2023 Masters Darts Friday Match Previews & Tips – JP
2023 Masters Darts Friday Preview and Tips
Big time darts are back and so is our expert James Punt. He had an amazing World Championship and he is hoping to start off the new season in the same vein. He has already posed an ante-post preview, check it out here. His 2023 Masters Darts Friday match previews and tips are below.
Ryan Searle vs. Dave Chisnall
Both players have lost five of their last ten matches and are hard to call. Ryan Searle was showing some good form at the end of 2022, hitting some big averages, including four ton plusses in his last ten, but the inconsistency is still there. He had three sub 90 averages and six with a checkout rate of 33% or less.
Dave Chisnall was playing better than Searle before the winter break, hitting six ton plus averages in his last ten and no sub 90s, but he still lost five, and like Searle, it was double trouble which cost him. Again, his woes on the outer ring were not as bad as Searle’s. Chizzy has won six of his nine opening matches at the Masters and is a two time runner up, including last season.
Their H2H record is 3-2 to Searle and the last win for Chizzy was in 2017. Surely it is time for Chisnall to get another win against Searle.
2023 Masters Darts Friday Tip: 1 point Dave Chisnall to win -1.5 legs @ 2.00 generally available
James Wade vs. Callan Rydz
Wade won seven of his last ten matches before the break, Rydz six. Wade won PC30 at the start of November and looked to have set himself up nicely for the big money events, but he failed to qualify for the Grand Slam, lost in the second round of the Players Championship finals and lost his opening match in the World Championship, making it three defeats from his last four played. He has a good record here in his opening matches, winning six from nine played.
These two have met three times with Wade winning all three and two on TV.
Rydz may have won six of his last ten matches but he had five sub 90 averages and it is noticeable that he has been struggling against the top players, of which Wade is still one, even if his scoring is not so special. Rydz is making his debut while Wade is an experienced old hand in this event, and he is usually up for it.
2023 Masters Darts Friday Tip: 1 point James Wade to win -1.5 legs @ 2.00 generally available
Dirk van Duijvenbode vs. Krzysztof Ratajski
Dirk ended last season in better form, winning seven of his last ten matches, Ratajski just five. The Aubergenius was having some good runs, getting hard won victories, but then throwing in a flat performance. He is probably a more reliable player in the earlier rounds before any sign of the winning line.
Ratajski has struggled on the stage of late. He has always been a better floor player but his stage performances have been disappointing. He won just six of his fourteen televised matches in the last 12 months, one of them being a narrow 6-5 win over Gabriel Clemens here a year ago.
H2H Close
Their H2H record is 3-3, Dirk winning the last two, but this will be their first match on TV. Dirk has the stronger game, is a heavier scorer and he is better on the doubles. If he starts hitting the 180s at his usual rate, he will be hard to beat.
Van Duijvenbode is the 1.57 favourite, Ratajski 2.50.
Since the field was extended to 24 players, just under 69% of first round matches have seen under 9.5 legs. If Dirk gets his scoring boots on early, he could have this finished soon enough.
2023 Masters Darts Friday Tip: 1 point under 9.5 legs @ 1.82 with Unibet
Nathan Aspinall vs. Stephen Bunting
Both players have recently returned from family holidays and won’t have been putting much practice in. Both have won six of their last ten matches, Aspinall reaching the final of the Grand Slam, Bunting the quarter finals of the World Championship. The Asp was also runner up in the World Grand Prix and his TV performances in 2022 were generally strong.
Their H2H record is 4-3 to Aspinall and he has won their last three. They have not yet met on TV. There is not much between them scoring wise, Aspinall is just a little better on the doubles. Bunting has played five and lost four at the Masters, Aspinall played five and won three.
Nathan Aspinall is the 1.67 favourite, Bunting 2.30. Those odds look spot on, and I’ll sit this one out.
2023 Masters Darts Friday Tip: No Bet
Dimitri van den Bergh vs. Gary Anderson
Apart from two duff performances in Bahrain, Dimitri’s form has been decent, reaching the semi-final of the World Championship and hitting back-to-back tons in Denmark last weekend.
Anderson looked to have prepared well for the world championship, putting in some good performances on the floor, but he lost both his second matches in the Players Championship finals and World Championship.
He has now dropped out of the top 20 and it will be interesting to see what his motivation will be like in 2023. Head down and try and work his way back up, or wind down towards retirement? He usually plays well enough here but he has lost his opening match in the last two years.
Their H2H record is 5-3 to Van den Bergh and on TV a surprising 5-1.
Van den Bergh is the 1.62 favourite, Anderson 2.38. The odds look about right. No bet.
2023 Masters Darts Friday Tip: No bet
Jose de Sousa vs. Gabriel Clemens
An interesting match. Both players enjoyed success at the World Championship. De Sousa reached the last 16 before losing 1-4 to Gerwyn Price, while Clemens went all the way to the semi-final. That was a career high for the German who is yet to win a PDC title and had endured a poor season, suffering with a wrist problem.
De Sousa was a bit lucky to reach the last 16. He beat Simon Whitlock and Ryan Searle in deciding sets, two players not in great form, and averaged 86.7 and 91.7 respectively. He averaged 91.9 when losing to Price and in the Players Championship finals before that, he beat Danny Jansen before losing 1-6 to Ratajski, averaging 93.4 and 84.2 respectively.
De Sousa has won five of his last ten matches and only put in two or three decent performances, the rest were modest at best. He has played in two previous Masters and reached the semi-final last year. His lowest average in his four matches is 96.2. He will do well to maintain that trend.
Ally Pally Form
Gabriel Clemens has won six of his last ten matches and he played well at Ally Pally. He had very comfortable wins over O’Connor, Soutar and Price, before losing to eventual winner, Michael Smith. Only Jim Williams gave him any problems in the early rounds. His scoring was good and consistent.
He had reached a couple of euro tour quarter finals in September and October, so there were signs that he was returning to form, but a World Championship semi-final was a surprise. It will be interesting to see how he gets on now that he is injury free and more confident after picking up his biggest ever cheque.
De Sousa Dominant In H2H
Their H2H record is 6-1 to De Sousa and on TV 2-0. That is pretty comprehensive and Clemens only win was in a euro tour qualifier back in 2019.
The market makes De Sousa the 1.91 favourite with Clemens a 2.00 shot. Despite De Sousa’s great H2H record and good performances in this event, I will take a chance on Clemens continuing his good form at the World Championship.
Both players are big 180 hitters, Clemens ranked 22nd with 0.27 per leg and De Sousa 10th with 0.31 per leg. So long as we get a reasonably close match, hopefully we can see six or more. All four of their previous best of 11 leg matches have seen over 5.5 maximums.
2023 Masters Darts Friday Tip: 1 point Gabriel Clemens to win @ 2.00 with BET365, Betvictor
2023 Masters Darts Friday Tip: 1 point over 5.5 180s @ 2.00 with SpreadEx
Joe Cullen vs. Chris Dobey
Cullen may be the defending champion, but he is not one of the eight seeds and he has to take his chance in a best of 11 leg shootout. He finished 2022 in good form, reaching the quarter final of the Grand Slam and Players Championship finals before reaching the last 16 in the World Championship. He won seven of his last ten matches, losing two to Michael Smith and the other to Luke Humphries. Good, consistent play from Cullen.
Chris Dobey fished the 2022 season with six wins from his last ten matches. He reached the quarter finals of the World Championship, losing 0-5 to MVG. His highs were higher than Cullen’s but his lows lower, he isn’t as consistent as Cullen, but he can punch a bit harder. Dobey also reached the semi-final of the European Championship in October and ended the year with a 64% win rate, a career high.
Cullen Favourite
Their H2H record is 7-2 to Joe Cullen and 2-0 on TV. Cullen is the 1.80 favourite with Dobey 2.20. That looks about right, Cullen is very consistent and the more confident player, but Dobey has the game to beat most people.
Both are big 180 hitters, Dobey ranked 9th with 0.31 per leg and Cullen 15th with 0.30. A close match would be no surprise and that increases the chance of plenty of maximums. However, a closer look at their H2H record shows that only one of their six best of 11 leg matches saw more than five 180s. No bet.
2023 Masters Darts Friday Tip: No Bet
Damon Heta vs. Ross Smith
Both players had a good 2022. Heta won the World Cup, a euro tour title and two players championship titles. Things petered out for him at the business end of the season, losing five of his last ten matches and not cashing in at the big money events. He has been a tour card holder for three years and is now the 16th player on the O.O.M. Given his scoring power, his title win rate is a bit disappointing, but he won 70% of his matches in 2002.
Ross Smith started hitting some big averages in the summer and by September and October he was looking like a winner in waiting. He had a couple of Euro tour quarter finals and a players championship quarter final the week before the European Championships.
He beat Cullen, Van den Bergh, Wright, Dobey and Michael Smith in the final to pick up his first major title and only his second senior PDC title. Like Heta, he ended the season with five defeats from his last ten matches but finished 17th on the O.O.M., one place behind Heta.
Consistency Key
Smith had finally been able to add more consistency to his game, which had always had a good A game. His annual win rate was just 55%, down on his previous four years. However, since early August, he got his win rate up to 60%, still not great but getting there.
Both players’ strength is their scoring power. Both are big 180 hitters. Smith is ranked 4th with 0.35 per leg, Heta 11th with 0.31 per leg.
Smith has a 5-3 H2H record against Heta and has won their last five in a row. Three went to a deciding leg, the other two 6-3 wins. Heta is the better player, more consistent, but Smith carries a big stick and that makes him dangerous. Has he got Heta’s number? Do those five wins in the last two years show that Smith has mentally got Heta?
Their game stats say that Heta should win, he is the heavier scorer and wins more matches, but Smith has got that run of wins against him. Heta is the 1.83 favourite, Smith 2.05.
They have played seven best of 11 leg matches and five went beyond nine legs. Only two matches saw over five 180s, but the last four have seen Smith hit the most 180s.
