2025 PDC WC Sunday Afternoon Preview

It was a tough evening session for James Punt yesterday. He is determined to bounce back today, check out his 2025 PDC WC Sunday Afternoon preview and tips below.

Ryan Searle vs. Matt Campbell

Searle has a very healthy seasonal win rate of 67% in 2024 and is averaging a shade under 96. He reached the semi-final of the final Players Championship event of the season and has won six of his last ten matches. All good stuff.

However, his record in the major TV events is less impressive. He has made one final, the Players Championship finals back in 2021, and since then just one quarter final from twenty three TV events. He has played in six TV events in 2024, and lost four first round matches, and won just two matches in total.

His record at Ally Pally is actually quite good. He has won all of his opening matches, three of them to nil, and he has won eleven of his eighteen matches in total. The question has to be, will his 2024 first round woes catch up with him again, or can he keep his 100% opening match record at Ally Pally?

Dour Match

Matt Campbell beat Mensur Suljovic 3-2 in a dour match. It was a 93.31 average in the end and a solid enough performance. Campbell has won his last four matches, but he hasn’t been in great form all year and he has lost ten of his last twenty. His record at Ally Pally is not great but getting better. He lost his first four opening round matches but reached the third round last year and has a win under his belt already this year.

These two have only met once before and that was 6-3 win for Searle on the floor, early last year.

Searle is the 1.30 favourite, Campbell 3.70. A fair reflection of their chances. Campbell has played a total of eight matches here and won at least one set in all but one. He even took a set off Luke Littler last year. Searle has won three of his five opening matches here 3-0. I was tempted by a 3-1 win for Searle, but there is enough doubt for me to pass on this one.

2025 PDC WC Sunday Afternoon Tip: No Bet

Dirk van Duijvenbode vs. Madars Razma

Dirk comes here on the back of a run to the semi-final of the Players Championship and after a long time on the injured list, he is nearly back to full fitness. His practice is still being time limited, but he is in much better shape than he has been for a long time.

His record here in the last four years is decent. He was a quarter finalist in 2021, reached the fourth round in the next two years, but he lost his opening match to Boris Krčmar 1-3 last year.

Razzmatazz beat Mr. Nine Darter, Christian Kist 3-1 on Wednesday. How much Kist’s head was turned by hitting that nine darter is hard to say, but that nine dart leg won him the first set. The players then got a break and Razma then won the next three sets to win the match. It was a close match in many ways, both players were 50% on the doubles, Kist outscored Razma, but the Latvian only dropped four legs in the last three sets.

Close H2H

Razma has won six of his last ten matches, not shown much consistency, but one win was against Dirk, a 6-2 win in PC30 at the end of October. Their H2H record is 4-3 to Razma, and in 2024, 1-1. They have met on TV once, in the 2022 European Championship, and Dirk won that 6-3.

Razma has played three second round matches here and won one. He lost twice to Gary Anderson, both 1-3, and he beat Mike De Decker 3-1 last year. He hasn’t had much luck with his second round opponents, and he has another tough task here.

Van Duijvenbode is the 1.40 favourite, with Razma 3.00. I expect Razma to be good enough to get at least a set on the scoreboard. Dirk has struggled in his opening matches here in the last four years. He has won three 3-2 and lost the other 1-3. That tells me he gets very nervous. Razma has already got a win and is likely to be the more relaxed player. Could we get a five setter?

2025 PDC WC Sunday Afternoon Tip: 1 point over 4.5 sets @ 3.10 with Fitzdares

Joe Cullen vs. Wessel Nijman

Nijman hasn’t had to wait long to get back the oche after his dramatic 3-2 win over Carolissen yesterday. It was very nearly a huge upset against the 34.00 shot. He was outscored by the South African and it was a reminder that he is still very inexperienced and not yet the new Littler.

Nijman has won five of his last ten matches and while he can hit huge averages, he is far from unbeatable. In his last ten matches he has hit four ton plus averages, but four sub 93s. It was interesting that he said that he thought ‘oh, no. Am I going to bottle it again’ during the match.

Clearly that ridiculous run of three ton plus averages and three defeats in the Grand Slam has left some scar tissue.

Poor Campaign

Joe Cullen has had a poor season. He had some off the oche worries that affected his game. He says that is all sorted out now and that he is getting back to work. The Rockstar has a long way to go before he can be said to be back. He has lost ten of his last twelve matches. However, it can be done, and we saw Brendan Dolan win his second round match 3-0, despite him being in dire form coming into the event.

Nijman should be a bit more relaxed now that he has dodged a bullet. Many a good run here has featured at least one great escape along the way.

Nijman is the 1.40 favourite, Cullen 3.25. Cullen’s record here has improved in recent years, but it has hardly been his favourite venue.

2025 PDC WC Sunday Afternoon Tip: 1 point Nijman to win -1.5 sets @ 1.91 with Betfred

Ritchie Edhouse vs. Ian White

Ian White skipped a friend’s funeral to play his opening tie against Sandro Eric Sosing on Friday. That match never happened as Sosing had to be taken to hospital with chest pains. That meant White got a bye into the second round and an extra £7500 in prizemoney. He has had a couple of days to get his head round all that, which he may have needed.

White has won four of his last ten matches and his game is all over the place. He has hit three ton plus averages in those last ten, he beat MVG 6-1 in the Players Championship, but then averaged 76 the next day, in a 0-6 loss to Mike de Decker. His opening match record here is played twelve and won five. He has always won at least one set. He has lost six matches 1-3.

Local Track

This is Edhouse’s local venue. He can catch the 329 from Enfield to Wood Green. Hop off, have a short walk to The Starting Gate for a quick livener, and then a slog up the Hill to the palace. At least, that’s what I would do.

Edhouse goes here as a major winner, the European Champion. He has won six of his last ten matches, and is playing well, but there have been a three sub 90s in there aswell. Edhouse has never done well here. Never gone beyond the second round in four attempts. He has a decent chance to break that unwanted record this afternoon.

2025 PDC WC Sunday Afternoon Tip: 0.5 point Ritchie Edhouse to win 3-1 @ 3.80 with Fitzdares, SpreadEx

-JamesPunt