Wednesday Evening PDC World Championship Tips – JP
Wednesday Evening PDC World Championship Preview
James Punt’s fantastic run of form continued this afternoon. He went 3/4, with winners at 1.75, 1.80 and 1.92. His Wednesday Evening PDC World Championship preview and tips are below.
Merv King vs. Danny Baggish
Baggish has taken a liking to the Ally Pally stage. He has now played six matches and won four. It took King a while to get the hang of things here. He reached the semi-final in 2009 but then went nine years with just one third round reached.
In the last four he has form figures of 3/3/4/QF so better, if not stunning. His recent form is not good, just four wins from his last six. His seasonal win rate is down to 52%, a career low. He is 56, so a decline is only to be expected.
Oppose King
King can be opposed here. Baggish is playing for fun, he is likely to be heading back to America unless he wins enough money to retain his tour card. He is buzzing that he is one of three American players in the second round, and he has made a third round before, beating Adrian Lewis on that occasion. An out of form Merv King is well within Baggish’s reach.
Wednesday Evening PDC World Championship Tip: 1 point Danny Baggish to win @ 2.30 with BET365, Hills
Gabriel Clemens vs. William O’Connor
Clemens is another of the seeded players to be in danger of an early exit. He has lost six of his last ten matches and he is not scoring well with too many sub 90 averages. Their H2H record is 2-2 if you ignore a Home Tour match.
Clemens has won their last two and O’Connor’s last win was in 2019. The German giant has reached the 3rd round for the last two years but his form has dropped off in 2022. His seasonal win rate is a career low 54% and his seasonal average of 92.2 is 2.5 points lower than it was in 2019.
Solid Display
William O’Connor had to play well to beat Beau Greaves, averaging 94.2 in a 3-0 win. He will have been relieved to have won but also pleased with his performance. A first round win will settle him, and he is perfectly capable of making his third 3rd round in the last four years. O’Connor’s recent form sees six wins from his last ten and he is playing more consistently than Clemens, with just two sub 90 averages in that last ten and seven 94+.
There isn’t much between the two players in terms of stats, but O’Connor has that first round win under his belt and he will be feeling better about his form than Clemens will.
Wednesday Evening PDC World Championship Tip: 1 point William O’Connor to win @ 1.80 with Ladbrokes
Michael van Gerwen vs. Lewis Williams
The tournament favourite finally enters the ring, and he faces a confident Lewy Williams who put in a very tidy performance to beat Niels Zonneveld in the first round. He is still just 20 years old but has recently become a first time father. The Nappy Factor will give him additional motivation for quite some time, and he is under no pressure.
He went out at this stage last year and is the 15.00 outsider to win this. Those are huge odds for a player who has won one of his two matches against MVG. His recent form is a bit stale after he took time out for paternal duties, but he has won seven of his last ten. His problem is that his seasonal average is just 87.8 and even his A game is unlikely to be enough to trouble MVG. He needs Van Gerwen to have a stinker to have a realistic chance.
3-1 Again?
Michael van Gerwen has won his last ten second round matches, six of them 3-1, including the last five in a row. It has become something of a Christmas tradition to back MVG to win his opening match 3-1, and this year is no different. Van Gerwen is looking to win the tournament and he knows that he needs to time his run. The first round is just a match to settle in rather than show his hand.
Wednesday Evening PDC World Championship Tip: 1 point Michael van Gerwen to win 3-1 @ 3.75 with Betfred, Betfair
Stephen Bunting vs. Leonard Gates
Bunting is in decent form, winning six of his last ten matches. His seasonal average is a very respectable 94.8. His last ten matches have seen just one sub 90 average and five 95+. Good, consistent scoring. He is defending his semi-final prize money from two years ago which does put some pressure on his shoulders, but this is a good opportunity to move into the third round for only the fourth time in his career.
Gates beat a disappointing Geert Nentjes 3-1 in the first round. It was a low scoring affair with Gates averaging just 81.2. That is way off what he will need here.
Bunting is the 1.20 favourite to win, Gates 5.00. There is actually some value in Bunting’s odds but I’ll take him on the handicap.
