Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec

[kevshat]

With the World Championships just over a week away 32 players will have the perfect preparation as they play in the finals of the Players Championship. Unlike last year, the tournament is televised this year with all 4 days on ITV4 in the UK and it should be an interesting weekend with Taylor, Anderson, Wade and Barneveld all in the same half of the draw. With one eye on the Worlds this is sure to be a competitive event and one I expect to see some good arrers in. Draw: Justin Pipe (1) v John Henderson (32) Mark Webster (16) v Steve Beaton (17) Vincent van der Voort (8) v Co Stompe (25) Dave Chisnall (9) v Alan Tabern (24) John Part (5) v Wayne Jones (28) Mark Walsh (12) v Mark Hylton (21) Wes Newton (4) v Richie Burnett (29) Peter Wright (13) v Denis Ovens (20) Gary Anderson (2) v Michael van Gerwen (31) Colin Osborne (15) v Kevin Painter (18) Phil Taylor (7) v Terry Jenkins (26) Mervyn King (10) v Colin Lloyd (23) Ronnie Baxter (6) v Raymond van Barneveld (27) Jamie Caven (11) v Scott Rand (22) Paul Nicholson (3) v Steve Brown (30) James Wade (14) v Andy Smith (19)

[Samba_SamPa]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec Beware, if you're contemplating an e/w outright bet - Paddy, Stan and Skybet are all offering just 1/3 the odds 1-2, as opposed to 1/2 the odds 1-2 everywhere else. Bandits!

[kevshat]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec This starts in just under an hour but with the lop sided draw there's some cracking value in the outright market. I'll hit two with a small bet on one of my favourites who is overpriced again. 1pt ew D.Chisnall to win Players Championship Finals 25/1 Boylesports (1/2 1,2) It's pretty well known what I think of Dave Chisnall and although I took him in the Grand Slam and he bombed out early I'm prepared to give him another go because he had a rotten group in that tournament and it isn't as though he played badly in the tournament. Assuming his doubles hold up I think he has the potential to go very far in this event. There's absolutely nobody in his half of the draw with the scoring power that Chisnall has and in a couple of his matches he should be so far clear with the scoring that he could afford a couple of misses on his doubles and not be punished. Only Mark Webster is anywhere near the top 10 in the world in the 1st quarter and only Wes Newton is the main seed in the second quarter so I really do feel Chizzy has a fantastic chance this week. I don't know if he is a studier of the rankings but if he is then he'll know he could do with a decent week this week because he runs into Taylor in the second round at the World Championship. The £24,000 runners up prize here would more than make up for the difference in money between meeting Taylor earlier in the worlds than he would've liked so I'll take Chisnall this week. 1pt ew M.Hylton to win Players Championship Finals 66/1 Boylesports (1/2 1,2) Mark Hylton is another player who I like and who I expect to go well this weekend. He has a real determination about him and as long as he can get past Mark Walsh in the first round the tournament will then be just the right length for him to do some damage. We've seen in tournaments gone by that nobody fazes him and he performs to a high level against any of them. In recent TV tournaments he has had tricky draws which have hampered him but he really couldn't have asked for a better draw this week with the main four in the other half of the draw. There's some decent dosh to be made this week which could propel Mile High right up the rankings and if he arrives with the form he showed in the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix I wouldn't be surprised were he to make it all the way to the final if not beyond. At 66/1 with the draw he's got this price is one which I think is blinding value. 0.5pts ew P.Wright to win Players Championship Finals 100/1 Betfred (1/2 1,2) I don't normally take two outrights in the same quarter as I believe in my judgement for one outright but at this price I can afford to cover Peter Wright because having backed him for the Worlds I will kill myself if he goes in here as well. As with Hylton he has a lovely draw and I really see him going very close this week. He isn't a nobody anymore like this price would suggest. He's firmly capable of holding his own against anyone on the TV now as he showed in the World Grand Prix where he pushed Taylor all the way and with his consistent scoring, textbook throw and good checkout ability 100/1 is just oo big on Snakebite this week with the draw as open as it is in the top half.

[kevshat]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec Going to have a few match bets tonight. Will post them in a couple of posts though because I'm betting in the first match which starts soon. 4pts S.Rand to beat J.Caven 6/5 Blue Square Scott Rand is one of the players making his way up the rankings but he can definitely play. He's made a couple of semi finals on the floor this season where he's lost to Phil Taylor but he has wins over the likes of Beaton, Van der Voort, Pipe and Caven himself along the way. He also has a couple of wins over Mark Webster and wins over Whitlock, Anderson and Newton to his name so make no mistake this kid can play. Jamie Caven can play as well it must be said but he seems to go AWOL whenever there's a stage involved and if anything he's perhaps under more pressure tonight because he will believe this is a match he can win unlike first round draws against the likes of Anderson and Wade. Despite the players he's played on the box recently it has to be said his performances have been of those that suggest he isn't comfortable on the stage. Scott Rand put up a fair effort in the Matchplay against Wayne Jones and if he can repeat that tonight I think he can be the first man into the last 16 at Jabba's expense.

[kevshat]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec 4pts W.Jones to beat J.Part 11/10 Blue Square Wayne Jones is a solid player and I feel the length of this match could play into his advantage because all year I've noticed John Part has been a slow starter in his matches. In a race to 6 you snooze, you lose and that could be Part's downfall. Wayne Jones is one of those players who will be giving it his all in 'lesser' majors like this one whereas with everything he's achieved in the game you just know John Part will be having more than one eye on next week particularly as he'll fancy his draw a lot. Although Part has gone well on the floor this year he hasn't really performed on the box at all in 2011 and I'm sure a lot of that is because of the pressure he puts on himself to show the world how well he's playing on the floor. That can wait until next week though as I believe Wayne Jones will dump the Canadian out this evening.

[kevshat]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec Probably the last one from me tonight although I do like one in the last match so I might yet bite the bullet with it. 3pts R.Burnett to beat W.Newton 9/4 Betfred Richie Burnett has had a very good comeback year. Having performed well on the UK Open stage he then made the semi finals of the World Grand Prix having beaten Gary Anderson along the way that week. He's won a tournament on the floor too which has got him into this event and he must rate as a live danger with the draw the way it is this week. Wes Newton has been one of the better players on the floor for a good while and he's had probably his best year both on the floor and on the box. Having made the quarter finals of the World Championship he then made the final of the UK Open but he didn't play very well in the Grand Slam and I just wonder if the amount of darts he's thrown is getting to him. He can be a slow starter. We saw that in the Grand Prix when Lloyd took the first set off him without losing a leg and in the Grand Slam when he went 2-0 down to Magnus Caris. Caris missed doubles to let him back in but I'm not completely convinced Richie Burnett will. I think the Welshman will fancy the job here and at 9/4 I think he's well worth a value punt particularly with Wes guaranteed to have looked at the draw and thought he's in with a real chance this week which will only add more pressure to himself.

[Samba_SamPa]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec You need to hunt Burnett down and give him a slap if he spoils your clean sweep here. 4-0 potentially if he hadn't missed 2 big numbers :wall

[PerryPFC]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec

You need to hunt Burnett down and give him a slap if he spoils your clean sweep here. 4-0 potentially if he hadn't missed 2 big numbers :wall

If you include that missed dart at tops before the break... It could easily be 5-0... As it is... He's 3-2 down! Crazy! But I have a feeling that break came at the right time... :hope for a Burnett fightback!

[dabic]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec Hi guys! My tip for today... Pipe - Henderson / Pipe to win @ 1.62 / stan james / Players Championchipt I really see Pipe wining number 5 in row over Hendo, Pipe won last 4 meatings all happend this year and all in short format to 6 legs, the resoults where 6-4 6-1 6-0 6-5...Also Pipe recent form is really good having 8 wins and just 2 losses in last 10 matches played, Hendo on other hand has 4 wins and 6 losses in last 10, also he lost last 3 in row against Wade, Jiwa and Marko Jones, two od those last loses are from lower ranked players.

[BIG X]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec 2pts - Pipe v Henderson - Henderson @ 2.37 Bet365 Firstly let me say :welcome Dabic. However I don't think you are correct with your stats on Pipe and Henderson. Unless you are talking about some floor events I might have missed :unsure I do know Henderson beat Pipe 0-2 in the World Grand Prix going on to beat Wes Newton before loosing to Dolan in the Quarter finals. Henderson is a decent player who scores well and has no problems on the big stage. Pipe is without doubt one of the best players on the floor right now, but for me he hasn't quite taken that form to the big stage. He failed to get out of his group in the recent GSOD only managing to beat an out of form Jenkins on the 1st night. If Pipe brings his floor form tonight then he could well take out Henderson. However for me the odds on Henderson are just too big in such a short format and I will have a small play on a bit of an upset here.

[dabic]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec yes some of wins are from the floor events...

Date	Competition	Player1			Player2	Round
16-Oct-2011	John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic	Justin Pipe	6	5	John Henderson	Last 16
28-Aug-2011	PDPA Players Championship Canada	Justin Pipe	6	0	John Henderson	Last 16
27-Aug-2011	PDPA Players Championship Canada	Justin Pipe	6	1	John Henderson	Last 32
27-Mar-2011	PDPA Players Championship UK	Justin Pipe	6	4	John Henderson	Last 64

[kevshat]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec Last night was going along ok until the ref in the Burnett game couldn't count properly and that broke Richie's rhythm and he never recovered it. +4.2pts for the event so far though with Hylton going out. Onto tonight and there's a few I fancy on what should be a cracking night of arrers. 6pts D.Chisnall (-1.5 legs) to beat A.Tabern 8/11 Boylesports Really confident with Chisnall tonight. These two met in the opening round of the World Grand Prix when Chisnall had a complete meltdown on his doubles but doubles is the aim of the game in that format whereas tonight Chizzy can bully Tabern with his ultra high scoring and really put the pressure on the Saint. Alan Tabern isn't having a great time of it at the minute. He's not been the last 16 of any event, floor or stage, since the end of May which is a long time without at least a quarter final. He's entitled to play better tonight with the Worlds next week and the practice I assume he'll have put in for that but without putting too fine a point on it when both play well Chisnall will win. Winning that tournament last month will have eased the concerns over his doubles and I'm very confident Chisnall wins this by at least 2 legs tonight. 4pts K.Painter vs C.Osborne - Over 9.5 legs 10/11 Blue Square Bookmakers can't split these and to be honest neither can I. Whichever way I look at it all I can see is a very tight game. Both have been guilty of finding ways to lose tight matches whenever we've seen them on the box this year and I see this one could go right the way down to the final leg. 5 of the last 7 matches between these two have had at least 10 legs in them out of the possible 11 and I truly feel tonight will too. Both should be playing well with the World Championship so close and when both play their best there ain't a lot between them. Barring a complete meltdown on either side I think this will end 6-4 or 6-5 one way or the other. 4pts J.Pipe (-1.5 legs) to beat J.Henderson Evs Skybet Justin Pipe comes into this match as the number one seed and with a bit more attention on him but I think he's mature enough to deal with that and I think the no1 seed will spur him on to finally showing the world his best darts on the telly. The crowds in Doncaster are never overly raucous so it won't be too dissimilar to a floor event in many ways. Big Hendo has an insane record in TV majors in both the PDC and the BDO. He's never lost a first round match in a televised tournament but he comes in here under an injury cloud. In Wigan a couple of weeks ago he was having trouble with his throwing hand where he was losing feeling in it and getting pins and needles and sounds like he was getting some tendonitis in it. Clearly that's not helpful and true to form Henderson lost in the first round of both events that weekend to opponents he would normally eat for breakfast. Mind you there isn't too much Big Hendo wouldn't eat for breakfast but I digress. Even when he's on normal health he has a style which has to go erratic at some point and Pipe's 4-1 H2H against the big man is no fluke I don't think. Pipe will enjoy conditions in Doncaster more than the other TV events and we should see some solid arrers from the former cage fighter. If we do he'll win no worse than 6-4 and even if we don't if Hendo is still having hand issues Pipe will still win no worse than 6-4. 4pts T.Jenkins (+3.5 legs) to beat P.Taylor 8/11 Bet365 1pt T.Jenkins to beat P.Taylor 11/2 Ladbrokes Terry Jenkins came back to form in the Grand Slam last month and promised he would take the game more seriously off the back of that and if he does I would expect him to trouble The Power tonight. If we go through Taylor's last 3 televised knockout first round matches you would have to say he's struggled which was a feature of his career for 10 years or so until the last 12-18 months. In the Matchplay, Mark Hylton took 8 legs off him in a 10-8 defeat and Taylor was wobbling at one point as Hylton came back to him. In the European Championship, a tournament Taylor blitzed in the end, unknown Greek John Michael took 3 legs off him in a best of 11, the same number we need from Jenkins tonight for the handicap while at the Grand Prix he was gone against Peter Wright before a 164 checkout swung that match right around and even then he only just came through. So Taylor does struggle in these short format opening rounds so I fully expect Jenkins to take three legs tonight and if he plays well and the luck goes with him at the key times coupled with the odd missed double from Taylor etc etc Jenkins could sneak this one. At 11/2 I'll pay to see if The Bull can get to 6 but I'm quite confident he'll get to 3. 3pts M.van Gerwen (+2.5 legs) to beat G.Anderson Evs Sportingbet This is the sort of match I love taking Gary Anderson on in. A guy who can score heavily himself and who is ultra good on his doubles when he's on form, and as we saw in the Grand Slam, the wonderkid van Gerwen is very much on form. Gary Anderson was runner up last year in this event but we've seen it throughout 2011 how he will miss his doubles when he is put under pressure. Van Gerwen has the game to put him under pressure. Van Gerwen has a 4-3 H2H record over Gary Anderson which doesn't surprise me and he's won two of the last three meetings so I think he has every chance tonight and wouldn't be at all surprised if he caused an upset. I understand the Scot is suffering from a touch of the man flu as well so Van Gerwen really has every chance here but at even money I think the more sensible play is for MVG to win 4 legs which I think he will.

[BIG X]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec

2pts - Pipe v Henderson - Henderson @ 2.37 Bet365 Firstly let me say :welcome Dabic. However I don't think you are correct with your stats on Pipe and Henderson. Unless you are talking about some floor events I might have missed :unsure I do know Henderson beat Pipe 0-2 in the World Grand Prix going on to beat Wes Newton before loosing to Dolan in the Quarter finals. Henderson is a decent player who scores well and has no problems on the big stage. Pipe is without doubt one of the best players on the floor right now, but for me he hasn't quite taken that form to the big stage. He failed to get out of his group in the recent GSOD only managing to beat an out of form Jenkins on the 1st night. If Pipe brings his floor form tonight then he could well take out Henderson. However for me the odds on Henderson are just too big in such a short format and I will have a small play on a bit of an upset here.

That couldn't have been further away. I still think it was probably worth a couple of points small punt though. Good shouts as always Kev and well done dabic :ok

[kevshat]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec Cheers mate. Hendo's injury did you no favours. Without the injury I thought your call would've been the right one :ok. Up and down night. No idea what Osborne was throwing at but he wouldn't have hit a double if they were as wide as the single. Would've been nice had Jenkins won but +3.3pts for the night which makes me +7.5pts for the tournament so far with two outrights running into the weekend. Back soon with tomorrow's fancies. Don't forget there are two sessions tomorrow :ok.

[kevshat]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec One early bet for me on Saturday. Will come back with more when all the markets are priced up fully. 5pts R.Barneveld vs S.Rand - Over 5.5 180's Evs Blue Square Other firms have this line priced up at 4/6 so the evens is a real big price and why it is a big price is because finally after years of deserting them Barney's new management have sent him back to his old darts, the darts he beat Phil Taylor in that World final with and the darts which he hit 21 180's in that final with. Raymond Barneveld was a serial 180 hitter when he first came over to the PDC and having finally gone back to his old darts I think that is a trend we are going to see with him again now because the darts lay lovely in the bed for him to stick mates alongside. This bet isn't all about Barney though. 'Cool Hand' can hit the 180's as well. He hit 3 against Jamie Caven in the opening round and with not a lot to lose in this match he should be able to let the arm go and let the darts flow. Barney hit 8 180s against Ronnie Baxter in the last round in a devastating scoring performance and while he may not hit 8 in this match I certainly think he can be good for 4 or 5 if not the full 6 we require. I said in the Grand Slam that I expect Barney to go well in events now he has ditched his manager. He was crap in the Grand Slam but I'll give him a second chance especially now he's gone back to his old arrers which is a move I've mentioned about him doing in threads gone by on PL. How far he'll go this week remains to be seen as does who wins this match but whoever wins it I believe they will win a match which has contained at least 6 180's.

[dabic]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec Hi guys... for me today one single....Mark Walsh 15:05h CET / M.Walsh - W.Jones / 1 / 1.79 / pinnacle / Boath schowed a good game in first round, Jones 6-0 win dosent look scary to me as Part was really poor and I could beaten him in that form. Walsh was solid as allways, like him more after GSD his floor confidence improved more after that semi. H2H is 9-9 but this season Walsh owns Jones with 4-1 losing that one thight match 6-5. Walsh all the way today! stake: 6/10

16-Oct-2011	John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic	Wayne Jones	6	5	Mark Walsh	Last 16
11-Oct-2011	Championship League Darts	Mark Walsh	6	1	Wayne Jones	Group Stage
29-Sep-2011	Championship League Darts	Mark Walsh	6	4	Wayne Jones	Group Stage
29-Jul-2011	European Championship	Wayne Jones	5	6	Mark Walsh	Last 32
26-Mar-2011	PDPA Players Championship UK	Mark Walsh	6	3	Wayne Jones	Last 16
27-Feb-2011	UK Open Qualifier	Mark Walsh	6	4	Wayne Jones	Last 32

[tadley]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec

No idea what Osborne was throwing at but he wouldn't have hit a double if they were as wide as the single. .

Slightly off topic but given the respective form shown by Van gerwen and Osbourne I'm surprised to see that the bookies cant split the pair in the world champs. Van Gerwen best price 10/11 Ladbrokes.

[dabic]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec

Hi guys... for me today one single....Mark Walsh 15:05h CET / M.Walsh - W.Jones / 1 / 1.79 / pinnacle / Boath schowed a good game in first round, Jones 6-0 win dosent look scary to me as Part was really poor and I could beaten him in that form. Walsh was solid as allways, like him more after GSD his floor confidence improved more after that semi. H2H is 9-9 but this season Walsh owns Jones with 4-1 losing that one thight match 6-5. Walsh all the way today! stake: 6/10

16-Oct-2011	John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic	Wayne Jones	6	5	Mark Walsh	Last 16
11-Oct-2011	Championship League Darts	Mark Walsh	6	1	Wayne Jones	Group Stage
29-Sep-2011	Championship League Darts	Mark Walsh	6	4	Wayne Jones	Group Stage
29-Jul-2011	European Championship	Wayne Jones	5	6	Mark Walsh	Last 32
26-Mar-2011	PDPA Players Championship UK	Mark Walsh	6	3	Wayne Jones	Last 16
27-Feb-2011	UK Open Qualifier	Mark Walsh	6	4	Wayne Jones	Last 32

2-8 izzy :ok

[kevshat]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec Barney covered that spread on his own. 3 for tonight. 5pts D.Chisnall vs C.Stompe - Over 6.5 180's Evs Blue Square This line looks really low to me. Between them in the opening round these two hit 6 180's in two pretty easy wins. I expect this match to be a lot closer though so in turn I expect there to be quite a few legs in this match. Dave Chisnall is an exceptionally heavy scorer and over this distance he's quite capable of covering this line on his own but I expect Co to chip in with a few 180's himself. Co will have to score well to stay with Chisnall but he's a very competent 180 scorer in his own right. I don't know if this line is one which fails to realise the extra length of these matches but I would expect these two to average somewhere around 1 180 every two legs. I don't see it being won any easier than 8-4 so with that in mind I like the look of the overs here. 4pts J.Pipe to beat M.Webster 11/8 Boylesports Justin Pipe was quite impressive last night and as I suspected and still suspect I think he's about to really unleash his floor game on the TV stage. Whether he does it at somewhere like Ally Pally with the noise, the razzmatazz and the glitz and glamour who knows but I do believe he will go well in Doncaster this week where everything is a bit more low key. Mark Webster was solid enough in beating a disappointing Beaton but missed doubles are really starting to creep into his game and that's a worry for all Webster fans because he doesn't score heavily enough to be able to get away with missing a batch of doubles. When Pipe plays well he scores heavily and checks out strongly and at a price this big I fancy him to win this match. 4pts G.Anderson vs K.Painter - Over 6.5 180's 5/6 Ladbrokes This is another line which looks way too low. Gary Anderson could cover this on his own if he clicks into gear. He hit 4 last night in 6 legs so I would imagine he will be pushing this line. Although I'm not as confident in Painter's mentality when he's behind that he'll give it his all and hit 180's he certainly has the talent and the throw to do some damage around the 60. If Painter keeps close and keeps his interest and enthusiasm in the match then this line should be covered comfortably. The worry is that it becomes a blowout and if it does we will need Anderson to do most of the 180 hitting. That's not impossible but rather than go stronger on a line I feel is wrong I'll stick to a medium stake with the doubts about Painter's mindset in my mind.

[dabic]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec hi guys... lets make it 3 in row ;) stake 7/10 17:05 / M.Webster - D.Chisnall / over 14.5 legs / 1.73 / Blue Square / At the moment in H2H stats Webster hold a 3-0 lead....he won all the games this season since Chisnall joined PDC, the wins where 6-5 6-4 6-5, so all closed matches in this short format, today its played best of 17 legs but no matter that boath players playing good scoring good a little better at the moment is Chissy in my option. Over 14,5 looks very easy I dont see 9-5 score or lower here! Good Luck!

[dartscricketexpert]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec Newton v Walsh over 6.5 180s @ 4/5 Paddy power 5pts This line is 7.5 with some bookies and I think 6.5 is quite generous.Walshie looked good yesterday and hit a fair few.Newton hit 5 against Burnett and as this should be a close game there will be plenty of chances and it should be cleared comfortably Wade v Rand Rand + 3.5 @ 4/6 paddy Power 4pts __ Rand to win @ 10/3 2pts Rand has been the most impressive player for me this week.He beat Barney yesterday despite Barney scoring heavily and hitting 7 180s.Wade was well below his best yesterday and if Brown wasnt so poor himself Wade would of been knocked out.He averaged just 88 against Brown.On top of that Rand has the highest average of the 8 remaining players.The odds are too good to turn down

[dartscricketexpert]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec Scott Rand to win Players Championship @ 33/1 Boylesports 2 pts As I mentioned above Rand has the highest average of the 8 remaining players.He is playing like he has decades of tv experience.Rand did not lose his throw once yesterday against Barnie.The tournament is wide open now without Taylor,Anderson and Lewis and I reckon Rand will take advantage of this.At 33/1 I am gonna take it on

[kevshat]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec 3 for me this afternoon. 4pts S.Rand (+3.5 legs) to beat J.Wade 5/6 Skybet 2pts S.Rand to beat J.Wade 7/2 Skybet Scott Rand has played really well this week and while at some point he is going to suddenly realise where he is and potentially panic I don't think it will be here because Wade is such a warm favourite. Let's be honest James Wade is going to have woken up tonight and thought this is his tournament to lose now. All the big names are out and his path to the final in terms of rankings of potential opponents appears quite a comfortable one however he hasn't really played well this week yet unlike Rand who has thrown a 99 and 98 average in his first two matches. What he has done is he's held through well and that leads me to believe Wade won't win this by two breaks of throw. Rand is scoring heavily enough to keep interested on Wade's legs and to make sure he's at the double first most of the time on his throw so I expect him to win at least 6 legs and if there isn't an improvement in Wade's game or the pressure of being the favourite gets to him I think Rand will have every chance at 7/2 as well. 4pts K.Painter to beat M.King 7/4 Ladbrokes Kevin Painter played one of his best matches on TV last night when he took out Gary Anderson. Let's be fair Anderson did a no show but sometimes that can make the opponent falter because you spend more time putting pressure on yourself because you know you have to take advantage when he isn't playing well as you believe someone like Anderson will kick in eventually. He didn't though and Painter came through and he has a much easier draw than he expected to have in this quarter final. Mervyn King did exactly what you have to do to Taylor last night. He got ahead of him early on and stayed ahead of him and when you do that Taylor will miss doubles. He can blame the crowd until the cows come home but that's a bit rich for someone who's opponents cop it non stop when he plays. The simple fact is King outscored Taylor and hit more doubles. However King now faces the curse of beating Taylor on TV. It's such an emotional high and the comedown is dramatic so to then have to get back up for the job just over 12hrs later isn't easy as Adrian Lewis, Steve Beaton and Mark Webster have all found over the last 15 months. They all beat Taylor on TV and lost the next match. Paul Nicholson fell the same way in the UK Open last year as well and with Painter playing as consistently as he is at the minute I think King will fall foul of the curse this afternoon.

[PerryPFC]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec

Newton v Walsh over 6.5 180s @ 4/5 Paddy power 5pts This line is 7.5 with some bookies and I think 6.5 is quite generous.Walshie looked good yesterday and hit a fair few.Newton hit 5 against Burnett and as this should be a close game there will be plenty of chances and it should be cleared comfortably Wade v Rand Rand + 3.5 @ 4/6 paddy Power 4pts __ Rand to win @ 10/3 2pts Rand has been the most impressive player for me this week.He beat Barney yesterday despite Barney scoring heavily and hitting 7 180s.Wade was well below his best yesterday and if Brown wasnt so poor himself Wade would of been knocked out.He averaged just 88 against Brown.On top of that Rand has the highest average of the 8 remaining players.The odds are too good to turn down

Some great calls there fella :clap and Kevshat :clap 33/1 looks big on Rand now!

[dartscricketexpert]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec Good start to the day and that outright on Rand will make it an interesting night. King v Painter over 6.5 180s @ evens 5pts Boylesports Once again,a low enough line to get me involved.If this match is as close as I think it will be then we should see at least 14/15 legs.Both of these guys can hit 180s with ease and I see it as a 70% chance or more that this line will be covered

[dartscricketexpert]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec

Some great calls there fella :clap and Kevshat :clap 33/1 looks big on Rand now!

Cheers,and well done Kevin,Rand now 7/1 with Boylesports

[kevshat]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec Good luck with Rand tonight DCE. Been the player of the week back none. Here's hoping it's a Rand vs Chisnall final :hope

[kevshat]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec Semi finals begin soon so will do bets in two posts. Good luck to all those on Rand tonight. 4pts W.Newton (-1.5 legs) to beat M.Webster 5/4 Skybet I've not been impressed with Webster all week and it's a bit of a mystery how he is still in this tournament because he's missed so many doubles it's untrue but he is in this semi final and probably thinks now he's the favourite to win the tournament. He isn't going to get away with missing this many doubles tonight though I wouldn't think and he hasn't got the scoring to really pull away from Newton to give himself the luxury of missing a few. He was fortunate that Pipe didn't put him away last night and he was lucky Chisnall didn't score for 12 legs. Newton is playing well and has had no such problems really. It was hard not to be impressed with his comeback against Peter Wright when many players wouldn't panicked when the kitchen sink and the garage was coming his way. Wes stayed strong, got his chance and took it then against Walshie he got in front and rammed home the advantage for a solid win. Webster went through nearly every emotion thinkable in his match against Chisnall and that only finished an hour and a half before this semi final. Wes has had his feet up since 2.00 and wasn't really emotionally tested. I expect Wes to win this semi final as I think he has the form this week and the schedule today both in his favour and I expect Wes to win no worse than 10-8.

[deise]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec Painter Vs Rand 5 Points Rand most 180's @11/10 paddypower So far in this tournament both players have played 36 legs. In 36 legs Painter has only managed to hit 3 180's while Rand has hit 9. While I was waiting for the prices to be posted on PP I was expecting Rand to be around 4/5 for this market, so the 11/10 represents great value.

[kevshat]

Re: Darts: Players Championship Finals 8-11 Dec And the second semi final. 4pts S.Rand to beat K.Painter 6/5 Betfred 4pts Over 16.5 legs 8/11 Blue Square This should be an intriguing semi final because we have a player who hasn't appeared at this stage on TV since the UK Open in 2009 and he takes on someone playing his first televised semi final so there is bound to be a few nerves around. This will funnily enough be Scott Rand's biggest test of the week which sounds strange given that he's taken out Wade and Barneveld but he will probably think he can win this match whereas with the last two I'm sure he felt he just wanted to stay close and give them a good game. He hasn't really been under pressure this week so it will be interesting to see how he goes. One thing on Rand's side is I don't believe Painter has played anything close to his best darts this week. He's been fortunate really that his three opponents haven't turned up when it comes to hitting doubles. However with the nerves and stuff around I expect one or two misses from Rand tonight. I still think Rand will win because ultimately I expect him to outscore Painter and he will hit the doubles but this could be a closer match than he's had this week because Painter will be there to take advantage of any misses he commits and he may struggle to get over the line straight away in such an important match. At odds against Rand is the call but I think he'll win no easier than 10-7.