2024 PC Finals Sunday Preview

We now move into Finals day at the Players Championship Finals and the question is, can anyone stop Luke Littler? James Punt is on the job, check out his 2024 PC Finals Sunday preview and tips below.

Mike de Decker vs. Luke Littler

This is a repeat of the second round match at the Grand Slam just ten days ago. In that match, De Decker went 8-4 up but eventually lost it 9-10, with, it must be said, the help of the PDC Whistler trying to put De Decker off.

De Decker was interviewed yesterday and said that he knows he is up against the favourite, but he just hoped that ‘the crowd will be fair’. Sorry Mike, there is not a chance of that. The spectators are under Littler’s spell. It’s like Trumpmania…but with darts. Fairness, sportsmanship, call it what you want, will not exist when Littler plays.

Littler has won his last ten matches, has a tournament average of 107.88 and is 2-0 vs. Decker. He is the 1.20 favourite to win the match, with De Decker at 4.75. Does De Decker have any chance? Of course he does, he should have won their last match, and he is in great form himself.

De Decker Needs A Littler Off Day

Decker has only dropped five legs in his three matches he has won seven of his last ten matches and has a tournament average of 96.54. Good stats, but not as good as Littler’s. The truth is that he needs Littler to have an off day. He will have them, but there have been absolutely no signs that there are any cracks in his game this weekend.

The fact that this is a best of nineteen leg match also helps Littler. In the Grand Slam, Littler would have lost a shorter format match to De Decker, but the longer format gave him the time to come back, and this is another best of nineteen leg match.

Littler is impossible to oppose. We are on De Decker to win the quarter, and effectively we are on him at 12.00 to beat Littler. Sadly, a good value loser, but you can of course lay it off at 5.00.

There is one bet I will have and that is over 13.5 180s. Both have been smashing them in, De Decker at 0.41 per leg, and Littler at 0.63 per leg. So long as we get to around fifteen or sixteen legs, I would be surprised if we didn’t surpass 13 maximums.

2024 PC Finals Sunday Tip: 1 point over 13.5 180’s at 2.00 with Betfair

Scott Williams vs. Ross Smith

Williams came into this event on the back of six straight defeats, yet here he is in the quarter final. He does like the big stage. His tournament average is 95.27 which is pretty much bang on Smith’s 95.68. Smith has won eight of his last ten matches but he is not in top form and is not playing with any great consistency.

Their H2H record is 2-0 to Smith and he does have good memories of playing Williams in this event, having beaten him 6-2 in the first round last year.

Neither player has a body of form that you can bank on. Ross Smith has been underachieving for much of the season and Williams is very anonymous away from the TV cameras. If this was a floor match, then Smith at 1.61 would be about right, but on TV is Williams really the 2.48 outsider?

I am happy to go with the outsider here. Williams is a different beast on the telly. He was playing a World Championship semi-final at the start of the year, after all.

2024 PC Finals Sunday Tip: 1 point Scott Williams to win @ 2.48 with Livescorebet

Connor Scutt vs. Dirk van Duijvenbode

These two players are very close on form. Both have won seven of their last ten matches. Their tournament averages are 95.26 for Scutt and 96.18 for Dirk. The Dutchman is hitting more 180s, 0.45 per leg compared to 0.31 for Scutt. Both are better than their 12 month rate in that respect.

I like a player who is hitting a lot of maximums as it can make breaking their opponents throw easier, and their own easier to defend. It just builds more pressure, and Dirk should have the edge.

Their H2H record is 3-1 to Van Duijvenbode. All four matches were on the floor, and all of Dirk’s wins were very comfortable, 6-1, 6-1 and 6-2. All were played between 2022 and 2023. Hopefully Dirk can keep calm and not beat himself up, which he can do.

2024 PC Finals Sunday Tip: 1 point Dirk van Duijvenbode to win @ 1.73 with Betfred, Betvictor

Luke Humphries vs. Ryan Joyce

Ryan Joyce is having one of those tournaments where he just sneaks under the radar, and goes home with a big cheque. So far, he has averaged 93.48 across his three matches, but he has been lucky that he has faced three opponents who all averaged 87 against him. What are the odds on that?

Probably smaller than Humphries doing it against him. Humphries tournament average is 98.22, so he does have a significant scoring advantage.

Their H2H record is 7-2 to Luke Humphries and he has won their last seven matches in a row. In 2024 it is 3-0 and they last met in the Grand Prix semi-final when Humphries won 5-0. They also met in this event last year, in the semi-final, and Humphries won 11-3.

Humphries is the 1.24 favourite but he looks a solid handicap bet to me. He hasn’t really hit top gear yet, so he may not smash Joyce up to same extent, but it should be comfortable.

2024 PC Finals Sunday Tip: 1 point Luke Humphries to win -3.5 legs @ 1.88 with Livescorebet

That is that from me this weekend. Next stop is Alexandra Palace. The World Championship preview will be unleashed on Friday the 13th…unlucky for some? Maybe I should make it the 14th. It could be a very short preview this year!

-JamesPunt