Saturday Night 2024 WC Darts Preview & Tips

Another lovely correct score winner earlier for James Punt at odds of 5.00. Can we cause the bookies more heartache tonight? Check out his Saturday Night 2024 WC Darts match previews and tips below.

Ryan Searle vs. Tomoya Goto

Goto beat the hapless Ian White 3-1 in the first round. The Japanese player averaged 90.7, hit seven 180s and was 48% on the doubles. Not great scoring but punchy at times and able to take his chances, something that White failed to do once again.

Goto is the last of the Asian Tour qualifiers left in the tournament and after all the hype following some good first round performances, the Tour Card holders have come out on top.

On Song Heavy Metal

Ryan Searle has won seven of his last ten matches and he has been playing some good stuff. His last three defeats have been to Luke Humphries (twice) and Gerwyn Price. His last seven matches have all been on tv and that is important for his preparation.

He hasn’t been as good a player on TV as on the floor, but he played well in the Players Championship finals. His last five matches have all seen 98+ averages.

Goto has a ton plus A game but his seasonal average is 86.21 and if he plays to that, then he could be on the wrong end of a thrashing.

Searle has played seventeen matches at Ally Pally and won eleven, including all of his second round matches. He won his last four second round games 3-0, and against better players than Goto.

Saturday Night 2024 WC Darts Tip: 2 points Ryan Searle to win 3-0 @ 2.30 with Ladbrokes

Josh Rock vs. Berry van Peer

Rock has won seven of his last ten matches and hit four ton plus averages, but there have been four sub 92s as well, so consistency is in short supply. He beat Callan Rydz 3-0 at this stage last year on his way to reaching the fourth round on debut.

Berry van Peer continued his very successful season with a 3-2 first round win over Luke Woodhouse. It was a good match but Van Peer was just that bit better on the doubles.

It was a remarkable win when you consider that Van Peer went into the match on the back of six straight defeats. He has only won two of his last ten matches, so his confidence may still be fragile.

These two have met three times with Rock winning two, the most recent being at the Grand Slam. That was a terrible match, notable for Van Peer having a checkout rate of 14%.

Rock is the 1.22 favourite and Van Peer 4.50. Given his inconsistency, Rock looks high risk at the odds but I’m not sure that Van Peer can be trusted to put in back to back wins given his recent form. No bet.

Saturday Night 2024 WC Darts Tip: No Bet

Stephen Bunting vs. Ryan Joyce

Bunting is many peoples idea of a dark horse to win the Championship. He is in good form since switching to a heavier dart.

He was a Grand Slam semi-finalist and reached the quarter finals at the Players Championship finals. Bunting has won seven of his last ten matches and he is hard to beat.

Joyce is a very underrated player. He isn’t a prolific title winner but he picked up his second PDC title at the end of October and went one better than Bunting at the Players Championship finals, reaching the semi-final.

Deadly Doubler

Relentless Ryan doesn’t have the heavy scoring that Bunting can produce but he is a good finisher and doubles win matches. He has won six of his last ten and he is feeling good about his game after getting some advice from Chris Dobey.

Their H2H record is 3-2 to Joyce and he also won their only match on TV, a 5-4 win in the 2021 Grand Slam. Bunting is the 1.57 favourite and Joyce 2.63. I can see why Bunting is the favourite but I’d give Joyce a bigger chance. If Bunting doesn’t hit the ground running Joyce can pick him off. This could be a close match.

Saturday Night 2024 WC Darts Tip: 1 point Ryan Joyce to win +1.5 sets @ 1.70 with Fitzdares

Nathan Aspinall vs. Ricky Evans

Aspinall is the last man to step on stage for this championship and he faces the crowd favourite Ricky Evans. Rapid Ricky has slowed down a bit this season and it suits him in my opinion. I am not a fan of the ultra-fast players.

Evans beat the unfancied South African Simon Adams 3-0, as he should do, but it was a decent performance. He will need to be better here though. Evans has won five of his last ten matches and there have been enough high 90 averages to think he could pose Aspinall some trouble.

Asp Lacks Recent Form

Aspinall didn’t play in the Players Championship finals so his last competitive game was five weeks ago at the Grand Slam. We have already seen two seeded players who didn’t play at the Players Championship finals lose their opening matches. Peter Wright and Danny Noppert will not be coming back after Christmas, both losing 0-3. Is it a sign? Maybe it is.

Aspinall had lost seven of his last ten matches before his extended break and while he will have played a few exhibitions in the build up to this, a long break may not be ideal preparation.

Their H2H record is closer than you might think, 7-5 to Aspinall. Evans won their only match in 2023 but that ended a run of six consecutive defeats to Aspinall.

Aspinall is the 1.38 favourite with Evans 3.50. I am going to chuck a few quid on lightning striking thrice.

Saturday Night 2024 WC Darts Tip: 0.5 point Ricky Evans to win 3-0 @ 13.00 with Unibet, Boylesports

That’s all the darts until Wednesday 27th and the start of the third round and the tournament proper. Until then, have a very Sherry Christmas.

-JamesPunt