Thursday Night 2023 PDC World Championship – JP
Thursday Night 2023 PDC World Championship Preview
Another astonishing afternoon of action at the Ally Pally. The highlight was an incredible match between Van Duijvenbode and Smith, with The Aubergenius winning a sudden death leg. James Punt is back for more punishment this evening. Check out his Thursday Night 2023 PDC World Championship tips below.
Luke Humphries vs. Vincent van der Voort
It was a laboured effort from Humphries in his 3-2 second round win over Florian Hempel. He only averaged 90.9, his lowest average in his last ten matches, which have yielded seven wins. His seasonal average is 97.4 and he has been playing at or around that level for most of his last ten. He has only played in two third round matches here, winning both 4-1 and 4-2. He got a bye last year after Chisnall withdrew.
Vincent van der Voort is doing his usual bit of money farming. He has bagged £25000 for getting this far, keeping him in the top 30, job done. Vincent has lost six of his last ten matches and hasn’t been going back-to-back much recently. His third round record here is played 12 and won 7. His scoring is not in the same league has Humphries with a seasonal average some 6 points lower.
Their H2H record is 2-0 to Humphries, both floor matches.
Humphries A Clear Fav
The market has Humphries as the 1.29 favourite, Van der Voort 4.33. It would seem that Vincent’s best hope is that Humphries has another below par performance, but his recent form suggests his second round performance was an outlier and he is unlikely to be that poor again. Van der Voort has never been beaten to nil at this stage and I would expect him to pick up a set or two, more if Humphries struggles again.
Thursday Night 2023 PDC World Championship Tip: 0.5 point Luke Humphries to win 4-2 @ 4.75 with SpreadEx
Gerwyn Price vs. Jose de Sousa
The first of the fourth round matches
De Sousa will have to change his name from the ‘The Special One’ to ‘The Comeback King’. He was 0-2 against Whitlock in the second round and won 3-2, and yesterday he was 0-3 against Searle and won 4-3. He was helped by the fact that Searle was not playing well, and Jose was able to win with a 91.7 average. That sort of standard will not do against Price. De Sousa has lost five of his last ten matches and seven saw averages below his seasonal average of 94.3.
Gerwyn Price has dropped just one set so far and he had an easy 4-0 win over Van Barneveld in the third round. He hasn’t yet had to engage second gear, with winning averages of 92.8 and 93.6, well below his seasonal average of 97.3. Six of his last ten matches have seen ton plus averages so we know that Price has a lot more in the tank, if needed.
De Sousa Edges H2H
Their H2H record is 4-3 to De Sousa, but Price overcame a much worse H2H record against Barney. They have only met in one TV match, this year’s Matchplay quarter final, which Price won 16-14. Price averaged 104 to De Sousa’s 98 and it is hard to see De Sousa hitting that sort of average given his recent form.
Gerwyn price is the 1.259 favourite with De Sousa 4.00. Their H2H record suggests that any value lies with De Sousa, but he is a bit fortunate to have gotten this far.
Price has played in four previous fourth round matches here, winning three, and the last two 4-1. Something similar?
Thursday Night 2023 PDC World Championship Tip: 0.5 point Price to win 4-1 @ 4.00 with SpreadEx
Jonny Clayton vs. Josh Rock
This fourth round match should be a cracker. Josh Rock finally got going when beating Nathan Aspinall 4-3 in the third round. He averaged 95.6 and says that there is more to come. He is yet to better his seasonal average of 96.2 in his three matches so far. Rock has won six of his last ten matches and his H2H record with Clayton is 1-1 and both required a deciding leg.
Jonny Clayton’s seasonal average is 96.7, 0.5 points better than Rock’s but so close as not to matter. He has won seven of his last ten matches but only averaged above his seasonal average once. He is doing the right things at the right time, he is a seasoned pro at the top level, but he is not at the top of his game.
More To Come
Both have got more to give; both are hard to beat and you can argue a case for the two of them. Rock is the favourite at 1.73 with Clayton 2.20. I can’t argue with those odds and the best way to play this is to do a sets bet. Two very evenly matched players suggests we should get a competitive match. Clayton has only played one fourth round match here and he lost it to Michael Smith last year, 3-4. He has only dropped the one set so far and I can see this going to a deciding set.
