UK Open Friday Afternoon Preview And Tips – JP
UK Open Friday Afternoon Preview
James Punt is doing overtime this week to bring you previews for every day at the UK Open. He has already penned an outright preview, you can see that here. If you are having a bet on the Premier League tonight, he has a few bets for that too (click here). You can get his UK Open Friday Afternoon tips below.
Selected Matches Only
There are too many matches to cover them all and only some will be televised or streamed. There are many ‘fringe’ players, semi-pro and amateurs of which my knowledge of could be written on the back of a stamp. In many respects the first round or two of this tournament are of limited interest, a bit like the first round of the F.A. Cup. A big deal for the individuals, but the ‘real’ tournament starts with the fourth round.
Board 1, or the main stage, matches will be shown on TV, ITV in the UK, and stage 2 matches will be streamed via PDCTV. The others played on satellite boards away from the TV cameras.
Bradley Brooks vs. Rowby-John Rodriguez
Brooks made the last 16 at last year’s Grand Slam and gave Gerwyn Price a good run for his money. However, he has struggled at pro tour level in 2002, having played five players championship matches and losing four. He is still playing on the Development Tour and is doing well there, winning DT1 and reaching the final of DT5 and the quarter finals of DT3 & 4.
Rowby-John Rodriguez also made the last 16 at last year’s Grand Slam but he too is struggling on the pro tour, playing six players championship matches and losing four. His A game is very good and in the last few weeks he has hit 104, 103 and 102 averages, but also twice as many sub 90’s.
The H2H stats show a 5-1 lead for the more experienced Rodriguez, but he comes here on the back of six straight defeats. Rodriguez won three matches here last year to reach the fourth round, losing 7-10 to Jonny Clayton. Brooks reached the fourth round in 2020.
Brooks comes here after a successful time on the Development Tour, and he might be feeling more confident than Rodriguez.
UK Open Friday Afternoon Tips: 1 point Bradley Brooks to win @ 10/11 with Ladbrokes, Fitzdares
David Evans vs. Keane Barry (second round)
Barry showed some good form last weekend, beating Ron Meulenkamp 6-2 and giving MVG a real test but losing 4-6. He averaged 97 across the two matches and he is showing genuine signs of improvement. He is still playing Development Tour and picked up another title there a couple of weeks ago. At senior level he reached the quarter final of PC3 three weeks ago and he is averaging 95.18 in the players championship, the 20th highest so far.
Evans won his tour card last year and reaching the last 64 here last year was as good as it has got. This year has carried on in the same vein, as Evans has played seven matches and won one, averaging 84.2.
UK Open Friday Afternoon Tips: 2 points Barry to win -1.5 legs @ 1.70 with Fitzdares
Lewy Williams vs. Martin Schindler (second round)
One of the better matches of the day. Williams is a rapidly improving young player who we saw in action on the euro tour at the weekend. He reached the third round, beating Ratajski in the 2nd round, before losing 4-6 to Jonny Clayton. He is still lacking experience but he looks to have plenty of potential but like all the young players, the consistency is still to come. He has won six of his last ten at senior level, averaging 90.6.
Martin Schindler is trying to get his career back on track. He is still only 25 but is very experienced at major championship level and he has won seven of his eleven UK Open matches. Schindler is averaging 94.6 in 2022, winning five of his nine matches. Williams is flavour of the month, but Schindler is playing that bit better.
UK Open Friday Afternoon Tips: 1 point Martin Schindler to win @ 1.80 with Ladbrokes, Betfred
Madars Razma vs. Jamie Hughes (third round)
The H2H record is 1-1 but Yozza won 6-4 when they met three weeks ago. Razma played the Euro Tour event at the weekend but looked in poor form, struggling to beat Wayne Jones and averaging just 81 when losing 1-6 to Joe Cullen. He has won six of his last ten matches but is only averaging 89.7 in 2022.
Jamie Hughes has had injury problems in the last year or two and his career has suffered. Hughes reached the 5th round here in 2019 and the quarter final in 2020, won a euro tour title in 2019, but needed surgery at the start of last year and didn’t return to action until the 2021 UK Open, losing his opening match. Two players championship semi-finals in 2021 were his best results and in 2022 he has won six of his last ten matches and is averaging 92.6.
Given Razma’s poor show at the weekend and Hughes recent win over the Latvian, Hughes is the call.
UK Open Friday Afternoon Tips: 1 point Jamie Hughes to win @ 1.80
Friday Afternoon Acca
There are some short priced favourites who acca builders may wish to consider:
George Killington to beat Recce Robinson @ 1.44 generally available
Josh Rock to beat Damian Mol @ 1.33 generally available
Mario Vandenbogaerde to beat Jules van Dongen @ 1.44 generally available
Danny Jensen vs. Liam Meek @ 1.44 generally available
Danny Baggish to beat John Michael @ 1.44 generally available
Raymond van Barneveld to beat William Borland @ 1.44 generally available
