Follow @SBTSportBetting [Get Exclusive Tips on our Patreon, Ad-Free]
Welcome back to Darts Betting Tips. I hope you had a great Christmas and you’re nice and recharged for the final run-in of the PDC World Championships. Remember, the action starts in the afternoon, just after 1pm, so don’t get caught out.
Now, I promised you a running total once I had got the snow out of the way and here it is. The tips are 6-9 and they are in profit of +1.5 units. We’ve been helped by the success of our favoured bets, especially Mensur suljovic taking out Michael van Gerwen, which was my bet of the round and it paid for many Christmas drinks. Hopefully you made the most of it and got have a great night out thanks to the Austrian.
Now we’re into the second round and there’s some fantastic matches to look forward to and I think we have some brilliant bets to come now that the matches are a lot more evenly matched.
Here are all the free bets on offer during the PDC World Championships
Free £25 bet @ Betfair.
Free £25 bet @ Stan James.
Free £25 bet @ Victor Chandler.
Free £10 bet @ Paddy Power.
Free £10 bet @ Blue Square.
So the first lot of second round matches are upon us, so let’s get to the tips.
Ronnie Baxter vs Mark Webster.
Ronnie Baxter:
1st round: Beat Roland Scholten 3-0
Average: 94.10
180s: 2
Mark Webster:
1st round: Beat Steve Maish 3-0
Average: 98.93
180s: 2
Potentially the tie of the round and it’s the first match of the second round. It’s a race to 4 and this has the potential to go all the way to the seventh leg tie-break, as both players played well in the first round, both winning 3-0 and both hitting 2 maximums.
Webster looks to be in some great form right now and his average of almost 100 proves he could be the fly in the ointment for the big guns. However, Baxter, as we know, is no slouch and he’ll push Webster all the way.
The 180s line looks to be ridiculously low here and I think it might be an oversight by the bookies. I reckon the count will easily hit double figures and the line being around 9.5 is incredibly tempting, but some of the bookies have set the line at 8.5, so for the extra security, we’ll take them up on the 8.5 offer. This match should go all the way, both men can hit a fair amount of 180s when on fire and this line is crazy.
Over 8.5 180s in the Webster vs Baxter match 5/6 @ Betfair.
Recommend: 1.5 units.
Paul Nicholson vs Peter Wright.
Paul Nicholson:
1st round: Beat Steve Farmer 3-0.
Average: 97.39
180s: 2
Peter Wright:
1st round: Beat Co Stompe 3-1.
Average: 86.76
180s: 2
Well, Paul Nicholson will be thanking his lucky stars that Peter Wright beat Co Stompe in the first round. Nicholson has over 10 points on his average over Wright and that will be crucial. Nicholson should come through this with ease, as Wright was a tad lucky that Stompe had a shocker.
The problem is, Nicholson is 2/11. However, they’re giving him -2.5 sets on the handicap and I can’t see Wright taking more than a set off Nicholson, who will be determined to make a great run.
Paul Nicholson -2.5 sets to beat Peter Wright Evens @ Boylesports.
Recommend: 2.5 units.
Andy Hamilton vs Robert Thornton.
Andy Hamilton:
1st round: Beat Dennis Smith 3-0
Average 79.42
Maximums: 0
Robert Thornton:
1st round: Beat Nigel Heydon 3-1
Average: 91.23
Maximums: 2
I hope you were doing something during Andy Hamilton’s first round match against Dennis Smith. It was a shocker, with Hamilton hitting no maximums and averaging 79.42, yet winning 3-0. Robert Thornton was flattered by his 3-1 scoreline, but he deserved his place in the seconud round a lot more than Andy Hamilton did. In fact, if Hamilton was a horse, he would have been disqualified under the non-trier rule.
I really like the look of Thornton here and the fact he’s the bigger price in this match is baffling. The head-to-head is a tie at three each, but the fact Thornton is coming back into a bit of form, while Hamilton hasn’t been on TV a lot in 2010 means we have to favuor the Scotsman here and I really do like the look of him here. His average was for superior to Hamilton’s and the only problem is Thornton’s doubling. But the fact Hamilton’s doubling was just as shocking means we have a bit of give.
Robert Thornton to beat Andy Hamilton 6/5 @ Betfair.
Recommend: 2.5 units.
Colin Lloyd vs Mark Hylton.
Colin Lloyd:
1st round: Beat Andre Welgee 3-2
Average: 84.35
180s: 2
Mark Hylton:
1st round: Beat Steve Beaton 3-2
Average: 90.14
180s: 7
An interesting match with Colin “Prizefighter” Lloyd taking on the surprise of the first round, Mark Hylton. Hylton shocked the darting public with his exceptional win over the in-form Steve Beaton, recording the second most maximums in the first round and by far the msot of anyone who managed to win their first round match. Lloyd shocked the darting world by getting into a first fight with the board. The board looked like it won via TKO due to the stage of Lloyd’s hand at the end of the match.
Lloyd SHOULD win the match, but Hylton played far better than Lloyd and Lloyd being so short is just madness from the bookies. As much as Lloyd can play well on his day, you can’t argue with the fact Hylton battered in the maximums and didn’t have too much trouble with his doubling.
We’re going to take a speculative punt that Hylton can be the surprise package of the year and take out Lloyd. 5/2 is too big and if he snatches a win, I wouldn’t be surprised. Lloyd is trading on his name alone. Let’s get stuck into this underdog.
Mark Hylton to beat Colin Lloyd 5/2 @ Boylesports.
Recommend: 1 unit.
Adrian Lewis vs Mark Dudbridge.
Adrian Lewis:
1st round: Beat Tony Eccles 3-0
Average: 94.87
Maximums: 3
Mark Dudbridge:
1st round: Beat Alex Roy 3-1
Average: 92.60
Maximums: 6
Oh, this could be a cracker. Both players have been tipped as future world champions. Both men managed good wins for different reasons. Adrian Lewis struggled past The Viper and the scoreline flattered him. Eccles missed far too many doubles and Lewis struggled with his doubling, too, so his average should have been even higher than the 94.87. Dudbridge was impressive due to his lack of any recent form and the fact his win was so convincing. He scored heavily and didn’t look in trouble after he levelled the match at 1-1 against Alex Roy.
The match should go to at least 6 sets and we could be looking ata fair number of 180s. If Lewis was ill with the flu and still managed 1 maximum per set, he’s good for quite a few more and Dudbridge should chip in with hopefully the same amount, which would push it well into the double figures. The line of 10.5 is a tad low and I think we could set quite a few more than that, especially if Dudbridge puts up a fight, unlike the bookies think he will. Lewis should come through, but we want a nice long match with some high scoring.
Over 10.5 180s in the Adrian Lewis vs Mark Dudbridge match 5/6 @ Blue Square.
Recommend: 1.5 units.
Phil Taylor vs Per Laursen.
Phil Taylor:
1st round: Beat Gary Mawson 3-0
Average: 88.49
180s: 1
Per Laursen:
1st round: Beat John Part 3-0
Average: 83.66
Maximums: 2
What a month for Phil Taylor. Second in the Sports Personality of the Year and now he gets perhaps what could be the easier tie of the round for him. Laursen won his qualifying match, then destroyed John Part, but he’s been around long enough to know that Phil Taylor is too good for him. Even if Phil Taylor isn’t playing anywhere near his best. The fact he still averaged 5 points more than Laursen while playing shocking darts speaks volumes about the task Laursen faces.
Sadly, the markets, like a lot of markets featuring Phil Taylor, are very prohibitive and offer no real value. We would have had a nibble on the 180s market, but the line is spot on, there’s no value, which is a shame.
Recommend: No bet.
So, a lot of action to come and a lot of great bets. I’m glad the darting action is back and I’m sure you are, too. So enjoy the early start to proceedings and happy betting!
