Saturday Afternoon PDC Masters Tips James Punt
Saturday Afternoon PDC Masters Darts Tips
It was tough going for us yesterday but James Punt is back for more punishment. He will be previewing every match from both sessions, check out his Saturday Afternoon PDC Masters Tips and previews below.
Jose de Sousa vs. Rob Cross
It was an underwhelming 6-2 win for Rob Cross in his opening match vs. Brendan Dolan last night. Neither player could average over 90 as their doubling was very poor. Both players were very rusty and it remains to be seen if last night’s match was enough to get that rust out of his system. Cross trails De Sousa 3-2 in their H2H stats, with a premier league draw in 2021.
De Sousa did not finish 2021 in good form. He won six of his last ten matches, but his scoring had fallen below his usual high standard. You have to go back to November 4th to find his last ton plus average.
This is one of those matches which makes little appeal. Cross was poor last night, he wasn’t alone, there was not a lot of quality on display after the winter break, and he is hard to fancy as a result. De Sousa was far from his best at the end of 2021 but will he be better after the break, or will he be another rusty one?
He averaged 101.2 in his opening match here last year, but lost to Jonny Clayton, 5-6. Cross doesn’t have a good record in this event, winning just two of his six matches played and he is hard to fancy. De Sousa is the 2.20 outsider and he is the call, not because he has been in good form, but because Cross makes much less appeal at 1.80.
Saturday Afternoon PDC Masters Tips: 1 point Jose De Sousa to win @ 2.20 with SpreadEx
Gary Anderson vs. Joe Cullen
Joe Cullen beat Daryl Gurney 6-2 last night in one of the few games that was up to scratch quality wise. Cullen averaged 99, hit 4 maximums and was 50% on his doubles. That should have settled any nerves and if he can reproduce something similar, he must have a decent shout here.
Gary Anderson is not known for doing a lot of practice, but he usually plays well in this event. He has played in seven Masters and only lost two of his opening matches. He has won ten of his seventeen Masters matches. Anderson finished 2021 with his usual big run in the World Championship, reaching the semi-final and winning seven of his last ten. He is one of those players who can not touch his darts for weeks and still play well, which may explain his decent record in this season opener.
Anderson has the h2h edge
Anderson has a 8-4 H2H record against Cullen, he has won their last four matches and Cullen has not beaten Anderson since November 2016.
Cullen impressed last night but Anderson is usually up for this tournament. They have only played two matches outside of a best of eleven leg format and Anderson won both, 10-2 and 19-17.
Cullen is a best priced 2.00 and Anderson 2.05 with a couple of casino bookies. It is a tough one to call but a close match would be no surprise. It is just 1.80 for over 16.5 legs and it is hard to see any value in this match. Cullen is the better 180 hitter, and you can get 3.25 for Cullen to win and have the most 180’s with Betfair which might be the way to go if you fancy Cullen to win, but it is a no bet for me.
Saturday Afternoon PDC Masters Tips: No Bet
Michael Smith vs. Krzysztof Ratajski
Ratajski somehow managed to beat Gabriel Clemens 6-5 last night. The German missed multiple match darts and Ratajski won by default in the end. His doubling was poor, and it really is a problem for him now. He just looks very nervous on the important doubles and there is talk of a bit of dartitis creeping into his game. Last nights ‘win’ was only his second in six matches.
Michael Smith has won seven of his last ten, but his last match was a defeat in the World Championship final. He has had a few weeks to get over that and has to yet again, start a new season still looking for his first televised title. He is lucky to land Ratajski for his opening match and not a more confident player. Smith leads their H2H stats 8-4 and while Ratajski won their last match, Smith has won five of their last six.
Smith is just 1.35 to win but if Ratajski has more double trouble, this could be a one sided affair.
Saturday Afternoon PDC Masters Tips: 2 points Michael Smith to win -2.5 legs @ 1.83 with Betvictor
James Wade vs. Dave Chisnall
We have backed Wade each way for the tournament, but he has a tough opening match here. Chisnall was one of the few players to impress with his performance last night. He thrashed Stephen Bunting 6-0 thanks to hitting 60% of his doubles. It wasn’t a brilliant performance and Bunting was poor, but Chizzy said that he has been putting in the practice and feels confident.
Their H2H record could not be closer with thirteen wins each and two draws, but they have not played since 2019.
Wade is something of a tournament specialist having won it once and was runner up in 2019. He has only lost two of his nine opening matches. He ended 2021 by winning seven of his last ten matches and he reached the semi-final at the World Championship, although he wasn’t that impressive and got lucky with the draw.
Chisnall is attracting the money and is now the 1.91 favourite, with Wade a 2.00 shot.
It is a tough one to call and I’ll sit this one out and hope that Wade can move on to the quarter final stage.
