World Matchplay: Tuesday preview
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Anderson and Wright to shine
The World Matchplay Darts is now in full-swing from Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, and having given our views on the outright betting, we aim to bring you the winners from the daily matches, pointing out any value plays along the way.
Tuesday’s schedule sees four matches go ahead in front of the Sky Sports cameras, with Scottish pair Gary Anderson and Peter Wright both in action. We give our opinions on the best bets available. Click here to place your darts bets – we offer a number of markets in every match, including most 180s, handicap betting and king of the oche.
Gurney to make a nuisance of himself
46-year-old Gary Anderson faces off against Northern Irishman Daryl Gurney, with the Flying Scotsman a hot favourite to pick up the desired result in that 9.45pm start. 31-year-old Derry man Gurney has never won a major PDC event, and isn’t expected to break the habit here, with our odds compilers offering a chunky 40/1 on him to finish as World Matchplay champion.
His opponent is a lot more likely to go on and lift the crown, going as 4/1 second favourite at the time of writing, behind Michael van Gerwen’s 4/6. Followers of the Musselburgh star won’t find a lot to get excited about in the match betting price, Anderson knocked up as a 2/9 shot to progress, meaning we must work a little harder for our value fix.
Gurney got to the final of the US Darts Masters recently, and put up a decent fight against eventual champion MVG, losing 8-6 in Las Vegas. Despite that reverse, the beaten man would’ve taken confidence from the way he matched up to the world champion for large parts of the evening, and he’ll aim to make a nuisance of himself again. Take him on the handicap +3.5 at even money.
Wright to show his class
Later in the evening, scheduled for an 11pm start, we have Peter Wright locking horns with Cristo Reyes. The Spaniard, making his debut at this venue, got off to a flyer, beating Robert Thornton in a bit of an upset on Sunday. 10-3 suggests a one-sided match, and that was close to the mark, Reyes dominant from start to finish. Followers of the 29-year-old would’ve seen it coming too, as he has been edging towards a big effort all year.
There’s big efforts, and then there’s rocking the sport to its foundations, and that’s what a Reyes win over Peter Wright on Tuesday would do. Snakebite has been a model of consistency this year, and he won the European Darts Open in Germany earlier this month. Mervyn King ended on the wrong end of a 6-2 result that night in Leverkusen, and when Wright is in the mood, there’s few who can match him. Is Reyes one of them? We very much doubt it.
Our traders are on the same page, pricing the 47-year-old Scotsman up as a 1/5 winner, and if you think he will open-up and show his class, you can get 6/5 on him winning -4.5 on the handicap. Our king of the oche option is a bet on any one player to win the match, hit the most 180s and bag the highest checkout. Wright is 9/4 to achieve just that. If you do have a go, it’s worth noting if any of the markets are tied, the bet will be settled as a loser.
