Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July

[kevshat]

Blackpool is finally upon us and this promises to be the best World Matchplay ever. The draw is excellent and over the long formats we should get some fantastic matches as Phil Taylor defends the title he won when he beat James Wade in the final last year. All the details on the tournament such as the draw, schedule and order of play can be found here: http://www.pdc.tv/page/WorldMatchplayDetail/0,,10180~2845311,00.html Here's to a cracking week of arrers :ok.

[Sir Puntalot]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July [TABLE=class: couponTable, width: 617]

[TR] [TH=class: firstColumn, align: left]Saturday 21 July 2012[/TH] [TH]Player 1[/TH] [TH]Player 2[/TH] [TH=class: bppWidth]BPP[/TH] [/TR] [TR=class: row0, bgcolor: #F0F0F0] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Nicholson, P v Smith, A (19:10 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.61[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.68[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]99.22 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Jenkins, T v Huybrechts, K (20:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.98[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]100.51 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row0, bgcolor: #F0F0F0] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Lewis, A v Thornton, R (21:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.38[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.5[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]101.04 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Van Barneveld, R v Smith, M (22:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.2[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]6[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]100.00 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR] [TH] [/TH] [TH=class: firstColumn, align: left]Sunday 22 July 2012[/TH] [TH]Player 1[/TH] [TH]Player 2[/TH] [TH=class: bppWidth]BPP[/TH] [/TR] [TR=class: row0, bgcolor: #F0F0F0] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Walsh, M v Osborne, C (19:10 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]100.00 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Painter, K v Beaton, S (20:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.63[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.52[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]101.03 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row0, bgcolor: #F0F0F0] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Wade, J v Burnett, R (21:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.36[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.6[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]101.11 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Whitlock, S v Van Gerwen, M (22:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.38[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.5[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]101.04 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR] [TH] [/TH] [TH=class: firstColumn, align: left]Monday 23 July 2012[/TH] [TH]Player 1[/TH] [TH]Player 2[/TH] [TH=class: bppWidth]BPP[/TH] [/TR] [TR=class: row0, bgcolor: #F0F0F0] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Hamilton, A v Dolan, B (19:10 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.4[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.25[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]102.20 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]van der Voort, V v White, I (20:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.72[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.32[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]101.00 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row0, bgcolor: #F0F0F0] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Taylor, P v King, M (21:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.17[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]6.4[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]101.10 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Webster, M v Lloyd, C (22:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.82[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.2[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]100.40 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR] [TH] [/TH] [TH=class: firstColumn, align: left]Tuesday 24 July 2012[/TH] [TH]Player 1[/TH] [TH]Player 2[/TH] [TH=class: bppWidth]BPP[/TH] [/TR] [TR=class: row0, bgcolor: #F0F0F0] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Pipe, J v Cullen, Joe (19:10 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.44[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.25[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]100.00 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Newton, W v Hubbard, James (20:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.36[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.75[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]100.20 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row0, bgcolor: #F0F0F0] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Anderson, G v Winstanley, D (21:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.57[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.75[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]100.00 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Chisnall, D v Baxter, R (22:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.36[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.55[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]101.50 %[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

[kevshat]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Tournament preview: 2pts ew S.Whitlock to win World Matchplay 12/1 Blue Square

Whitlock might have the odd bad memory of this place from last year where he lost in the quarter final to Andy Hamilton from miles ahead but I think he will be looking to right that particular wrong. We saw in the Premier League that Whitlock can beat anyone outside of Taylor and we also saw in the final of that tournament that he doesn’t fear Taylor and can win a run of legs against him which he would need to do. Whitlock is a very heavy scorer, we know his finishing is up there with anyone’s and he comes into this tournament in good form. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/world-matchplay-betting-simon-whitlock-is-in-the-form-to-pick-up-his-first-major-title-in-blackpool

[Edberg]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July For the first night I'm with the Pie Man. The Asset has been mainly struggling this year and finished runner-up only once in 17 Pro-Tour events in 2012, and that was in Spain in January, and never better than in the last 16 in the other 16 tries. Compared to his fantastic 2010-2011 (2010 Players Championship Finals title, 3 floor wins and 3 QFs in the UK Open, Grand Slam of Darts and European Championship) when he reached the top8 of the ranking, Nicholson's last 9 months have been a nightmare and his last few tournaments have been worst than ever with a pretty lucky run in the UK Open 6 weeks ago, where he reached the last 16 playing very bad imho, followed by a last 64 exit at Birmingham1, last 32 exit at the European Tour in Berlin, last 32 and last 128 exits at Crawley (floor tournament where he had collected two wins 12 months ago) and a last 64 exit at the European Tour in Düsseldorf 2 weeks ago. On the other side Andy Smith hasn't been playing his best darts either but hasn't been disgraced playing a few good tournaments especially on the floor with 1 final, 1 SF and 2 QF at this name in the last 6 months (had done a bit better in 2011 winning one "floor" pro-tour event). His last tournament was at the European Tour in Düsseldorf 2 weeks ago where he lost in the last 16 round against world nr. 3 James Wade and had been able to beat an in-form Michael Mansell averaging almost 94 in the last 32 round which wasn't a bad display at all. They played 5 times against eachother in the Pro-Tour and Nicholson leads 3-2 with all the matches pretty close three 6-4 and two 6-3 wins (one a piece). Andy has been kicked out in the last 32 round of the World Matchplay in each of his six presences here at Blackpool (since 2006 didn't miss a single one) but could go one better here imho and at odds against he will be my first bet of the tournament. ANDY SMITH to beat PAUL NICHOLSON 1pt @ 13/8 (Betvictor)

[Edberg]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July For the second night I'll be with The Wizard. Colin Osborne is a player I've never liked and will never like but after a terrible long negative run (was nr. 6 of the world less than 2 years ago) he seems to be playing better of late, was in the last 32 in Vienna (first stage of the European Tour), last 32 at the UK Open, last 32 in Berlin (second stage of the European Tour), three last 16 floor tournaments, and his best tournament since his last win in a floor tournament in Germany last October, has been the third stage of the European Tour in Düsseldorf 2 weeks ago where he reached the Quarter Final playing some amazing darts: beat Kevin Painter in the last 32 averaging 97, beat Haines in the last 16 averaging 101.33 and was kicked out by Mervyn King in the QF with King recording the highest average of the tournament with an impressive 105.44. On the other side Mark Walsh has been mainly playing below par this year and his best result has been a QF on the floor at Birmingham 5 weeks ago and seems far from the Walsh who had won the Championship of Darts 9 months ago and was able to reach the Semifinal at the Grand Slam of Darts last November before reaching the QF at the Players Championship Finals and the last 32 at the World Championship at the end of the year. Walsh wasn't disgraced in the last tournament in Düsseldorf 2 weeks ago reaching the last 16 but played pretty bad once again with a very poor display beating Croat world nr. 126 Tonči Restović in the last 32 round (averaging just 87) and was kicked out in the last 16 by the reigning Youth World Champion James Hubbard losing 3-6 and averaging just 80.22. Walsh has reached the last 16 here 6 times (the last 4 years in a row) so he's always won the first round match while Osborne reached the second round (last 16) only once in 2008 but the Derby man leads the h2h 9-7 and has won 5 of the last 6 matches, the last 3 in a row where all last year (one of the worst season for Colin and one of the best for Mark) with 3 easy wins 6-2, 6-2 and 6-3. On current form Osborne should be quite a strong favourite and at Evens it seems a good bet. Colin Osborne to beat Mark Walsh 1pt @ Evens (Boylesports)

[Edberg]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Second bet of the second night will be the Bronze Adonis to beat the Artist. Steve Beaton has never reached again his top level in the last few years but from time to time has been playing some amazing darts (lovely player to watch imho). In this 2012 Beaton has reached the SF in Reading, the QF in Birmingham and the last 16 in the last two tournaments in Crawley and in Düsseldorf 2 weeks ago where he beat the World Champion Adrian Lewis in the last 32 round (lost against subsequent semifinalist Mervyn King in the last 16). Painter had found his best form ever (after a surgery at his eyes that seemed to have helped him quite a lot) at the end of the 2011 reaching the top with an impressive display of darts that gave him a fully deserved first Major in December at the Players Championship Finals and went on to reach the last 16 at the World Championship and played some very good darts during his first ever Premier League of Darts (finished 7th). Besides that Painter hasn't been at his best of late and in 2012 has reached just one SF on the floor and never better than in the last 16 and in Düsseldorf 2 weeks ago Kevin lost 2-6 against Colin Osborne averaging 87 on the same stage where Beaton beat Adrian Lewis averaging 90.3 few hours later. The two have met themselves 18 times in official tournaments so far and Beaton beat Painter 12 times. Steve's won all the last 6 matches played vs. Kevin (all played during the last 9 months) with his last two wins in very convincing style, both 6-1, the latest just 20 days ago in the second last tournament of the season, played at Crawley. Painter reached the Quarter Finals here at Blackpool 2 years ago but Beaton did better reaching the Semifinal in 2001. Steve Beaton to beat Kevin Painter 1pt @ 6/4 (Betfred, Betvictor, Stan James)

[Edberg]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July My first bet of the third night is Jaws to beat Webby. Colin Lloyd reached the peak of his career winning this tournament 7 years ago and after a long spell on the list of the underperforming talents (he said he wasn't enjoying playing darts until a few months ago) has come back to form in the last few months with some sparkling displays. In the last 3 months Lloyd has reached 2 SF, 2 QF, the last 16 in Berlin where he scored a 9-darter and in the second last tournament of the year Lloyd finally added another win to his palmares (last came in 2010) winning the PDPA Players Championship Crawley 2 twenty days ago. On the other side the Welsh player, former BDO World Champion and Quarter Finalist here at Blackpool last year, had a very good 2011 ended with the final in the Players Championship Finals but except the Semifinal reached in Crawley in May he has never been through the last 16 stage of any tournament and has been playing some very poor darts in the process (pretty awful display last time out Webster played on tv at the UK Open where he lost in the last 64 after a quite lucky win in the previous round). Webster lost in Crawley in the last 32 and in the last 64 on his last tournament played so far since he didn't take part at the third stage of the European Tour in Düsseldorf 2 weeks ago. The two have met 9 times with Lloyd leading the h2h 6-3. They met twice this year and Lloyd won both matches 6-4. If Webster keeps performing at the level we've seen most of the times this year even a below par performance by Lloyd would be enough and if both would be at the top of their game there would be surely not so much difference so at current odds the Witham ace seems to me a pretty good bet. Colin Lloyd to beat Mark Webster 1pt @ 6/5 (Skybet, Boylesports, Sportingbet)

[Edberg]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July For the third night I like three more bets but didn't click any of these thus far: Brendan Dolan to beat Andy Hamilton @ 9/4 (William Hill) The Northern Irish at this price seems a decent bet since Hamilton has been playing some of his best darts ever in the last 12 months with a fantastic run at the World Championship (RU) and in the Premier League (SF) plus a few very good tournaments on the floor but Dolan has been very solid in the last few months after a bad period that followed his amazing run in the World Grand Prix last October. Hamilton leads the h2h 7-3 but they are 1-1 in the last 24 months. Ian White to beat Vincent van der Voort @ 13/10 (Paddy Power and Boylesports) White has been the surprise of the year so far (for me at least). The 41yo hadn't been playing so well in the last couple of years but showed a very high level of darts and has been probably the most consistent player of them all on the floor in this 2012 where he reached a SF in Spain scoring a 9-darter, a final in April, another final in May and a QF and a SF in the second last weekend in Crawley three weeks ago. Van der Voort has been well below his best of late especially because of some big issues to his back, if I'm not wrong. The Dutch Destroyer has reached only one SF (6 months ago) and has never gone beyond the last 16 in the last 9 months. They met thrice and the Dutch leads 2-1 but the only match in the last 2 years has been won by White (last November). On a long format I can see the current form and consistency of White getting the edge over the quick Dutch giant. Mervyn King to beat Phil Taylor @ 9/2 (most of the bookies) It's useless to talk about Phil but he has had a few low moments in the last couple of months and Mervyn on the other hand is very "hungry" and has been finally playing some fantastic darts reaching 3 QFs and 1 SF in the last two months with some very high average as in Düsseldorf 2 weeks ago where he averaged 105.44 (tournament's highest average) and reached the Semifinal. Taylor after the surprising loss vs. Thornton in the UK Open final won the European Tour stage 2 in Berlin but didn't play any tournament in the last 4 weeks. King has collected 6 wins and 4 draws in 33 matches against Taylor and beat him last time they met which was in the Players Championship Finals last 16 round last December (8-5 success for King).

[Edberg]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July For the fourth night my bet is another possible big upset with Dean Winstanley that seems a bit overpriced against Gary Anderson. Winstanley is a former BDO World Championship and World Master finalist (both in 2011) and has surely got a big talent for this sport but since his move to the PDC (this year) he has been a bit below par (never easy this kind of move nowadays). Dean has reached just one SF and has been never better than eliminated in the last 16 in the PDC tournaments he's contested in this year but from time to time showed some glimpses of his talent and should be a matter of time to see also his name next to the big ones in the final stages of the big tournaments. Gary on the other side has had a nightmare season so far finishing last 8 in the Premier League that he had won last year and even if able to score an amazing 9-darter at the UK Open he was kicked out in the last 32 round and has reached just one Semifinal and never better than eliminated in the last 16 in the other tournaments played this year. The Flying Scotsman has had a lot of personal problems in the last few months and hasn't been throwing any darts in the last 5 weeks in any professional tournament because of an eye injury. Too many question marks about Anderson and this could be a big chance for Winstanley to get a confident win against the current world nr. 4. There are no precedents. Dean Winstanley to beat Gary Anderson 1pt @ 7/4 (Betvictor, Betfred and Boylesports)

[Edberg]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July One antepost: Dave Chisnall to win the Betfair World Matchplay 1pt @ 12/1 (Ladbrokes, Bodog, William Hill, Sportingbet and Youwin) The Chizzee Rascal has been the dominator of the season on the floor so far. Chisnall has won 4 tournaments on the floor in less than 6 months (latest at Crawley 3 weeks ago), has reached 3 finals (twice in the rich European Tour in Berlin and 2 weeks ago in Düsseldorf) and 3 semifinals. At the end of the 2011 Dave had beat Phil Taylor at the Ally Pally (World Championship) and for months he has been playing some superlative darts both on the floor and on the stage. This is probably the most prestigious tournament after the World Championship and it won't be an easy task at all but for I've seen in the last couple of years (also in his last two in the BDO) Chisnall is a super talent and it has to be just a matter time since he raises a big trophy and why not here at Blackpool?

[kevshat]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Opening night match previews: 4pts P.Nicholson vs A.Smith - Over 16.5 legs 10/11 Skybet

Neither look like they are playing well enough to reel off a roll of legs against the other one. All five of their previous meetings have had just one break of throw between them and I see this being no different so I like the over 16.5 legs here. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/nicholson-vs-smith-betting-two-out-of-form-players-can-play-out-a-lengthy-match-to-open-the-matchplay 5pts T.Jenkins to beat K.Huybrechts Evs Betfred

Jenkins has all the experience anyone will need while he has been at the top of the game for a while. This will be the first time Huybrechts will have played here and the Winter Gardens is pretty intimidating as a fan when you go for the first time let alone a player so I just favour Jenkins to edge out a win in this one. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/jenkins-vs-huybrechts-betting-the-more-experienced-jenkins-can-move-into-the-second-round-in-blackpool 4pts R.Thornton (+3.5 legs) to beat A.Lewis 8/11 Paddy Power

I think this will be a much closer match than the odds suggest. Not only did Thornton beat Taylor in the UK Open but he beat Gary Anderson, Mark Webster and Dave Chisnall along the way so he is able to beat anyone on his day. Whether he is good enough to beat Lewis over this distance remains to be seen. I would suggest if Lewis is at his best he will win but even then I don’t expect it to be a walk in the park. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/lewis-vs-thornton-betting-uk-open-champion-thornton-can-give-the-world-champion-a-real-run-for-his-money 4pts R.Barneveld vs M.Smith - Over 15.5 legs 5/6 William Hill

Michael Smith will be desperate to show the world how good he is and if he plays to his capabilities he will more than make a match out of this. I think he’ll win a few legs at the very least and if Barneveld goes missing on his doubles, which he can do from time to time then Smith will cover the handicap of 4.5 legs by a long margin. With the price being better for over 15.5 legs I will take that for the same reason because even if Smith wins I don’t see it being any easier than 10-5. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/barneveld-vs-smith-betting-michael-smith-can-make-barney-work-hard-for-his-win-in-blackpool-opener

[kevshat]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Two outrights for me. This one

Tournament preview: 2pts ew S.Whitlock to win World Matchplay 12/1 Blue Square

Whitlock might have the odd bad memory of this place from last year where he lost in the quarter final to Andy Hamilton from miles ahead but I think he will be looking to right that particular wrong. We saw in the Premier League that Whitlock can beat anyone outside of Taylor and we also saw in the final of that tournament that he doesn’t fear Taylor and can win a run of legs against him which he would need to do. Whitlock is a very heavy scorer, we know his finishing is up there with anyone’s and he comes into this tournament in good form. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/world-matchplay-betting-simon-whitlock-is-in-the-form-to-pick-up-his-first-major-title-in-blackpool

and this one. 1pt J.Hubbard to win 4th Quarter 40/1 Sportingbet I admit this is a long shot but it wouldn't be the first huge priced quarter bet to have landed this year. The price is pretty insulting really when you figure that Hubbard only has to win three matches to win the quarter and I doubt his cumulative odds would be 40/1 whoever was involved in the three matches. When you figure he'll be close to favourite or slight outsider in one of them then the price really is daft. Hubbard has local boy Wes Newton in the opening round which will be a tough match but they are all tough matches in this tournament. Should he come through that, and having beaten Andy Hamilton and Mervyn King in Dusseldorf when he had to make the quarter finals to make it here, and there's no reason why he can't, then he would face the winner of the Justin Pipe vs Joe Cullen match which he would certainly have every chance in. Then it would be a quarter final against one of Chisnall, Anderson, Winstanley or Baxter which would definitely be his toughest match of the quarter but equally he wouldn't be 40/1 to win it. Hubbard brings winning form to the tournament with him. Not only has he won important matches on the pro tour but he won a youth tournament last week so his confidence should be sky high right now and I'll pay to see how far his high confidence takes him.

[kevshat]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Hitting the opening night hard with bets in all matches, 3 in one particular match. This one....

5pts T.Jenkins to beat K.Huybrechts Evs Betfred

Jenkins has all the experience anyone will need while he has been at the top of the game for a while. This will be the first time Huybrechts will have played here and the Winter Gardens is pretty intimidating as a fan when you go for the first time let alone a player so I just favour Jenkins to edge out a win in this one. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/jenkins-vs-huybrechts-betting-the-more-experienced-jenkins-can-move-into-the-second-round-in-blackpool

and these..... 3pts A.Smith Most 180's vs P.Nicholson 9/4 Skybet Not sure I'm having Andy Smith as a 9/4 shot to hit more 180's than Paul Nicholson. In fact I know I'm not. When Andy Smith is throwing to a good rhythm, which he should get here, he is a pretty heavy 180 scorer. He's not up in your Anderson, Chisnall or Lewis bracket but he can more than hold his own when it comes to hitting 180's. Nicholson isn't as big a 180 hitter. Sure he has night's when he peppers the 60 but they don't come along as often as perhaps they should. He hits a lot of 140's but not the amount of 180's he should do. Nicholson's better performances with the 180 scoring tend to come against the better players who he produces his best darts against. He's always been a bit sloppy against those considered not as good as him. However the other reason for taking Nicholson on here is because he hasn't been practicing regularly for a while due to his shoulder injury so he might not have the weight of the throw exactly perfect. This isn't a match where I expect a lot of 180's anyway but of the ones we do get I think the Pieman is a big price to hit the most in what looks a fairly tight, evenly matched match apart from the 180 scoring. 3pts R.Thornton to beat A.Lewis 5/2 William Hill 4pts Over 16.5 legs Evs Skybet 5pts R.Thornton Over 3.5 180's 5/6 Paddy Power I think Robert Thornton is being wrongly overlooked in this match. Let's not forget we're talking about the UK Open champion and he isn't a token champion, he beat Webster, Anderson, Chisnall and Taylor in that tournament. Ok he's playing the world champion here but the world champion hasn't looked like a world champion for a while. He was average for so much of the Premier League apart from the odd week or two and hasn't fared any better in the European Tour events or in the UK Open. He did beat Kevin McDine in the UK Open but then lost to Wes Newton and in the two European Tour events he's played in he's lost in the first round to James Hubbard and Steve Beaton in the second round of the other. Lewis' form isn't great and Thornton is playing well so I see no reason why Thornton can't win this unless we suddenly get vintage Lewis. Even then I think Thornton is playing well enough and more importantly finishing well enough to stay close. I don't see either winning this by two unanswered breaks of throw. These two met in the World Championship earlier in the year and Thornton missed doubles to force a deciding set in that match when he wasn't playing to his best. Now that he is I think he's got a much better chance than the odds suggest in what I think will be a naturally close match. As for the Thornton 180's line I don't know what that's all about. Thornton is a decent 180 scorer when he's playing well, which he clearly is, he outscored Chisnall and Taylor in the UK Open in 180's firing in 6 180's in each match and I very much expect to see four 180's over the duration of this match, a match I think he might well sneak across the line in. 4pts R.Barneveld vs M.Smith - Over 6.5 180's 5/6 Betfred This line looks a bit low to me too. If this is a going night for Barneveld then he can cover this total on his own he's such a prolific 180 scorer but I'm confident he won't need to cover it alone. Michael Smith is a very heavy 180 scorer when he is playing well. He's a fast thrower who a bit like Klaasen follows darts in so quite often when the first dart is in darts two and three will follow nicely. Smith has a couple of 9 dart finishes to his name in the last 12 months so we know he's a 180 scorer and with his desire to perform in this match after he froze a bit in the World Championship I think we might see 3-4 180's out of the youngster. I'd expect at least that from Barneveld if not one or two more, particularly if the match gets really close and goes near the full original distance. Both players are good 180 scorers so this line looks very much on the low side to me.

[fishy25]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Should be a good week of darts ahead of us. Going away on Wednesday so going to miss the latter stages but I'll be involved up to that point. Can't actually look past Taylor for the tournament given the format suits him completely but I am taking a few outrights which have some value about them IMO. Raymond van Barneveld to win World Matchplay- 14/1 William Hill- (1.5/10 E/W) 1/2 1,2 RVB to win 1st Quarter- 5/2 Bet365- (2/10) Taking the Dutchman as my main man over the next week or so to really give Taylor some competition for the trophy. First thing you have to do really is look at the draw and the fact that Barney will avoid Taylor en route to the final is something which will suit the Dutchman as he has his mental issues when playing Taylor. Looking into his draw in more detail, it doesn't actually look that bad in my eyes. He shouldn't have too many problems against young Michael Smith in the first round despite Smith's ever growing reputation in the game and after that it will be Jenkins or Kim Huybrechts. Granted whoever he plays there will be a tough match but if Barney can win tonight in his first match, that will give him a ton of confidence and he has the scoring ability and when playing well, the finishing to beat either guy he'll face in the last 16. Now you'd imagine he will have to play Adrian Lewis in the quarters, but I'm not so sure. Since winning his second World Championship, Lewis has struggled for form really, especially in the PL where he was extremely inconsistent whilst he didn't do anything at the UK Open either and I'm not convinced Lewis will even make it to the quarters in all honesty. Barney will fancy his chances even if he does play Lewis, but the prospect of either Smith/Nicholson/Thornton in the quarters shouldn't worry him in the slightest despite Thornton's superb victory at the UK Open last month. As I've said, he's not going to be playing Taylor until the final should the two make it there so there's really nobody Barney can't beat in this half of the draw if he's playing well with confidence and he should be confident coming into the tournament considering he won over in Dusseldorf a couple of weeks ago where he beat the likes of Wade, Burnett and Chisnall which shows how well he is playing again. We saw further evidence of him returning to his best at the PL where he was extremely unlucky not to make the semis as for the majority, he was the 2nd best players behind Taylor. At times he was scoring heavily, and his finishing was generally solid, and if he can repeat the form he's shown this year, I think he'll have a good week or so up in Blackpool. Richie Burnett to win World Matchplay- 100/1 Bet365- (0.5/10 E/W) Richie Burnett to win 2nd Quarter- 18/1 Coral- (1/10) Having a couple of outsiders for the tournament as well and one of those is Richie Burnett. Now quite what this price is all about, I really don't know tbh. The Prince of Wales is playing the best darts of his life right now and whilst I appreciate he's got a really tough quarter with Wade, Whitlock and Painter in, if he's playing well, there's really nobody he can't beat. In that European Tour Event that Barneveld won a couple of weeks ago, Burnett made the semis where he lost to RVB so he comes into the tournament with a bit of form, and already this year, he's been hitting ton plus averages for fun, and even managed a 121 average a month or so ago in one of the Players Championship events which shows just how well he's playing right now. He's beaten the likes of Webster and Taylor on TV over the past 8 months or so and with him playing some superb darts at the minute, I can't overlook Richie at this price. Michael van Gerwen to win World Matchplay- 100/1 Coral- (0.5/10 E/W) MVG to win 2nd Quarter- 18/1 Sportingbet- (1/10) I know he's in Burnett's quarter as well but this price isn't right either. Although he's been a tad inconsistent this year, van Gerwen has shown just what he's about and in some of his matches, he's been absolutely electrifying. He has hammered the likes of Whitlock, Pipe and Lloyd to name just a few this year and you don't do that unless you are playing well. What I really like about his chances is the format of the matchplay because if the Dutchman gets on a run, over this format, it will be extremely hard for anyone to actually keep up with him. If he's on song, he will absolutely cream the treble whilst his finishing is a joy to watch when he's playing well so this format may well suit him as it gives him a bit of time to settle in. I know he's playing Whitlock in the first round, but like I said, he's already hammered the Aussie so far this year and was unlucky not to beat him at Ally Pally in the World Championship. With everyone watching on the big stage, I'm having a little punt at the young superstar to show us what he's about this week. Raymond van Barneveld (Higher Tournament Average) vs Gary Anderson- 11/10 BetVictor- (4/10) Not sure why we're getting odds against here for Barney but I'm happy to take them. I must state just what this bet is about as it is a little misleading. It's not who has the overall better tournament average, but which player reaches the highest average in one match and I fail to see how Barneveld won't come out on top here. The only way that will happen is if the Dutchman loses badly in the first round tonight whilst Anderson's form improves dramatically but I don't see it happening. I've spoken quite a bit about RVB already and how well he has been playing of late and that win in Dusseldorf will have done his confidence no harm coming into the Matchplay. Anderson on the other hand has had problems with his shoulder for a while now whilst he has been referred to a specialist about his eye which has meant he hasn't practiced properly for a little whilst now so it's hardly ideal preparation for the Scot. Put that with the fact that he will always miss a few doubles which lowers your average naturally and the distinct possibility that Dean Winstanley will beat him anyway leads me to think Barney is a good bet in this market. I think he'll have a decent tournament if he continues playing the way he has done, and I'd be surprised if at some point in the tournament he didn't top the 100 average which should be enough against Anderson here even if the Scot performs well.

[fishy25]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July And a few for me on the opening night. Not going mad at all really but am having a few... Paul Nicholson vs Andy Smith- Under 16.5 Legs- Evens Boylesports- (3/10) Now there's a bit of logic to this one and anyone who is familiar with the tennis threads may have seen this from me before. Basically under normal circumstances, I'd expect Nicholson to win this one comfortably despite his poor year but the injuries that have hampered him this year don't exactly fill me with confidence. I do still think he will prevail though as he's spoken about how this game is so important to him so I'd be surprised if he wasn't fully focussed tonight. I'm never ultra convinced when I see Andy Smith on the big stage and his form hasn't been great for a while now in truth. he logic I'm putting into consideration here though is that I don't see either guy, if they fall behind, keeping up a decent level to fight back. Both are pretty good leaders in truth when in front, but do struggle when they are behind. With the tennis, it's sometimes the case that one guy will either will really easily or lose in the same manner with regards to injuries and forms and I think that may be the case here. I think Nicholson will ultimately win comfortably, but if Smith scores heavily enough, he may well with a bit to spare as well but whoever runs out winner, I think they will do it better than 10-6 at the very worse. Terry Jenkins vs Kim Huybrechts- Over 16.5 Legs- 9/10 Boylesports- (3/10) Kim Huybrechts Highest Checkout Over 109.5- 5/6 William Hill- (3/10) Now I don't think the first match of the night will be that close but this one could go all the way IMO. It has the potential to be an absolute cracker with both amongst the best in the world right now. Terry Jenkins has a really good record at the Matchplay and did okay at the UK Open last month and will be hoping for a good run again in Blackpool but he's got a really tricky draw here. Huybrechts is a superb talent and he showed just what he can do at the World Championship whilst he should have beaten Wes Newton at the UK Open really as well. He scores extremely heavily and when his doubles especially are generally reliable which is why I can't really separate the two here. Jenkins likewise scores heavily and finishes well which should mean both are pretty comfortable on throw for the majority with very few breaks of serve so I'd expect the winner to concede at least 7 legs here. I'm also backing Huybrechts to hit a decent finish in this one as well. As I've said, excluding the latter stages of that match against Newton in the UK Open, the Belgian tends to nail his finishing and misses very little. His combination scoring and cover shots are what makes him such a super talent and one of the main reasons he has such a gorgeous girlfriend...:lol He usually performs well in front of the cameras and at some point in this match, I expect him to nail a decent finish. Robert Thornton (Most 180's) vs Adrian Lewis- 2/1 Coral- (3/10) I can't overlook this price on Thornton to hit the most maximums in this one. He'll be desperate to put in a good showing after his superb UK Open win and that performances will have done his confidence no harm whatsoever and may just kick start his PDC career after he hasn't done too much in the big events since switching from the BDO. Throughout his career though, he has been a prominent 180 scorer and we saw just how heavily he scores over in Bolton. Adrian Lewis has been in really poor form since winning his second World Championship. He was extremely hit and miss in the Premier League whilst he didn't do anything at the UK Open either and we've seen in the past just how slow he is to get going in the early rounds of majors and if he is sluggish tonight, Thornton might just surprise him. I'm still more interested in backing him to hit more 180's though given the price. I've said Lewis has been in poor form and has tended to struggle in the early rounds of majors so I'd be surprised if he was hitting maximums left right and centre tonight. Thornton is always a threat when it comes to 180's though and I'll back the UK Open champ to outscore the World Champion on 180's tonight. Raymond van Barneveld vs Michael Smith- Over 6.5 180's- 4/5 Boylesports- (4/10) RVB vs Michael Smith Game with Most 180's on Night- 6/1 William Hill- (2/10) Can't add much to what Kev has said here. Spoken a lot about Barney so far and since returning to his old darts this season, he's been scoring extremely heavily and if he gets going tonight, he could cover the line on his own in all honesty. Michael Smith is no slouch with the heavy scores either and he's shown just what he can do with a couple of 9 darters over the past year so he should contribute to this line as well and I fully expect both guys to cover this line combined given their 180 credentials. Also having a little go with this match being the one with the most maximums on the night as we could see the total go into double figures if both get going. The threat is obviously the Lewis match but I've already mentioned that he's usually slow out of the blocks so he may not hit many at all tonight and with the price being so high on two guys who can hit the treble bed for fun, I'm happy to have a small punt.

[fishy25]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Was praying for another 180 in that Barney match to equal the total in the Jenkins-Huybrechts match but it never came unfortunately. Decent start for me though with +6.40 coming from tonight with RVB safely through as well. :ok

[kevshat]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Sunday night previews: 4pts C.Osborne to beat M.Walsh 10/11 Bet365

As I often say, Walsh plods along with his scoring without ever having that power scoring burst that can tear someone apart. Osborne has that and that can be the difference in this match. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/walsh-vs-osborne-betting-colin-osborne-can-continue-his-good-record-over-mark-walsh-in-blackpool 4pts S.Beaton to beat K.Painter 6/4 Stan James

Steve Beaton has won the last six meetings between these two players and although three of them were in the Championship League which I don’t take too much notice of as a form guide, the other three were all in tour events so that will give Beaton even more confidence going into this match. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/painter-vs-beaton-betting-steve-beaton-s-recent-dominance-over-kevin-painter-can-continue-in-blackpool 4pts R.Burnett Most 180's vs J.Wade 6/4 Coral

James Wade isn’t really known as a strong scorer although he does hit a lot of 140’s. Burnett ploughs in the 180’s and that 6/4 looks very good value to me. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/wade-vs-burnett-betting-richie-burnett-looks-to-be-good-value-to-hit-the-most-180-s 4pts S.Whitlock vs M.van Gerwen - Highest Checkout over 122.5 5/6 Ladbrokes

One bet I do like in this match is the highest checkout to be over 122.5. Neither of these two men are strangers to big checkouts with Whitlock of course being a master of the 170. Van Gerwen is no mug when it comes to three dart combinations so I would expect this line to be covered throughout the course of what could be an excellent match. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/whitlock-vs-van-gerwen-betting-high-checkouts-should-be-a-feature-of-one-of-the-pick-of-the-first-round-games

[fishy25]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Onto the second night then and I'm taking a few more than I did last night. Similar thinking to Kev on a few of them... Colin Osborne to beat Mark Walsh- Evens Boylesports- (3/10) Mark Walsh 3 Dart Average Under 92.5- 9/10 Boylesports- (4/10) Under 6.5 180's- Evens Sportingbet- (3/10) Taking a fair few in the opening game of the night in which I expect Colin Osborne to prevail. Mark Walsh has been extremely fortunate to qualify for the Matchplay as the seeded player as his form this year as been atrocious in truth. He's made just 2 quarter finals all year and one of those came at the start of the year which really shows how he's been struggling for form. Colin Osborne however has shown signs recently that he is returning to a bit of form and making the quarters in Dusseldorf recently should have done his confidence the world of good and with that and the extra scoring power that he possesses, I think he's a decent bet to win here. I'm also taking an interest in the 180's in this one and I don't really expect we'll see too many. You can get a slightly higher line but I'd be suprirsed if we see 7 maximums in all honesty. Neither guy is that much of an out and out 180 scorer and both showed that over in Germany recently as neither player managed more than 2 in a single match. The format at the Matchplay is of course longer but with both guys really not performing at their best recently, especially on the big stage, I'm happy to back the unders. And if 2 bets aren't enough for me in this one, 3 will definitely do me and the line in which the Walsh average is set at looks too high to me here. Truthfully speaking, it's been a while since Walsh has even come close to covering this line on the big stage. Recently in Dusseldorf, he failed to average above 88 in his 2 matches so it's hard to see why this line is set so high given the way Walsh has been playing. As I've said, I think Osborne will win this one with the way both guys are playing and the fact is Walsh doesn't score heavily enough to trouble the top players in the game. He's also been prone to missing doubles over the past 6 months so I'd be surprised if his average finished above the 92.50 mark. Steve Beaton to beat Kevin Painter- 6/4 Betfred- (3/10) Backing the outsider in this one in the shape of Steve Beaton. The Artist has had a superb 12 months or so in winning his first Major and then narrowly missing out in qualifying for the semis in the PL in his debut season. Of late though, he has been far from convincing and hasn't been in the best of form. Even his wins over the lesser players if you like haven't been comfortable and have usually come down to the narrowest of margins so there's enough to suggest he might be at risk of an upset here. It's not as though he's up against a terrible player here either considering Steve Beaton is a former world champ and recently he's been playing himself into a bit of form. He's beaten the likes of Barneveld, Lewis and tonight's opponent Kevin Painter in the past few weeks which you don't do unless you're playing well so the Bronze Adonis should be confident coming into this one and will be desperate to show what he can do after a dismal UK Open showing. He's enjoyed some good results over Painter as well, considering he's won the last 6 games the two have played, including a 6-1 win at the start of the month in Crawley and with that mental edge, I'm happy to back him as the underdog in this one. Richie Burnett (Most 180's) vs James Wade- 6/4 Coral- (4/10) Richie Burnett 3 Dart Average Over 92.5- 11/10 Boylesports- (3/10) I'm already on the Welshamn outright so I hope he wins and if he plays how he has done recently, I think he's got a pretty good chance. Whilst I hope he wins, I'm surprised at the odds on both bets I'm taking here. Over the past 6 months or so, he's really found his form and is playing the best darts of his life right now. I've spoken a lot about him in my outright so I'm not going to repeat that again but he comes into the Matchplay in really good form after making the semis in Dusseldorf, losing only to Barney in the semis. The Prince of Wales hits a lot of big scores though and in his heavy scoring come a lot of maximums. If you need a reminder of that you only have to go back to the World Championship where he hit 11 maximums in just one game against Mark Webster which shows just how heavy his scoring is. This format is ideal for James Wade really but as good as he is, he's still not the most prominent of 180 scorers. He'll hit a lot of tons and 140's but not too many maximums and with Burnett the more accomplished player in terms of hitting maximums, I think he's decent value to win the 180 battle tonight. The average for the Welshman is also too low IMO. I've spoken about his good form and his heavy scoring, but to set the line this low when he has managed a 120 average this season as well as a ton plus average in beating Phil Taylor at the World Cup is criminal really. Burnett covered this line in all of his 4 matches over in Germany a couple of weeks back, even in losing to RVB and with him playing the best darts of his life, I'm happy to back him to hit a decent average tonight.

[kevshat]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Not the opening night I was looking for. Going with two tonight which are these two. Took 11/10 on Osborne with Skybet and 6/4 on Beaton still available with Betfred.

4pts C.Osborne to beat M.Walsh 10/11 Bet365

As I often say, Walsh plods along with his scoring without ever having that power scoring burst that can tear someone apart. Osborne has that and that can be the difference in this match. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/walsh-vs-osborne-betting-colin-osborne-can-continue-his-good-record-over-mark-walsh-in-blackpool 4pts S.Beaton to beat K.Painter 6/4 Stan James

Steve Beaton has won the last six meetings between these two players and although three of them were in the Championship League which I don’t take too much notice of as a form guide, the other three were all in tour events so that will give Beaton even more confidence going into this match. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/painter-vs-beaton-betting-steve-beaton-s-recent-dominance-over-kevin-painter-can-continue-in-blackpool

[fishy25]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July And a couple for me in the final match of the night as well... Michael van Gerwen to beat Simon Whitlock- 5/2 Sportingbet- (3/10) Michael van Gerwen Highest Checkout Over 102.5- 5/6 William Hill- (3/10) I know I'm on MVG outright but at this price against Whitlock, I think he's really good value. It's clear that Whitlock has problems with this matchup in that van Gerwen has won 4 out of the 6 matches the two have played, including 3 of the last 4 and Whitlock's only win in that time came at the World Championship in a match van Gerwen could quite easily have won. Since that match however, the Dutchman has beaten Whitlock twice with the Aussie only winning 1 leg in the whole of those 2 matches which is pretty astonishing in truth. The fact is though van Gerwen has been one of the best players on the tour this year with his form on the floor being unstoppable at times. He's already won 2 floor events so far this year including in Birmingham where he beat Whitlock 6-1. His problem has been transferring that form he has shown onto the main stage but this format could well suit him and this could be the tournament where he really shows what he can do as it's only a matter of time before he does that so I'm happy to back him to continue his decent record over Whitlock. I also think he'll nail a decent checkout at some point during the match tonight. When he's on song van Gerwen, he misses very little and his combination checkouts are a joy to watch at times. Even if he isn't playing that well, there's always a chance of him hitting a decent checkout seemingly out of nowhere whilst when he's playing well, he's more likely to checkout any score more times than not and I'd be surprised if he didn't hit a ton plus checkout at some point tonight.

[hudsonhawk]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Michael Van Gerwen Over 2.5 180s @ 4/7 Paddy Power There's should be at least 17 legs in this match and Van Gerwens high scoring capability should see him cover this line with relative ease Over 16.5 legs Van Gerwen v Whitlock @ 10/11 Bet365 The head to head makes it a tough match up to call but can see it going the distance.I probably can see Whitlock by 10-8 or 10-7 but Van Gerwen will be tough to shake off.

[fishy25]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Pretty decent night, albeit with Osborne and Burnett losing. Van Gerwen was impressive though and thankfully Burnett started playing well after the break to see his average through. With the Burnett outrights settled, after the first two nights I'm sitting on +25.80 for the tournament.

[kevshat]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Monday night previews: 4pts A.Hamilton (-2.5 legs) to beat B.Dolan 10/11 Skybet

I’m not really sure where Dolan is going to get a lot of success in this match. He won’t outscore Hamilton because Hamilton is one of the heavier scorers in the game and one of the reasons Hamilton has enjoyed so much success recently is because he is finishing a lot better. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/hamilton-vs-dolan-betting-andy-hamilton-should-have-too-much-in-all-departments-for-dolan 4pts I.White to beat V.van der Voort 13/10 Paddy Power

If Ian White can adjust to the stage and bring his floor game with him then I would expect him to win this match. I don’t think it will be an easy win because van der Voort’s natural ability is very good but when it gets close White’s winning momentum is likely to take over a van der Voort who might well be struggling in closing matches out. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/van-der-voort-vs-white-betting-ian-white-looks-a-good-price-to-see-off-the-struggling-dutchman-in-blackpool 4pts M.King (+4.5 legs) to beat P.Taylor 5/6 Betfred

I think Taylor will probably have enough about him to win this match although I wouldn’t be wholly surprised were King to come out on top. In order for that to happen you would have to say Taylor will have to play a bit below par but one thing I am confident of is that however Taylor plays in this match King can win at least six legs. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/taylor-vs-king-betting-mervyn-king-can-push-taylor-all-the-way-in-blackpool-opener 5pts C.Lloyd to beat M.Webster 6/5 Skybet

Webster isn’t playing well and as well as missing a lot of doubles he’s finding out in the PDC these days you need that power scoring burst which he can lack, certainly around the 60 bed. Lloyd’s flying at the minute and if the Webster which turned up at the UK Open turns up here he’ll be back in Wales rather quickly. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/webster-vs-lloyd-betting-colin-lloyd-is-in-the-sort-of-form-to-make-this-another-long-night-for-webster

[kevshat]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Good work Fishy :clap. Not been the best couple of nights for me with a bad first night and Whitlock going out meaning I come out of the second night down too. -8.66pts overall but still time to get that back and some. Going with three for Monday night which are these three. Might come back if any side markets appeal but these for now.

Monday night previews: 4pts A.Hamilton (-2.5 legs) to beat B.Dolan 10/11 Skybet

I’m not really sure where Dolan is going to get a lot of success in this match. He won’t outscore Hamilton because Hamilton is one of the heavier scorers in the game and one of the reasons Hamilton has enjoyed so much success recently is because he is finishing a lot better. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/hamilton-vs-dolan-betting-andy-hamilton-should-have-too-much-in-all-departments-for-dolan 4pts I.White to beat V.van der Voort 13/10 Paddy Power

If Ian White can adjust to the stage and bring his floor game with him then I would expect him to win this match. I don’t think it will be an easy win because van der Voort’s natural ability is very good but when it gets close White’s winning momentum is likely to take over a van der Voort who might well be struggling in closing matches out. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/van-der-voort-vs-white-betting-ian-white-looks-a-good-price-to-see-off-the-struggling-dutchman-in-blackpool 5pts C.Lloyd to beat M.Webster 6/5 Skybet

Webster isn’t playing well and as well as missing a lot of doubles he’s finding out in the PDC these days you need that power scoring burst which he can lack, certainly around the 60 bed. Lloyd’s flying at the minute and if the Webster which turned up at the UK Open turns up here he’ll be back in Wales rather quickly. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/webster-vs-lloyd-betting-colin-lloyd-is-in-the-sort-of-form-to-make-this-another-long-night-for-webster

[Liamaseire]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Day 3 Total 180s Under 27.5 5/6 Paddy Power In order to see more than 27 180s we would need an average of 7 per match.From what we've seen in the opening few nights this line is too high.There will always be one match that will only have 3 or 4 180s and that leaves one of the other games needing double figures to reach 28.Van der Voort,Webster and Dolan look out of sorts and we all know that Taylor is inclined to head for the 19s.I can see some for Hamilton and King but not more than 27 on the nite

[fishy25]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Cheers mate. Happy birthday btw. :ok Hoping for another decent night over in Blackpool as I won't get many more chances to get involved this week. Andy Hamilton (-2.5 legs) to beat Brendan Dolan- 5/6 Stan James- (5/10) Andy Hamilton 3 Dart Average Over 93.5- 9/10 Boylesports- (4/10) Like Kev, I really can't look past the Hammer here. Brendan Dolan is slowly but surely turning into a one hit wonder after his efforts at the Grand Prix but since then, he's really done very little. He's made a few decent runs on a few floor events but on the big stage, he's not beaten a decent player for some time and even his win at the UK Open last month wasn't convincing in the slightest as he was trailing by a large margin at one point. He then missed a ton of match doubles against Denis Ovens and went on to lose that match which has sums the Irishman up really since his Grand Prix efforts in Ireland. Andy Hamilton is arguably playing the best darts of his life right now and he's been a very good and consistent player for some time now. Since making the final of the World Championship, he enjoyed a good debut season in the Premier League where he made the semis and has made a couple of finals on the floor as well including over in Crawley at the start of the month so he comes into the Matchplay in good form. This format should really suit the Hammer as well given his consistency and scoring power. He is one of the heaviest scorers in the game so it's hard to see where Brendan Dolan is going to win 8 legs and stay with Hamilton here. He's been missing a shed load of doubles since the Grand Prix as well and if he does get a chance, he can't let them slide as the Hammer won't miss too many. Just think with Hamilton's scoring power it will be a tough ask for Dolan winning 8 legs here and with the form he's shown, I don't think Hamilton will have too many problems in this one. Also like the look of the Hammer's average here as it looks too low. As I've said, his consistency has really improved over the last year or so and his performance in the PL really shows that. Only in 4 matches did he fail to cover the handicap and that is against the top players in the game. Tonight I don't see Dolan troubling him too much and if Hamilton gets ahead, he's a a really good front runner and won't ease up. His scoring is one of the heaviest in the sport whilst his finishing is generally pretty solid as well so I'm happy to back him to win with a decent average in the opening match of the night. Vincent van der Voort vs Ian White- Over 16.5 legs- 5/6 William Hill- (3/10) Over 6.5 180's- Evens Blue Square- (3/10) Think this should be a pretty tight one second up tonight. A little bit like the Osborne-Walsh match yesterday, neither guy has really done much in front of the TV cameras for a while now so in that should come a few nerves on the big stage especially when we get to the final stages of the game. Vincent van der Voort has been struggling with injuries and that has meant he has had a supremely rotten past few months with very few notable wins to his name. Ian White is very much the form man out of these two coming into this one, with a quarter, semi and final appearance under his belt in the past couple of months so he'll be hoping to transfer that floor form onto the big stage. If he does, he should win this one but I'm not confident enough to back him. I do think whoever wins, will do it narrowly as although White has the form behind him, van der Voort has the stage experience which usually counts for a fair bit in these events and he can score well enough to hold his own for the majority anyway. In the past when these 2 guys have played eachother, all 3 matches have been close with 2 of them going to a deciding leg and I think we'll see at least 17 legs in this one tonight. In that time, I also expect us to see 7 maximums. I think we'll see enough legs for them to hit a fair few and both are pretty decent scoring wise. Van der Voort even when not at his best, can still score pretty heavily as once his first dart hits the treble bed, the other 2 usually follow and he managed to hit 5 180's against Robert Thornton recently in Dusseldorf in just 10 legs so the Dutchman could go close to covering this line on his own. Ian White can also contribute to this line as well with a few 180's so in what I'm anticipating should be pretty tight game, I think we'll see some 180's thrown in there as well. Colin Lloyd to beat Mark Webster- 11/10 Boylesports- (4/10) Colin Lloyd (Most 180's) vs Mark Webster- 13/8 Ladbrokes- (3/10) Mark Webster 3 Dart Average Under 92.5- Evens Boylesports- (3/10) Taking a few on in the final game of the night where I'm with Kev on the winner. It's been a good while now since I've seen Mark Webster play well enough to even consider backing him and whilst his scoring can be good from time to time, the amount of doubles he's been missing is a real worry for the Welshman. The fact he's made it past the last 16 of any tournament just once this year really shows how he's been struggling for form and if he keeps that form up tonight, Colin Lloyd is good enough, and certainly playing well enough to capitalize. He's already won a Players Championship tournament this month in Crawley where he beat the likes of Dean Winstanley, Terry Jenkins and Andy Hamilton which will have given him a massive confidence boost coming into a tournament which he has won in the past. His scoring this year has improved massively which has meant he has the game now to really trouble the big guns in the game and that's shown through his various quarter and semi final appearances on the floor. Lloyd is just playing a whole lot better than Webster is just now and with the fond memories he has on this stage, I think he's decent value to win tonight. I also quite like the price on Jaws to hit the most maximums as the price looks a bit high to me. I wouldn't be making him such an outsider as the odds suggest, and in all honesty, I don't know if I'd make him the outsider at all quite frankly. This season his scoring has been really impressive and that's emphasised by the fact he has already nailed a 9 darter and beat plenty of guys in the top 16. Now you don't do that without heavy scoring and we saw over at Ally Pally over Christmas just how prolific Lloyd can be on the 180's if he gets going so I'll back him on the maximum front as well. My final bet of the night is the unders on Mark Webster's average as although it may appear fairly low given the amount of quality he has, it looks a little high to me with the way he's played this year. To sustain a decent average, you need to hit the majority of your doubles and that's what has been the Welshman's problem has been of late. He has been missing far too many doubles for a while now and I don't expect him to suddenly start hitting everything tonight either. Even when he managed 9 maximums in that epic match against Richie Burnett at Ally Pally at the World Championship, his average was still below the 90 mark which shows how missed doubles affected averages and since that match, his form has only gone one way so I'll back him to continue his less than impressive form again tonight.

[kevshat]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July

Cheers mate. Happy birthday btw. :ok

Cheers bud :ok

[Liamaseire]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July 27 180s last nite so scraped by,theres a few that stand out tonite Gary Anderson vs Dean Winstanley Anderson most 180s 11/10 Boylesports Anderson is the most prolific hitter of 180s on tour and despite his recent injury and eye surgery expect him to outscore Winstanley.Very rare to get 11/10 on Anderson and cant pass it by Wes Newton vs James Hubbard Newton - 2.5 legs 8/11 Blue Square A lot to expect for Hubbard the world youth champion to beat world number 5 Newton.Still too soon for him I think and can see Newtons experience seeing him thru.Expect Newton to win 10-6 or better

[Liamaseire]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Just an early one for tommorow nite that stands out bigtime Steve Beaton vs Michael Van Gerwen Most 180s Van Gerwen 10/11 Bet365 Had this one pencilled in since sunday nite but did not expect to get these odds.Beaton did not hit a single 180 in his match with Kevin Painter.Furthermore he did not attempt to hit a single 180! Everytime he had 2 trebles he switched to 19s regardless of their ly.He is very unlikely to change after being successful against Painter.Van Gerwen will be full of confidence after taking out Whitlock and he is on his day a big scorer.Will take these odds now before they shorten

[kevshat]

Re: Betfair World Matchplay - 21-29 July Tuesday night match previews: 3pts J.Cullen to beat J.Pipe 9/4 Betfred

I think Cullen has every chance here. He is a very solid young player who scores well and isn’t too shabby on his doubles. He has a lovely rhythm to his throw and as long as he isn’t put off by Pipe’s slow pace then I think the Yorkshire youngster will go well. Pipe hasn’t shown on the big stage any signs of the 100+ averages he destroys players with on the floor and if he’s around the 95 average mark that brings Cullen bang into play. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/pipe-vs-cullen-betting-joe-cullen-could-cause-an-upset-if-pipe-flatters-to-deceive-on-the-big-stage-again 4pts W.Newton vs J.Hubbard - Over 16.5 legs 11/10 William Hill

If you look at the odds for this match you would say it is going to be pretty one sided but I don’t see that as being the case at all. Most people, myself included, expected Michael van Gerwen to thrash Hubbard in the final of the World Youth Championship but it ended up being the other way around and we saw how much getting here meant to him when he broke down on stage in Dusseldorf after beating Walsh to secure his place in the event. Whether he is good enough to beat Newton on this stage remains to be seen but I don’t think he’ll let himself down and I expect this to be closer than a lot of people think. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/newton-vs-hubbard-betting-james-hubbard-can-keep-this-closer-than-a-lot-of-people-think 4pts D.Winstanley to beat G.Anderson 7/4 BetVictor

The Englishman is a quality player in his own right, let’s make no mistake about that and he could beat a fully fit Anderson, he’s that good. He scores just as heavy as Anderson and while he offers up some interesting counting sequences once he’s on tops he doesn’t miss it too often. I can’t be having Anderson here based on his rotten Premier League showing and doubts over his condition. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/anderson-vs-winstanley-betting-dean-winstanley-looks-the-value-in-the-pick-of-the-first-round-ties 4pts R.Baxter's match average - Over 91.5 5/6 BetVictor

Baxter has been touching 100 average in the big matches recently and is regularly over 95. With the scoring which will be on show here unless there are a plethora of missed doubles I don’t expect either to average lower than 95. Full preview here:

http://www.punterslounge.com/chisnall-vs-baxter-betting-ronnie-baxter-can-end-with-a-match-average-much-higher-than-the-predicted-line