PDC World Matchplay Sunday Session Preview

It is going to be a busy day of sport today. The PDC World Matchplay, the British GP and the Open Championship are all scheduled for this afternoon and we have another session of darts later tonight. James Punt has a few tasty bets for you, check out his PDC World Matchplay Sunday darts fancies below.

Krzysztof Ratajski vs. Brendan Dolan

Ratajski must be getting a bit frustrated. He has been playing well but struggling to win and not getting many good runs going. He last reached a quarter final in PC 8 back in March and has won five of his last ten matches. His seasonal average is a very respectable 97.4 but his annual win rate has dropped from 70% in 2020 to 57% in 2021.

Brendan Dolan on the other hand is going from strength to strength. He made a small change to his throw at the end of 2020 and he is enjoying a lot of good results. He won 13 matches at last week’s Super Series 5, was a quarter finalist in PC17 and runner up in PC19 he won PC5 back in March and his many good runs have moved him up to 8th place on the pro tour O.O.M. (Ratajski 14th). His win rate in 2021 is 73% and while his scoring average of 95 is a little shy of Ratajski’s, he has been more effective.

Ratajski is the bookies 1.83 favourite with Dolan the 2.25 outsider. The Polish Eagle has won their previous two matches which may explain his favouritism but, on this year’s form, I would have to make Dolan the favourite.

PDC World Matchplay Sunday Tip: 1 point Brendan Dolan to win @ 2.25 with Betvictor

Glen Durrant vs. Callan Rydz

The out of form Glan Durrant is defending semi-final money at the same time as trying to find any semblance of a game. His win rate in 2021 is just 29% and his most recent appearance in Super Series 5 saw Duzza win just one match and that was against a distracted Joe Cullen who withdrew the next day. You have to go back to march to find Durrants last 90 plus average. Three of his last ten matches saw sub 80 averages. He is getting worse, not better.

Rydz won his first players championship title back in February, beating Jonny Clayton in the final. More recently he reached the semi-final of PC16 but he only won three Matches at Super Series 5 last week and he has won five of his ten matches.

If we look at their relative performances across the twenty players championship tournaments in 2021, Rydz is averaging 95.4, the 17th highest average, while Durrant’s average of 88 is 118th.

Rydz may not be at his best and will struggle to make much progress this week, but he should win this match and he should win it comfortably.

The other players are feeling a bit sorry for Duzza and very few want to humiliate him. We have seen opponents not trying too hard against him. Hopefully Rydz will take his job seriously, he has a great chance to pick up good ranking money, and fully try his best.

Rydz is the 1.33 favourite but I will use the handicap again to boost the odds for what should be a wide margin of victory.

PDC World Matchplay Sunday Tip: 1 point Rydz to win -5.50 legs @ 3.75 with Boylesports

Rob Cross vs. Ross Smith

Cross is defending the winner’s prizemoney from 2019 which is added pressure he doesn’t need. His recent form is decent and six straight wins at the Euro tour qualifiers will have pleased him, although outside of a 109 average when beating Kim Huybrechts, he didn’t have do too much to win. Putting his opponents to the sword will boost confidence and that is what he did.

His consistency is still a bit patchy, but he is returning to better form, not where he was in 2017 – 2019, but better than last year. His season average is 96 and his win rate 61%.

Ross Smith’s confidence will have been boosted by him winning PC19 last week. He averaged 105.6 when beating Gerwyn Price 6-4 in the third round, 101.9 when beating Gary Anderson 6-1 in the quarter final and 100 when beating Ryan Joyce 7-2 in the semi-final. Smith is a very talented player and, on his day, he can and has beaten them all.

Their H2H record is 3-2 to Cross, all in floor tournaments, and Smith won their last two, both 6-5.

Two players playing themselves into form at the right time could produce a good, close match. Their relative seasonal averages and win rates are very close and picking the winner here is not easy.

The bookmakers have Cross as the 1.73 favourite and Smith the 2.40 outsider. I might have than a bit closer and the value lies with Smith but perhaps backing a long match might be the wiser route.

PDC World Matchplay Sunday Tip: 1 point over 17.5 legs @ 2.60 with Ladbrokes

James Wade vs. Luke Humphries

This is another with the potential to be close. Both are averaging 96 in 2021 and there win rates are 69% for Humphries and 70% for Wade. Their H2H record is 3-2 to Wade but Humphries has recent bragging rights after beating Wade 6-1 during the recent Super Series 5. Both players have seven of their last ten matches.

The bookmakers have Wade as the 1.73 favourite, Humphries 2.38. There is a little value in Humphries odds but I suspect this match could be close despite the recent easy win for Humphries.

PDC World Matchplay Sunday Tip: 2 points over 16.5 legs @ 1.80 with Boylesports

PDC World Matchplay Sunday Evening: Joe Cullen vs. Chris Dobey

Chris Dobey finally got his first senior PDC title at the recent Super Series 5. He had been playing well for a while without getting a break, but PC 18 saw him beat Jose de Sousa 8-7 in the final but only after De Sousa missed a handful of match darts. Since that win Dobey has played nine and won just four. Hopefully for him it is just a bit of mental let-down after an important win. His seasonal average is 96.4 and win rate in 2021 55%, which is actually down on last year.

Joe Cullen is enjoying his best season yet, winning two players championship titles and winning 74% of his matches (a career high). His seasonal average is 96.5. Cullen tops the pro tour 0.0.M. such has been his performances in the players champion events in 2021 but he withdrew on the final day of Super Series 5 saying that his head wasn’t in the right place. He has lost his last five matches in a row, averaging just 87.3. We now just have to guess whether there was something off the oche which was distracting him and whether whatever it was has been sorted.

Cullen is the 1.80 favourite with Dobey a 2.10 shot. Their career H2H record is 7-2 to Cullen. Four of those nine matches went to a deciding leg and with the two players form being so similar this year, we could go to extra time with this one. However, with huge question marks over both players most recent form, this is a match to avoid. No bet.

Michael Smith vs. Ryan Searle

Bullyboy is having a low-profile season but is playing well, winning 73% (a career high) of his matches, picking up a players championship title and reaching another final. He has won eight of his last ten matches. Smith was runner up here in 2019 and reached the semi-finals last year, so he is defending a lot of money which brings a bit more pressure into his game.

Ryan Searle is bubbling under, winning seven of his last ten, winning 66% of his matches in 2021 and averaging 95.5. He was runner up in PC 15 last month and reached the semi-final of PC 18 more recently, losing both in deciding legs to Jose de Sousa. Searle is a very heavy scorer when he is in top form and at the recent Super Series 5 he hit three 110+ averages and six ton plus averages, winning eight matches. He now has regular practice sessions with Gary Anderson which can only help him to raise his game.

Their H2H record is 5-2 to Smith and it must be said that only one match, a 6-4 win for Searle, has been reasonably close.

Tough To Call

A hard match to call. Both players have the potential to score very heavily. Both are in good form but Smith has the better H2H record. I expect Searle to have a good season and maybe pick up a win or two, but he got a bad draw here. That is not to say he can’t win but it is hard to disagree with odds of 1.67 for Smith and 2.38 for Searle.

 I will stick with their record of rather one-sided matches and one way or another, hopefully it will be a short match.

PDC World Matchplay Sunday Tip: 1 point under 16.5 legs @ 2.10 with SpreadEx, Betfred

Peter Wright vs. Danny Noppert

Wright has won three players championship titles in 2021, has a win rate of 69% and is averaging 97.6. As always with Snakebite, it is not all plain sailing. His performances in recent Super series events have been for him to start slowly and then win a title on the last day.

At Super Series 5 he lost in the first round on the first two days, lost in the 3rd round on day three, and won on day four. In Super Series 4 he lost in the first round on day one, lost in the second round on day two, reached the quarter final on day three and won on day four. In Super Series 2 he again won on the final day although he was more consistent through the week.

Snakebite Needs Fast Start

If Wright produces a slow start in this match, he could be going home early. Danny Noppert has been playing well for a while now, scoring well and winning plenty of matches. Noppert won twelve matches at Super Series 5, hit eight ton plus averages but failed to get further than a quarter final. He lost that quarter final 3-6 to Peter Wright. Noppert has the opposite pattern of play to Wright, he starts well but gets tight at the business end of tournaments. He has won just one PDC title and that was back in 2018, the same year he last beat Peter Wright.

Wright has won nine of his last ten matches, Noppert seven. Wright’s win rate in 2021 is 69%, Noppert’s 68% and Wright’s 2021 average is 97.6 to Noppert’s 96.1.

This is a potential banana skin for Wright. If he starts slowly Noppert is good enough and playing well enough to take advantage. But can Noppert forget that he lost the last match he played and lost it to Wright, never mind the last five consecutive defeats to Snakebite. At the odds, it is worth taking a chance on Noppert.

PDC World Matchplay Sunday Tip: 1 point Danny Noppert to win @ 3.75 with Betvictor

Jose de Sousa vs. Gabriel Clemens

De Sousa’s game is in great shape coming into this tournament. He tops the seasonal averages at 99.52, is first for 180’s hit, 180’s hit per leg and he is ranked 5th for checkout % (44%). The Special One has won seven of his last ten matches and had seven ton plus averages in those ten matches. He has a 4-1 H2H record against Clemens and won the last four in a row.

Clemens has been in good form himself, also winning seven of his ten, is averaging 93.1 with a checkout % of 41%. He is capable of heavy scoring and had a 111 average in one match at SS5. His problem is that De Sousa is just better than him, he is better than anyone right now.

De Sousa is the 1.35 favourite and he should win fairly comfortably. Clemens is playing well enough to win legs so it shouldn’t be a rout.

PDC World Matchplay Sunday Tip: 0.5 point De Sousa to win 10-6 @ 7.50 with SpreadEx, Boylesports

-JamesPunt