*** World Darts Championship - Day 1 ***

Seems like no time at all since last years tournament and I was sat laughing at random people on a forum who I've never met. Welcome one and all to the best 2 weeks on the betfair forum again and lets hope all the old faces and some new ones are here

Should be around for most of it but don't finish work till Christmas Eve and I'm having some issues with laptop just now so if a preview doesn't appear there's probably more than enough people to contribute. However like sprouts and turkey it's almost tradition for these things so hopefully all goes smoothly.

Onwards and upwards to have a look at the first night anyway

John Part v Keegan Brown:

Opening match sees 3 times world champion KJP take on the current world youth champion. Much as it seems cynical of me to suggest this but it almost looks as if John is on first to try and get him in the comms box as soon as possible. He's shown next to nothing on tv for ages now and unfortunately for him he's got one of the worst draws in the form of young Keegan. Brown was a revelation at the GSOD and knocked out Lewis in the group before beating Barney in R2 and giving Chisnall an almighty scare in the QF. At the prices you're not getting much value from a 4/9 poke but bet I quite like is Brown to win and both players to win a set. Like a lot of quick players Brown can be very streaky and if he is slightly off the pace for 3-4 legs hopefully Part can nick a set. However I can't see him scoring heavily enough over a best of 5 to win.

Recommendation: 1pt win Keegan Brown to win and both players to win a set @ Evs (Hills)

Christian Perez v Cristo Reyes:

As big a degenerate gambler as I am I can honestly say I could count on one hand how many bets I've had over the years in the prelim matches. Such a short race means it doesn't really float my boat but good luck to those who can find a bit of value.

Recommendation: No Bet

Christian Kist v Jelle Klaasen:

Looks like the game of the night here and possibly one of the games of the round between 2 former BDO world champions. Kist is a player I really like as I think he has a very solid action and scores heavily. He's not been as successful as I thought he might in the PDC but there are signs his game is slowly improving. Klaasen is another capable of brilliance on his day but also capable of complete dross but has showed some recent form to suggest his game is slowly coming round. I've toyed with 2 bets here and as opposed to picking between them I'm going to back both. However if one loses it's likely both does so kind of putting my eggs in 1 basket. Bets I like are over 17.5 legs and over 7 maxes. i can see this match going at least 4 and possibly 5 sets and if that happens then I think that the maxes are a good bet. However in set play we could get 5 sets and still lose so a little bit of luck is involved. What I would say is both can have trouble on the doubles which hopefully results in a good few legs.

Recommendations: 1pt win Over 17.5 legs @ 10/11 (Sky or Lads) & 1pt win over 7.5 legs @ Evs (SJ)

Michael van Gerwen v Joe Cullen:

Defending champ takes to the stage on the first night as is tradition and in all honesty shouldn't have too much trouble in progressing. Cullen was billed as a potential top 32 player a while back but hasn't kicked on and I've seen nothing to suggest he can trouble MVG. Can't see a bet here so happy to sit and watch.

Recommendation: No Bet

Wes Newton v Winning Qualifier:

As many might know on here I'm not really a fan of Newton as I think he's wildly inconsistent and his darts go in at an odd angle which doesn't help his cause. He's also had a poor year but until opponent is known it's pretty hard to do much. What I would say is the standard in the prelims is improving and last year of the 8 winners we had 2 who won their R1 match and only 2 lost to nil. Wes actually played a qualifier last year and won 3-1 so depending on prices I might look to lay 3-0 at odds on.

Recommendation: No bet at present

Summary: 3 bets for opening night and evening will be made if we get a high scoring thriller in the middle match. Best of luck to all who are punting and lets hope we can have the usual laughs, opinions and value winners until after the New year has come and gone
HH