Sam Hart is back to preview day eleven of the World Darts Championship
Betting Radio is back again with another preview of the World Darts Championship. Second day of round three fixtures, and once again we have some cracking matches to get stuck into.
Afternoon Session
The afternoon session has three matches that include Searle vs Joyce, Williams vs Pietreczko, and Aspinall vs Gilding. There are three fascinating ties, but the one I want to focus on is the last match of the session between Aspinall and Gilding. Nathan Aspinall is 2/5 with Bet365 to win this match, and rightfully so, based on their careers so far; however, Aspinall didn’t look special in his second-round match vs Leonard Gates. He only threw an 88 average and three 180s across four sets. He hasn’t been himself towards the end of the year but has taken time away to try and fix any issues that were there with his game. If he can come back to the Aspinall we know and love, he will be a force to be reckoned with, not just in this match, but in the whole tournament. His opponent Andrew Gilding threw a 92 average and six 180s to beat Martin Lukeman, who was never going to be an easy opponent. I think this could be an edgy tie, and I am going to go for a correct score. I think that this could go in the way of Nathan Apinall in a 4-2 scoreline, which is currently priced at 7/2 with Ladbrokes.
Evening Session
The evening session includes Dobey vs Rock, Van Gerwen vs Dolan, and Littler vs White. I am keen to start with the opening game of the night, which I feel is wrongly priced. Chris Dobey is 4/5, whilst Josh Rock is 11/10. So this is hard to split, but based on their second-round matches, I would have Rock as the favourite here. Chris Dobey beat world number 214 Alexander Merkx in his second-round match and averaged 95 in doing so, but was only 25% on his doubles. Rock averaged close to 88 in his match with a 40% strike rate on his doubles. He did win nine of the eleven legs that were played in his match, though, and even though he didn’t score big, he seemed to look more comfortable on that stage than he ever has. Dobey has spoken up about how the shocks at the Ally Pally are no surprise to him and that anyone can beat anyone. I just feel this match here may be made for the rise of Josh Rock, and I can see him edging this, and as the slight outsider of the two, I think the 11/10 with Bet365 is appealing.
The final leg of the outrageous treble I am putting up for Saturday night is in the Luke Litter vs Ian White. I was inside the Alexandra Palace for Luke Littler's opening match, and let me tell you, the support behind this young seventeen-year-old is more than I thought. The noise and cheers going in the way of Luke Litter were incredible. He had tears on the stage and struggled to take it all in, which in some ways was difficult to watch. Luke knows the nation is supporting him, and he may have realised just how big of an influence he is on the world of darts. Ian White won’t be able to keep up with the Nuke, but don’t be surprised if Diamond gets a leg on the board. Luke was one dart away from a nine-darter in his second-round match, and he has had so many goes at that double 12 across the year. Now he is settled on that stage and has a rhythm going; I can see the nine-darter coming here. Skybet has Luke at 12/1 to hit a nine-darter in his match, and that is the final leg of Saturday’s treble.
So the treble for the second day of the third round matches is. Aspinall to beat Gilding 4-2, Josh Rock to beat Chris Dobey, and Luke Litter to hit a nine-darter. That is currently priced up at around 120/1 with SkyBet.
Looking to pull off an outrageous treble on Saturday, but not one I feel is too unrealistic.
Thanks for tuning into Betting Radio. Enjoy the sport, and do remember to gamble responsibly.