Trader’s View: PDC World Darts Championship round one and two preview

CN: What about last year’s surprise packages like Dimitri Van den Bergh and Jamie Lewis? Could they find life tougher this time around?

AV: Both of these players seem to save their best stuff for the TV tournaments.

Jamie Lewis produced his best performance of the year in beating Dimitri Van den Bergh (109.82 average) at the World Series Final last month. I can see him getting past Martin Schindler or Cody Harris in round two but I think that’s as far as he will go.

Van den Bergh had a great run to the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam and seems to be peaking at the right time. Jonny Clayton in round two will be tough, though. If the Belgian gets past him, then I think he’ll reach the quarter-finals again. Michael Smith or Mensur Suljovic should lie in wait for him, so I think that might be where he exits once again.

CN: And looking closer at the first round matches, in particular, which one do you reckon will produce the most 180s?

AV: Rapid Ricky Evans v Rowby-John Rodriguez should be a lipstick hitting fest!

CN: Anastasia Dobromyslova and Lisa Ashton both face tricky tests too. How do you see them getting on?

AV: If Ryan Joyce (v Dobromyslova) and Jan Dekker (vs Ashton) hold their nerve I don’t see any dramatic headlines. I do think Ashton can take a set off Dekker however. A 3-1 win for Dekker is 9/4.

CN: Are there any bets from the first round matches you like the look of? 

AV: I think Ryan Searle has shown enough on tour and stage this year to take care of Stephen Burton at 4/6. Gabriel Clemens look to be in a different league to Aden Kirk, too, so I think he would be worth chancing on the handicap – -2.5 is 13/5.

Paul Lim and Lourence Ilagan have both been hitting 180s for fun on the PDC Asian Tour. They could be worth looking at in the most 180s market in their respective matches. Lim is 9/5 to hit more maximums than Ross Smith, while Ilagan is 7/2 to chalk up more than Vincent van der Voort. 

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