Daily Darts Saturday December 23: Winding Down for Christmas

We’ve seen some thrilling action on the Oche over the first week of the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship but for most players, it’s now a case of heading home for a Christmas break ahead of third round action.

Saturday’s games at Alexandra Palace are, however, packed with options with six games on the list ahead of that festive break. With plenty to consider, let’s get straight on and see if we can spot some value bets.

Opening Up

We had tipped Keegan Brown to get past the seeded favourite James Wade in the last round and he now finds himself as the favourite against Zoran Lerbacher in the second round. It’s a fairly tight market though with Brown ahead at best odds of 8/11 and Lerbacher the outsider at a top price of 11/8 with Winner Sports.

Lerbacher was also impressive as he edged past Mervyn King and this should be a tight one with a correct score of 4-3 in favour of Brown looking interesting at a best of 5/1 with SkyBet.

Next up it’s Michael Smith v Rob Cross and there could be some potential value here. Cross has emerged from the BDO to make some real breakthroughs this year and starts as clear favourite at odds of 4/11 with Betway. Smith is an experienced campaigner however and will attract some interest at best odds of 29/11 with MarathonBet. Once again, this could be close so 4-3 in favour of Cross in the correct score betting might be worth a look at 5/1 with bet365.

Moving Through

The last game of the afternoon session sees Steve West versus James Wattimena. Here we have a close market with two relatively unknown quantities so we’re going to pass on it but the result betting shows West as the favourite at a top price of 5/6 with Sun Bets and Sport Pesa while Wattimena is a narrow outside bet at best odds of 11/10 with Coral and Ladbrokes.

On to the evening session now and a game that looks far more clear cut with Daryl Gurney a hot favourite against qualifier John Henderson. Gurney is tipped in some quarters as a ‘Dark Horse’ for this year’s tournament and he’s certainly very highly fancied here at best odds of 1/6 with MarathonBet.

Henderson can be picked up at 9/2 with bet365 and Betway but there’s nothing of any real interest here apart, perhaps, for a correct score of 4-1 to Gurney which is listed at best odds of 27/10 with BetBright.

Main Events

Saturday’s schedule is finished off with two of the biggest players in the history of darts. First up is the most successful thrower in the game’s history with Phil Taylor stepping up to take on Justin Pipe. The highly unorthodox Pipe can be a threat to any opponent but scraped through the last round against Bernie Smith and looks unlikely to trouble the Power who is a best price 1/10 for the win with bet365.

Pipe is at 7/1 with Paddy Power and Betway but this is another game where the value is likely to be in the side betting. Taylor to return most 180s looks like a sensible option and while the 14 time World Champion is still the favourite, the odds are much better at a best of 8/11 with William Hill and BetFred.

You could also go back to the Correct Score market for this one where we really fancy a Taylor whitewash. 4-0 to the Power comes in at a top price of 21/10 with Winner Sports.

Finishing off the night is one of Taylor’s oldest rivals as Raymond Van Barneveld prepares for his second round tie against Kyle Anderson. Barney is favourite here but it’s not quite so clear cut with the Dutchman quoted at a best of 5/11 with BetBright and Anderson following at 2/1 with Paddy Power and Sport Pesa.

There is potential for an upset here with Barney some way from the player who won World Championships in the past and Anderson looking comfortable as he breezed past Peter Jacques in the last round.

Verdict

It’s tempting to add an Anderson scalp to the list of bets but for Saturday’s games at the PDC World Darts Championships of 2018, we think they will all go with the favourites. Side betting is the way to go if you want a little value and alongside Taylor to score more 180s in his match with Pipe, we’ll take additional bets in the Correct Score market on the last day before the Christmas break.

Best Bets:

• Phil Taylor to hit the most 180s against Justin Pipe at 8/11 with William Hill
• Phil Taylor to beat Justin Pipe 4-0 at 21/10 with Winner Sports
• Rob Cross to beat Michael Smith 4-2 at 7/2 with Ladbrokes