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BDO 2013 World Championship Day One Premium Picks.
We’re back, after an extremely short break, with the BDO World Championship, with the action coming from the Lakeside. This the darts we all grew up watching and loving, and if you can’t find enjoyment in watching BDO action, you’re heartless. You might not get the flair and exuberance of the PDC, but you’re still getting to watch players playing at a level most of us can only dream of.
We’ve got an early start today, and we start with Martin Atkins taking on Jason Cullen. Then the defending champion, Christian Kist, takes on Robbie Green. BDO veterans Gary Robson and Garry Thompson take to the stage. Dave Prins then faces Bobby George’s son, Richie, followed by Darryl Fitton and Benito van de Pas. Alan Norris versus Wayne Warren is the penultimate match of the night, and the final match is fan-favourite Tony O’Shea against another fan-favourite, John Walton.
The Premium Picks went 2-1 in the final, taking them to 26-30 to end the PDC 2013 World Championship, with a loss of -2.52 units.
Martin Atkins (11) Vs Jason Cullen.
11th seed Martin Atikins opens up the 2013 BDO World Championship against Jason Cullen, who is no relation to Joe, in case you were wondering. Cullen isn’t someone I know too much about, he’s done the rounds in Ireland, and is here through the Hull qualifiers, beating Joey ten Berg on the way. Atkins has had a good year, picking up the British Open and reaching the final of the Czech Open at the end of November. Atkins lost 6-1 to Scott Waites in the final, but he got the impressive scalp of Tony O’Shea in the quarters and won his semi against James Wilson 5-0. Atkins’ run here last year will have filled him with confidence, and he’ll have too much class. Atkins on the handicap will be where we start.
Martin Atkins -1.5 sets to beat Jason Cullen: 5/6 @
Recommend: 1.5 units.
Robbie Green (5) Vs Christian Kist.
Tie of the round? Probably. Robbie Green got the draw none of the seeds wanted, and Christian Kist got one of the top seeds, so neither man is going to be pleased with the draw. Kist has had a relatively quiet year, playing few tournaments since winning at the Lakeside last year. Kist has only won one tournament since the Lakeside win, which was the Europe Pairs event. He made the final of another two, and made it out of the group stages at the Grand Slam of Darts, where he edged past Wes Newton, before losting to Raymond van Barneveld, who went on to win. Green won three tournaments in 2012, and made the final of another 2. The most important thing to note here is that Green’s tournament win at the Belgium Open came against Christian Kist in the final. Green won 3-2, which will give Kin some hope. Just looking at that, and Kist’s relatively quiet year, I think Green is unbelievably overpriced, even if Kist is the current World Champion. It’s going to be close, and we’re going with the value.
Robbie Green to beat Christian Kist: 7/4 @
Recommend: 1 unit.
Gary Robson (10) Vs Garry Thompson
Two BDO stalwarts up next, and the bookies can’t split them. Neither can I, to be fair. No big wins for Robson this year, but he’s been picking up the prize money and keeping him position on the top 10. The same can be said for Thompson; yes, he picked up the Swedish Open, but he’s just been playing solid darts round the circuit. I think we can have a small play here on the total number of sets, as I think it might just go all the way. We’ll have a small dabble on over 4.5 sets.
Over 4.5 sets in Robson Vs Thompson match: 6/4 @
Recommend: 1 unit.
Richie George (15) Vs Dave Prins.
The youngster against the veteran. Richie George had a great start to the year, getting to the semi-finals of the Welsh Masters, then a couple of quarter-finals after that. And then made the final of the International Open, losing to Wayne Warren in the final. He’s climbed the rankings and had a solid year. Dave Prins came through the qualifiers to get here, but he’s never made it past the first round. Prins averaged 78.24 in his 3-0 defeat to Willy van de Wiel this time last year, and I think he’s reached his level, which George is just coming into some form. The value lies with the youngster here, and I think his father is going to give him a big pep talk before this match.
Richie George to beat Dave Prins: 4/5 @
Recommend: 3 unit.
Darryl Fitton (16) Vs Benito van de Pas.
2012 wasn’t the biggest of years for Darryl Fitton, but he consolidated his place in the Top 16 thanks to two semi-finals in Jersey and a final of the Turkish Open all in October/November. Not exactly a classic for Van de Pas, and if you look at his run in Jersey, he didn’t get past the Last 16, while Fitton went deeper. Van de Pas was unlucky to lose 3-2 to Alan Norris last year, averaging a solid 90.18, hitting 3 180s. Fitton lost 3-1 in the first round last year, too, and he averaged a shocking 81.6. What would concern me is Van de Pas’ current form. I think Fitton’s current form just gives him the nod over Van de Pas, as well as his power scoring. If Fitton can get the doubles, he should win this. There’s no value on Fitton outright, but I think the -1.5 sets handicap is a bit of value on Fitton.
Darryl Fitton -1.5 sets to beat Banito van de Pas: 11/8 @
Recommend: 1 unit.
Alan Norris (9) Vs Wayne Warren.
A huge year for Alan Norris. He won two events in 2012, and made the final in two others, the biggest being the final he made in Zuideruin, but his win at the Welsh Master was impressive because of his 4-1 win over Scott Waites in the semi-final, then his 5-2 win over Gary Stafford in the final. Wayne Warren, another qualifier, but an accomplished one, as he won the International Open this year, beating Richie George 5-1 in the final, dropping only 4 legs in his final 5 matches. He also made the final of the BDO Gold Cup, losing to Stehepn Bunting 3-1 in the final. So it’s safe to say he’s had a good year. I don’t know enough about Warren’s game to suggest he’s value over Norris, as Norris had a good run here last year, reaching the quarter-finals and playing some good darts. What struck me about Norris’ game, though, is his power scoring. He’s unbelievably solid on the maximums, scoring 22 in 3 matches. His first round match last year against Benito van de Pas, he put in 8. I think he’s great value to outscore Warren on the maximums.
Alan Norris to score more 180s than Wayne Warren: 4/6 @ 888sport.
Recommend: 3 unit.
Tony O’Shea (4) Vs John Walton.
Tony O’Shea, last year’s runner-up, and this year’s World Masters runner-up. Two tournament wins and two finals this year for O’Shea, along with a quarter-final in Zuideruin, where he lost to Scott Mitchell. He goes well here, but then so does his opponent, John Walton. But it’s not been the greatest of years for the 2001 World Champion, with a quarter-final at the British Open his best result of the year. O’Shea looks good here, as Walton’s never really been the same since 2001. In fact, Walton’s 3-1 loss to Martin Atkins sums up Walton’s run at the Lakeside since then, where he’s only made it to the quarter-finals twice, and having four first round defeats. But there’s no value around for this match, as even on the handicap, O’Shea just doesn’t scream value. We’ll just enjoy two BDO legends taking on each other in the last match of the night.
Recommend: No bet.
And that’s all for the first day of the 2013 BDO World Championship. Let’s start 2013 with a bang, and some nice winners.
