Saturday 2023 Players Championship Finals Tips – JP
Saturday 2023 Players Championship Finals Tips
James Punt was straight back amongst the winners last night. He fired in seven from ten bets and he’s hoping for more of the same this afternoon. His Saturday 2023 Players Championship Finals tips for selected second round matches are below…
Stephen Bunting vs. Gian van Veen
This should be a cracker, so long as the early start doesn’t hurt. Bunting is in top form, winning eight of his last ten matches. It was a solid 98 average in his 6-4 win over the awkward Mickey Mansell yesterday. Mansell is a slow aimer and doesn’t give Bunting the pace of play he likes, so to get past him was a good win.
Van Veen beat fellow Dutchman Chris Landman 6-1 and it was a good performance, averaging 96.6. Van Veen has won six of his last ten matches but he lost all three of his Grand Slam matches, which could have knocked his confidence, so last night’s win was important.
Their H2H record is 2-1 to Gian van Veen, two matches required a deciding leg, the last coming just three weeks ago.
Two players in good form and having played a close match very recently suggest we should have another close one. Bunting is the marginal 1.90 favourite with Van Veen 2.00.
Saturday 2023 Players Championship Finals tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 1.91 with Hills, SpreadEx
Saturday 2023 Players Championship Finals tip: 0.5 point Gian van Veen to win 6-5 @ 7.50 Betfair
Gary Anderson vs. Dimitri van den Bergh
Jim Williams should have beaten Van den Bergh yesterday but missing seventeen doubles did for him. The Belgian has dropped nearly two points from his average year on year and he is not in good form, losing six of his last ten matches. He is a better player on TV than on the floor, but he has been losing early doors on TV as well recently.
Gary Anderson did his best to lose to Steve Beaton, averaging 92.7 in a 6-5 win. Both players struggled badly on the doubles. Anderson has lost five of his last ten matches but he is playing at a higher level than Van den Bergh right now. His consistency could be better, but he is more likely to hit big scores.
Their H2H record is 6-6 but Anderson has won four of their last five, and their last two in 2023, 6-3 and 6-0.
Anderson is the 1.50 favourite, Van den Bergh 2.75.
Saturday 2023 Players Championship Finals tip: 1 point Gary Anderson to win -1.5 legs @ 1.80 with SpreadEx, Hills
Ryan Searle vs. Ricardo Pietreczko
It was a tidy performance by Ryan Searle yesterday, beating Boris Krčmar 6-4. I had hoped for one leg less but Searle couldn’t hold his throw when 5-2 up. He was never in any bother after winning five legs in a row from 0-2 down.
Searle has won seven of his last ten matches. He has made at least the third round here for the last two years and he is favourite to do it again.
Pietreczko was facing an injured Christian Kist yesterday and he won 6-1 as the Dutchman could only manage a 68 average. That match can be ignored as any sort of form guide. Pikachu has won six of his last ten but after his little tantrum at the Grand Slam, he is hard to place. His A-game is very good but it seems he doesn’t take well to any crowd abuse.
Home Turf For Heavy Metal
This is home turf for Searle and there might be a few members of the Searle massive ready to give Ricardo some stick.
Their H2H record is 3-0 to Searle and he won their only match in 2023 6-2 back in March. It was a very poor performance that day by Ricardo and I’d expect a closer match today, but Searle looks most likely to win and is the 1.62 favourite to win.
Saturday 2023 Players Championship Finals tip: 1 point Ryan Searle to win -1.5 legs @ 2.00 with SpreadEx
Brendan Dolan vs. Maik Kuivenhoven
Kuivenhoven pulled off one of the surprises of the first round, beating Ratajski 6-4. He is a good player on his day, the problem is that there are not many of them.
Dolan beat Ritchie Edhouse 6-4 in a typically grinding performance. He has played Kuivenhoven four times and it is 2-2, but Dolan has lost both of their matches played this year, 4-6 and 5-6. Another close one?
Saturday 2023 Players Championship Finals tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 1.91 generally available
Rob Cross vs. Luke Woodhouse
Rob Cross wrapped up a 6-3 win over Cameron Menzies with a modest 92 average, but it was enough against a player not taking his chances. Cross will need to improve, but a win should have settled him down.
Luke Woodhouse was 0-2 down to Simon Whitlock but he turned the game around to win 6-4. It was not a good performance, with fifteen missed doubles. Woodhouse has won six of his last ten matches but his consistency has been lacking. He is likely to need his A game here.
Their H2H record is interesting. 4-4 is a surprise, and four of their last five even going the way of Woodhouse more so. Woodhouse will not be intimidated by Cross. They have never met on TV before but Woodhouse is a pretty experienced player having played in fifteen Major Championships.
You have to respect Woodhouse’s chances here. He is the 3.25 outsider but I’ll be more conservative and back with a handicap.
Saturday 2023 Players Championship Finals tip: 1 point Luke Woodhouse +2.5 legs @ 1.67 with Boylesports, Hills, Betfair
Ryan Joyce vs. Joe Cullen
Cullen only averaged 84.3 in his 6-1 win over Jamie Hughes, who may as well have been sitting in the crowd. Cullen has not been playing well, losing seven of his last ten matches, with six sub 90 averages.
Ryan Joyce was very good when beating Daniel Klose 6-3. It was a 97.4 average but he was way up nearer 107 for most of the match. He really should have won by a bigger margin than he did.
Joyce is not one of the ‘big names’ and gets priced accordingly, even when he is playing well. If he can keep up the kind of form he showed yesterday, a win here is perfectly possible.
Saturday 2023 Players Championship Finals tip: 1 point Ryan Joyce to win @ 2.40 with Boylesports
Their H2H record is 6-2 to Cullen, with Joyce winning their most recent match 6-5 in September. Of their eight matches, six have been over 9.5 legs.
Saturday 2023 Players Championship Finals tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.10 with Betfair
James Wade vs. Steve Lennon
Wade put in the highest average of the day (101.4) when beating William O’Connor 6-2. He now takes on his mate, Steve Lennon. Lennon beat an out of sorts Andrew Gilding 6-3 in a very forgettable match.
Their H2H record is 6-1 to Wade and in half of their best of 11 leg matches, he has won 6-3.
