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PDC World Matchplay 2013 Day Five Premium Picks.
The second round started last night, and we almost had the perfect night. If it wasn’t for Gary Anderson blowing a nice lead, it would have been a 4-0 night. We had a comfortable win right off the bat with Justin Pipe hitting a 170 early on in his match against Raymond van Barneveld. Pipe played fantastic darts, deserved the win and will have some confidence going into his match against Phil Taylor. Speaking of The Power, he and Terry Jenkins cruised over the 9.5 180s line, even with a flat spot in the middle of the match, and we got another nice win. In between those, Simon Whitlock got the handicap over the line with a 13-10 win. And, as mentioned, Gary Anderson bottled it big time against James Wade.
Andy Hamilton (6) Vs Ian White.
First match of the night, and it looks, on paper, like a one-sided affair. Andy Hamilton is on a great run of form, while Ian White isn’t in the greatest of form, but still got a very impressive first round win.
Andy Hamilton was one of the most comfortable winners in the first round, recording a simple 10-1 victory over Ronnie Baxter. He put in an average of 97.12 and never looked in danger. Hamilton hit 3 180s and took out a 111 checkout in the 11 legs, which isn’t bad at all. He’s coming into this off the back of a final at the UK Open, and an impressive 12 months. He’s going to be brimming with confidence, and he’ll be happy with getting Ian White in the second round as opposed to Robert Thornton.
As I mentioned, Ian White hasn’t had a great year, but he did demolish the in-form Robert Thornton. White averaged 93.38 in his 10-3 win over Robert Thornton, hit 4 maximums and a 125 finish. On paper, he looked in good nick. The one worry is that he was playing a man who had won 4 legs in 3 previous appearances at the World Matchplay, and clearly doesn’t enjoy playing at the venue. But you can’t deny that on paper his performance looked good.
I think Hamilton might just be the man to beat outside of Taylor and Van Gerwen – he’s coming into this tournament in great form, and his first round performance backed that up. Confidence and form is everything in darts, and White just doesn’t seem to have that right now in the way that Hamilton does. The Hammer looks good on the handicap with a line of -3.5.
Andy Hamilton -3.5 legs to beat Ian White: Best price Evens
Recommend: 3 units.
Adrian Lewis (3) Vs Brendan Dolan (14).
On the face of it, this doesn’t look to be the greatest of match-ups – the sometimes exciting, flamboyant Adrian Lewis against the boring, rocksteady Brendan Dolan. And you might be right, but on first round form, this could be close.
Adrian Lewis can consider himself a lucky boy. His first round performance would have seen him knocked out against many of the unsseded players. However, Ronny Huybrechts played even worse than Lewis, gifting Jackpot a win that wasn’t as easy as the 10-5 scoreline suggests. Sure, he did enough, but when enough is an 86.94 average and 31% doubling. He did, however, hit 4 180s, which wasn’t too bad. The thing is, we all know Lewis can up his average by 10 points if required, it just depends if he’s pushed hard enough.
Brendan Dolan did exactly what we thought he would do in the first round. He averaged just below 90, was taken to 18 legs by Steve Beaton and wasn’t flashy in the slightest, with his highest checkout being a decent 112. There are several players in the PDC that you know will give you the same kind of performance, and Dolan is the king of them. Tonight, he’ll again average around 90, he’ll look solid and he’ll give you a few maximums here and there. The worry is that he can’t up his game like Lewis when he’s pushed. It’s just not really in his locker.
Thw worry here is that if Lewis does decide to up his game, it’s going to be a blow out simply because Dolan has nothing really to give other than a steady performance – he’s not got the game to match Lewis is Lewis goes out with a 100+ average. If he does, it’s 13-6 or worse. Of course, if Lewis plays the way he did in the first round, it could go all the way. The line I like the look of is the 180s line – it’s sat at 9.5 and I can’t see them troubling this. Dolan isn’t the world’s greatest 180 scorer, and although Lewis is handy enough, he might only be good enough for 6 or so, and the Northern Irishman might not weigh in with enough.
under 9.5 180s in Lewis Vs Dolan match Best price 11/10
Recommend: 2 units.
Michael van Gerwen (2) Vs Peter Wright.
A rematch from the 2013 World Championship that we’ve all been waiting for, with two of the form horses in the PDC squaring off against each other.
Michael van Gerwen flattered to decide in his first round match. While he put in an average of 99.83, he wasn’t particularly impressive throughout the match. The 10-7 scoreline summed it up, and Wayne Mardle hit the nail on head when he said Van Gerwen was expecting the darts to go in, instead of making them go in – he might just be starting to believe his own hype. But there’s no denying that this year he’s been the man to beat, even with Phil Taylor still sitting top of the tree. All he needs to do is play his game and he’s good enough to beat most players.
It wasn’t a shock to see Peter Wright breeze past Kim Huybrechts in the first round. Wright is playing great darts just now, and his 10-4 was about as convincing as it could be against a class act like the Belgian. Wright averaged 96.06, and he only hit 2 maximums, as well as an 86 checkout – but it was more than enough to set up this exciting second round encounter. Wright will need to up his game, but the fact he took the first 2 sets off of Van Gerwen in the World Championship shows he’s not to be taken lightly by the Dutchman.
Wright’s confidence makes him an appealing prospect. He isn’t scared of Michael van Gerwen, like a lot of the PDC players seem to be. That being said, the stats don’t lie and Van Gerwen was the better player in the first round and his performance wasn’t as good as it could have been. Wright has a bit more to give, but Van Gerwen has a LOT more. It’s going to be tight, but I think the Dutchman might just nick it. That being said, a Wright win wouldn’t be too much of a shock. What I do like is Wright on the 180 market. He’s well over priced, as he’s capable of firing in handfuls, while Van Gerwen is confident on his cover shots and he’s happy enough going for a 177 as he is a 180. At 11/4, he’s great value.
Petwr Wright to score the most 180s Vs Michael van Gerwen: Best price 11/4.
Recommend: 1.5 units.
Jamie Caven Vs Dave Chisnall (10).
12 months ago, if you had said one of these players was bang in form, you would have been talking about Dave Chisnall, but how things have changed, as Jamie Caven is playing some solid darts, while Dave Chisnall has been struggling for form.
Jamie Caven shocked some knocking out 7th seed Wes Newton in the first round, although it was no shock to those in the know – Caven’s been playing good darts recently, and the 10-8 win was good. However, he only averaged 90.99 in that win, hardly setting the world alight. But he did enough, which is the most important thing. He’s been banging in averages of 100+ on the floor, so the game is there, it’s just a question of if he can finally bring it onto the TV.
As for Dave Chisnall, he got a somewhat unexpected first round win, although it was against Paul Nicholson, who is in worse form than Chissy, if that’s possible. Chisnall averaged a lowly 89.95 in his 10-8 win, and only hit 2 maximums, which is unusual for him. The worry is that he can’t up that level, although he might not need to against Caven.
The bookies are favouring Caven here, and I can understand why. However, he didn’t do what he’s been showing on the floor, and maybe, just maybe, his TV nerves held him back. He’s never been a backable player on the stage. Chisnall is also capable of some great darts given the chance, and all he needs to do is get his trebles firing in and he could cruise away from Caven. It’s going to be close, but I think Chisnall can up his game now that he’s got a bit of confidence back and should punish Caven given the chance.
Dave Chisnall to beat Jamie Caven: Best price 11/10.
Recommend: 2 units.
And that’s all the Premium Picks for Day Five of the 2013 World Matchplay. We’ve got 7 matches left, so let’s keep that winning run going.
