Bet of the Day: Klaasen to ease past Dekker in PDC World Champs
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All-Dutch battle in First Round on Saturday
The 2018 PDC World Championship is underway, and Saturday evening sees an all-Dutch affair. World number 12 Jelle Klaasen faces his compatriot Jan Dekker, who is looking to make it past the opening round for the first time.
Klaasen reached the Semi-Finals of this competition in 2016, beating the likes of Phil Taylor and Gary Anderson along the way. And ‘The Cobra’ chalked up comfortable victories in the first two rounds last year.
Dekker – who moved from the BDO in 2015 – missed out on last year’s tournament, though his 2016 experience was an unhappy one, with a 3-0 First Round loss to Adrian Lewis.
With Klaasen also performing well at the UK Open earlier this year, the signs suggest this First Round test will cause him few problems. Coral’s Bet of the Day is Handicap: Jelle Klaasen – 1.5 at Evens.
Expect a flurry of maximums
Regardless of whether or not he’s won matches, Klaasen’s been pretty consistent in hitting the 180s lately. He managed six against Alan Norris in the Players Championship Finals last month, as well as five against Kyle Anderson in October.
As for Dekker, he lost to Michael van Gerwen at the Players Championship, but certainly didn’t disgrace himself – chalking up five 180s along the way.
With both players hitting big numbers when they’re in their stride, Total 180s: Over 7.5 looks good value at 5/6.
Will it be 3-1 to the favourite?
As mentioned above, Klaasen has avoided the early-rounds banana skin at the Alexandra Palace in recent years. In the last three years, he’s opened up with 3-1 victories on a couple of occasions, as well as a 3-0 defeat of Joe Cullen in 2016.
A whitewash is a big ask for the 33-year-old here, with Dekker having performed decently in the Players Championship. But with his strong record against the game’s lesser lights, Correct Score: Klaasen 3-1 at 13/5 could prove a smart bet.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
