Sunday International Darts Open Tips – JP
Sunday International Darts Open Tips
The final day of this Euro Tour event gets underway soon and James Punt has another preview. He had winners at 1.67, 1.66 and 1.73 on Saturday evening. Check out his Sunday International Darts Open tips below.
Joe Cullen vs. Nathan Aspinall
Aspinall made a successful return to the oche yesterday, but he clearly isn’t fully fit. His wrist problem is a long term injury which requires surgery and a long recovery period. Aspinall has decided to try and play around the problem and avoid surgery. I am not sure now that will end but he is restricted to around an hours play per day, after which it becomes too painful. His hope was to get here and win a match and get some ranking money. He has done just that.
The Asp beat a disappointing Jeff Smith 6-4 yesterday. Smith made a very poor start, gifted Aspinall the first leg and quickly went 0-4. By the time he was playing better, the match was very nearly over. Aspinall averaged 88 and it was a standard of play that will not get him very far.
Joe Cullen made it 15 wins from his last 16 matches when he beat Madars Razma 6-1. It was a business like win, he didn’t need to be at his best but he still averaged 96.4 with four legs of 15 or fewer darts.
The H2H stats show a 6-5 lead for Cullen but given his form and Aspinall’s injury, there should only be one possible result this afternoon. Aspinall will do his best but unless Cullen takes it easy on his friend, the Rockstar should move on to the quarter final. He is the 1.61 favourite which looks a touch generous but he looks better still on the handicap. They have met twice on the euro tour with one win each and both results 6-4. I suspect Aspinall would be happy to win four legs today.
Sunday International Darts Open Tips: 1 point Joe Cullen to win -1.5 legs @ 2.00 with Ladbrokes
James Wade vs. Kim Huybrechts
Huybrechts looked a bit frustrated with his 6-3 win over Devon Petersen yesterday, possibly because of the 23 dart leg which blotted an otherwise good performance. His other five winning legs were 15 darts or less, but from 5-1 up, he would have expected to wrap things up quicker. He can do better, but a repeat of that sort of standard could well be enough here.
James Wade beat Van der Voort 6-4 in a game of two halves. The first half was low quality, wade going 3-0 up with three 18 dart legs, a bit of a Wade trademark but Van der Voort came back to square the match at 4-4. Wade was able to find another gear and won his last three legs with just 40 darts.
Wade is rarely easy to beat but Huybrechts has a good chance if he lets himself play the way he has been for a while now. If he gets frustrated and starts beating himself up, then Wade will pick his pocket.
The H2H stats show a 20-7 lead for Wade, but Huybrechts won their only match last year 6-3 last October. Wade is the 1.73 favourite, Huybrechts 2.25. Both players are in good form, Wade winning seven of his last ten, Huybrechts eight.
Huybrechts excitable nature is always a bit of a worry, but if he can stay focused, his better scoring should just edge it.
Sunday International Darts Open Tips: 1 point Kim Huybrechts to win @ 2.25 with Betfred
Michael van Gerwen vs. Danny Noppert
Van Gerwen needed his near A game to come from behind to beat Keane Barry last night. Barry broke MVG to go 3-2 up but Van Gerwen broke straight back and three 15 dart legs was enough to get home with a 6-4 win.
Noppert came back from his paternity leave to beat Merv King 6-3, despite only averaging 89.9. He went 5-1 up and took his foot off Kings throat, but it was not a performance that suggested that he is ready to beat MVG.
Van Gerwen has a 6-2 H2H record against Noppert but Noppert won their last match, 2-0 at the World Grand Prix, very shortly after losing a bad tempered affair 5-6 in a euro tour match the weekend before.
Van Gerwen is the 1.36 favourite, Noppert 3.25. MVG is often worth opposing these days but Noppert did look a bit rusty yesterday and he probably needs more matches to get back up to speed. No bet.
Gerwyn Price vs. Damon Heta
The best looking match of this round. Two players who are very much in form, with Price winning 9 of his last 10 matches, Heta 7. Price averaged 99.8 when beating Ritchie Edhouse 6-3. That brought to an end, a run of nine ton plus averages.
Heta beat Daryl Gurney 6-2, averaging 98.2. Superchin failed to take his chances to break Heta’s throw and what looked like being a close match was wrapped up quickly by the Aussie.
The H2H stat here is very telling. Price has won all seven of their previous matches and most very convincingly, only once requiring a deciding leg. Their last two matches were both on the euro tour last year with Price winning 6-4 and 6-3.
Heta is playing well, but Price is playing better. Does Heta actually believe he can beat Price? There was a time when Price had the same problem against MVG, he just couldn’t beat him, but when he did his career really took off.
Price is the 1.44 favourite but I’ll take him on the handicap.
Sunday International Darts Open Tips: 1 point price to win -1.5 legs @ 1.72 with SpreadEx
Brian Raman vs. Dimitri van den Bergh
WE have an all Dutch clash, an all Welsh class and here an all Belgian match up. Raman bet Jose De Sousa 6-5 despite averaging just 90.7. He was better on the doubles and in the end that was the difference. Van den Bergh thrashed Mensur Suljovic 6-1, averaging 98.1. It was a very good performance with a 167 finish and 66% on his doubles overall.
These two practice together and it always bothers we when you have two pals are playing each other. Dimitri is the heavier scorer and is in great form, winning 8 of his last ten. Raman is new to the PDC and is averaging just 84.8 in his players championship matches so far.
Van den Bergh is the 1.17 favourite here and has we have backed him for the tournament, that is enough interest in this match for me.
Jonny Clayton vs. Lewy Williams
The all Welsh affair and another two mates playing each other. Clayton is very much the senior partner her and he won their only previous competitive match 6-3 just over a year ago. Clayton beat Kciuk 6-5 last night, despite averaging 11 points more than the Pole. Kciuk went 3-0 up against a slow starting Clayton, and was in total control of the match, leading 5-3 before Clayton rattled off two 13 and a 15 dart leg to steal the match.
Williams beat his Polish opponent, Ratajski, also 6-5, but he made hard work of it. From 5-2 up, Williams needed a 15 dart deciding leg to get his win.
Both players showed bottle to win, and this could be close, if Williams can relax and not get ahead of himself. If he has an underdog mentality, it might help against his more experienced compatriot, but Clayton is hard to beat, even when not at his best.
Clayton is the 1.20 favourite, Williams 5.50 but the youngster might be a bit of value to hit the most 180’s. He has hit 9 so far at a rate of 0.43 per leg.
Sunday International Darts Open Tips: 1 point Williams to have the most 180’s @ 2.38 with Hills, SpreadEx, Boylesports
Peter Wright vs. Nico Springer
Springer land us a nice winner yesterday, beating Brendan Dolan 6-5. He had been 5-2 up but managed a 15 dart leg to finally get over the line. That will have taken something out of him and being a qualifier to reach the final day, he will be super excited and that might not be a good thing. If he could just play for fun then he might get a few legs, but if he is dreaming of a quarter final, then he will tie up.
Snakebite had the crowd eating out of his hand yesterday and that might be enough to keep the home fans quiet. The German fans are not known for their sporting impartiality and they certainly help Springer get home against Dolan who has getting dogs’ abuse.
Wright is 1.10 favourite and as he is our number 1 pick, there is no need to get involved in this match.
Michael Smith vs. Dirk van Duijvenbode
Smith has an 8-1 H2H record over Duijvenbode, with the Dutchman’s only win coming in the European Championship in 2020, the only time they have met on stage.
Smith beat Simon Whitlock 6-4 but was far from convincing, averaging 91.9. Dirk averaged 100 in his 6-0 demolition of Nico Kurz. It was his best performance for a while but does that mean he is back? That is too soon to say, but Smith’s confidence is fragile and for that reason alone, it is worth back Van Duijvenbode.
