Sunday 2023 Grand Slam of Darts Preview & Tips – JP
Sunday 2023 Grand Slam of Darts Preview & Tips
Now, it is time for James Punt’s Sunday 2023 Grand Slam of Darts Tips. James landed another couple of nice winners on Saturday to keep things ticking over. Check out his match previews below.
Overview
It is the final day of the Grand Slam of Darts and it will be gruelling one for the two players who make it to the final. Playing two best of 31 leg matches in one day is not easy.
Last Year we saw Nathan Aspinall turn up for the final with nothing left in the tank and he went down 5-16 to Michael Smith.
I was looking at the scores of all the Grand Slam semi-finals and there has been a marked shift to matches being closer in recent years. From 2018 to 2022 seven semi-finals ended 16-12. There had only been one 16-12 in the previous nine years.
In the last five years one of the semi-finals has ended 16-12 and on two occasions, both did. Of the ten semi-finals in the last five years, eight have gone beyond 27 legs and all were at least 25 legs. This could be a sign that the standard of play has risen across the board, that there is more strength in depth and fewer mismatches.
James Wade vs. Luke Humphries
Humphries is now the 1.91 favourite to win the tournament, never mind beat James Wade. He is just 1.30 to win this match, with Wade the 4.00 outsider.
Humphries has been the best player in the tournament, hitting five ton plus averages, remaining unbeaten and has won eight of his last ten matches. One of his only two defeats was to…. James Wade. Humphries has played in five ranking major semi-finals and won two.
James Wade beat Humphries 10-6 in the European Championship quarter final two weeks ago. Wade has won seven of his last ten matches and he lost his opening match in the group stage, 4-5 to Ratajski.
He has come through two very close matches with Josh Rock and Chriss Dobey in the knockout phase, and while his scoring is not in the same league as Humphries’, he remains a very tough opponent and a smart operator. James Wade has played in twenty nine ranking major semi-finals and won eighteen.
Humphries Edges H2H
Their H2H record is 8-5 to Humphries and before that defeat at the European Championships, Humphries had won five in a row against Wade. In 2023 it is 3-1 to Humphries and on TV, 2-1 to Wade.
Had Wade not got that win at the European Championships then odds of 1.30 to win this would be bang on, but it will have made a mark on Humphries. He would have expected to win that match and go on and win the title, but he was outplayed, fair and square, and it was just two weeks ago.
This does have the look of a close match. Neither player will be cowed by the occasion or the opponent. Both are in great form and hopefully they will continue the trend for close semi-finals.
Who wins? Probably Humphries, despite that recent defeat by Wade. He just looks to be near his peak and his peak can be unplayable. Wade can grind out legs and should get his fair share, but he is less likely to be able to steal this game in the same way as he did in the quarter final against the inexperienced Josh Rock.
Sunday 2023 Grand Slam of Darts Tip: 1 point over 27.5 legs @ 2.20 with Livescorebet, Skybet
Sunday 2023 Grand Slam of Darts Tip: 0.5 point Luke Humphries to win 16-12 @ 10.00 generally available
Rob Cross vs. Stephen Bunting
Rob Cross wasn’t happy with his performance when beating Damon Heta 16-6. Why, I have no idea. It was another big high 90s average and after a close evening session, he just sprinted away from Heta, who must be sick of getting stuffed by Cross. Cross has won eight of his last ten matches and his run of consistently good scoring keeps on coming.
Cross is the veteran of eight ranking major semi-finals and he has won seven. That is a great strike rate in big, important matches.
Stephen Bunting took a little while to break away from Stowe Buntz, but inevitably he did, winning comfortably 16-8. He averaged 96.8 and was very good on the doubles with a 61.5% check out rate.
Bullet In Form
Bunting has also won eight of his last ten matches, and he is also enjoying a prolonged period of good form. Bunting has played in four PDC ranking majors and lost all of them.
Their H2H record is 8-2 to Cross. On TV it is 2-0 (with one PL draw) and in 2023, 1-0. They have played one best of 31 leg match, in the 2019 World Matchplay, which Cross won 16-14.
Their recent form is similar which suggests we should have a close match. Their H2H record is very positive for Cross, but many of their matches have been close. Rob Cross has an excellent semi-final win rate, while Bunting has yet to register a win at this stage of a major.
