Wednesday World Grand Prix Darts Preview and Tips – JP
Wednesday World Grand Prix Darts Tips
James Punt continued to fire in the winners on Tuesday. He went 3/6 and he is now 8/12 overall so far this week. His Wednesday World Grand Prix darts tips are below.
Adrian Lewis vs. Chris Dobey
Undoubtedly two of the best first-round performers go head-to-head for the sixth time. Surprisingly, it is Chris Dobey who has the best H2H record, winning five and the last five in a row. You have to go back to 2015 to find Lewis’ only win against Dobey. More bad news for Lewis is that he has not gone beyond the second round since 2010.
Both players got into their matches well, both 100% on first visit and Dobey with a very creditable 62.5% with the first dart (40% Lewis). Lewis had the higher average (94.7 to Dobey’s 90.8). Just getting an average into the 90s is a good effort in this format and Lewis topped the highest 3 dart average table, but Dobey was 6th from the 32 first round players.
Lewis is in good form having won seven of his last ten matches, as has Dobey.
These matches are a little longer, best of five sets, so the panic won’t set in so quickly.
Lewis Marginal Fav
Adrian Lewis is the markets marginal favourite at 1.88, Dobey 2.00. Given their H2H form and Lewis’ poor second round record here, Dobey is the more likely winner, but I couldn’t back him with stolen money. He isn’t the most reliable.
Both players are closely matched on key stats, Dobey is a heavier scorer these days but in this format, that isn’t quite as important. Both were getting in and out well and Dobey hit two ton plus checkouts and a couple of 94s. Lewis’ c/o rate was 57%, Dobey’s 60%.
If one of them doesn’t freeze, we should have a close match and that might be the angle to take. Over the last 5 years only 25% of matches went to a decider, and best odds of 2.75 are a bit too short. No bet.
Wednesday World Grand Prix darts tip: No Bet
Peter Wright vs. Krzysztof Ratajski
Peter Wright’s 94.36 was the second highest average of the first round, keeping him having the highest 3 dart average over the last three months. He was facing an opponent averaging 93.7 (the highest scoring match of the first round) and to win 2-0, dropping just 3 legs was impressive.
Snakebite was 56% for first dart in the double and 100% for first visit in. All very encouraging. His H2H record with Ratajski is a huge 12-1 and they last met at this year’s Matchplay when Wright won 13-11, a rare close match between the two.
Ratajski Must Do Better
The Polish Eagle beat the out of form Callan Rydz 2-0 in the first round and he played well, averaging 90.2, checking out at 60%, getting in with his first visit at 82% and 37% with the first dart. He will likely have to do better still tonight.
Wright has only ever played four second round matches in this event and won two. Ratajski played one and won one.
It is hard to get away from their H2H record and with Wright in good form he should be able to improve on that. He is the 1.40 favourite to win, and I’ll take him to cover the -1.5 set handicap.
Wednesday World Grand Prix darts tip: 1 point Wright to win -1.5 sets @ 1.95 with Ladbrokes
Michael van Gerwen vs. Stephen Bunting
Both players had 2-0 wins in the first round, both have lost five of their last ten matches, but Bunting was better on the doubles, especially finishing doubles. MVG was 100% on first visit, Bunting only 75%.
However, both were 38%, 66% on first dart, but on the checkouts, Bunting was 50% to Van Gerwen’s 37%. Checking out has been an area of weakness for MVG in the last three months. Just 35% was the second lowest of the 32 qualifiers and he is going to have to sort that out if he is going to have a chance to win the title.
Proud Record
MVG has the proud record of never having lost a second-round match in the Grand Prix. He has lost three first round matches, but when he gets in, he has always reached the quarter finals. His H2H record over Bunting is 18-2 and he has won the last nine.
Bunting has played four Grand Prix second rounds and won two, including a 3-1 win over James Wade last year. Beating MVG will be another level of difficulty. He is not one of the players who has been getting the better of MVG in recent years and that may be the difference here. Does Bunting really believe he has the beating of Van Gerwen, or is he half beaten before he starts?
Bully Mode
I can see Van Gerwen in full bully mode tonight. He knows he has a hold over Bunting, and he will be giving it full booms to intimidate him. Bunting’s best hope is that Van Gerwen continues to struggle on the outer ring, but he will still need to be able to take advantage of that.
Van Gerwen is the 1.33 favourite, Bunting 3.60. Bunting lost two of his second-round matches in this event 0-3 and the only time he faced MVG, he lost the 2014 semi-final 0-4. In the last 5 years, 40% of second round matches have ended 3-0. In MVG’s eight second round matches he has won three 3-1 and five 3-0. His last four have all been 3-0.
Wednesday World Grand Prix darts tip: 2 points Van Gerwen to win -1.5 sets @ 1.80 with Ladbrokes
Wednesday World Grand Prix darts tip: 1 point Van Gerwen to win 3-0 @ 3.40 with Hills
Jonny Clayton vs. Dimitri van den Bergh
The H2H record here is 6-5 to Dimitri but it is Clayton who has won the last three. Clayton is in better form having won seven of his last ten, Dimitri five. Both were fine getting going in the first round, but it was Clayton who was better with his first dart success at 50% to Van den Bergh’s 29%. Dimitri was better on the checkouts with 47% to 41%. They have met twice in 2002, Clayton winning both, 10-9 in the Masters and 6-4 on the ET.
Neither player was completely convincing in the first round, both lost a set and Dimitri needed two deciding legs when getting past Chizzy.
Clayton is the 1.80 favourite, Van den Bergh 2.15. Clayton is the defending champion and after getting past the tricky first round match with Dirk van Duijvenbode, he can start motoring. He isn’t playing at his best and may not be able to dominate Dimitri, but I’ll take him to win and win 3-1.
