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PDC 2013 World Championship Day Four Premium Picks.
Following on from Saturday’s great day of darts, last night didn’t disappoint, did it? I was amazed by the great performance from Raymond van Barneveld. He averaged over 108, dropped 1 leg, and looked like a real threat to anyone. I, for one, didn’t see that performance coming, so our unders bet on the 180s market in the match was blown out of the water quite quickly. The thinking was right that it would be a short match, but I couldn’t have thought Barney was going to play that well. Brendan Dolan did us a big favour winning 3-0, and looked solid. Andy Hamilton wasn’t impressive at all. He should have won the first set, and James Richardson shouldn’t have got as many legs as he did, but Hamilton was just too inconsistent. That being said, he made it through 3-1, and we wanted that 3-0. And then there was Gary Anderson; what can I say about that match? Both men played great darts, Gary Anderson was hammering the 180 and looked imperious on his throw. But his Finnish opponent, Jani Haavisto, was very solid, and looked comfortable up on the stage, when many newcomers suffer from a bad case of nerves.
The Premium Picks went 1-2 last night, taking them to 6-6 after three days of the PDC 2013 World Championship, with a profit of +3.32 units.
Before we get into the tips, I want to remind you of the great offer from Victor Chandler. Victor Chandler are refunding all bets placed on the outright market until the start of the second round if Phil Taylor wins the World Championship.
Peter Wright (26) Vs Arron Monk.
A bit of a sleeper to start the night off. That’s not a bad thing, as this could be a great match that people aren’t expecting. Both men are good players, and it doesn’t look as one-sided as a lot of first round matches have been.
Peter Wright is one of darts’ great enigmas. He is a very solid ProTour player, and he actually had a great weekend in Killarney, winning one floor event, losing in the semi-final in the other. He recently made the quarter-finals of the Players Championship, losing 10-6 to eventual runner-up Kim Huybrechts. That came on the back of another floor tournament quarter-final. He’s also an extremely heavy scorer at times, as he’s shown on this very stage two years ago when he lost 4-1 to Phil Taylor, but gave The Power a real test.
Arron Monk, the superstar in the Monk family, has had a great year, conquering all on the PDC Youth Tour, winning 6 events on the Youth Tour. He’s had some solid performances on the floor, getting a couple of deep runs under his belt, with a quarter-final in Barnsley at the end of November following on from a quarter-final run at the Dutch Masters and semi-final appearance on the floor in Ireland. It’s been a good year, and he’s going to be pleased with his performance at the Grand Slam of Darts, where he reached the Last 16, losing 10-5 to Dean Winstanley.
While I think Monk is playing well, Wright is an extremely solid player, and Monk’s, overall, an 85-ish average player, while Wright is capable of mid-90s consistently thanks to his power scoring. Monk should get a set, but I like Wright, and he’ll be happy with his form at the end of the season. The line is -1.5 on the handicap, and I think he’s got enough game to power past Monk.
Peter Wright -1.5 sets to beat Arron Monk: 11/10 @
Recommend: 2 units.
Qualifying Match
Carlos Rodriguez Vs John Bowles
One of the more interesting Qualifying matches, with Spain’s Carlos Rodriguez taking on John Bowles. Both men have experience on the Tour, with Carlos Rodriguez actually getting a big win over Roland Scholten on the stage a couple of years ago. He was then over taken by Antonio Alcinas as Spain’s number one, but his qualification for this year’s event is a step back in the right direction. John Bowles was a bit of a shock qualifier, having finished runner-up in the World Championship Qualifier, and just getting his Tour Card this year. Both men have had indifferent years, and Bowles has been particularly uninspiring, given that he made the Last 16 in the UK Open last year. He’s not done much on the floor, so I can’t fathom why he’s favourite against a man with experience at the Ally Pally. I think it will be close, especially in a race to 4, but the Spaniard’s experience on the big stage might just see him through, which is why I think he should be favourite.
Carlos Rodriguez to beat John Bowles: Evens @
Recommend: 1.5 units.
Mark Webster (10) Vs Ian White.
Yet another interesting match, with one of the top seeds drawing one of the players he’ll have wanted to avoid. It’s form against out-of-form, but it’s also a man who’s been World Champion taking on a player who found a bit of a resurgence later on in his career.
I don’t know what’s happened to Mark Webster, but he seems to have lost all confidence in his game over the past 24 months or so. For a former World Champion, he’s playing like a man who’s outside of the Top 32. And if he continues playing the way he has been as of late, he’s going to be outside of the Top 32 in no time. He’s only made it past the last 16 on three occasions this year, which isn’t great for a player of his calibre. He’s ended up with a terrible draw, but maybe this is just what he needs to get his form back.
Ian White is one of the form players in the PDC at the moment. He’s had a great year, climbing to 33rd in the world, and he’ll no doubt be higher once this tournament is over, even if he doesn’t win here. He’s made five finals this year, with one being the German Masters, where he lost 6-3 to Adrian Lewis. The only blemish that he hasn’t actually won a tournament yet this season. He’s not had the greatest time on the floor either, but Last 16 in the World Grand Prix and the World Matchplay isn’t too bad compared to Webster.
Darts is all about form and confidence, and one man out of the two has it – Ian White. Mark Webster just hasn’t been convincing all year and there’s something missing from his game which won’t come back overnight. Ian White is playing unbelievably well, and I’m surprised he’s not a bit shorter.
Ian White to beat Mark Webster: 5/6 @
Recommend: 1.5 units.
James Wade (3) Vs Peter Hudson.
James Wade will have been a bit happier when he saw the draw for the first round of the World Championship. He avoided a lot the form players and ended up drawing a relative unknown in Peter Hudson.
As I say, Wade will be pleased that he avoided someone like Ian White or Dean Winstanley in the first round, as his form has shown that he would struggle against one of the classier unseeded players. That being said, his mental health issues has been the bane of his year, and it might not change now. He’s a man who looks out of love with the game, and ever since his defeat in the semi-finals of the German Masters, there’s been no drive. The World Matchplay was supposed to have been a turning point, but it went back to the same problems he was having before.
Peter Hudson scraped into the World Championship thanks to some solid performances on the floor. However, Hudson is mostly a Last 64 player on the floor, and he’s not done anything too much of note outside of his one quarter-final back in June, and qualifying for some of the European Tour events.
I was hoping to oppose James Wade in the first round, but he’s been handed a plum draw, mental issues or not. I can’t honestly find an angle, as Wade is just too erratic at the moment to back on the handicap, but he’s too short to back on the outrights. The line is 4.5 for the 180s, which could go either way. We can just take note of how Wade is playing and use it to our advantage in the second round, should The Machine get through.
Recommend: No bet.
Jamie Caven (29) Vs Rodriguez/Bowles
Like the rest of final matches of the night, we don’t have a bet lined up, but if Rodriguez or Bowles show any kind of form in their first match, it might be worth opposing Caven, who seems to struggle on the stage. Caven’s not had a bad end to the year, but his form on TV is always worrying and a classy player could do him some harm, as Gary Anderson almost found out last night, and Andy Smith can tell you all about.
Recommend: No bet.
That’s it for the fourth night of the PDC 2013 World Championship. Thank you for subscribing, old subscribers and new, and here’s to a fantastic World Championship. Remember, get your outright winners bets on (I’d looking at Winstanley/King/Kellet) at
Remember, if Phil Taylor wins it, and you back someone else, you get a refund of your bet up to the value of £50. What are you waiting for? I’ve already hit them up, you should, too.
