2025 PDC WC Thursday Evening Preview

It was another profitable session for James Punt on Thursday afternoon thanks to Smash Lukeman and Robert Owen. He’s now fired in five winners in a row, four of them odds against. You can check out his 2025 PDC WC Thursday evening preview and tips below.

Nick Kenny vs. Stowe Buntz

Kenny has not played here for the last two years, but in his two previous appearances he has won one of first round matches, beating Derk Telnekes 3-2 in 2021. He lost his other first round match 0-3 to Rowby-John Rodriguez the following year. He has never averaged above 89 in his three matches here, so he hasn’t really played to his usual standard.

Kenny has lost six of his last ten matches and played some good stuff, not with any great consistency, but he has been hitting plenty of 90+ averages. He took Michael Smith to a deciding leg in the Players Championship finals in his last match, one of three 5-6 losses in his last ten.

Fancy Pants

Stowe Buntz had his fun in the 2023 Grand Slam, reaching the quarter finals, but he lost his first round match here last year, a 0-3 loss to Kevin Doets. He is a bit of a showman, the American Peter Wright, with his fancy pants.

His last event was a WDF tournament, the Gibraltar Mens Open, which he won a few weeks ago. His average over the last three months is 89.27, which is not a mile away from Kenny’s 91.47. Buntz has been pretty deadly on the doubles, checking out at just under 50%, compared to 41% for Kenny.

Buntz is a handy player, and a tricky first round opponent. He doesn’t hit a lot of 180s, but he can take his chances. He also likes the big TV stage and I would say he has a reasonable chance of winning, or at least going close.

Nick Kenny is the 1.73 favourite with Buntz a 2.25 shot. Could this be a five setter?

2025 PDC WC Thursday evening tip: 1 point over 4.5 sets @ 2.75 with Betfair

Mensur Suljovic vs. Matt Campbell

Mensur has played in fifteen previous World Championships and won eight of his opening matches. His recent form sees six successive defeats, but he was playing top-flight players most of the time. He doesn’t have the consistency that he had a few years ago but he can still play.

Matt Campbell has played in five previous World Championships. He lost his first four first round matches but reached the third round last year. He has usually played quite well in his matches here with six 91+ averages and usually in the 93 – 96 zone. His recent form sees just four wins from his last ten matches and his seasonal win rate is just 45%.

Their H2H record, important when Suljovic is playing, is 2-1 to The Gentle. Campbell won their only match this year, a 6-1 win in a Players Championship match back in July. They have never had a close match, with scores of 0-5 in the 2021 Grand Slam, a 6-2 in a 2022 Players Championship and that 6-1 this year. Despite that, I see this as being a close match. Both are grinders and don’t give up easily.

Suljovic is the 1.73 favourite, with Campbell 2.20. It is hard to get any angle here. Over 4.5 sets is a 2.75 shot, but their record of one sided matches is a worry.

2025 PDC WC Thursday evening tip: 1 point over 4.5 sets @ 2.75 with Betfair

Scott Williams vs. Niko Springer

It is hard to make sense of Scott Williams’ form. He went into the Players Championship finals on the back of six straight defeats but reached the quarter final and played some very good stuff. He came here last year having lost five of his last ten matches but went all the way to the semi-final. Williams clearly prefers the big stage to the floor and he has won both his first round matches here.

Niko Springer is a player who caught my eye playing on the Euro Tour a few years ago. He didn’t make great progress, a couple of third rounds, but he looked a decent player. He is still only 24 years old and has won three Development tour titles in 2024 and is second on that OOM, well behind Wessell Nijman, but a clear second.

Lacks Experience

Springer does lack experience of playing the top PDC pros and he is making his Ally Pally debut. He played Scott Williams on the Euro Tour back in April and lost 1-6. He also played Williams in a 2023 Euro Tour event and beat him 6-4.

Springer has been playing some good stuff of late. In the last three months his average is 92.94, his checkout rate 40% and has been hitting the maximums at a very creditable 0.36 per leg. The question is, can he do it on the big stage? We know that Williams can and has.

Williams is the 1.73 favourite, Springer 2.20. Springer looks a bit short to me. He is a good, promising player, but he is unproven at this level. No bet for me.

2025 PDC WC Thursday evening tip: No bet

Michael Smith vs. Kevin Doets

A fascinating match to end the night. It is a repeat of last year’s second round match, which Smith won 3-2. It was a close affair with Smith averaging 100, Doets 99.5. Doets hit nine maximums, Smith five. Smith, at 50% on the doubles was just about able to get it done.

They met on the Euro Tour in October 2024, and Smith won that 6-3. That was really poor match, both averaging in the 80s and missing 29 doubles between them.

Michael Smith is not in good form, losing five of his last ten matches, not hitting a single ton plus average, and most notably, his doubling has been off. Eight of his last ten matches saw checkout rates of 33% or under and that used to be his Achille’s Heel before he won his first major. Is that problem returning to haunt him?

Confidence Growing

Kevin Doets is growing in confidence. Nijman and Van Veen may be getting the headlines when it comes to the young Dutch players, but Doets is highly rated. However, he is not in good form, losing six of his last ten matches.

Doets lacks the big firepower that he needs to move up to the next level. His average in the last three months is just 90.42 and his consistency leaves a lot to be desired. He is quite a confident young man and that is a plus, especially playing a Michael Smith who is out of sorts.

Smith is the 1.30 favourite and Doets 4.00. The 4.00 is tempting, but there is a bit more wriggle room on the handicap.

2025 PDC WC Thursday evening tip: 1 point Kevin Doets to win +1.5 sets @ 2.30 with Boylesports

-JamesPunt