World Grand Prix Monday Tips

After an exciting opening evening at the 2021 World Grand Prix, the action continues on Monday. James Punt has left no stone unturned in his search for winners and he has previewed every single match. Check out his World Grand Prix Monday tips below.

Darius Labanauskas vs. Brendan Dolan

There has only been one meeting between these two, back in 2019, which Labanauskas won 6-1. Since then, Dolan has made a little change to his modus operandi and is a much improved player, rising up the rankings and winning titles. He is ranked 13th for scoring in the last 12 months with a 95.8 average, his win rate is 72%, his checkout rate is 44%, bettered only by James Wade so he is good on the outer ring. Dolan has won seven of his last ten matches, he has been a runner up and semi-finalist in this event but that was 10 and 9 years ago.

Labanauskas won six, but he was playing most of those on the Nordic and Baltic tour. His seasonal average is 91.9 and he has a checkout rate of 40.6 %. Lucky D isn’t miles away from Dolan in terms of performance, but Dolan is in better form and more experienced.

Brendan is the 1.57 favourite, Labanauskas 2.63. There might be a bit of value for Dolan, but this match makes little appeal betting wise.

Callan Rydz vs. Jonny Clayton

We are on Rydz to win this quarter of the draw and go all the way. His form is good and confidence building after a season which has seen him win his first senior title, beating Jonny Clayton 8-7 in the final of PC2 in February. He reached the semi-final of PC16 in June and the quarter final of the World Matchplay in July. Most recently he lost to Brendan Dolan in the third round of the Gibraltar Darts Trophy last weekend having averaged 103 in the first round and 110 in the second, beating Peter Wright 6-3.

After Dolan defeated Rydz, Dolan said that if he was a darts manager, the first player he would sign up would be Callan Rydz. He is still young and inexperienced, but the talent is there to have a very successful career in the game. He also might have an advantage over many of the other players this week. Young Rydz plays in a lot of local league matches in his local North East area, and the double in format is widely played there. It is a format which will be quite normal for him which might help him settle into matches.

Mixed Form For Ferret

Clayton, the 2021 Premier League winner, just in case anyone has forgotten, has won five of his last ten matches and only won one match in this tournament from three starts. Clayton lost both his two first round matches in the recent Euro Tour events. One against Adam Gawlas, the other vs Adam Neal-Smith. That is not great form to be bringing into a major, especially as the reason for his defeats was poor doubling.

His checkout rates were 16% and 22% in those two matches. The Ferret is a top player, and elite player, but his one weakness is that he can go AWOL on the doubles. His checkout rate in the last 12 months is a very respectable 41% (40% for Rydz) but for his last three matches, Clayton’s checkout rate has been sub 30%. Unless he is able to correct that, he is in trouble.

If Rydz has his scoring boots on and Clayton is still struggling on his doubles, The Riot must have a good chance to win this.

World Grand Prix Monday Tip: 1 point Callan Rydz to win @ 3.00 with Boylesports, Betvictor, Paddy Power, Skybet

Vincent van der Voort vs. Gabriel Clemens

Big Vincent has played in nine previous World Grand Prix and won four matches in total, so he is no expert. He has won five of his last ten matches but lost the last three and lost them with a checkout % of 25, 26 and 15. Like Clayton, that is a part of your game you don’t want to have problems with coming into this format.

Clemens has won six of his last ten, but he doesn’t look at his best. His scoring has been weak in recent matches, and it is hard to get excited about his chances.

There is no H2H form to go on and Clemens has been made the 1.73 favourite with Van der Voort 2.25. That looks about right and this is another match which is a good opportunity to go and get some refreshments sorted out rather than betting on it.

Nathan Aspinall vs. Krzysztof Ratajski

Ratajski has a 3-1 H2H record over Aspinall which is a bit of a surprise. Aspinall is a major winner and a two-time Premier League semi-finalist but he has struggled with Ratajski, even on the stage, with Ratajski 2-1 in TV matches.

The Polish eagle is not in great form having lost six of his last ten and he has lost both his first-round matches in this event. He had his best run in a major championship at the World Matchplay in July, reaching the semi-final. However, he was in better form then and his scoring lately has been below his usual standard.

Nathan Aspinall has had an indifferent season but looks to have turned a corner at just the right time. He was very impressive when averaging 102 over his four matches in Gibraltar last weekend. He lost 3-7 to Gerwyn Price in the semi-final but doesn’t everyone? The Asp was playing with little consistency recently but says that he is back on the practice board and working harder on his game. If he can up that consistency, he can have good late season where all the big money is.

Aspinall is the 1.83 favourite, Ratajski 2.07 and despite their H2H record, Aspinall looks the better value here.

World Grand Prix Monday Tip: 1 point Nathan Aspinall to win @ 1.83 with Betfred

Gary Anderson vs. Ian White

Anderson has a decent 10-5 H2H record over White, and his tournament record is good, without being brilliant. He has only ever lost two first round matches from eleven starts. His recent form sees six wins from his last ten matches, but his playing schedule can only be best described as light. He skipped the last round of players championship tournaments and had two months off after the World Matchplay. Anderson returned for the Nordic Darts Masters where he went through the motions, beating a local qualifier before losing a poor match to Nathan Aspinall.

Ian White has dropped off the darting radar in the last year. He was a regular feature at the business end of players championships, ever present on the Euro Tour, but he has only played 58 matches in 2021, with just two players championship semi-finals of note. His win rate is just 51.7% in 2021 and White has built a career based on a win rate in the mid 60’s.  On the positive side, his last good run to a semi-final was in August when he lost 3-7 to Gerwyn Price but averaged 100. White has beaten Anderson is this tournament a few years ago but has never gone beyond the quarter finals.

On The Way Out?

Two players who may be on the way out. Anderson seems increasingly disinterested, he doesn’t like the way the game is played anymore and he doesn’t practice enough to keep up with the young guns. White is the wrong side of 50 and just seems to have lost his form.

Anderson is the better player but there is not much in it on this year’s form. Anderson wins more matches, can still put a good run together in the majors and he has the better tournament record. That, along with their H2H form, is enough to justify his 1.50 favouritism. However, it is not a value bet at those odds, but I would want more than 2.90 before betting on White.

Peter Wright vs. Rob Cross

Snakebite is the 1.40 favourite here. Rob Cross has only ever won a single match is his previous four World Grand Prix. Wright doesn’t have a particularly good record either, but it is better than Cross’.

Cross has won five of his last ten as he continues to string a good run together. His game has looked like it was heading the right way for most of the season, but most recently he is winning one, losing one and his scoring has been very ordinary. In his last seven matches he has averaged over 95 once. Wright is scoring better and is hitting more doubles.

Their H2H record could not be closer at 11-11 and two draws. However, Wright has won six of their last seven which is indictive of Cross’ loss of form in the last couple of years.

World Grand Prix Monday Tip: 1 point Peter Wright to win 2-0 @ 2.40 with SpreadEx

Michael van Gerwen vs. Danny Noppert

Danny Noppert is up against it, but he is not without a chance. MVG has only ever lost two first round matches here, on his debut year and in 2017 when he lost to John Henderson. Only Phil Taylor has a better record than Van Gerwen and added to that, MVG’s recent form sees eight wins from his last ten. His H2H record with Noppert shows a 6-1 lead and their last match was just a few days ago in the Gibraltar Darts Trophy. Van Gerwen won that 6-5 after Noppert let a big lead slip and missed match darts. That means both their 2021 matches went to a decider and Noppert lost both.

Noppert has won his first-round match in this event for the last two years but his recent form sees six losses from his last ten matches. There isn’t much wrong with his scoring, maybe a little inconsistent, but he fails to convert too many good efforts into wins.

With this format and short match length, these first round matches are banana skins for the top players, but does Noppert really believe he can beat his illustrious compatriot? He had a golden opportunity last week and still didn’t take his chance.

Van Gerwen is the 1.29 favourite, Noppert 4.50. The odds are nearly enough to have a go with Noppert, but will he have the bottle to get the job done?

Jose de Sousa vs. Glen Durrant

It is a bit cruel to put Glen Durrant out in the last match of a long session. If they put him on first, he could have been home in time for the News at Ten.

Jose de Sousa is not in great form, losing five of his last ten. Only one of those matches saw an average over 95 and he has been struggling to get into the nineties much of the time. He is normally up in the high 90’s or ton plus range.  He is clearly out of sorts.

There is out of sorts, and completely gone, and Duzza is in the latter camp. Is there any way back? It really does not look like it. It is over a year now since he caught Covid, and he has never been the same since. His win rate in 2019 was 71.5% and now it is just 26.6%. His scoring average has fallen 10 points to just 86.2 and that is not going to cut it a pro level. He hasn’t averaged over 90 since mid-March and he has won three of his last twenty-five matches.

De Sousa Edges H2H

Their H2H form is 2-0 to De Sousa and even with an out of form Special One and the fact that they are friends and stablemates, it is hard to see De Sousa failing to win this. De Sousa’s C game is about 90 and his D game is still likely to be enough.

The Sponsors are offering 1.67 for De Sousa to win 2-0 which looks on the generous side. Normally this would be a much stronger bet, but given De Sousa’s lack of form and the fact that he will not want to humiliate his pal, the stake has to be modest.

World Grand Prix Monday Tip: 1 point Jose De Sousa to win 2-0 @ 1.67 with Boylesports

-JamesPunt