Saturday PDC World Championship Tips

It was another profitable night for us on Thursday with 2/3 of James Punt’s tips winning. Ryan Searle was the only bet that let us down. We are now down to the last 8 and all four quarter finals will be played today. Check out James Punt’s Saturday PDC World Championship tips below.

James Wade vs. Merv King

The second quarter was an open looking quarter and while it is not a total surprise to see a Wade vs. King quarter final, the manner of their getting to it is.

Wade was really poor in round two, averaged 83 but still beat Maik Kuivenhoven 3-1. He then got a bye into the fourth round after Vincent van der Voort had to withdraw. Wade then played Martijn Kleermaker who had reached the fourth round despite averaging under 90 across the first three rounds. That Dutchman was easily beaten, Wade winning 4-0 with a 93 average. He didn’t need to extend himself there.

Merv King came from 0-2 to beat Ryan Joyce in the second round, Steve Lennon capitulated in the third and King had the easiest 4-0 win, and he then came back form 0-2 and 1-3 down to beat Raymond Smith 4-3. The Australian tweeted that he was suddenly overcome with home sickness when he went 3-1 up and his game packed up.

King averaged 90.6 across his three matches, Wade 88.4 across his two. Wade has reached the quarter final of the World Championship, without hitting a single 180.

Neither Man Playing Well

Two players who have not played well have made it the quarter final and one must make it through to the semi. The bookmakers have Wade as the best priced 1.57 favourite and King a 2.63 chance, despite an outrageous H2H record.

Merv King is 28-24 up on Wade, but more telling is that he has won nine of the last ten meetings and all three of their 2021 matches. You have to go back to May 2019 to find Wade’s last win over King. King has won their last seven in a row and only one went to a deciding leg. The rest were all heavy defeats. They last played in the World Series of Darts Finals in late October, where King averaged 115 and won 6-0.

Wade has won eight of his last ten matches, King five, but their respective performances have been inconsistent, and you could get anything from either player.

Wade has played in eight PDC quarter finals and lost five, including his last three. King has only played one and won that 5-2, but it was a long time ago.

It is hard to have much faith in either player and a no bet is maybe the wisest choice, but given the H2H stats in particular, King just looks too big a price.

Saturday PDC World Championship Tips: 1 point Merv King to win @ 2.75 generally available

Saturday PDC World Championship Tips: 0.5 point King to win 5-2 @ 11.00 with BET365

Gary Anderson vs. Luke Humphries

This will be Anderson’s ninth quarter final and he has won six of his previous eight, four of them 5-1. His H2H record with Humphries is 2-1 but one of those wins was on the remote Home Tour during the first lock down and not a real match. Humphries’ only win over Anderson was when he was a Challenger in the 2020 Premier League. Anderson has played all three of his matches, beating Adrian Lewis 3-1, Ian White 4-3 and Rob Cross 4-3. His performance against Cross was his best and he is playing himself into the tournament like he does nearly every year. His tournament average so far is 93.7 and like Humphries his seasonal average is 95.

Humphries is another player to have received a bye into the fourth round after Dave Chisnall was forced to withdraw. He has played just the two matches, beating Rowby-John Rodriguez 3-0 in the second round and Chris Dobey 4-3 in the fourth in a bit of a classic. It was another to the wire match and Humphries edged it 4-3 with both players averaging 97.8. Humphries’ tournament average so far is 95.3, pretty much bang on his seasonal average. This will be his third world championship quarter final in his short career. He lost the first two 1-5 and 3-5.

Similar Seasonal Stats

Both players’ seasonal stats are very similar, Humphries is slightly better on the 180s and checkouts but not by a significant amount. This is a classic youth vs. experience match up. Humphries is one for the future, Anderson in the autumn of his career. Anderson has been there, done it, got the t-shirt while Humphries has shown promise, but he is yet to win a senior PDC title, not a pro tour nor a euro tour, nothing. He is a former World Youth Champion and won eleven Development Tour titles, but he has not crossed the line at the top level. He will do, but to do so at the World Championship would be surprising.

The fact that Anderson has already won two World Championships takes the pressure off him. He doesn’t need it as much. Just getting this far means he is back in the top 5 in the OOM, very probably in the Premier League and next season is sorted. Luke Humphries on the other hand needs it. He will not be in the Premier League unless he wins the championship, or maybe runner up. The fact that he mentioned it in his post-match interview suggests he is thinking about it, getting ahead of himself, maybe wanting it too much. Anderson is free of any distracting thoughts.

This is a best of nine sets match and Anderson has so much more experience of playing these long game formats. He can stick in, ride the ups and downs and use his experience to carry him through to his sixth semi-final in the last eight years.

Saturday PDC World Championship Tips: 1 point Gary Anderson to win -1.5 sets @ 2.20 with Betfred

Saturday PDC World Championship Tips: 0.5 point Gary Anderson to win 5-3 @ 6.00 generally available

Peter Wright vs. Callan Rydz

Rydz finally got a win against Snakebite on the Euro Tour in late September (averaging 110), but Wright has won their other four matches. The only other stage match was at last year’s Players Championship Finals when it went to a deciding leg, Wright winning 10-9. Rydz has come on since then, winning two pro tour titles and he has been one of the most impressive players in this tournament so far. He has dropped just the one set, is averaging 97.1 and is playing at the top of his game. Can he keep it up and if so, for how long?

Peter Wright has been his usual self. Started poorly but won his first match against a poor opponent. Averaged 102 in his next match which saw him play with two different sets of darts, and he beat Ryan Searle 4-1 in the fourth round, but Searle never turned up. He is just playing himself in. Wright has played in five quarter finals and won three and he holds the aces in terms of experience.

Rydz Making Right Noises

Rydz is saying the right things. Just taking it match by match and talking down his likelihood for winning the title. However, Like Humphries, he hasn’t won a major title and it must be difficult not to get ahead of himself. At least he has won two pro tour titles this year, so he is not chasing his first win. Rydz has done enough to move into the top 32 on the OOM and he has achieved a lot in the year, and he is not under the same pressure as Humphries or King who are trying to get into the top 16. He has played in one major quarter final, this year’s World Matchplay, which he lost 8-16 to Ratajski.

Peter Wright has won 13 of his last 14 matches and while he hasn’t been completely convincing at times, he is getting the job done and is confident.

Wright is the 1.50 favourite with Rydz at 2.75 and it is a hard one to call. Rydz has been right on it, unplayable at times, but Wright is a winning machine at the moment and has so much more big match experience. Hopefully Rydz can relax and play his game and if so, we could have close match.

Saturday PDC World Championship Tips: 1 point Over 7.5 sets @ 2.00 with Ladbrokes

Gerwyn Price vs. Michael Smith

Smith knocked our ante post selection to win the title, Jonny Clayton, in the last round in a true Ally Pally classic. It had everything and for once, Smith’s doubling held up at the denouement and won the match in a sudden death shoot out. He is likely to need to do something similar tonight.

Their H2H record could not be closer, 14-14 with 2 draws. However, Smith has not beaten Gerwyn Price since March 2019. There have been ten matches without a win for Bully Boy. Smith has won his two previous World Championship quarter finals, 5-1 vs. Duzza and 5-4 vs. Daryl Gurney.

Price is the better player in terms of his seasonal average; his is 99.0 compared to 96.6 for Smith. His checkout rate is 43%, 40% for smith and they both hit 180s at 29% per leg. Smith has been the better scorer in the tournament so far, averaging 101.16 compared to 96.6 for Price. Both has lost five sets

Price A Winning Machine

It is close enough to say that this will be won by the better player on the day. Price is another winning machine. He has won 80% of his matches in the last 12 months and nine of his last ten matches. Smith has won 71% of his matches and eight of his last ten.

This is another tricky match. The H2H stats say that price is the more likely winner. He has already won this title, is a multiple major winner while Smith has that massive monkey on his back.

The bookmakers have Price as the 1.57 favourite and Smith 2.50 and they look about right. With both players bang in form, we should get a contest and a close match, another last set decider? Maybe not, Price usually wins by a fairly decent margin, but over 7.5 sets looks a reasonable scenario.

Saturday PDC World Championship Tips: 1 point over 7.5 sets @ 2.10 with SportingIndex

-JamesPunt