Players Championship Saturday Evening

We had a great start to the tournament, but it’s been downhill, at a rapid rate in the last two sessions. It is just like the GSOD never ended. However, we go back into the breach with renewed optimism tonight, check out James Punt’s Players Championship Saturday Evening tips below.

Peter Wright vs. Damon Heta

Peter Wright only just beat Adrian Lewis 6-5 in a pretty poor match. Lewis could only manage 89.6 but arguably should have won the match, which may explain his petulant behaviour at the end of the match.

Wright is winning ugly as they say. He did plenty of it last week and he remains someway off his best. He is 2-1 up on Heta but lost their only match in 2021 back in February.

Heta beat a very poor Gabriel Clemens 6-2 with the German averaging just 82. Heta hasn’t hit top gear yet, he hasn’t had to but at some stage he will, and it might just be here. If he does find the form he has been showing of late than he can win, especially if Wright remains stuck in 2nd gear.

The top players have the habit of playing themselves into form as a tournament goes on. We are now into the longer format first to ten leg matches and again, that favours the top players. Wright will improve unless Heta can up his game and put Wright under pressure and keep him under pressure. Wright may be a bit distracted by the social media attack on him by Lewis, but if wise, he won’t even have looked at it.

A hard game to see any value in this match.

Rob Cross vs. Ryan Searle

This will be Searle’s seventh chance to finally get a win vs. Rob Cross. The fact that he is even getting a chance is amazing. He was getting pumped by Ryan Joyce before Relentless downed tools and rolled over. He still got match darts but missed them. Searle has averaged 86 in both matches so far and he can’t keep getting away with that sort of standard.

Rob Cross survived a late rally by Nathan Aspinall, but he was never in any serious bother. They both averaged 97 but a better start by Cross was the difference.

Cross has played well so far; Searle has ridden his luck and then some.

Players Championship Saturday Evening Tips: 1 point Rob Cross to win -1.5 legs @ 2.00 with Betfair

Daryl Gurney vs. James Wade

Christmas came early for Superchin when Michael Smith missed ten match darts to win their second-round clash. Smith was always in control of the game until it came to closing it out and not for the first time, he beat himself.

James Wade was taken right to the wire by Rydz but unlike Smith he took his chance when he got it, otherwise he would be on the way home. It was a ton average for Wade and he played well because he had to.

The H2H stats show a 6-4-1 record in favour of Wade. They have not met since 2019 when they played each other three times. Wade whitewashed Gurney in two of those matches, 7-0 and 8-0 with the other a 7-7 draw in between the two drubbings.

Gurney is going to have to find some better form if he is to beat Wade, but there is always the chance that Wade will have one of his off games. Wade will be the one having to switch venues as he has to go down into the dungeon that is Stage two for this match. This will be Gurney’s third match there, so he knows the way to the stage.

Players Championship Saturday Evening Tips: James Wade to win -1.5 legs 1.80 with Ladbrokes

Michael van Gerwen vs. Gary Anderson

Gary Anderson hasn’t had to get out of first gear to reach this third-round match. He has averaged 87 so far and he will have to get his finger out against MVG. He didn’t get his preferred pace of play this afternoon, but Meikle was poor and it wasn’t really a contest.

Van Gerwen has been solid rather than spectacular so far, winning both his matches comfortably without being under any great pressure.

These two have played 65 times and MVG has won 45, including a 10-8 win at the Grand Slam last week. Anderson has only won one of their last 14 matches and while MVG isn’t quite the player he once was, neither is Anderson.

I expect Anderson will up his game, but it still won’t be enough. MVG is the 1.33 favourite, Anderson 4.14 on the exchange, but I’ll take MVG on the handicap.

Players Championship Saturday Evening Tips: 1 point Michael van Gerwen to win -2.5 legs @ 1.73 with Unibet

Gerwyn Price vs. Brendan Dolan

Price smashed Schindler out of the park earlier. I thought Schindler would have made it close, but we got prime Price, averaging 106.6 and the diminutive German never got a look in. You have to fear for Dolan this evening.

Dolan averaged 90 in a comfortable 6-3 win over Ritchie Edhouse in an instantly forgettable match. He can play a lot better than that and he will have to just to keep things respectable this evening.

These two have four times in 2021 and it is 3-1 to Price. Dolan took Price to the wire in a world championship match in December, but Price was a bit more nervous as he was eyeing up the biggest prize in the sport. He just looks hungry for more right now.

It has been noticeable that the crowd have been in no way on Price’s back so far. This is much more of a real darts fan’s event. Yes, the fancy dressers are there, and drink is taken, but they are there to watch the darts rather than just get pissed. That can only be a positive for Price.

Price has only ever given Dolan one proper going over, a 7-2 win in a players championship semi-final in March, but he might just do it tonight.

Players Championship Saturday Evening Tips: 2 points Gerwyn Price to win -3.5 legs @ 1.90 with Betfair

Jose De Sousa vs. William O’Connor

O’Connor was able to take advantage of another very poor performance by Ratajski to win 6-4 with both players averaging just 88. De Sousa scraped past Labanauskas 6-5, again averaging just 92. Two very average performances and it is hard to fancy either player. They have never met before so there is no past form to go on.

O’Connor will just be delighted to reach the third round and if De Sousa keeps throwing poorly, he could progress. The Special One might be struggling with the cold conditions. The main Stage is a big barn and not warm given the conditions outside, but this one is in the dungeon so it might be warmer.

Is it worth taking a chance on O’Connor? He is the 3.50 outsider and De Sousa 1.36 favourite. De Sousa isn’t playing like the favourite, but O’Connor hasn’t caught the eye either. No bet.

Jonny Clayton vs. Luke Humphries

Clayton whitewashed Scott Mitchell earlier, but it was a dreadful performance from Mitchell who averaged 75. Clayton hasn’t averaged over 90 so far, his doubling has been poor, but he hasn’t faced a credible opponent. Will Humphries wake him up and we can finally see some ferreting?

Clayton is 4-0 against Humphries, 3-0 in real darts and those real matches have been close. Cool Hand Luke just got the better of Ross smith, winning 6-5 and averaging 96.

This is all about Clayton and if he can get a grip and start playing his game. He has not had to engage 2nd gear but still nearly lost to Tabern. The Ferret is the 1.44 favourite, fair based on past form, but I have no idea how he is going to play tonight. We are on him to win the tournament, but this is just a matter of fingers crossed and hoping he can find some better form.

Vincent van der Voort vs. Danny Noppert

Noppert played well to beat Van den Bergh 6-2. I expected a closer match but not that Noppert won. Noppert is 2-1 against Van der Voort and beat him 3-0 at this year’s World Grand Prix. Van der Voort needed a deciding leg to beat Andy Boulton and Noppert is likely to be a much tougher proposition. Noppert is the 1.53 favourite but he should be able to beat the handicap at better odds.

Players Championship Saturday Evening Tips: 1 point Danny Noppert to win -2.5 legs @ 2.20 with Skybet

-JamesPunt