[Tennis: 31st December -8th January]

Re: Tennis: 31st December -8th January I'll get involved with the tennis for the first time this season and take 3 over in Brisbane. Nothing too heavy as it's the first matches for the players so plenty of caution in these bets. Iveta Benesova vs Lucie Safarova- Over 20.5 games- 4/5 Bet365- (4/10) Agree with Slider on this one and this line could easily be covered if only 2 sets are played. Neither girl would have been delighted with how they finished last season; Benesova only winning one of her last 5, excluding a bye in Luxembourg and Safarova lost both matches in the Fed Cup. Safarova is traditionally involved in some pretty lengthy matches, with constant shifts in momentum. She is extremely talented when playing well, but consistency in matches is a problem with the Czech as she can go missing at times. In the past this line has been covered in 3 matches out of the 5 played, including over in Austria at the end of last season. First match of the season and expect both to cancel eachother out a bit and if they play out a tight first set, that should see this line through I'd imagine. Even if it isn't that tight, either play is capable of fighting back and I expect at least 21 games to be played in this match. Bojana Jovanovski to beat Casey Dellacqua- 10/11 Coral- (3/10) I really rate Jovanovski as a player and I fully expect her to break into the top 32 in the next year or so if she can play to her potential. The only reason she is the slight underdog in this match is due to her poor form since the US open last year where she won just two matches since the slam, and losing to players she should be beating in the process. We did however see what a talented player she is last season in some of her earlier matches in the season. She reached the semis in Sydney early on last season, beating the likes of Rezai, Pennetta and Kanepi in the process and then took a set off Zvonareva at the Australian Open. She was also competitive against Wozniacki, Wickmayer and Peer at points during the season and if she can repeat those performances this season, she could really climb the rankings this year. Dellacqua actually won 30 matches in a row last season and although that may sound incredibly impressive, it's really not. She didn't play anyone in the top 100 in that time and very few of the players she beat were even in the top 200 which just puts that winning streak into context. All of these events were also in Australia so she would have had home advantage in all of them which would have benefited her. When she did face a couple of better players in Cornet and Kerber though, she won just 8 games in total which shows the difference between her and the players in the top 100. She has had problems with injuries in the past and has required surgery for the last 2 years which has really affected her. When these two players met in their only previous meeting, the Serb won 6-1 6-0 at Wimbledon, and even if the youngster plays decently, I'd expect her to win this one regardless of the Aussie having home advantage. Dominika Cibulkova to beat Daniela Hantuchova- 5/6 Blue Square- (3/10) Initially I was leaning more towards Hantuchova given the head to head between these two girls but after looking into it, I fancy Cibulkova to record her first win over her compatriot here. She ended last season on a massive high after winning the tournament in Moscow, and make the final in Linz the week before. She was one of the most consistent players on the tour last year and made the quarters at Wimbledon and was perhaps unlucky in a lot of tournament with her draws. Hantuchova usually plays her best tennis once the season gets going and is often quite rusty at the start and at the end of the season which. Last season really shows that as she lost her opening 4 matches of the season and her last 4 of the season and I'm not entirely sure why that is, other than a loss of concentration but there could well be a slight laziness factor in there somewhere. Hantuchova has won all 3 meetings between these two girls, but given the way both girls finished last season, Cibulkova was playing much the better tennis of the two girls and I'll back her to pick up from where she left on at the end of last season.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Superb stuff from Wade and Part there, best match of the tournament so far and there has been some competition for that. +3.60 for me this afternoon with the checkout letting me down, as Huybrechts hit a 128 which was quite sickening but Part's comeback made up for it. This afternoon takes me to +41.83 for the tournament. Great stuff from Kev, only a 54pt profit from the afternoon :lol Tonight on paper looks an absolute cracker so let's hope it is. Effectively on Jenkins to win at 12/1 so not taking much in that match but I am in the first. Simon Whitlock to beat Gary Anderson- 7/4 Sportingbet- (3/10) Simon Whitlock (+1.5 sets) to beat Gary Anderson- (3/10) Gary Anderson Most 180s- 4/5 Ladbrokes- (5/10) Gary Anderson Over 10.5 180s- 5/6 Ladbrokes- (5/10) This has the potential to be an absolute fire cracker given the pace this match will be played at and the scoring ability of both players. I am backing Whitlock to come through it though and meet Hamilton in the semis despite this ongoing talk about his injury. However in the first few sets yesterday against Michael van Gerwen it didn't seem to hamper him much and although the youngster missed some doubles, Whitlock's finishing was extremely solid and the way he won the deciding set really impressed me about the Aussie as his ankle seemed okay even after 7 sets. He's scored heavily all week and his finishing has been superb which makes me really fancy him against the Scot. Anderson was superb against Lloyd yesterday, winning sets 2 and 3 in no time at all but it shouldn't be forgotten that Lloyd had a dart at D16 to take the first set. If he took it out the match could well have turned out differently but from then, Lloyd just didn't put enough pressure on Anderson, allowing him to take out his doubles with minimal fuss. Whitlock however will know Gary's game inside out and knows he will get his chances when the Scot misses his doubles and given the Aussie's finishing in the tournament so far, you'd back him to take advantage of those missed doubles from Anderson. We saw in round one against Artut that when he is under pressure to hit his doubles, he'll miss far more than he will hit and Whitlock has the ability to stay close to him with his scoring. His finishing though is usually far superior to Anderson and when the pressure is firmly on Anderson to hit his doubles, knowing Whitlock is just over his shoulder, I'm dubious to how he will cope so I'll have a bit of Whitlock on the handicap and for the win tonight. I can't ignore the 2 180 markets available here. Even though when it comes down to the doubles Whitlock will be more clinical, Anderson's ability to find the lipstick is second to none. He has hit 29 maximums in the tournament so far, and 21 in his last two matches which is phenomenal in truth, especially considering he's only played 11 sets in that time. Whitlock is also a big 180 scorer but he hits a lot more 177s and 174s than Anderson as he switches a bit more. In his previous 2 matches, he hit 5 maximums against Beaton and 12 against Van Gerwen in 7 sets yesterday which is impressive, but still not as prolific as Anderson and although I secretly fancy the Aussie to do a job on the Scot here, Anderson to hit at least 11 maximums and outscore Whitlock on the 180s front looks pretty good to me given how he has scored in the past few days. Adrian Lewis vs Terry Jenkins- Over 15.5 180s- 8/11 Coral- (4/10) Like the match before it, this could be a belter as well. Jenkins in my opinion, perhaps alongside Whitlock, has been the player of the tournament so far and has a chance in this match if he keeps scoring like he has been as his finishing is usually pretty solid. Lewis really hasn't produced the darts he did when he won here last year and was lucky to get past round one. He has played slightly better since then but I think he will know he is going to have to up his game significantly to beat the Bull here and that will mean scoring far more heavily that he has done up to this point. Lewis hit 6 maximums against Thornton and then 5 against Wayne Jones which although isn't bad, Lewis will be extremely disappointed with those stats and will want to hit almost double that amount tonight I'd imagine. We all know what he is capable of doing when he is playing well and if he gets going for a few sets, he could score in the region of 8/9 180s in that time which I think he will have to do at some point given the way Jenkins has played. Jenkins has scored well in the tournament and has managed 13 maximums in his previous 2 matches. I personally give Jenkins the edge here if both players play how they have been doing, but I fancy Lewis to step it up a bit tonight, simply because he knows he has to. I reckon this could well be a pretty lengthy match in truth and it could lead to another super match to watch. If this match does have a lot of legs in, and at least 7/8 sets, I feel that should be enough time for us to see 16 maximums scored by the two players here.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Cheers for the words Kev and Russ, was just highlighting what a shout and a half that was on Hamilton :clap Was due a night like that yesterday to be fair. Could have been a lot worse if Van Gerwen didn't rally at the end and Anderson didn't hit that final 180 with his penultimate darts. May have been a different story if Lloyd hit that D16 for the first set but that's how it goes. -9.80 for last night, bringing me back to +38.23 overall. I'm effectively on Jenkins to win at 12/1 this evening with the quarter bet and still have Lewis as an outright going so one of those will be losses tonight but the other will be in full swing. I'm taking 3 this afternoon though in the first two quarter finals. Andy Hamilton (-1.5 sets) to beat Kim Huybrechts- 11/10 Ladbrokes- (3/10) Highest Match Checkout Over 128.5- 5/6 Sportingbet- (3/10) Now if Hamilton doesn't win this, Kev has every right to track me down and give me 50 punches but I think he will. Besides Anderson arguably, he was the best player on the stage last night averaging just under 100 and his checkout success rate was at 50% was is superb. He has averaged well all week and played some really grueling matches so he would have been delighted to get the job done over Chisnall yesterday in the fashion that he did. Huybrechts has perhaps been the story of the tournament as far as underdogs go. He and his rather pretty (hot) girlfriend have really made the crowd warm to him and as we saw yesterday against Nicholson, you will need the crowd behind you in the latter stages. Nicholson just couldn't cope with the crowd yesterday but Huybrechts just played his own game whilst the camera was fixated on Dana and ran out a comfortable winner in the end. I do think he will lose today here given what we've seen from the Hammer in the tournament. They have both been terrific and nobody could have predicted these two meeting in the quarter final with the likes of Taylor, Barneveld and Chisnall being around so massive credit to the pair of them however Hamilton has that extra experience on the big stage and that could be vital this afternoon. I have no doubt that the Belgian will break into the top 16 in the next year or so and cause many an upset like he has done this week, but I have to fancy Hamilton to just bee too consistent with his heavy scoring and solid finishing today and the handicap is small enough for me to take. Also taking an interest in the highest checkout market as I feel it is a tad low. Hamilton has already hit a 125 and a 120 in the tournament and has had a few chances to take out bigger shots. He missed D18 for that 9 darter earlier on in the tournament and you always feel with the Hammer that he can produce something special when on a finish. Huybrechts hasn't had the biggest checkouts like Hamilton but he has also had chances, but for missed doubles in the combinations. I think a checkout of 129 or higher isn't too taxing for either guy to cover here so I'll take the overs here. John Part vs James Wade- Over 7.5 sets- 11/10 Blue Square- (3/10) I think this one could be a real fight to the death and every break of throw vital as I don't see too many of them happening here. Neither guy has really been tested in the tournament so far, Wade especially so today should be the first real test for both guys. Both players haven't played anywhere near their best but the fact is they really haven't had to. In the early stages against Burnett, Part did look really good, scoring well and finishing everything but was slightly fortunate that Painter went off the boil yesterday and missed big numbers at crucial times. Wade just hasn't been tested in the slightest and that's probably why his stats aren't great but either way, both guys will be up for this one after Taylor was beaten and both will see this as a real chance to win the tournament. They've both won numerous majors in their career so will know how to play on the stage in these big matches so I don't see nerves being too much of an issue for either guy as the match goes on. I think this will be the tightest quarter final of the afternoon session and you wouldn't want to pick a winner as they will cancel eachother out a lot, both on the scoring and finishing. 5-3 either way looks pretty decent enough to me to back, and I wouldn't be surprised if this goes all the way and turns into a real classic.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 LADBROKES WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP.

And the rest of the quarter bets. 1pt A.Hamilton to win 1st Quarter 50/1 Bet365 Stupid price alert. I know Phil Taylor is in this quarter of the draw but Hamilton is no 50/1 shot to win 4 matches whatever his run is I don't think. 2 years ago maybe he would've been but having changed managers he showed at the World Matchplay that he can still play this game and having been a former semi finalist in this competition we know he's capable of winning quarters. If someone were to take Taylor out then someone will win this quarter at a massive price. Let's be fair I don't think too many people will be surprised if Dave Chisnall turns up and beats Taylor. I know I wouldn't be. Even if he doesn't Hamilton showed in the Matchplay semi final that he can live with Taylor. He was only 10-8 down at one stage in that match and over the best of seven sets which would be the distance they would meet at here that equates to roughly 3-2 in sets so Hamilton would be with him. Yes a lot needs to happen for this to land but if Taylor gets knocked out we can effectively chop off the 0 off these odds and at this price I've got to pay to see how this top quarter pans out.

Just in case anyone forgot this bet, just want to reiterate what a cracking shout this is. 50/1 on a guy who is 4/6 favourite tomorrow. Makes all my work in the tournament look a bit redundant. :clap:clap:clap

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Great shouts this afternoon Kev :clap, albeit a little dampened by Part beating Painter to kill the outright which was a shame. +1.66 personally this afternoon with Painter losing taking me to +48.03 for the tournament. Onto the evening session and I like it a lot and could potentially be a belter. Simon Whitlock vs Michael van Gerwen- Over 5.5 sets- 4/5 Blue Square- (4/10) Highest Match Checkout Over 126.5- 5/6 William Hill- (4/10) Was originally looking to back Van Gerwen on the handicap but you can only get the (1.5) line really so I'll take the overs on sets instead. I've backed Whitlock with a handicap in both of his previous matches but feel tonight may be the first one he really struggles with. In Van Gerwen, he comes up against a guy who throws quickly thus not giving him time to take the weight off his injured ankle when he isn't throwing. He'll only have about 10-15 seconds between throws and as the match wears on, that could be a huge problem for the Aussie. He was superb against Smith in the first round but his ankle has worsened since then and he didn't look completely right against Beaton yesterday who missed big numbers at crucial times giving Whitlock opportunities to finish the match off. Van Gerwen was also perhaps a touch fortunate given his average wasn't anything spectacular and King missed quite a few doubles but he was impressive in rounding the match off, hitting a couple of maximums in the process. I just feel this is a poor match for Whitlock given the Dutchman's quick style and when it gets to the latter stages of the match, his ankle could become a real problem. Very close to backing Van Gerwen for the win but I think I'll stick with both guys winning at least 2 sets in this one. I do like the look of the checkout line in this match. A lot of bookies have the price as lower than this and it's understandable. Both are more than capable of hitting big checkouts and finishing off a leg well. Whitlock took out a 125 yesterday against Beaton and is no stranger to taking out a 161 or a 164. Van Gerwen himself has covered this line himself in his two matches so far so I think we could well see a pretty decent checkout in this one. Dave Chisnall (-1.5 sets) to beat Andy Hamilton- 5/6 Bet365- (4/10) Over 12.5 180s- 10/11 William Hill- (4/10) I know there's talk about the 'Taylor curse' here but I don't see Chisnall falling victim to it tonight. He secured the win of his life in beating the Power and it was actually his finishing which was perhaps more impressive than his heavy scoring which we all know he has. He pressured Taylor into missing his doubles and stepped in and took full advantage which is exactly what you have to do to beat Taylor. Andy Hamilton has been the guy to watch for drama and quality matches. Already he has won in deciding sets against Alcinas and Van der Voort and scored heavily and checkout well like we know the Hammer can do. What impressed me most about Chisnall the other day was his reaction to beating Taylor. He kept his feet on the ground and stayed extremely down to earth which hopefully will benefit him tonight. So often do we see a player get their best win over one of the top players and then struggle in their next match. I see Chisnall doing the opposite in truth and wanting to prove that he can win the tournament and is a serious contender to the likes of Wade, Lewis, Anderson and Jenkins who looks superb at the minute. I think he will pick up where he left off against Taylor and win this no worse than 4-2. I am backing both players to hit a fair few 180s tonight though as they are consistently heavy scorers. Hamilton outscored Van der Voort which isn't an easy thing to do and hit 8 maximums whilst Chizzy nailed 8 in just 5 sets against Taylor. Even though I think Chisnall will come through with a bit to spare in the end, given both players' scoring power, 13 maximums looks a touch low to me and either player when they get going could go close to covering it on their own so with both of them combining, I'm happy to back the overs here. Colin Lloyd to beat Gary Anderson- 4/1 Sportingbet- (1/10) Lloyd (+2.5 sets) to beat Anderson- 5/6 William Hill- (4/10) Over 12.5 180s- Evens Ladbrokes- (4/10) Now I'm not one to back Colin Lloyd very often but tonight I think he is in with a real chance given the way he is playing. That 167 he checked out on at the end of the fourth set yesterday was special and won him the game and that should give him tons of confidence no matter who he is playing. He scored heavily and finished well even aside from that 167 and if he repeats that tonight, I think this could be close. I watched Anderson yesterday at Ally Pally and although he improved from his first round match against Jyhan Artut who missed doubles to beat him, he still gave chances to Peterson and a player a little more assured on his doubles, would have had Gary on the ropes again. Of course he will score well, that's a given in his matches, but the doubles I do still expect Gary to miss a shed load more than he hits. Lloyd has finished well all week and if he carries on doing so, he had a shot here I think. I do see him winning 2 sets at the very least because he will get chances with Anderson's finishing from time to time and if he gets enough confidence and momentum going, he could well show us why he was once the worlds number one. Also taking the overs as it looks still to low to me. Yesterday it was at (10.5) and Anderson virtually covered that himself. Tonight it's only a smidgen higher and it looks a few maximums to low. Lloyd hit 6 in 5 sets against Scott Rand yesterday afternoon and is capable of scoring more than that if he finds his range. I really don't see Anderson running away with this tonight and Lloyd should give him a fight. That should give us 6 sets minimum I'm thinking and that should be enough time for them to cover this line.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship May as well do the last match in a separate post so people see it. Kim Huybrechts (+2.5 sets) to beat Paul Nicholson- 8/11 William Hill- (5/10) Over 10.5 180s- 4/5 Blue Square- (4/10) The Belgian has been really impressive in his wins over Dolan and Richardson and he averaged near 100 in that round 2 win over Richardson, even with the crowd firmly behind the Brit early on but that didn't faze Huybrechts in the slightest. His scoring got better and better as the match went on and his finishing has been manly solid throughout the tournament so far. Nicholson played well against Alan Tabern in the second round but to be fair he was never put under much pressure but credit where it's due for a couple of sets he did play really well. The occasion shouldn't get to Huybrechts, mainly because the camera will be on his hot girlfriend more than him but also he has shown he can do in front of the cameras at the European Championship so there shouldn't be many nerves about as he known he has nothing to lose here. If anything I think Nicholson could struggle more with nerves as he is one of the big favourites for this quarter now Taylor has gone. Huybrechts has the scoring ability to put pressure on Nicholson and I'm not sure how well he will cope with that. From what we've seen with the Belgian, if he gets a shot at a double, he looks composed enough to take them out and I'd expect him to win 2 sets minimum here. Both players can score heavily when playing well though and I think the 180 line looks low. Nicholson hit 5 maximums against a relatively easy win over Tabern whilst Huybrechts had 6 to his name meaning the two of them covered this line if just 5 sets in their respective matches. I think this one could go to at least 6 sets and I think we'll see at least 11 maximums between the two here.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Total of +3.88 yesterday after King blew the chance of the quarter as he missed doubles at crucial times. Last nights session was good though, atmosphere was really buzzing. Just glad Pipe didn't take the final match to 7 sets, really is pretty dull to watch. Anyway after the 2 sessions yesterday, my overall stands at +46.37 with Jenkins facing Lewis in the final of that quarter which was the perfect result there. Having 5 in the afternoon session today as the tournament really steps up a notch with most players playing on consecutive days. John Part vs Kevin Painter- Over 10.5 180s- Evens Sportingbet- (3/10) You can get a slightly lower line than this but I really like the price on this line in what I feel should be a really close match. Both players scored well in their second round matches and both should be full of confidence coming into this one. Part has beaten Painter twice before in the World Championship so the Artist, coming off a Players Championship win before Christmas will be looking to for revenge. Painter did show signs in his match against Walsh that he is still capable of missing some doubles but winning that match in the fashion he did in the last set will have meant a lot to Painter. Part was really impressive against Burnett, scoring well and his finishing early on was superb so all the signs point to a really good match here and one I think both players could well bring the best out of one another. Part hit 5 180s in his match against Burnett and a fair few 140s to go with them. Painter although he hasn't hit tons of maximums in the tournament, from watching him I feel he will hit a ton of 180s in at least one match. He has been hitting a lot of 140s and you just get the feeling if he hits a few in quick succession, he will hit quite a lot more. I think this match could well go to 6/7 sets and although I hope Painter wins as I have him to win the quarter, I feel Part could well test him and if this turns into a good match, feel the price is appealing enough to take and back that we will see 11 maximums here. James Wade vs Steve Farmer- Under 20.5 legs- 10/11 Blue Square- (4/10) Under 9.5 180s- 4/5 Coral- (3/10) Neither player has impressed me so far in the tournament but that is for different reasons. Wade really hasn't had any real competition in his two matches against Korte and Klaasen so far and he was never pushed to play well at all. Farmer on the other hand is only here really because Baxter didn't play particularly well and missed doubles whilst Munch did the same and the German missed doubles to go 3-1 ahead and you felt if that happened, there was no way back for Farmer. The fact that Taylor is out now I think will really encourage Wade to be quite ruthless in this match and get it done with as soon as possible and will try and win every leg. His scoring will be far more consistent and his finishing will be no match for Farmer today and Steve will have to play significantly better than he has done in his previous two matches and I don't see him upping his game enough to really cope with Wade and I fancy him to win this one extremely comfortably. Even if Farmer pinches a set the unders could still come through so I'll take the better price on it instead of the handicap. Also taking the unders on the maximums as I don't see Farmer improving his game enough to stay with Wade for the majority of the match. He can be a heavy scorer when he gets into his flow but whether he will be able to do that today is debatable. He throws a lot of loose darts and with Wade putting pressure on him in every leg, I'm not sure how well Farmer will cope with constantly looking to the scoreboard and seeing Wade in his face. Wade isn't the biggest 180 scorer either and if he wins this comfortably, there shouldn't be enough time for us to see a lot of maximums so the 10 180s needed looks high to me and I don't see the two players combining to hit that many.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Going to have to keep these really brief as I'm running late and I'm off to Ally Pally later on. Devon Peterson (+3.5 sets) to beat Gary Anderson- 8/13 Sportingbet- (5/10) Over 10.5 180s- 8/11 William Hill- (5/10) We saw Anderson just about make it through his first round match against Jyhan Artut but that match really summed the Scot up. Heavy scoring but prone to missing doubles. Peterson fought back well to beat Steve Brown so that should have given him some confidence going into this one. The South African can score well and with Anderson always likely to give him chances after missing doubles, I'd fancy him to take at least a set of Gary tonight. Anderson hit 8 maximums in his first round match and he could have hit a ton more whilst Peterson can score heavily as well. The line looks a tad low to me so overs as well. Adrian Lewis vs Wayne Jones- Over 11.5 180s- 5/6 Bet365- (4/10) Wayne Jones has impressed me this week as he isn't really known for his heavy scoring but he has hit 12 180s already in the tournament whilst Lewis has hit 13, really showing what a good return that is from the Wolverhampton man. Lewis hasn't been great in either match really and he may well have a fight on his hands tonight. I expect him to come through but Jones can win his fair share of legs and that should give both players plenty of time to cover this line. Terry Jenkins (-1.5 sets) to beat Justin Pipe- Evens Bet365- (3/10) Jenkins impressed me once more yesterday and he could have won far more comfortably than he eventually did but for some missed doubles in the final stages of the match. Towards the beginning of the match though he was pounding the lipstick and hitting everything within sight and should be fresh from yesterdays win. Pipe played before Christmas where he beat Wes Newton but if it wasn't for Newton's stupid antics on stage and pointing to his watch, he would have won that one. Expect Jenkins to be a lot more professional tonight and don't see him winning any worse than 4-2.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Forum very much back with a bang after Christmas with a ton of winners and kev's outrights look pretty appealing now given the prices he got on them. Really good results from last night gave me +14.36 which takes the overall to +42.49 and we still have a fair way to go in the tournament yet. I'm off to the darts again tonight and the card looks like a cracker so really looking forward to that with Lewis, Anderson and Jenkins all playing. Taking 4 this afternoon though which should also be a pretty decent to watch and agreed with Kev on both. Mervyn King vs Michael van Gerwen- Over 5.5 sets- 8/11 Blue Square- (5/10) Wasn't going to take anything in this match as I still have King to win the quarter but this price looks decent enough for what I see as a pretty close match. Both in truth had it relatively easy in the first round with King failing to drop a leg against Geoff Kime, who struggled in front of the TV cameras and Van Gerwen beating an out of sorts Colin Osborne. Both players were solid in their wins though and both scored and finished well and if they do that today, we could see a really good game. King came into the tournament off the back of beating Phil Taylor last week at the Players Championship and by not dropping a single leg, his confidence should be sky high you'd feel. We've seen what Van Gerwen can do of late though, particularly at the Grand Slam so you really wouldn't want to call this match either way. I give the slight edge to King in this one and I hope he wins to keep the outright going but this could well go all the way to 7 sets. Whoever wins though, I'll back the loser to have won at least 2 sets come the end. Simon Whitlock (-2.5 sets) to beat Steve Beaton- 11/10 Sportingbet- (3/10) If this handicap was at the (1.5) line I'd be all over it like a rash but I've been quite tentative with this line. The underlining fact is if both players repeat their first round performance, Whitlock will win this 4-0 as the Aussie was the pick of the players in the first round whilst Beaton really struggled and but for the crowd, he wouldn't even be playing today. Kev has mentioned that the Bronzed Adonis has had keyhole surgery on his knee so he won't be 100% coming into this match and he won't have the crowd this time as his backup as Whitlock is a big crowd favourite. The Aussie is defending a lot of money this week and next, as well as playing for a Premier League spot so he will really want to make short work of Beaton, like he did against Denis Smith in the first round and give his ankle some more rest. This really hasn't been a happy venue for Beaton who hasn't made it past this stage at all at Ally Pally and I fancy Whitlock to dispose of him this afternoon with no more than 1 set lost. Scott Rand (-1.5 sets) to beat Colin Lloyd- 5/4 Bet365- (3/10) Colin Lloyd Most 180s- 13/8 William Hill- (3/10) I think the handicap bet is always a bet on Rand to win the match as I don't see him winning 4-3 given the way he plays when he finds his range. When he does that he can really rally and run away with matches like we saw in round one against Andy Smith. I was at that match and what impressed me most about Rand was how comfortable he looked and how he seems to love the big occasions in front of the cameras. For a player who hasn't had much experience on the big stage before, you really wouldn't be able to guess that given the way he walks on stage and really doesn't show any nerves when he is there, excluding those missed doubles against Painter the other week. Lloyd picked up a rare TV win in the first round against Darin Young and he did play well, but it must be said Young did go off the boil more and more as the match went on. The win would have given him confidence but he will have to play better to stay with a confident player in Scott Rand. Come the final score though I do expect Cool Hand to win this given his solid finishing and consistent scoring so I'll back him on the handicap at odds against. Although I fancy him to win the match, feel the odds are a little too high on Lloyd to hit more maximums here. Rand will be far more confident on the doubles I feel but Lloyd is still a pretty heavy scorer and can hit a fair few maximums I think. He managed 4 in his opening match and 8 140s to go with it, showing that he can find the lipstick quite frequently. Rand although he didn't lose a leg in the first round, managed 2 180s and can hit a lot more when he gets going as he peppers the lipstick. I do feel that the odds on Lloyd to hit more 180s are a tad high for my liking as he knows he will have to score well to stick with Rand in this one so I'll back Rand to come through in the end, but Lloyd to edge the match in terms of maximums.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship :clap great shout Perry, wish I got on board with that one. Never in doubt ;)

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Good session for kev and me personally with all the bets coming through apart from Van der Voort majorly outscored on the 180s by Hamilton. +11.94 for the afternoon session taking my overall to +28.13. Onto the evening session then and I'm taking 4. James Richardson vs Kim Huybrechts- Highest Match Checkout Over 125.5- 10/11 Bet365- (3/10) Price is slightly higher here than other bookies have it and I'm not really sure why. I personally would have still taken it at the 5/6 price that most have it so the marginally better price I really like. Both players should be really high on confidence after impressive wins in the first round. Huybrechts overcame Brendan Dolan in the first round but it's fair to say that the Irishman really didn't show up. Nonetheless I really like the way the Belgian took out his shots and he generally looked assured on his doubles. Richardson produced the shock of the first round by whitewashing Barney so he should be full on confidence coming into this one. In that match he took out 2 145 finishes and had a couple of other chances to take out big shots. I liked the way both players finished in the first round and I think we could see a pretty decent checkout in this match tonight. Dave Chisnall (+2.5 sets) to beat Phil Taylor- 11/8 Bet365- (3/10) Dave Chisnall Most 180s- 10/11 Blue Square- (3/10) Well a lot of this match will depends on how well Chisnall finishes. We all know about his scoring ability but it is his finishing that lets him down and often lets his opponent in to nick legs and eventually matches. He has though recently started to hit a few more doubles and if he can combine his heavy scoring with some good finishing he is well in contention against Taylor here. The Power hasn't really repeated that unstoppable form he showed in the Grand Slam as he should have been beaten by Jenkins in the Players Championship before King eventually did. Even in the first round against the Japanese qualifier Haruki Maramatsu he wasn't ultra ruthless or impressive in the opening couple of sets, averaging a touch under 95 before he rallied in the final set. The one thing you need to do against Taylor to stand any chance is score heavily and consistently, and that is certainly something Dave Chisnall can do. Although I would fancy Taylor to get the job done eventually and progress, I feel Chisnall will have enough darts at doubles providing he scores well and has more than a chance of taking at least a couple of sets in this one. Taylor only hit 2 maximums in his first round match and hasn't been scoring as heavily as he can do since his Grand Slam win. Even at the Players Championship he conjured up 6 maximums in his 2 matches and an in form Taylor would hit far more than that, so there are certainly questions about the Power's scoring at the minute. As any darts fan will know, Taylor will cover a fair few of his shots as well and head down to the 19s if he feels the line isn't right. Chisnall won't do that and will just look to pepper the lipstick continuously throughout the match. He should outscore Taylor for large periods of this match and although his finishing may not match up to Taylor's, his scoring ability is arguably a touch better, certainly at the minute it is and I'll back Chizzy to hit more maximums tonight. Paul Nicholson (-2.5 sets) to beat Alan Tabern- 6/5 Blue Square- (4/10) The Asset didn't look at his best in the last round against Suljovic but it's hard to really analyse how he is playing at the minute just from that game. He will be more than happy just to have come through it given Mensur's erratic darts and as James Wade found out last year, he isn't the easiest player to beat, let alone play well against. Alan Tabern has really struggled this year, both on the stage and on the floor and has really struggled to score well as we saw in his first round match. If he hadn't have hit some of the big checkouts he did, Perez could well have won that match and unless Tabern can score a whole lot better tonight, he will struggle. I reckon Nicholson will play a whole lot better tonight and if he gets going, he will really score well and Tabern in the form he has been in, could fall behind pretty early on. If Nicholson really wants to show what he is about, after just watching Taylor go out, he will win this comfortably I think, not dropping anymore than one set tops.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Think Kev will agree with me in that last friday's session was hugely frustrating. Could have been a full house in the forum but Painter missed darts for the handicap, Munch missed doubles to go 3-1 up against Farmer and both Wade and Klaasen missed a double to cover the highest checkout. In the end it was a loss of -2.71 for the session which took my personal overall down to +16.19. Hopefully the return after the Christmas break will bring the forum some better fortunes to cancel out some of the bad luck that came before. I'm taking 5 in the afternoon session which I quite like the look of. Terry Jenkins (-1.5 sets) to beat Co Stompe- 10/11 Bet365- (5/10) I fancy Jenkins to win this one with a bit to spare to be honest. Since promising to take the game a bit more seriously and preparing properly for tournaments, we've seen Jenkins really show why he is one of the best players on the tour. At the Players Championship he really should have beaten Taylor and played really well in that match, and he was professional in his first round match against Joe Cullen. He averaged 95 in that match and didn't drop a set so I'd fancy the Bull to be carrying a lot of confidence coming into the remainder of the tournament. Stompe hasn't had a good year at all and although coming through his first match here at Ally Pally, he wasn't ever tested. He only needed to average 88 to win without dropping a set and he will need to average far higher than that if he is to really test Jenkins tomorrow. Jenkins reached the semis here 12 months ago and looks the far better player at the minute given his return to form so I'll back him to win no worse than 4-2 here. John Part to beat Richie Burnett- 11/10 Bet365- (4/10) Under 10.5 180s- 4/5 Sportingbet- (5/10) Quite like the look of Part at odds against here. I was at Ally Pally when he beat John Henderson and despite Henderson not really showing up, Part did what he needed to do and no doubt he'll raise his game to play Burnett. Granted he hasn't done a great deal in the TV events this season but he has played well on the floor and is a past champion so he'll know how to raise his game. There are a couple of things that really make me favour Part in this one though. One being the head to head in which Part has won all 7 of their matches and won the 4 this year very comfortably indeed so that gives him the mental edge in my opinion. Also the fact that Burnett hasn't played since the opening night could work against him and make him a little slow out of the blocks and it isn't easy to work your way back against Part if he goes a couple of sets ahead so I'm happy to back the Canadian as the slight underdog here. Also taking the unders on the 180s as well as 11 maximums looks on the high side to me. Burnett's 11 maximums in the first round was a bit of a freak result to be honest and I certainly don't see him hitting anywhere near as many as that against Part. He is a heavy scorer when he gets going but 11 180s in a match is a fine effort and in my eyes a one off really. Part isn't the biggest scorer of 180s either, as he covers a lot and hits a fair number of 140s. As I mentioned I think Burnett may be a touch rusty at the start which would require Part to hit quite a few and I don't see him doing that so the unders for me as well as Part to win the match. Vincent van der Voort vs Andy Hamilton- Over 10.5 180s- 4/6 Blue Square- (6/10) Van der Voort Most 180s- 11/10 Blue Square- (5/10) The line in the Part-Burnett match looked too high, this one looks ridiculously low. They are both really heavy scorers when the are playing well and will both contribute to cover this line. Hamilton did well to overcome Alcinas in the first round as the Spaniard played arguably the match of his life if we discount the World Cup result. That match should have given Hamilton some confidence going into this one, a match where he hit 8 perfect darts for a 9 darter. Van der Voort really impressed me against Mark Hylton who is really good solid player and the Dutchman had to improve his poor form at the Players Championship to stand any chance in that one. But he did just that and hit 11 180s himself in the meantime which makes me wonder why the line is set this low. Van der Voort covered it himself in his first round match whilst Hamilton hit 5 and showed he is no stranger to the lipstick so I think we'll see at least 11 maximums in this one and probably a lot more if this match really turns into a classic which it could well do. I am backing the Dutchman to score more maximums though and it's hard to not do that when he managed 11 in his first round match. His finishing may not be the best in the world but nobody can doubt his scoring ability when he is playing well. Hamilton we will see hit his fair share of 180s as well, but he will hit more 140s than Van der Voort and also he will switch a fair bit more which helps this bet out so I fancy Van der Voort to repeat his outstanding scoring performance of the last round and hit more 180s than Hamilton this afternoon.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Disappointing session last night with none of the 180 bets coming through meaning -3.3 for the night. Newton also lost so that quarter outright is lost, leaving me on +18.90 for the tournament. Could do with another good night so let's hope tonight is just that. Taking 5 in total. Kevin Painter to beat Mark Walsh- 4/6 Bet365- (7/10) Kevin Painter (-1.5 sets) to beat Mark Walsh- 6/4 Coral- (4/10) Really like Painter to win this one from what I've seen from him in the past couple of weeks. That win in the Players Championship looks to have given the Artist so much confidence which is reflected in his darts and when he plays well he can beat anyone so confidence is a huge thing for Painter. He had to play well against Arron Monk in the first round as Monk played well himself but he scored consistently and his finishing was extremely impressive and Walsh will do well to beat him on that form. Walsh didn't have to play that well to beat Warren French in truth. He was consistent as ever with his scoring and despite losing the first set, you always felt he can pick his game up and win comfortably like he did in the end. He did say after the match that he didn't feel completely right or happy with his darts and that was clearly evident in that first set. He averaged just under 94 in the match which isn't bad, but neither is it fantastic whilst his finishing wasn't as solid as it usually is. Just get the feeling that if he doesn't up his game for tonight, he'll have to be relying on Painter's game dropping and given the form he's in, I don't see that happening. Both players I'd imagine will be pretty solid when throwing first, meaning a fair few 3-2 sets, but in those tight situations, Painter's finishing is far superior to Walsh's right now and that could make a huge difference. Walsh will consistently chip away with his scores but Painter can consistently add an extra 30/40 points to Walsh's score and play at a higher gear than his opponent and I feel that should be enough to see him through this one. James Wade vs Jelle Klaasen- Under 8.5 180s- 10/11 Blue Square- (4/10) Highest Match Checkout Over 125.5- 5/6 Bet365- (4/10) Not entirely sure how this match will pan out to be honest. The head to head doesn't make happy reading for the Dutchman as he has only beaten Wade once and that came in their first ever match. Since then Wade has won the last 13 matches between the pair, with most of the wins being relatively straight forward. Wade wasn't impressive by any means against Korte in the first round but that's understandable given Korte's unorthodox and slow throwing style. Klaasen couldn't be more different in terms of pace as he can finish a leg within a minute and that will suit Wade alot more so there is a lot to suggest Wade may have this all his own way. I'm not confident enough to back Wade on the handicap though, as Klaasen is more than capable of taking a couple of sets but he is erratic at the best of times so feel that is more of a coin toss than anything. I do like the unders on the 180s though and alot of that is down to the fact that Klaasen doesn't hit a lot even when he is finding the treble bed consistently. Anyone who watched him play Peter Wright would have seen that he switches a hell of a lot, even when he has one or two darts in the lipstick which certainly helps the unders here. He hit just 2 in his first match against Wright and I don't see him hitting too many more tonight. That will leave Wade needing to hit a fair few and if he wins fairly easily like many expect him to, he won't have a great amount of time to do that. He isn't the most frequent of 180 scorers anyway, as his main strength lies in his finishing so I don't think we'll see anymore than 8 maximums in this one. I do fancy a pretty big checkout in this one though as both players are more than capable of hitting a big one. We saw 2 170 finishes yesterday :loon as well as a 161 and a 125 from Newton as well. Both of these guys have the power to nail a finish like that which is evident from their past matches. Wade has hit 2 170 finishes on TV against Klaasen before, whilst the Dutchman is no slouch either, nailing a 167 in the Premier League a couple of years ago. Even when he isn't playing well he can hit a big finish seemingly out of nowhere, and with Wade really solid with his finishing, I reckon we have a good chance of seeing at least one pretty decent checkout in this match. Kevin Munch to beat Steve Farmer- 21/10 Ladbrokes- (3/10) I see no reason why Farmer is such a big favourite for this match given what we saw from Munch in his preliminary match and that opening set against Ovens. His throw is solid and he scores well, shown through his 98 average in the first set against Denis Ovens. Even if Ovens had been fit, he would have done well to keep up with Munch if he kept his average around that for the remainder of the match and an average of 95+ tonight puts the German well in contention to win this. Farmer caused an upset in the first round by beating Ronnie Baxter and scored well but it must be said Baxter was well below his best and we saw that Farmer is likely to miss big doubles is key stages of the match. Munch scores well and should be able to keep up with Farmer for the majority of the match and he should get his chances on the doubles. If he takes those, I think he has a real chance of making it past Christmas and sending Farmer home tonight.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Wasn't the greatest session I've ever been to at the darts last night until the match between Brown and Peterson turned into a cracker. Rand looked like he owned the stage as Louis Walsh would say, and Whitlock, well I didn't expect him to play that well. Strange to see a guy who needed help getting on/off the stage come in with a ton plus average. Only worry would be when he gets into the longer matches and he has to stand for prolonged periods but last night he blew Smith away in truth. Anyways +2 units for me last night taking the overall to +24.20. Second round tonight and taking similar bets in all 3 matches. Wayne Jones (-1.5 sets) to beat Roland Scholten- 4/6 Bluesquare- (6/10) Over 10.5 Total Match 180s- Evens Bluesquare- (4/10) Don't see Jones dropping more than a couple of sets here at worst considering how he is playing at the minute. The man from Wolverhampton has had a really consistent last 6/7 months to the season after a slow start and has shown he can mix it with the top players in the past. He's been impressive in the TV events recently, making it to the last 16 of both the Players Championship and the Grand Slam, an event he took by storm in 2010. He was again impressive in his first round match, averaging near enough 95 which is a decent effort and was always comfortable despite his finishing not being great. Scholten said after his win against Jamie Caven in the first round that his shoulder still isn't 100% but he should have gained some confidence after that win. When looking into the match in greater detail though, he didn't have to play that great to win the match. He averaged a shade under 84 and that was with him hitting 7 180s in the process, showing how many sloppy visits he had to the board. Jones can score heavily like Scholten but the difference is Jones will be far more consistent and over potentially 7 sets, although I don't see it being anymore than 5, that consistency that Jones possesses should see him through fairly comfortably so I'll back him on the handicap. I do expect us to see at least 11 maximums in this match which although may look high at first glance, looks pretty reasonable to me. In the first round, together they combined to hit 15 so I don't really see why the line is set this low. Both players played 4 sets in their openers, and I expect this one to last for 5 or 6 sets which should give them plenty of time to rack in the maximums. Scholten isn't the player he used to be, but is still a pretty heavy scorer when he finds his range, and if he puts the first two darts into the lipstick, he'll usually follow suit with the third. He actually hit more 180s than 140s in his match against Caven emphasizing that fact. Jones as he has shown will score his fair share as well so I think we'll see 11 maximums at the very least in this match. Adrian Lewis (-2.5 sets) to beat Robert Thornton- 10/11 Sportingbet- (4/10) Over 10.5 180s- 8/11 Bet365- (5/10) Similar bets to the first match really albeit with a slightly larger handicap for Lewis to cover. I expect Keith Deller would have had some strong words to say to Lewis after he narrowly scraped through against Nigel Heydon in the first round as he was completely outplayed for the first two sets before he finally got going and did well to come back and win. He will know he has to play better to have any chance of making it out of his quarter, let alone attempt to retain his Championship and I do expect him to play alot better tonight. Fair play to Jackpot, he still averaged 96 in the first round which isn't disastrous by any means but I have a feeling he might get into the 3 figures tonight and show us why he is so hard to beat when playing well. Robert Thornton has been quiet in the TV events for a fair bit now but he'll have gained confidence with a good win over Ian White in the first round. His average was in the 90s as well which was pleasing to see as when he plays well, he scores heavily and is really good to watch. The thing with the Scot is that once things aren't going his own way, he will start to shake his head and beat himself up and that could well play a factor tonight. Even if he leaves himself a nice little 2 darter to finish the leg, Lewis is more than capable of taking out a big checkout which will hurt Thornton and it's debatable to how he'll pick himself up if something like that happens. His main strength lies in his heavy scoring but Lewis will match, if not better him so Thornton will have to play out of his skin to really trouble Lewis tonight, and given his recent form on the stage, it's hard to see that happening. Lewis beat him 4-1 12 months ago and a similar score will see the handicap through. I'm backing the overs again on the maximums as it looks low to me once more. In that match 12 months ago, there were 13 180s hit in 5 sets between the two, and combining the first round maximums of the two players, there were 12. As has been mentioned, Lewis wasn't at his best against Heydon but still managed 7, and if he really plays well, he could go near to covering the line on his own. Thornton though will certainly contribute and hit some so even if this does only last 4 or 5 sets like I expect it to, we should see a bunch of maximums hit. Wes Newton vs Justin Pipe- Over 9.5 180s- 4/5 Coral- (4/10) Highest Match Checkout Over 125.5- 5/6 Bet365- (3/10) Carrying on the tradition of backing the overs on the 180s front as once more, it looks to be on the low side to me. Both have varying speeds when they are throwing, but they are both pretty fluent and heavy scorers when they get going. What I like about taking the overs here though which makes this match differ from the other two previous games before it, is that I don't see either play running away with it. Lewis and Jones could well win pretty easily I'd say but I don't see either of these guys doing that. I do expect Newton to have too much for Pipe in the end given Pipe has yet to transfer his form on the floor to the stage but he is more than capable of making this really tight. I really think this could be a marathon, that helped by Pipe taking until after Christmas to finish throwing his 3 darts but we could well see 6 or even 7 sets in this one tonight. Both players hit 2 maximums in their first match but weren't ever seriously challenged in the end as soon as Pipe get going towards the end of the 3rd set in his match. When the two players met at the Matchplay in July they scored 11 maximums between them in 21 legs and I expect we'll see that amount of legs minimums tonight which should give both players the time needed to cover a pretty small line of 10 180s in my opinion. As I've said I expect to see quite a battle between these two guys so I'm backing a decent checkout as well. In that match at the Matchplay, Newton took out a 170 showing he can really take out the big scores whilst Pipe is more than capable of taking out a finish of 126 or higher as well. If this is a real close match, we'll see plenty of legs and in that we should see both guys have chances of taking out a big score so I'll back them to do just that tonight.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Should have stuck to my initial thought which was to back Jenkins on the handicap rather than the 180s but will take that on the chin. A profitable night in the forum by the looks of it, with Kev only nailing a full house. Good stuff. Bit of frustration on my behalf with the Lloyd-Young match falling a leg short which was a tad annoying. Van Gerwen made up for it though which gives me +7.13 for the night and +22.20 overall in what has been a cracking first round. I'm off to Ally Pally tomorrow night to catch the last of the first round matches so I'll do my writeups early as I'm not sure how much time I'll have tomorrow. If the action is half as good as it was tonight, should be in for a treat. Taking 4 for tomorrow then where if things are going wrong, expect to see an unhappy drunk teenager run on and slap Whitlock and co ;) Andy Smith (Most 180s) vs Scott Rand- 13/10 Bet365- (3/10) Fancy the Pie man to outscore hit opponent in terms of maximums here. He has had a pretty good 2011, a year which has seen him win one floor event where he beat Dave Chisnall and reach another final as well where he lost to Anderson. His form on the big stage has been even more impressive though. He reached the last 16 in the UK open and then reached the quarters at the Grand Prix where James Wade beat him. He is a really heavy scorer when he gets going though the Pie man, and can really pepper the lipstick. He hit 2 in his match last week against Wade in the Players Championship but could have had quite a few more, shown through his 11 140s. Scott Rand seemed to come out of nowhere to make the semis in the Players Championship last week, but in actual fact he has had a good year on the floor. He has 3 semi finals to his name, as well as a couple of quarter finals to his name. To be fair Rand isn't bad on the 180 front as we saw last week but the big stage at Ally Pally could well make Rand a little tense up front in the first match of the session, especially given the fact this will be his debut at the World Championship. Smith made the last 16 here last year so will have fond memories and know how to play his best darts, so I'll back him to outscore Rand on the 180s front. John Part (-1.5 sets) to beat John Henderson- 5/4 Bet365- (4/10) The former world champ has had a really good season on the floor but think he'll be the first to admit that he has underachieved on the stage despite nailing a 9 darter at the Matchplay. He has 3 floor wins to his name, along with a shed load of semis and quarters to show to his name but on the TV, he has failed to make it past the last 16. Last weeks performance is one Part will want to just put to one side, with him failing to win a leg against Wayne Jones, missing a ton of doubles in the meantime but I don't see him playing anywhere near as badly as he did then. Big John Henderson hasn't had a great year in truth and making the quarter final of the Grand Prix is the only real thing of note for the Scot this season. He has made a few quarter finals and also one semi, but that came at the start of the year. Since then he really hasn't done alot, and his lack of form and confidence was evident against Justin Pipe last week where he won just one leg, and averaged just over 70. If he doesn't add around 20 points to that average tomorrow night, he'll struggle to make much of an impression. Given how he has played this season and then last week, his darts at the minute don't feel me with too much confidence and I don't see him taking 2 sets of Part tomorrow. Simon Whitlock (-1.5 sets) to beat Dennis Smith- 4/6 Bluesquare- (6/10) Under 5.5 180s- 4/5 Bluesquare- (4/10) Where this price has been plucked from I really don't know. It's around the 1/2 mark with virtually every other bookie which makes this price unusual and misplaced to say the least. Will actually see Whitlock for the second year in a row as I saw him play last year, taking out a 164 checkout I think it was and he did play extremely well to be fair to Whitlock. Since then he has had a good year on the floor and on the stage he has done alright, the quarters at the Matchplay was his best result. He missed the Players Championship and the whole of last month due to a foot injury, but there has been talk that he has been playing extremely well in practice and that he has recovered fully. Even if he isn't at his complete best, where Dennis Smith is getting 2 sets from I really don't know. He doesn't play all that regularly these days, and has only made one quarter final on the floor, and that's about it. He lost 3-0 to Andy Hamilton last year at this stage and I really don't see him taking 1 set off Whitlock tomorrow, let alone 2. I'm also backing the unders on the 180s simply because I don't see Smith winning enough legs to give the bet enough time. Whitlock may take a few legs to get into his stride given his month absence and we will see him switch to 19s a fair bit. 6 maximums just looks a tad too steep, and think it would require Whitlock hitting 5 on his own which I don't see him happening. I'm doubtful whether this match will last more than 11/12 legs in truth in which I don't see 6 maximums being hit.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Cracking game between Anderson and Artut. Great shouts by Kev tonight :clap Having one in the final match. Terry Jenkins vs Joe Cullen- Over 6.5 180s- 5/6 Bluesquare- (3/10) Line looks a bit low to me and the price here is better than most bookies are offering. Jenkins has really started to play well in the last few months after a really quiet season for the Bull in truth. But we saw at the Grand Slam how he seems to have found his form just at the right time, and last week he really should have beaten Taylor after being 4-1 up but he was hitting the lipstick for fun, and could have hit a 9 darter in the opening leg after opening up with 2 180s. Jenkins hit 6 maximums in just 10 legs there and in the Grand Slam he was hitting a fair few as well. We saw earlier that Joe Cullen is a decent player, averaging near enough 95 which is a good effort from the youngster. He managed 2 180s in 6 legs, so he should chip in with a few maximums as well. Jenkins should hit a decent amount though if his recent form is anything to go by, and I reckon both can combine and hit the 7 needed in this match.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Forgot to write the last one. Kev has pretty much covered it though. Gary Anderson vs Juhan Artut Over 6.5 180s- Evens Sportingbet- (4/10) Sacrificed the marginally better price for a marginally higher line. Anderson as we all know will have no trouble in hitting the lipstick and scoring a ton of maximums. As heavily as he scores though, he can blow up on his doubles and that could be where Artut can nip in and pinch some legs, if not a set. He scored pretty well last year against Ovens, where he hit 3 maximums himself so he should be able to contribute to this line as well. Anderson though could almost cover it himself if he finds his range early on which he should do, and 7 maximums doesn't look too taxing for these two to cover.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship -3.92 for me last night in what was a frustrating session of darts, especially with the Hamilton bets. Takes the overall to +15.07. Hoping for better tonight though and taking 4. Will probably be interested in the Jenkins match later as well but we'll see. Colin Lloyd vs Darin Young- Over 16.5 legs- 8/11 Bluesquare- (4/10) Just don't see Lloyd whitewashing Young if indeed he wins at all. Fair play to Lloyd his form has picked up since a really poor start to the season as he's reached a final on the floor and a couple of quarter finals to go with it so he can clearly still go on runs. But he is still far too inconsistent for my liking and since the Grand Prix he hasn't really done anything to give me confidence about the way he's playing that he will win this easily. Darin Young has shown in the past that he can play on the big stage. He's made the last 16 of the Grand Slam back in 2008 and also 2009 and reached the last 32 of the World Championship before as well 2 years ago. Judging by his form this year, it looks as though he hasn't benefited whatsoever from the PDC getting rid of the Desert Classic. He has though shown what he can do in the past, and feel he is more than capable of pinching a set at the least tonight. He can score and finish well and shouldn't be affected by nerves as he knows what it is like to play on the big stage. 4 sets should be enough for the line to be covered and I expect this one to have just that, if not go the distance. Michael van Gerwen to beat Colin Osborne- 10/11 Ladbrokes- (4/10) Van Gerwen Most 180s- 13/8 Bluesquare- (4/10) Missed out on the evens price that Kev got but it's still attractive enough for me to take. In fact both of these prices look high to me. The youngster from Holland has had a pretty decent year, and given that he has recovered from the leg injury he had at the Players Championship, makes me really fancy him to win this one tonight. He has played a lot of darts this year, playing in both the main PDC events and the youth tournaments as well. On TV he has been particularly impressive though, scoring heavily and averaging near the 100 mark whenever we see him on our screens. He comes into this one in good form, having won his group in the Grand Slam, and making a quarter final in Wigan the week after. He was unlucky last week in that Anderson was checking out well for once and that he was hampered by injury. Osborne was pretty shocking it has to be said last week by his standards, with his finishing standing out for the wrong reasons. Van Gerwen should score well and given what we've seen from the youngster recently, have to fancy him to win this one given the form of both players. Also fancy him to hit more maximums than his opponent. As been said, he has averaged near the 100 mark, and scores really well and doesn't struggle in the slightest to find his range on the treble 20. If we just take last week as a comparison of the two players' scoring at the minute, Van Gerwen despite struggling with his leg and not winning a leg, still managed to hit 2 maximums in 6 legs, whereas Osborne failed to hit any in 8 legs, and hit just 4 180s in that time as well. Van Gerwen has looked assured and comfortable on the big stage and the price looks a really tasty one for me to take on Van Gerwen considering both players' form and scoring ability.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Price has dropped marginally as I wrote that.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Glad you got on board bigson. Taking one in the Wade match which I wouldn't have taken if the price was any lower or the line likewise. James Wade vs Petri Korte- Under 4.5 180s- 8/11 Bluesquare- (3/10) Most bookies have set the line at 3.5 so think this is a decent price for the 4.5. Regardless of the talk about Korte's unorthodox, very unorthodox throwing style and very slow at the board, just can't help feel that Wade won't hang about here. After last year he will know that complacency will send him him home for christmas so he should have his head in gear and make sure he gets the job done. I can't see this lasting longer than 10/11 legs to be perfectly honest if Korte plays how he did earlier. He was lucky in winning the preliminary match anyway, and if Wade gets this done quickly, we shouldn't see more than 4 maximums in this one. Wade will switch quite a bit after the first dart so unders looks the call to me.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Full house for me last night but Barney crashed out settling a few outrights as losers meaning it was +17.25 last night, bringing my overall to +18.99. Onto tonight and initially didn't like the match too much, but have taken a fair few in the end. Similar thinking to what's been mentioned. Andy Hamilton (-1.5 sets) to beat Antonio Alcinas- 5/6 Ladbrokes- (4/10) Andy Hamilton Most 180s- 8/11 Sportingbet- (5/10) You sort of know what you're going to get from the Hammer these days on TV. He hasn't had his greatest year but he made the semis at the Matchplay, beating Anderson and Whitlock along the way which shows what Hamilton can do on the big stage. He scores heavily and is usually pretty sound on his doubles which should be enough to get him through here. Alcinas is known in the darting world most notably through his performance in the World Cup, where Spain made the semis but feel he has been overrated since then. His form coming into the World Championship is poor to be honest, not having won a match in his last 3 PDC tournaments. That isn't the sort of form you want to be in really coming onto the big stage and Hamilton should be too consistent for the Spaniard here and I see him winning no worse than 3-1. Also backing the Hammer to outscore his opponent on maximums tonight. He can score well if he finds his range with the first dart and he should be more at home on the stage than Alcinas. In that run in which he made the semis in the Matchplay, he hit 5 maximums against John Henderson, and 9 against Whitlock, before hitting 10 against Taylor, which shows he is more than capable of racking a fair few up on the big stage. Think he will just settle a bit quicker than Alcinas, who isn't the most consistent scorer in the world and win the match in terms of sets, and maximums. Mervyn King vs Geoff Kime- Under 14.5 legs- 5/6 Bluesquare- (3/10) Fancy King to win this one comfortably but taken the unders instead of the handicap as a bit of insurance. This bet will be fine if King wins this easily like most expect, but if he has one really poor set, which from time to time he is capable of, but then comes back after the break and blows his Aussie opponent off the stage then this line could still come into play. King though is playing better these days and scoring well which should be enough to win this one in comfortable fashion. He reached the quarters last week in the Players Championship, and if he plays how he did there, he should more a couple of levels above his opponent here. Kevin Painter (-1.5 sets) to beat Arron Monk- 11/10 William Hill- (4/10) Under 6.5 180s- 10/11 Bluesquare- (4/10) Last week should have done Painter's confidence the world of good ahead of this tournament. He has an impressive record anyway in this tournament but after winning a first major tournament, he should come into tonight with so much confidence. Monk himself won the Youth Championship here last year but he hasn't really gone on and taken the PDC by storm. He has made just one quarter final on the floor this year, that coming in Crawley last month but from what I've seen from the youngster, he does struggle to be consistent enough to trouble the better players. Painter is consistent though, and will checkout well as we've seen from the Artist in the past. That win from last week makes me really fancy Painter to have a decent tournament and he knows he can trouble any player on his day, and he should be far too much for Monk tonight, who I don't see winning more than one set maximum. I'm not entirely sure he will even win one if Painter really gets going to be honest so I'm backing the unders on the 180s. To see 7 between these players is a fair amount, especially considering Painter wasn't exactly hitting them for fun last week. He hit just 1 in 8 legs in his opening round match against Colin Osborne, then failed to hit any against Gary Anderson and then just 6 combined in his two matches previous to the final, where granted he did hit quite a few. But in those early rounds where he didn't hit many, he played arguably more legs than he will have to tonight, and Monk isn't going to be hitting maximum after maximum as he isn't consistent enough. 7 maximums looks a couple too many for me so I'm happy to take the unders.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Can't quite believe Barney missed those doubles at the end of the third, but credit to Richardson. Those 2 145 finishes :notworthy Having two in the final match. Will do these quickly. Over 4.5 180s- 8/11 Sportingbet- (4/10) Over 14.5 legs- 4/5 Bluesquare- (3/10) Fancy the qualifier to do okay here. He impressed me earlier when he came back to win the final leg. What I liked most was his first dart. Very often French couldn't have placed it better and there was a lot of room for two more. Walsh has had a good last few months and hits his fair share of 180s. I do fancy French to perhaps nick a set here though and that should bring enough legs to see a pretty low 5 180s. Don't think Walsh will have this all his own way though so fancy the overs on both markets here.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Really good standard in this preliminary match here. Arguably better quality than the Dolan match before. Be interested to to see the odds in whoever plays Walsh later.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Slight profit of +1.53 in the end last night with the Munch 180s bet made void due to Ovens retiring. bringing the overall to +1.74 which I can hopefully improve on tonight. Fair to say I'm bemused to say the least by Sportingbet. Will do the bets in order of the schedule though. Kim Huybrechts to beat Brendan Dolan- Evens Bet365- (3/10) Quite like the Belgian here as the underdog in a year where he has really shown what he can do. He's already made a semi in a Players Championship event this year, and had darts to make it through to the final in Vienna but Ovens beat him eventually. The European Championship is where he really made some heads turn though where he beat Wes Newton and ran Adrian Lewis close, eventually losing 10-8. He was extremely impressive in that event, averaging in the high 90s so he can obviously play if he gets going. Of course Dolan has had the best year of his career, making the final of Grand Prix in Dublin but I always felt the crowd had a lot to do with Brendan playing well in that event. He didn't do too much in the Grand Slam, and besides one semis appearance since the Grand Prix, he hasn't done alot to be honest. Watched him get hammered in truth by Wes Newton last year where Dolan was really poor, it has to be said. Granted he is without doubt a better player now and is used to playing on the big stage, but Huybrechts is a really good player and he could be one of the players to really emerge in the PDC next year and fancy him to show people what he can do with a win tonight. Dave Chisnall (+1.5 sets) to beat Mark Dudbridge- 5/4 Sportingbet- (3/10) Dave Chisnall (-1.5 sets) to beat Mark Dudbridge- 5/4 Sportingbet- (3/10) I'll try and explain the story to this one. Wrote in the forum last night that I took Chisnall with an incredible (+) handicap, fully expecting Sportingbet to void it as an error, hence the tame stakes. But after double checking this morning with one their customer service workers, they saw no problem in the bet, despite Chisnall being favourite to win the match. The guy actually asked me if there was a reason I was doubting the bet, to which I said no :lol. So in the end they haven't voided it and the bet is still open, which is fine by me, just wish I put a bigger stake on it as Chisnall in my opinion should win this comfortably, but with that handicap he only needs 2 sets which is an early xmas treat I hope. Anyways they've fixed the handicaps now but even so I've still backed him with the opposite handicap, with the price being at odds against. Dudbridge has had a shocking year in truth, on and off the floor, and comes into the tournament in shocking form. All year he's only made one quarter final in a Players Championship event, and has just two wins to his name in the past 11 PDC tournaments which suggests he may be struggling with confidence at the minute with his darts. Chisnall scores heavily, and whilst finishing may not be his strong point, if he scores well enough, he should have plenty of time to finish the legs off before Dudbridge even gets a look in. He won his first tournament in Crawley last month which should have done him the world of good, and he has reached the final of 3 other floor events this year in what has been a very smooth transition for Chizzy from the BDO to the PDC. Chisnall should dominate the scoring, and if his finishing is decent, he should be comfortable here and I don't see Dudbridge given the form he's in, winning more than 1 set. Raymond van Barneveld vs James Richardson- Over 5.5 180s- 10/11 William Hill- (3/10) Barneveld total 180s over 3.5- 10/11 BlueSquare- (3/10) These two lines look ridiculously low to me given their price. Barney has switched back to his old darts recently and that has led to the Dutchman bombarding the lipstick like he did so memorably in the final when he beat Taylor. We saw an indication of the heavy scoring last week in the Players Championship, where he hit an incredible 8 maximums in just 9 legs against Baxter, averaging near the 105 mark, and against Scott Rand he hit another 7, just emphasising how the switch back to his old darts have really helped him be devastating in terms of his scoring. On the doubles he still isn't back to his best yet and that could give Richardson a few legs, and perhaps even allow him to pinch a set. Richardson has shown he is no mug on the floor this year, reaching a final of a Players Championship event. The youngster beat Whitlock and Nicholson in Germany before losing to Colin Osborne in the final so he can certainly play and Barney will have to put in a decent shift to beat him. Even so, Barney could cover both lines on his own with consummate ease if he gets going. The 4 180s needed from his individually looks extremely low to me, and the 6 overall, I expect Richardson to hit a couple himself so the 7 maximums needed looks very achievable to me.

[2012 PDC World Darts Championship]

Re: 2012 PDC World Darts Championship Btw, that finish by Suljovic- :clap To go for the finish on bull for a 121 when your opponent isn't even on a finish is stupid, but in this case, sublime.