European Championship darts quarters preview: Suljovic takes on Taylor in intriguing tussle
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2016 European Championship
- Finals day: Quarter-finals
- Sunday, October 30th
- Session starts: 13:00 GMT
- Hasselt, Belgium
- Live on ITV4
European Championship darts quarters preview
Shocks were minimal on day two of the 2016 European Championship darts following a flurry of upsets in the first round, and now there are just eight stars left battling it out for the Belgium prize.
Top four seeds Michael van Gerwen, Mensur Suljovic, Peter Wright and James Wade have all survived so far, and take on Jelle Klaasen, Phil Taylor, Kyle Anderson and James Wilson respectively in tasty tussles.
So, read on to check out our European Championship darts quarters preview, before the semis and final are played out in the evening session…
James Wilson v James Wade
Two-time BDO major champion Wilson is on his best run at a premier tournament since his switch to the PDC in 2015, after knocking out home hope Kim Huybrechts and Mervyn King.
Yorkshireman Jammie Dodger beat Wade earlier this year, though has lost the other two clashes with his fellow Englishman, who whitewashed reigning world champion Gary Anderson before defeating rising star Max Hopp 10-3.
The Machine is a tempting 11/10 chance to stop Wilson’s run and win with a handicap of -3.5.
Michael van Gerwen v Jelle Klaasen
MvG really came out of the blocks against potential danger Gerwyn Price, after being just one dart away from going out to Simon Whitlock in the first round, with a fantastic 10-2 victory.
The deadly Dutchman may find things more challenging against compatriot Klaasen, who averaged over 101 in his 10-4 triumph over Stephen Bunting, but has won each of their last seven meetings.
Van Gerwen looks unlikely to be stopped at this stage, as he aims for a third successive European Championship crown, and so he is 11/8 to be King of the Oche (player to win match, get most 180s and highest checkout) against The Cobra.
Mensur Suljovic v Phil Taylor
This is certainly the most intriguing fixture of the round, and it looks as though it will go right down to the wire with Suljovic in cracking form of late and Taylor back to his ruthless best.
The Austrian managed to hold off a late comeback from Ian White last time out, but the scoreline may be reversed against another man from Stoke – The Power.
Four-time champion Taylor, who recently claimed the inaugural Champions League of Darts, is a highly tempting 10/1 shout to win 10-9.
Kyle Anderson v Peter Wright
In the last quarters tie, Snakebite will really need to up his game if he is to avoid defeat at the hands of the impressive Australian Anderson.
The Gentle, playing in his second PDC major quarter-final, has already seen off Dave Chisnall and James Richardson in impressive fashion, and will certainly fancy his chances of getting to the semis.
Wright only narrowly edged past Justin Pipe and then Cristo Reyes, despite averaging 100.79 in the latter, and another shock of the tournament looks to be on the cards. Anderson is, therefore, 21/10 for victory and thus be 2-1 up on the Scot in overall head-to-heads.
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