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Semi-final time for the BDO 2012 World Championship. We’ve got to Dutchmen and two Englishmen battling for a sport in the final. Wesley Harms takes on Tony O’Shea, while Christian Kist takes on Ted Hankey.
We’re sat on -1.89 units with two days of darting action to go, thanks to Alan Norris missing the double for a 9-darter! Still, onwards and upwards and I think I’ve found some great bets for the semi-finals.
Tony O’Shea versus Wesley Harms.
The Silverback is looking good for another BDO World Championship Final, after his emphatic win over England Captain Martin Adams. His 94.02 average only tells half the story, as he was on fire with his doubling, too – hitting a 170 on his way to a 5-2 victory.
Wesley Harms has done more than enough in every match so far, and it would seem he’s playing to a standard no-one expected. However, his run to the semi-finals hasn’t exactly been the hardest, with Martin Phillips averaging under 80 in their first round match. His win over Robbie Green, however, proved he was capable of hanging with the best.
It’s no surprise to see O’Shea around the 4/11 mark, as he has all the experience here, he’s been here and done it all before. But 4/11 isn’t going to get us rich, so we have to look at the handicap market. O’Shea is a -2.5 favourite on the handicap, and I like this line. I can’t see Harms taking more than 3 sets here, as O’Shea’s scoring should punish any mistakes. Plus, Harms hasn’t had any great checkouts, with his highest being 107, so I can’t see him troubling O’Shea, who should punish any mistakes.
The other line I like the look of is the total 180s. The line is 13.5, which I think is high, considering Harms has only hit 7 in 17 sets of darts. O’Shea has hit 12 in 15 sets, which is handy enough, but he would need to get near on double figures for that line to stand a chance of being beaten. I can’t see it.
Tony O’Shea -2.5 sets to beat Wesley Harms: 4/5 @ 888.com.
Recommend: 3.5 units.
Under 13.5 180s in the Tony O’Shea versus Wesley Harms match: 10/11 @ 888.com.
Recommend: 2 units.
Ted Hankey versus Christian Kist.
2000 and 2009 BDO World Champion Ted “The Count” Hankey takes to the stage in the second of the day’s matches, which promises to be a belter. He’s taking on the star of the tournament so far, Christian Kist has basically come from obscurity to have a 95.92 tournament average, as well as knocking out Jan Dekker, Geert De Vos and Alan Norris. Kist’s power scoring has got him this far, and he’ll be looking to make the final on Sunday by knocking out his much more experienced opponent.
The first market I want to look at is the most 180s. Hankey has 13 maximums compared to Kist’s 21. But the bookies have this a close run thing, although I can’t see it. Hankey’s not consistent on the maximums, whereas Kist seems to be, as it’s what took him through comfortably in his matches so far. So Evens for him to score the most 180s is definitely worth a dabble.
The other market worth looking at is the player to score the highest checkout. Kist’s highest checkout is 121, which came in his quarter-final match with Alan Norris. Hankey, on the other hand, has a 145 on the board, as well as a few more 100+ finishes to his name this year. But, like the 180s market, the bookies can’t split these two, even though it’s clear to me that Hankey should be favourite for it.
Christian Kist to score more 180s versus Ted Hankey: Evens @ 888.com.
Recommend: 2 units.
Ted Hankey to score the highest checkout versus Christian Kist: 5/6 @ 888.com.
Recommend: 3 units.
And that’s it for the BDO 2012 World Championship semi-finals. I’ll be back with the final selections for this year’s BDO World Championship.
Until then, remember our good friends that are offering £50 of free bets to their new customers. Don’t forget to head over to fpadd