2016 Grand Slam of Darts 2nd round preview: BDO stars still going strong as 5 remain

2016 Grand Slam of Darts 2nd round

Can any BDO stars reach the quarters?

The 2016 Grand Slam of Darts has certainly lived up to its pre-tournament promise, as already we’ve witnessed shocks, whitewashes, comebacks, scoring miscounts and even a thrilling nine-dart shootout!

All of that happened in just the group stage, so prepare yourself for yet more drama in the knockout rounds that feature five BDO stars as they look to outlast the remaining 11 PDC players.

Read on to find out Coral’s 2016 Grand Slam of Darts 2nd round preview of the eight matches across Wednesday and Thursday…

Wednesday

Gerwyn Price v Brendan Dolan

Price is a tasty price to edge Dolan again.

Price was involved in some controversy on the final night of the group stage in his encounter with Robert Thornton, not to the fault of either player, as the referee miscounted to allow the Welshman to checkout on the wrong score and win the match 5-3.

However, the darting gods had their say and The Thorn eventually qualified for the knockout rounds too after a nerve-racking nine-dart shootout victory over young Belgian Dimitri Van den Bergh.

As for Dolan, he too was involved in an edgy final fixture, as he overcame Martin Adams despite the BDO icon having many chances to seal a 5-2 triumph in a low-quality but electrifying battle.

Price (8/15 favourite) and Dolan (6/4) have one narrow win apiece from their two head-to-heads, but back The Iceman at 7/1 for a 10-8 victory after he topped Group B.

Phil Taylor v Jeff Smith

Taylor should have little trouble defeating the BDO’s Smith.

Not many predicted that 2016 BDO World Championship runner-up Smith would qualify from a group involving Peter Wright and Simon Whitlock, but he did just that after edging the latter 5-4 on Tuesday evening.

Taylor, meanwhile, looked in fine form up until he was remarkably whitewashed by already-eliminated Darren Webster. The Power still topped Group D, though, and goes into this match as the heavy 1/10 favourite.

Six-time Grand Slam champion Taylor has faced many Smiths throughout his career, but never Canada’s The Silencer. He’s had a number of tense tussles with Smith’s compatriot Jon Part, but this should be unlike any of those, and so the all-time great is 11/10 to win with a handicap of -5.5 legs.

Michael van Gerwen v Robert Thornton

Title favourite Van Gerwen features in Coral’s 2016 Grand Slam of Darts 2nd round preview.

This duo have had their fair share of close encounters in recent times, with Thornton (8/1) beating Van Gerwen (1/16 favourite) in last year’s World Grand Prix final while they also drew in the 2016 Premier League.

However, as always, Mighty Mike has been in fine form this tournament, dropping just four legs, and so is a tasty 11/10 shout to be King of the Oche against The Thorn, who as mentioned above only narrowly scraped his way through to this stage.

Van Gerwen is the odds-on 4/6 tournament favourite to defend his title.

Peter Wright v Darryl Fitton

Wright can make light work of Fitton.

Wright was also in smashing form from his three round robin fixtures, averaging 107.36 in his 5-0 thrashing of Whitlock, though won’t have it all his own way against BDO veteran Fitton.

The pair never met while Snakebite (1/6 odds-on favourite) was on Lakeside up until 2004, so this is another first to go down in the record books.

Fitton is 4/1 to cause a shock but, after claiming 5-4 scoreline in both his wins with a top average of just 87.30, he looks likely to go down to Wright with relative ease. Back the Scot at 11/2 to triumph 10-5.

Thursday

Jamie Hughes v Chris Dobey

Hughes v Dobey is the closest matched fixture according to Coral’s odds.

Thursday’s matches see three BDO players in action, and this is the most likely chance any of them and the two on Wednesday will get of reaching the quarter-finals.

Dobey, who made it into the event after impressing in a PDC qualifier in Barnsley just before the Grand Slam, is somehow in the second round after finishing second in Group H that featured Adrian Lewis, Benito van de Pas and BDO star Scott Mitchell.

Hughes, on the other hand, arguably topped that feat by topping Group G which included former Grand Slam runner-ups James Wade and Dave Chisnall and two-time BDO major champion James Wilson.

Yozza, as Hughes is nicknamed, is 4/5 slight favourite to beat Dobey (evens), but is a more enticing 13/10 chance to get the most 180s.

Benito van de Pas v James Wade

Van de Pas is an enticing price to knock out Wade.

In the only all-PDC clash of the day, 2010 finalist Wade is 4/9 odds-on favourite to defeat rising star Van de Pas, but might not have it all his own way having lost to him three times from seven meetings including last time out in the World Series Finals.

After winning Group H too with a 100 per cent record, back Big Ben at a very tasty 7/4 to cause a minor upset to face one of Hughes or Dobey.

If you fancy Van de Pas to win his first major, in arguably the easier side of the draw, then take odds of 33/1. There is a third of the odds price if you go each-way (place 1 and 2).

Gary Anderson v Danny Noppert

Anderson is heavy favourite to beat Noppert, but might find himself shocked by the BDO Dutchman.

This is one event that Anderson has stated he wants to win before his career ends, and it is fair to say that he has adjusted quicker than expected to his decision to wear glasses while playing.

The Flying Scotsman is 1/6 to defeat BDO world number three Noppert, who fantastically beat in-form Mensur Suljovic, which eventually resulted in the Austrian being eliminated.

It will be interesting to see if young Dutchman Noppie can step up his game against PDC world champion Anderson, who is susceptible to having the odd off-game, and he’s 4/1 to cause an upset.

Raymond van Barneveld v Glen Durrant

Barney v Durrant odds of 15/2 say the Dutchman can win 10-9.

There’s something about the winter darts season that gets Barney going. He’s recorded the highest average this tournament with 110.15 and is the only player to get over 100 in each of his three matches.

A fantastic 5-3 win over Suljovic ensured he maintained his 100 per cent win record, and the 2012 champion (22/1 to lift the trophy again) will now hope to continue his momentum and roll over top-ranked BDO star Durrant.

Duzza (11/8 match shout) is certainly the player Barney would have wanted to avoid, as the Middlesbrough native only just lost out to Anderson 5-4 before thrashing both Alan Norris and Nathan Derry 5-1 and 5-0 respectively.

This certainly has the potential to go the distance, and 4/7 match-favourite Van Barneveld is 15/2 to edge it 10-9.

Related

Check out our dedicated darts page for more previews, tips and features.

Why not read one of our great features on BDO players who switched to the PDC!

Or, check out our top 10 unluckiest PDC arrowsmiths to have come close but never won a major!

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