Friday Night Grand Slam of Darts Betting Tips – JP
Friday Night Grand Slam of Darts Preview
James Punt’s hot streak continued on Thursday night. He managed to tip up five more winners from just six tips and he is hoping to do more damage tonight. Check out James’ Friday night Grand Slam of Darts preview below.
Michael Smith vs. Joe Cullen
Their H2H record is close, 12-10 to Smith and they have met three times in 2022 and they were 2-1 to Smith and in TV matches 4-3 to Smith. They have met in this event twice, once in this year’s group stage which Smith won 5-1 and in last year’s second round which Smith won 10-5. That is two heavy wins for Smith, and both will be aware of it.
Both players are in good form, Smith winning eight of his last ten, Cullen seven. Smith is the heavier scorer and he has been in this tournament, averaging 96.1 to Cullen’s 94.1. That is not a significant difference. Smith has played in five previous quarter finals and won two.
Smith is used to playing these big, long format TV matches. He has already reached three major finals in 2022, losing them all. Cullen made the final of the Premier League and lost in the deciding leg vs. MVG. He won this year’s Masters, but in terms of ranking majors, he has played in six quarter finals and lost four.
Smith A Warm Fav
Smith is the 1.61 favourite, Cullen 2.40. Bully Boy is the better player, but Cullen is mentally stronger. Smith hasn’t wobbled yet, but he hasn’t really been tested. He controlled his second-round match against Rob Cross, he was never behind and dropped just five legs in the group stage.
I’ll take Smith to carry on the with his good record against Cullen in the Grand Slam and he should be able to cover the handicap.
180s Lacking
One part of both players game that has been off so far is 180s. They have only hit 13 between them in 72 legs of darts. Most matches we have seen so far have had a lot of 180s, so this pair’s record is odd. They might start banging them in in a longer format when they get into more of a rhythm. Certainly in their 2nd round matches they were 0.33 per leg for Smith and 0.28 for Cullen, much more like their seasonal norm.
The bookies are expecting around 27-28 legs in the match and around 17 maximums is realistic. In their second round match last year they hit 12 in 15 legs at 0.8 per leg. The 180 market is confusing between these, they didn’t hit a single one in their group match, so I’ll leave it be.
Friday night Grand Slam of Darts Tip: 2 points Michael Smith to win -1.5 legs @ 1.80 with Betvictor
Raymond van Barneveld vs. Gerwyn Price
Another repeat of a group match and it was Barney who won the first instalment 5-4. He averaged 100 in that match, Price 105. Every leg was 15 darts or under and it was a game of the highest quality.
Now they have to do it again, but over a much longer format. Will that play into Gerwyn Price’s hands? It could do. Before his first retirement, Barney, a diabetic, was struggling in long matches while it isn’t an issue for super fit Price. The longest match Barney has played since he came back in 2020 was his second round match with Simon Whitlock on Wednesday night. That went to 18 legs and he didn’t have any problems, winning 10-8 and averaging 97.4.
Price Unbeaten At This Stage
Price has never lost a quarter final in this competition, played three and won three. He beat Clayton 16-12 last year, Anderson 16-9 in 2019 and Simon Whitlock 16-15 in 2018. Price has averaged over a ton in all four matches so far, with a tournament average of 102.5, compared to Barney’s 96.00.
Raymond van Barneveld is in top form, winning nine of his last ten matches, Price has also won nine of his last ten and had eight ton plus averages in those ten. It is the difference in their fire power that is likely to be the deciding factor over this long format.
Their group match was a real humdinger, but it was only first to five legs. Would Barney have been able to keep that standard up for an hour or more? There have to be doubts. Price is much more accustomed to playing these long matches and has proven that he can keep is A game from start to finish.
Barney Dominates H2H
The market has Price as the 1.26 favourite despite a H2H record of 7-2 in favour of Van Barneveld. They have played twice in 2022 and Barney has won both. In their last eight matches it is 6-1 to Barney with one draw. They have met twice in this tournament and Barney has won both.
Price’s firepower and the fact that it is a long match point towards a win for Price, but their H2H record does flag up a warning sign. We are on Price to win the tournament, and this is his venue, his tournament, and he doesn’t lose quarter finals here.
No Appeal
His odds of 1.25 don’t make any appeal given that Barney has his number in shorter format matches. I do expect Price to win, but Barney’s form over a long match is a big unknown. Yes, he has done it all before and he is a past champion, but he is up against the World number 1 and one of the heaviest scorers in the game who is in top form. Will he fold like a cheap suit, will he tire in the latter stages, or will he surprise us all and turn back time?
We have a 2 point bet on Price to win the tournament and there is no need to be backing him again here.
We saw a 9 dart leg in last night’s MVG vs. Rock match and there had been one coming. Gerwyn Price has hit four nine dart legs in 2022, all of them on TV. I would not be surprised if he hits another before the weekend is out. He has hit four 11 darters so far, so he is getting close and its worth a small bet.
