2024 WC Darts Friday Afternoon Tips – JP
2024 WC Darts Friday Afternoon Preview & Tips
Three winners from five bets in last night’s session. We came agonisingly close to landing our 28/1 Dolan 4-3 bet but he ended up winning 4-2. We go again this afternoon, check out James Punt’s 2024 WC Darts Friday Afternoon match previews and tips below.
Damon Heta vs. Berry van Peer
Heta was very average when beating Martin Lukeman 3-1. It was a poor match, but a comfortable win to make it seven wins from his last ten.
Heta has played two third rounds at Ally Pally and lost both 2-4 and 0-4. He has reached three major quarter finals this year and he is more used to having good runs in the big ones now.
Berry van Peer is one of the remaining unseeded players left in the tournament and perhaps the most surprising, given his big losing streak coming into the event (he had lost seven of his last ten). He will come back to earth at some point and this may be the time he does.
Heta Dominant H2H
These two have met six times and Heta has won five. Two matches were in 2023 and one was a 6-5 win for Heta and the other a 6-1 win.
Peer has nothing to lose and if he can play with freedom he has an advantage, as Heta will be a bit tight given his record here. Van Peer has been very strong on the doubles and Heta’s were very poor against Lukeman. More of the same and Berry can put Heta under pressure, which is what he needs to do.
Damon Heta is 1.36 favourite, Van Peer 3.50. The odds look right to me. No bet.
2024 WC Darts Friday Afternoon Tip: No Bet
Jonny Clayton vs. Krzysztof Ratajski
This is an interesting one. Jonny Clayton continues to struggle and he was poor when beating Steve Lennon 3-1. Both players averaged under 90 and they missed no less than sixty two doubles between them. It was a case of somebody had to win and Clayton had the lucky ticket.
Krzysztof Ratajski was equally unimpressive when beating Jamie Hughes 3-1 and averaging 89. At least he was decent on the outer ring with a checkout rate of 42% and he hit five 180s. Perhaps it was just one of those shit matches were nobody got going?
Both players have lost five of their last ten matches. Their H2H record is 5-4 to Clayton. In 2023 it is 2-1 Clayton and on TV 2-2. Clayton has played three third round matches hare and won two, Ratajski has also played three but lost two.
A Grind?
We have seen some great matches and excellent scoring in the tournament, but I suspect that this will not be another. It could be a low scoring grind.
Ratajski has just been playing a little better than Clayton and this is a great opportunity for him to make the fourth round. Clayton just looks in turmoil, very unhappy and not enjoying life, which is very unlike him.
It looks like getting over the loss of his father is going to take more time and being on the big stage is not a comfortable place for him right now.
2024 WC Darts Friday Afternoon Tip: 1 point Krzysztof Ratajski to win @ 2.15 with Ladbrokes
Jim Williams vs. Raymond van Barneveld
Barney looked pretty good in his 3-1 win over Szaganski, averaging 99.81 and checking out at 55%. That would be very hard to beat and Williams could be heading for the exit here.
Williams got an easy 3-0 win over a hopeless Peter Wright. It was hardly a game of darts to be honest and Williams looked a bit embarrassed. He only averaged 90.45, but that was more than enough.
His tournament really starts here despite having already won two matches, both 3-0. He beat Norman Madhoo 3-0 and only needed 87.94 in that one. Facing someone throwing things back at him may come as a surprise.
Heavy Scorer
Williams is a pretty heavy scorer with a seasonal average of 95.13 and he will need to get closer to that today. RVB has a seasonal average of 93.50 and he does tend to play close to it a lot of the time.
Barney hasn’t got beyond the third round since 2018 and it is fair to say that his best days are behind him, but he is not without a chance. Williams has only played one third round match here and he lost 3-4 to Gabriel Clemens last year.
The bookmakers are finding it hard to separate them. Barney is 1.95 and Williams 2.00. They have only met once before, a Players Championship match back in February which Barny won 6-2. Barney played very well in that game and I suspect that he will again today.
He still has massive support and he can still play high quality darts. Williams has been gifted his place in the third round but the rest of his form in PDC majors is very poor.
