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It’s day seven of the BDO World Championship, and it’s time for the quarter-finals. Yes, we’re at the business end of the tournament and we have a lot of the big names still left in. Yes, Glen Durrant is still standing, as is the defending champion, Scott Waites, and fan favourite Martin Adams is also sniffing around for another world championship to add to his collection. We have all four quarter-finals taking place today, so we’re in for a real feast of darts and with the big names and great players taking to the stage, it’s going to be a great day from start to finish.
Darryl Fitton vs Geert de Vos
This is not a draw that Darryl Fitton will have wanted for one reason – the head to head between the pair currently reads 3-0 in favour of De Vos, and he won their last meeting at the Isle of Man Classic 4-0. De Vos averaged 92.28 in his 4-2 win over Scott Mitchell and he hit 9 maximums on his way to that win. He scored just the 1 maximum in his 3-0 win over Raymond Smith, but averaged 96.9, which was obviously pretty impressive. As for Fitton, he started with an 85.26 average against Wouter Vaes and scored 2 maximums, then 87.75 and 5 maximums against Pip Blackwell. To be fair to Fitton, he’s only dropped the 1 set, but he’s never really been pushed.
I’ve been seriously impressed by Geert de Vos, but so have the bookies, so he’s a warm enough order to win this. However, I can see him winning comfortably, purely because I haven’t been impressed with Fitton at all – he was gifted a couple of sets by Blackwell’s poor scoring, and was afforded so many chances at doubles that he wasn’t taking but wasn’t punished for, either. De Vos won’t give him that luxury, so take Geert de Vos -1.5 sets
Martin Adams vs Jamie Hughes
It’s BDO number 2 against BDO number 9, and it has the potential to be a great game as well as a tight game. Martin Adams has shown great fight in his first two games, and looked all but out against Ryan Joyce but fought back to win with a 91.74 average. In his second match, Wolfie averaged 89.94 and beat Jeff Smith 4-1. Wolfie hit 7 maximums against Smith, which is what helped him get over the line convincingly. Hughes banged in 4 maximums and averaged 94.38 in the first round, as he beat Martin Atkins 3-1. He followed it up with 3 maximums and an 84.96 average in his 4-1 win over Jim Williams.
I think this is going to be tight, but I have to say that I’ve been impressed by Adams. Coming into this, there was questions over his health, especially with how poorly he played at the Grand Slam of Darts. You know what you’ll get with Wolfie, and that’s the important thing, as you don’t know what you’re going to get with Hughes. So, with the inconsistency of Hughes in mind, I have to suggest backing Martin Adams to win as he looks like real value as the outsider of the pair.
Glen Durrant vs Darius Labanauskas
Both men in this one can think they’re incredibly fortunate to be in this match. Durrant survived match darts against him and Labanauskas nearly blew his lead. But while Durrant was poor, his average was actually better than Labanauskas’ average after he upped his game in the final three sets. I think Durrant just has too much game for his Lithuanian opponent and is likely to shift into top gear after the scare he had in his last match. I was hoping to get Durrant -2.5 on the handicap, but it’s still ridiculously short, so I can’t actually find an angle on this one. Unfortunately, it’s no bet although Durrant on the handicap is the recommendation is you must have a bet.
Danny Noppert vs Scott Waites
It’s safe to say that Danny Noppert has kept everyone talking and his 164 checkout to win last night’s match was exceptional. He averaged just a shade over 91, so he wasn’t setting the world alight with his scoring, but a 4-0 win over a classy opponent signalled his intention. As for Scott Waites, he started poorly and somehow managed to up his game enough to win four sets on the bounce, but his below 90 average showed the problems he’s having with his game at the moment.
I had been looking to oppose Danny Noppert for most of the tournament, owing to how short he has been, but this time I think he’s caught Scott Waites at the right time – while Waites is struggling to up his game, Noppert has been getting better all the time and seems destined to make the big time. If he can just up his scoring a bit, I can see a real blowout, so take Danny Noppert -1.5 sets for our final match of the evening.
I’ll be back with more free tips for day eight, semi-final day, of the 2017 BDO World Championship tomorrow, so I’ll see you then.
