2025 PDC WC Monday Day Session Preview

Callan Rydz ended our dry spell by beating Martin Schindler yesterday. Hopefully we can finish strong before the Xmas break. Check out James’ 2025 PDC WC Monday Day session preview and tips below.

Outright Thoughts

I was looking at the outright market following the carnage of yesterday, and was shocked to see that the stupid bookies have still not made Joe Cullen favourite to win the World Championship. That is just so disrespectful. I hope Joe can cope with this slight on his greatness, that he will return to the Palace after Christmas, and accept the nations apology.

There are two more sessions before a three, much needed, break.

Krzysztof Ratajski vs. Alexis Toylo

If you have any last minute Christmas shopping to do, this is the time to do it. Alexis Toylo may be the hardest player to watch since Justin Pipe put away his arrows. Slow doesn’t describe him. I have seen glaciers move faster. He did win us a bet yesterday, beating Richard Veenstra 3-0. I think Veenstra had just lost the will to live, never mind losing the match.

I would say that Ratajski will be better equipped to handle the slow play, but even he will be hard pushed not to want to give the young Filipino a slap.

The Polish Eagle has won five of his last ten matches and has not had a good season. His win rate is just 51% and he failed to qualify for the Grand Prix, the Grand Slam and the European Championships, but he has won a match in all four televised events he did play in. I think he will be good enough to do that again. Ratajski has played in seven World Championships and won four of his opening matches, three of them 3-1.

Is Toylo good enough to win a set? Maybe Ratajski will nod off for a set.

2025 PDC WC Monday Day Tip: 0.5 point Ratajski to win 3-1 @ 3.40 with Fitzdares, Betfred

Andrew Gilding vs. Martin Lukeman

Smash was a bit under the weather in his first round win over Nitin Kumar on Thursday. A few more days off should have been enough to allow him to fully recover. His missus was having an operation on Friday, so he has had a plenty on his plate off the oche.

He has won eleven of his last thirteen matches and he has got the winning habit. Lukeman has lost at this stage of the World Championship for the last two years, but he is a more confident player in 2024.

Andrew Gilding has won five of his last ten matches, which reflects where his game is right now. There is no consistency there at all. Four sub 90 averages and a 115. You don’t know quite what to expect, but with a seasonal win rate of just 54%, he is not a player to expect too much of.

Like Lukeman, Gilding has gone out the second round stage for the last two years, losing 1-3 to Chisnall and Littler.

Their H2H record is 2-2, with Lukeman winning their only match in 2024. Lukeman is the better player and deserves to be the 1.67 favourite, but there seems to be little in the way of value here. No bet.

2025 PDC WC Monday Day Tip: No Bet

Josh Rock vs. Rhys Griffin

The Welsh are having a good World Championships, which must be pissing of the Engerlund football fans who winter at the Palace. Gerwyn Price, Robert Owen and Nick Kenny are all into the third round and Griffin and Clayton will be looking to make it five Welshmen going into the third round. Inspiration by association and all that.

I was very impressed by Griffin on Saturday. He smashed up Karel Sedlacek, and while it was only a 91.10 average, it was a good performance and he won two deciding legs to win the first two sets. I certainly didn’t see it coming as his form coming into this was poor.

Griffin won four qualifying matches to get here and that must have given him some confidence. He has now won five in a row, something he hadn’t done since Q school back in January. It might be a bit much to expect him to beat a player like Rock, however.

The Northern Irishman has won seven of his last ten matches and he is playing with a great deal of consistency hitting seven 99+ averages, with a low of 93.38. Good stuff. He lost to Berry van Peer at this stage last year, but won his opening match in the 2023 Championship, beating Callan Rydz 3-0 and going on to reach the fourth round.

Rock is the 1.20 favourite and there is not much in the way of value here either. The 3-0 for Rock looks likely and that is a 2.38 shot. Still too short for me.

2025 PDC WC Monday Day Tip: No Bet

Jonny Clayton vs. Mickey Mansell

Clayton’s season has been one of many false dawns. Just when it looks like he is getting his best form back, it falls away. His win rate is a healthy 65% and he has enjoyed plenty of decent runs but has only converted one into a title.

Clayton was runner up in the Dutch Darts Championship at the end of May, and followed that up by winning PC14 a week later. It looked like he was back, but he has not won a title since. On the plus side, after that win he reached two more Players Championship quarter finals and the quarter final of the World Grand Prix.

After that, there were two more Players Championship quarter finals and a Euro Tour quarter final. He ended the players championship season by being runner up in PC30.

TV Troubles

The problem has not been winning matches, it has been doing it on TV. Since being runner up in the 2023 Matchplay, Clayton has played twenty three TV matches and won just ten.

Clayton’s recent form sees six wins from his last ten and his record at Ally Pally is a bit disappointing. He made the quarter final two years ago, so he defending that prizemoney, but that was his only time the he got past the fourth round. As for second round matches, he has played seven and won five, his last five.

Mickey Mansell has reached the second round here three times, but never progressed beyond that. His recent form sees eight wins from his last ten matches, including that run to the Grand Slam semi-final. He will not be lacking for confidence.

Their H2H record is 6-4 to Mansell, and in 2024 1-1. They have only played one match on TV and Clayton won that 6-2 in the 2020 Players Championship Finals.

Jonny Clayton is the 1.40 favourite and Mansell 3.30. We have seen eleven seeded players eliminated before the start of the final day’s play before the Christmas break, so it is hard to get excited about odds of 1.40. However, Mansell is played five and lost five in second round matches here, winning just three sets in total. Clayton to win, but it is another no bet for me.

2025 PDC WC Monday Day Tip: No Bet

-JamesPunt