2024 Masters Darts Saturday Afternoon Preview – JP
2024 Masters Darts Saturday Afternoon Preview
Now, it is time for James Punt’s 2024 Masters Darts Saturday Afternoon preview.
Last night was a blood bath punting wise. There were some strange matches and we were on the wrong side. James Wade managing a checkout rate of 6% just about summed things up. He had sixteen attempts and hit just one. Early season rust was apparent, myself included. Head down and be selective. There are likely to be more landmines ahead.
Danny Noppert vs. Dave Chisnall
If there was one player who was far from rusty it was Dave Chisnall. He said that he has been practising hard during the winter break and wants to have a big season.
He averaged 109, checked out at 75% and hit six 180s in a 6-1 demolition of Martin Schindler, who managed a 103 average himself. If he can keep that up, Chizzy might finally get that TV title. But there is a way to go before that happens.
Noppert had a run out in the Dutch Darts Masters last weekend, beating the out of form Nathan Aspinall 6-2 before losing 3-6 to Gian van Veen. They were OK performances but nothing to get excited about.
Even H2H
Their H2H record is 4-4. Noppert won their only match in 2023, 6-1 on the Euro Tour but that was eleven months ago. That ended a run of four straight wins for Chisnall and he is the 1.67 favourite to win this.
Can Chizzy keep it up? The last time he had a 109 average was just six matches ago at the Players Championship finals. He followed that up with an 8-10 loss to Luke Woodhouse in the next round.
At the very least, we should expect something less than a 109 average. Noppert beat Stephen Bunting 10-9 at this stage last year on debut, while Chizzy has won seven of his eleven last 16 matches here.
Chizzy is very tempting at 1.67, but after last night’s caning, this could be another landmine. No bet.
2024 Masters Darts Saturday Afternoon Tip: No bet
Rob Cross vs. Damon Heta
Rob Cross continues to motor along nicely but he hasn’t got a lot of reward for doing so. He has won six of his last ten matches and he has played seven matches in 2024, winning four. He is knocking in nice averages on a consistent basis and Heta will need to be up to his best today.
The Heat beat Gabriel Clemens 6-2 and he played well, averaging 102 with a 75% checkout rate, so Cross could be up against it here. Heta has won seven of his last ten matches and like Cross, he wins a lot of matches without winning many titles. His win rate in 2023 was 69% and he can be hard to shift in these early rounds.
Cross Too Short?
Cross is the 1.53 favourite which is a bit short looking, until you consider their H2H record. 5-1 to Rob Cross. Ironically, Heta’s only win was in a match which effectively launched his PDC career. He beat Cross 8-7 in the final of a World Series event in Australia in 2019 and that give him the confidence to up sticks and move to England to have a go at Pro darts.
Heta is now the World number eleven, so he made a good choice. However, Cross hasn’t forgiven him and has won their last five matches in a row, and won them very easily.
They met twice in 2023 and Cross beat Heta 8-1 in the final of another World Series final and also won 16-6 in the Grand Slam quarter final.
History suggests that Cross wins this at a canter. These are best of 19 leg matches so hopefully Cross can make it another wide margin win.
2024 Masters Darts Saturday Afternoon Tip: 1 point Rob Cross to win -2.5 legs @ 2.10 with Hills
Peter Wright vs. Krzysztof Ratajski
Will it be more woe for Wright? It is hard not to think so. He has won just two of his last ten matches. That is his run of form following him winning the European Championship, but his decline in form has been quite long term. His form based FDI ranking is now down to 71st (Ratajski 36th).
Ratajski would seem to have found his own plateau and he is not the player he once was either. The Polish Eagle beat the out of form Jonny Clayton 6-3 last night, averaging 93 thanks mostly to a very good checkout rate of 75%.
He has won five of his last ten matches but he hasn’t won more than two matches in a row since September and not won two in a row since November, so consistency isn’t not a strong point.
Before considering jumping on the anti-Wright bandwagon, consider their H2H record. Snakebite has beaten Ratajski thirteen times and lost just once.
Ratajski is the 1.73 favourite which looks tempting given Wright’s form, but this could be one of those landmines. No bet.
2024 Masters Darts Saturday Afternoon Tip: No Bet
Daryl Gurney vs. Joe Cullen
Having had a small play on Gurney to win the quarter, I was hoping that he would be facing Josh Rock and not Joe Cullen. It was Cullen who was the 6-4 winner against Rock last night. The Rockstar averaged 99 and was 50% on his doubles.
It was an impressive performance and he will relish having a crack at Gurney with whom he has a 17-5 H2H record. He has won their last four matches and beat Superchin 6-2 in the first round here in 2022.
Cullen is the 1.57 favourite with Gurney 2.75. Hopefully Gurney can play without any pressure and perform near his best. This is a free hit for him and you never know, but it is a no bet for me.
