I don’t think it will be one sided or anything but I do think he’ll win and the 3.5 leg handicap is about right.
This is one of those matches that doesn’t need a bet to be enjoyed which is handy because I can’t find a bet I would like to have money on so I’ll sit this one out with a cold cider on the go and watch the fireworks take place!
Tips
WON – Back I.White Over 5.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with Coral
Back K.Anderson Over 4.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Coral
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