The quarter finals of the World Matchplay come to an end on Friday night when the final two matches in the round are to be played at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. All the indications are that we are heading for the top four players in the world being through to the semi-finals but Steve Beaton and Mervyn King will be out to have something to say about that.
Thursday Recap
We had an excellent quarter final on Thursday and a pretty disappointing one and sadly for us the disappointing one was the Michael van Gerwen vs Dave Chisnall match which the world number one and defending champion eased to victory in 16-9 to give the 180s no chance of coming in particularly given how poor Chisnall was. He was racked with early nerves and never got going.
It wasn’t much better for us in the other match as Peter Wright paid the price for a useless opening 10 legs in going down 16-14 to Adrian Lewis in a dramatic match. That saw our quarter bet on Wright go west so it wasn’t the night we were looking for.
Phil Taylor vs Mervyn King
I guess it is a sign of the times that Phil Taylor is opening the night up especially when he is taking on a Mervyn King who is the highest ranked of the two outsiders on the night and that might add an interesting dynamic to the game. King will be used to opening shows up whereas Taylor usually gets a little extra time.
Phil Taylor has looked pretty good in the tournament so far. He got a bit of criticism for his performance in the win over Robbie Green in the first round but that was harsh because Green played well in that match and Taylor did well to come through. He was very solid against Mensur Suljovic in the second round.
Mervyn King has been solid enough so far as well. In fact he was more than solid in the first round when he touched a 100 average in disposing of James Wade and then in the second round he outlasted Brendan Dolan in a match which at least showed us he is coping with his back issues. Apart from one or two legs against Dolan his finishing has been very secure too.
I expect Taylor to win this. I would imagine only the staunchest King fan would disagree but whether he can cover a 7.5 leg handicap I’m less sure. That would mean winning two legs to every leg that King wins and that isn’t easy whoever you are. King will get chances and based on the week so far you would have to say that there is every chance he’ll take them. I don’t see King winning but nine legs isn’t beyond him.
Gary Anderson vs Steve Beaton
The last quarter final sees the best player in the tournament so far taking on the surprise package of it and that always adds for a fascinating little battle. Anderson has cruised past Alan Norris and Terry Jenkins while Beaton has dumped Jelle Klaasen and Michael Smith out.
It hasn’t been like Smith or Klaasen played badly against Beaton. The veteran has actually rolled back the years and totally deserves to be in this quarter final. Part of me hopes he can keep it going and at least be part of a highly entertaining match but then the other part of me thinks this is where the fairytale ends.
We all know Gary Anderson is a top notch frontrunner and that has to be an issue for Beaton because there could be some nerves there and everything. Hopefully from a spectacle point of view Beaton appreciates he has nothing to lose and has a real good go but I can’t see beyond an Anderson win. I respect what Beaton has done this week enough to not chance a fair sized handicap though so I’ll sit this second game out.
Tips
WON – Back M.King (+7.5 legs) to beat P.Taylor for a 4/10 stake at 1.75 with Betfair
Back him here:
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