2024 World Grand Prix Thursday Preview

A better night last night, and the longer format feels more like a proper darts match. Four more matches tonight, check out James Punt’s 2024 World Grand Prix Thursday tips below.

Gary Anderson vs. Mike de Decker

Anderson just about got past Michael Smith with a 2-1 first round win. Both players struggled with finishing the legs, but at least getting in wasn’t a problem and he has room for improvement. Anderson has won eight of his last ten matches, hitting six ton plus averages.

Mike de Decker came through a very tough match with Damon Heta, winning 2-1 in a high quality affair. It was good all-round performance, getting in and out of legs in good time. He has won seven of his last ten matches and his game is on the up, winning his first PDC title earlier in the year.

Anderson has the better fire power, but De Decker can punch and he cannot be taken lightly. Anderson will need to improve his checkouts, or he could be out.

Their H2H record is 2-0 to Gary Anderson, both wins on the floor, the last being a 3-4 win last month. Anderson averaged 109 in that one, so De Decker may not fancy his chances here.

Anderson A Warm Fav

Anderson is the 1.40 favourite, De Decker 3.00. Having dodged a bullet against Smith, Anderson is likely to be more relaxed and the longer format suits the better player, which Anderson is. De Decker has only gone beyond the second round in a ranking Major in the UK Open.

Anderson has won six of his ten second round matches in the Grand Prix and lost 2-3 to Andrew Gilding last year. Now, Anderson likes to ‘get on with it’, and he certainly couldn’t do that against Gilding. De Decker is not a speed merchant, but he is not a snail like Gilding. Six of Anderson’s last seven second round matches have ended under 4.5 sets, but that is just a 1.36 shot.

It is hard to see any great value here, but I’ll have a small stakes bet on a 3-1 win for the Scotsman.

2024 World Grand Prix Thursday Tip: 0.5 point Anderson to win 3-1 @ 3.80 with Fitzdares

Gerwyn Price vs. James Wade

It is fair to say that Gerwyn Price is lucky to be here. He was handed his first round win on a plate by a very disappointing Danny Noppert. The Dutchman just didn’t know how to play the double in game and failed to take advantage of a poor performance from Price.

It was another lacklustre display and he was lucky to be facing a very naïve Noppert. Price has won five of his last ten matches and his win rate in 2024 is just 59% and his powers are on the wane.

James Wade lost the first set to Peter Wright, but only dropped a single leg in the next two sets. It was a typical workmanlike performance by Wade. If he was a car, he would be a Volvo. Unspectacular, but reliable, solid and goes on forever.

Wade has won six of his last ten matches and he too has a 2024 win rate of just 59%. Wade has not won a second round match in this event for ten years, but he has only made the second round twice in that time.

Their H2H record is 16-13 to Wade and he won their only match in 2024, a 6-4 win in ET12 just two weeks ago. Gerwyn Price is the 1.70 favourite with Wade 2.25. Even with Price’s excellent tournament record, I find it hard to make him the favourite.

2024 World Grand Prix Thursday Tip: 1 point James Wade to win @ 2.25 with Ladbrokes

Daryl Gurney vs. Joe Cullen

Gurney made it eight wins from his last ten matches with a very easy 2-0, and 6 legs to nil, win over a clearly not very well Michael van Gerwen. Gurney played well, but there was very little coming back and the result was never in doubt.

Joe Cullen reversed some poor form to beat the in-form Chris Dobey 2-1. It was an ultimately disappointing performance from Dobey and Cullen was good enough to take full advantage, dropping just one leg in the last two sets.

He has won just five of his last ten matches and his 93 average, in a double in format, was his best in his last ten matches. It was an unpredicted uptick in form. The question is, can he keep it up? His 2024 seasonal average is just 91.34, which suggests he may not.

Standout Stat

The one stat that stands out when looking at this match is the H2H record. Cullen leads 17-6. Gurney won their last match, a 10-8 win at the Masters back in February, ending a run of four straight wins for Cullen.

They have met in this tournament twice, Cullen winning a first round match 2-1 in 2020, but Gurney won a second round match 3-1 in 2017, when Superchin was at his best, and when he won the title.

On recent form, you have to make Gurney the favourite. He has been playing a lot better than Cullen all year, winning a lot more matches and scoring better. However Cullen is quite contrary, not doing what is expected from him. He can have a good run out of the blue, as he did when reaching the final of ET5 back in May.

Gurney is the 1.67 favourite, Cullen 2.37. Understandable, but for me, the H2H record is a red flag, but that said, I can’t bring myself to back Cullen on the back of one good performance. No bet.

2024 World Grand Prix Thursday Tip: No Bet

Dave Chisnall vs. Dimitri van den Bergh

I didn’t expect Van den Bergh to reach the second round, but a bit like Cullen, he can turn it around on the big stage. He beat Luke Woodhouse 2-1 in a top class match. Woodhouse averaged 96.33, Dimitri 97.18, excellent from both players in the double in format. It really doesn’t make predicting this match any easier.

Chizzy didn’t lose a leg in his 2-0 win over a very poor Cameron Menzies. The Scotsman is losing his form, is the Belgian finding his? Chisnall has won eight of his last ten matches, Van den Bergh just four.

There was nothing to suggest Van Den Bergh would turn up and average 97 in a double in final, apart from the fact that he is a better stage player than a floor player, where he has been very poor lately.

Banana Skin For Chizzy

When it comes to big, televised Majors, every match is a banana skin for Chisnall. With his performance the other night, Van den Bergh has suddenly become a threat. On paper, Chisnall looks to be a shoo in, but this is Dave Chisnall, on TV, he is never a shoo in, but can Van den Bergh keep up the kind of form he showed against Woodhouse?

Their H2H record is 9-5 to Chisnall but on TV it is 3-2 to Van den Bergh, including a first round win in this event in 2022.

Chisnall is the 1.62 favourite, Van den Bergh 2.60. I am prepared to take a chance on Van den Bergh. On TV in 2024, he has reached the semi-final of The Masters, won the UK Open, a quarter finalist in the Matchplay and semi-finalist in the World Cup.

In his last twenty televised tournaments, Chizzy has made the final of the 2022 Masters, a European Championship quarter final, World Championship quarter final and this year’s Masters quarter final. Van den Bergh is just a better stage player.

2024 World Grand Prix Thursday Tip: 1 point Dimitri van den Bergh to win @ 2.60 with Ladbrokes

-JamesPunt