Stan James World Matchplay Darts - July 17-25

[theoldmaster]

with the draw still to take place and the final field not yet confirmed i will be back with more tips later. Nice to be back again and hope i still have the success i enjoyed at the Players Champs and World Champs. ADRIAN LEWIS 33/1 EW. make no mistake this lad is capable of the highest quality darts, and on his game there is no better scorer in the game than Jackpot, his only achilles heel seems to be taking on Taylor, and he is prone to rush the darts just a tad on the big finishes. For me though he should be backed this format at Balckpool of leg play rather than sets suits Aidy down to the ground asd matchplay enable a players to charge off into the distance the way that set play does'nt allow. and if Aidy can open a 5-6 leg gap on his opponents (quite within his capabilities) then he won't be caught by 99% of the field i'm afraid that 33s is far to big a price here i'd have been looking more towards 16-20s myself. so lets give Stanley a bloody nose and take his price here. PAUL NICHOLSON 66/1 EW at the risk of copping the wrath of Kevshat here! he hates the asset i on the other hand rate this guy, the ONLY man to beat Taylor in a televised game this year, Januarys players champs saw him priced also at 66s and he went on to win that (recall i tipped him too ) this lad has guts and bottle that is not in doubt, he can score heavily though more a John Lowe type (140s , 100s) than a maximum but he always seems to ram them in at just the right moment also his success rate the third dart is something i've noticed always seems to find the bed with the final dart usually leaving himself on an outshot. and his forte is taking out the big shots in the players champ you may recall he took out around 6 100+ shots in the final against Taylor and i'm think they set a record of 6 consecutive legas of 100+ finishes Most men would have faltered in those circumstances, fisrt major final, against an on form Taylor, at the circus tavern for the first time but Paul just revells in adversity. while i accept his entrance and demeanour on stage is' not everyones cup of tea (just ask Kev) no one can doubt his ability darts needs his ilk, he is a breathe of fresh air and surely ANYONE that can take on Taylor AND beat him should be welcomed! the only thing that concerns me about Nichloson is the format i think he is better suited to set play, though his PC win was matchplay so thats a minor concern, so i am taking him at this price he can beat ANY of the top 16 players and i guarantee you they will not want to be in his half of the draw. RONNIE BAXTER 66/1 the rocket has been enjoying an Indian summer in the last 18 months, and he seems to really enjoy the week in Blackpool more than most, he has been runner up here before snatching defeat from the jaws of victory as i recall, but Ronni is a likeable chap and a real favourie on the circuit , yes we know he has weaknesses his finishing under pressure is suspect, and he is like Lewis in that he can rattle off half a dozen legs in no time but he also shoare a Lewis trait i forgot to mention, he is'nt a good chaser when they are leading all well and good but they always seems to struggle when behind in a game ( othe players like Part, Preistley, Whitlock Painter Taylor and Nicholson) seem to thrive on having to claw back a lead whilst others don't relish it and indeed aretotally differnt players when having to do so. but im happy to take Ronnie at this price. Those are my opening salvos, i'll be back when the draw is confirmed though a havy workload this week may prevent me from posting as much as i would like

[kevshat]

Re: STAN JAMES WORLD MATCHPLAY DARTS Time for me to begin to turn my attention to this now. Will be back with some outrights nearer the off in a tournament I absolutely love but I'll go with one outright just now. 4pts P.Taylor Most Tournament 180's 7/2 Betfred Really like this price. Unlike in the Premier League when I piled into Adrian Lewis in this market, the 180's will be distorted depending on how far a player gets in the competition. You'd be a brave man to suggest Phil Taylor won't win this event. I think he will even though in Anderson or Whitlock he has a potential tough semi final opponent. Bookies do too given that he's a best of 4/9 to win the event. So we can factor in that Taylor will play the full 5 matches. Going through his rivals in market order we've got Anderson who has a tough 1st round game against Thornton and is in a really tough quarter of the draw. Adrian Lewis is a huge 180 hitter but he's got a tough 1st round match in Mark Webster and with all likelihood Wade and Barney to go through before a final I'm fine to take Jackpot on. James Wade has a nice draw but hasn't hit the 180's he capable of in 2010 really and if he played Taylor in the final I'm very confident Taylor would have hit more 180's by then. Simon Whitlock could be a contender but he'd meet Taylor in the semis if he got past Anderson or King in the quarter finals. Barney aside, who could be Taylor's biggest danger for me, the rest are making up the numbers in this market. There is the school of thought I guess that Taylor would win matches easier than most and not play many legs but it's not often you lose a leg having hit a 180 and the amount of times it would happen isn't worth worrying about. Taylor on his night can be a heavy 180 scorer and with a rematch with Nicholson, the only guy to have beaten him on TV this year, in the last 16 before a new rival in Whitlock and Anderson in the last 4, Taylor will be focused on big scoring and thrashing opponents more so than normal. 7/2 is a more than fair price on what could turn into a 2 horse race between the two finalists so I'm more than happy to get on at this price.