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A much better night last night, thanks to Co Stompe not hitting another 180 and Kurt van der Rijk firing in a nice checkout in his defeat at the hands of Newton. We went 2-1, taking us to 3-4 after two days, and we’re at -3.22 units.
So we’re back on track thanks to a couple of Europeans and no thanks to an Aussie taking the first set off Justin Pipe! We’ve got a HUGE day of darts action ahead of us, with two sessions to placate even the most hardened of darts fans. Add in some of my favourite players and some close matches and it’s darting heaven today!
Betfair have a lot of great markets and a lot of great valueevery year during the PDC World Championships. Head on over, get yourself a free bet and get stuck into the in-running betting. You’ll struggle to find a better place to bet during the PDC World Championships than Betfair.
Peter Wright (30) versus Jelle Klaasen.
Peter Wright best price: 7/10 @ Betfair.
Jelle Klaasen best price: 5/4 @ 888.com.
Peter Wright, one of the polarising figures of the PDC. Some people love him for his eccentric antics, some hate him for it. Me, I couldn’t care less as long as he gets me the result I’m after. Wright has had a bit of form on the TV stage this year, losing a close one to Phil Taylor in the last 32 of the World Grand Prix, after getting to the quarter-finals of the European Championships, taking out Gary Anderson and John Part along the way. He was even unlucky in defeat at the World Matchplay, losing 10-7 to Simon Whitlock, after firing in 6 maximums. But most importantly, you’ll remember Peter Wright’s run at the World Championships last year, taking out Co Stompe and Paul Nicholson, before losing 4-2 to Phil Taylor in an absolute classic. This man loves the crowds, but he’s also reasonably consistent on the floor, not picking up the overall wins, but quarter-finals here and there, with a few semi-finals and one final thrown in over the last year.
Jelle Klaasen is the man people wonder what has happened to. Well, he’s still doing his thing on the PDC Tour, he’s just struggling to find any form in it. You don’t have the form, you don’t earn your place in the televised tournaments. He’s just fortunate that there isn’t much talent from mainland Europe interested in taking part in a lot of PDC Tour events. He’s struggled to get past the last 32 of any floor tournament, making the odd last 16 here and there, but no further. He hasn’t won on the TV stage since the 2010 European Championships, where he beat Vincent van der Voort 6-4. So to say he’s out of form is an understatement.
The pick here has to be Peter Wright. He’s in great form, he’s hitting a lot of maximums and he comes up against a man who’s having a crisis of confidence. Wright feeds off this crowd, as was evident in his run here last year. Klassen, in my opinion, doesn’t have anywhere near the form needed to beat most players in the top 32 and definitely not Wright. I especially like Wright on the handicap, as -1.5 is good enough for me.
Peter Wright -1.5 sets to beat Jelle Klaasen: 6/4 @ Paddy Power.
Recommend: 2 units.
Dietmar Burger vs Christian Perez.
Prelim match.
Christian Perez best price: 8/11 @
Dietmar Burger best price: 6/5 @ Betfair.
A tricky little prelim match here, with Christian Perez having a bit of experience on the Ally Pally stage, while Dietmar Burger routinely plays on the PDC Tour when it comes to mainland Europe. Perez wasn’t disgraced in his 3-1 defeat to Robert Thornton after beating the experienced Per Laursen in his prelim match. While it’s been two years since his last appearance on the PDC stage, he’s still a handy player. Burger is a bit of a soft tip expert, and we’ve seen it doesn’t always translate well to blistering form at the World Championships.
I can see this being a bit closer than the bookies think, but I just can’t pick a side, even at the prices. Just watch and take some notes in case one of them wins the later match against Alan Tabern.
Recommend: No bet.
Ronnie Baxter (14) versus Steve Farmer.
Ronnie Baxter best price: 4/11 @ 888.com.
Steve Farmer best price: 9/4 @ Paddy Power.
Another wonderfully inconsistent year for Ronnie Baxter. Routinely making the last 16 in PDC floor tournaments, with a smattering of wins and semi-finals mixed with quite a few last 64 finishes, and then only one televised win this year. It’s just been one of those years for Baxter, who has struggled to get any kind of form going. He has been terrible in televised tournaments, with his doubling letting him down time and time again. He just isn’t the same player of ten years ago, but not many players that have been around that long are.
Steve Farmer made his PDC World Championship debut last year, losing 3-0 to Paul Nicholson in a performance that didn’t really do him justice. Farmer shocked everyone at the start of the year with his run to the semi-finals of the Players Championship finals, losing 10-7 to Gary Anderson in a great match, having taken care of Colin Lloyd, Colin Osborne and Mark Walsh to get there. It’s just unfortunate he hasn’t capitalised on it throughout the rest of the year. He’s not been on the TV stage since, and his floor tournament results haven’t been setting the world alight, but a quarter-final in Germany in October shows he’s still got a bit of form when he needs it.
I can see Baxter taking this, but I think this might be a close one. There should be quite a few legs here and both men will need to hit the big checkouts if they want to win it. While there could be a few 180s over quite a few legs, the highest checkout market is where I want to look. Paddy Power have the line at 117.5, and I think either man is capable.
Highest checkout in Baxter vs. Farmer match over 117.5: 5/6 @ Paddy Power.
Recommend: 2.5 units.
Robert Thornton (31) versus Ian White.
Robert Thornton best price: 4/6 @ Paddy Power.
Ian White best price: 11/8 @ Betfair.
For me, this is the most interesting match of the first Saturday session. Robert Thornton just isn’t in any real form, with his best result on the PDC Tour in the last 4 months and last 32 appearance in Crawley and also Canada. Thornton’s last televised run came at the UK Open, getting to the quarter-finals, before losing to Mark Webster 10-7. The reason Thornton hasn’t been on our TV screens that often is simply because he’s totally out of form. He’s had injuries and a complicated personal life over the last few years, so this form isn’t unexpected.
Ian White, on the other hand, has had a slight resurgence of form in 2011. He made the final of a UK Open qualifier in January, then didn’t find much form during the year until he made the semi-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts Wild Card qualifier. Thanks to Simon Whitlock’s injury, White got his place in the tournament and put in some great performances, beating Gary Anderson, losing a close one to Dean Winstanely and ultimately being knocked out after losing to Ted Hankey. But White did enough to impress me and I’m sure a lot of you were impressed too. He managed to put in some nice scores, didn’t flinch with the checkouts and his experience really shone through.
To be honest, Thornton is unbackable at odds-on against nearly anyone. I would have even considered one or two of the guys playing in the prelims against him if the price was right! So, seeing he’s odds-on against someone with a bit of confidence after a resurgence after so many years in the wilderness, I can’t have it! White is a lovely price and we’ll have our fingers crossed another seed tumbles here.
Ian White to beat Robert Thornton: 11/8 @ Betfair.
Recommend: 2 units.
Alan Tabern (24) versus Burger/Perez.
Like all the other matches with qualifiers in them, I can’t dish out any information because I don’t know the prices and, to be honest, I don’t know how well the qualifier has played. That being said, Alan Tabern is another one of those players whose form has been slipping over the last 12 months. Aside from a semi-final in Crawley in May, he’s not done much this year on the PDC Tour. If Burger or Perez show any kind of form in the prelim match, they could be worth a dabble on the handicaps, which will no doubt have Tabern at -2.5. So, remember to take notes during the prelim!
Evening Session
Steve Beaton (28) versus Magnus Caris.
Steve Beaton best price: 2/5 @
Magnus Caris best price: 9/4 @
A battle of the BDO old boys here, with Sweden’s Magnus Caris not having to face a prelim match this year at the PDC World Championship.
Steve Beaton is back to being Mr Consistency on the PDC Tour, and he looked good at the Grand Slam of Darts, where he lost in the last 16 to Paul Nicholson 10-8. Beaton pushed Phil Taylor close in the group stage of the GSOD, and he’s just never disgraced himself in the TV tournaments this year, even though he’s not gone deep. His defeat in this tournament last year to Mark Hylton was a bit of a surprise at this stage, but Hylton has since proven that he’s a handy player.
Magnus Caris seems to be enjoying the second part of his career. He’s got his PDC Tour Card and he’s qualified automatically for the PDC World Championships for the first time. Yes, he’s in the twilight of his career, but he’s playing some handy darts. Sure, he’s not going deep in the floor tournaments, but he’s playing some good, if unspectacular darts on TV when he gets the chance and he pushed Paul Nicholson all the way in the Grand Slam of Darts, after making the final of the Wild Card Qualifier. So, Caris is in some decent form coming into the tournament, even though he didn’t manage a good run in Wigan in the last floor tournaments before the World Championship.
I can see a comfortable Beaton win here, although Caris should be good enough to take a set. But the -1.5 on offer looks good to me, as Beaton should take charge at some point and get the W under his belt. I can also see this match not having many 180s. Beaton is a huge 140 scorer, while Caris is just a grinder. There might not be many legs in this one and the 5.5 line is a good one for us to take the unders on.
Steve Beaton -1.5 sets against Magnus Caris: 5/6 @ Paddy Power.
Recommend: 2.5 units.
Under 5.5 180s in the Beaton vs Caris match: Evens @
Recommend: 2 units.
Kevin Munch versus Lee Choon Peng.
Prelim match.
Kevin Munch best price: 8/15 @ Paddy Power.
Lee Choon Peng best price: 6/4 @ 888.com.
The winner of the German qualifying event takes on the winner of the South Asian qualifying event. I’ll be honest, I’d be lying to you if I said I knew anything about Peng and all I know about Munch is that he’s not had much success any time the PDC has come to Germany.
So, with that in mind, we’ll steer clear of this one, and make some notes in case we need them for the last match of the night.
Recommend: No bet.
Vincent van der Voort (16) versus Mark Hylton.
Vincent van der Voort best price: 4/5 @ Betfair.
Mark Hylton best price: 5/4 @
This is a huge match for both men. Along with Dave Chisnall, Mark Hylton was one of the unseeded players the seeds wouldn’t have fancied drawing. Hylton made a name for himself at last year’s World Championship, beating Steve Beaton and Colin Lloyd before losing 4-1 to Mark Webster in the last 16. Hylton recently made the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix, where Richie Burnett took care of him 4-1. So there’s definitely something about Welshmen and the 4-1 scoreline that is a problem for Hylton. Luckily he’s drawn against a Dutchman. So, Hylton isn’t in terrible shape coming into this tournament, although he did lose in his first round match at the Players Championship Finals to Mark Walsh 6-3, but he fired in 4 maximums in that defeat. So, although his floor results haven’t been great, he doesn’t mind the TV cameras at all.
Vincent van der Voort also isn’t in too bad form, although his form has come on the floor, while his TV form hasn’t been as great. Losing to Co Stompe 6-1 in the first round of the Players Championship Finals came on the back of three defeats in the group stage of the Grand Slam of Darts and only two televised wins since his run to the quarter-finals here last year. But he’s going deep in floor tournaments, making the final in Crawley in November, after some good quarter-final showings not long before that.
So, this is going to be a tight one, and the bookies have this priced up quite fairly. My natural instinct would be to go with the 180s, but the line is quite tight at 7.5. It’s manageable, but it’s tight and the margins there don’t leave much room for us at the prices. However, there’s going to be a lot of legs here, I reckon, and the highest checkout at 118.5 is very generous, as it’s going to be another match where both men will need to score the big checkouts to win this. Plus, Hylton and VDV are both capable of the big finishes when the mood takes them, so we’re giong to get stuck into this.
Highest checkout in Van der Voort versus Hylton match over 118.5: 5/6 @ Paddy Power.
Recommend: 3 units.
Paul Nicholson (9) versus Mensur Suljovic.
Paul Nicholson best price: 1/5 @ 888.com.
Mensur Suljovic best price: 4/1 @ Betfair.
It’s that time of the year when one of my favourites, Mensur Suljovic graces my TV screen. This time he faces the sometimes brilliant Paul Nicholson.
Nicholson’s been playing some decent darts of late, but he just keeps on coming up against Phil Taylor at the wrong times. However, there’s no doubting he’s one of the players with a chance to dethrone Adrian Lewis as World Champion. Nicholson’s been consistently solid on the floor, picking up some nice wins this year, but he’s just found it hard to win the televised tournaments this year, as he’s been eclipsed by Phil Taylor in the last three. But there’s no doubt he’s one of the men to beat after bursting onto the scene in the same tournament in 2009.
As for Suljovic, he had the biggest win of his career in the World Championship last year when he defeated James Wade in the second round (after a Darts Betting Tips free tip at a handsome price!), before being whitewashed by Wes Newton in the last 16. Suljovic hasn’t been setting the darting world alight this year, and aside from a quarter-final appearance in his home tournament in Austria back in May, he’s not done much. His only televised tournament this year was the European Championships, where he lost to Simon Whitlock 6-2.
I can only see one winner here, with Paul Nicholson looking on course to beat “The Gentle” quite comfortably. The price is unbelievably prohibitive on Nicholson to win outright, and you can’t forget that Suljovic’s throwing style and pace is enough to distract even the best of players, as James Wade can attest to.
However, as with a few matches, Paddy Power’s line on the highest checkout is the lower around and 116.5 looks great to me. Nicholson can be sure to try and please the crowd with some big outs, and Suljovic is no stranger to some big checkouts at the World Championship.
Highest checkout in Nicholson versus Suljovic match over 116.5: 5/6 @ Paddy Power.
Recommend: 2 units.
Denis Ovens (19) versus Munch/Loo Peng.
Denis Ovens looks like he’s lucked out here, as his form isn’t the best going into the World Championship. His run at the UK Open to the semi-finals is the only notable run for him in any of the majors, so getting one of the qualifiers is a bit fortunate. However, if Munch or Loo Peng show any kind of form, it might be worth taking them on the handicap, as Ovens is there to be beaten.
As with the earlier match, I can’t give you any tips because I don’t know the prices or who’s actually playing. But use your judgement and let me know how you get on!
And that’s it for the free tips for Day Three of the PDC World Championship. After a big day of darts, it’s a quieter day on Sunday, but we’ll be back with more free darts betting tips.
So, until tomorrow, remember our good friends that are offering £50 of free bets to their new customers. Don’t forget to head over to 888.com .