*** World Darts Championship - Day 8 ***

Sunday of darts and football with the odd horse race chucked in pretty much sums up my idea of heaven. Few decent looking matches in the session so might as well crack on and see if there's any decent bets to be had

Andy Hamilton v Kyle Anderson:

R1 - Hamilton bt Dave Richardson 3-2
Ave: 91.09
180's: 5
HC: 114
CO %: 46%

Anderson bt Steve Beaton 3-0
Ave: 85.99
180's: 3
HC: 70
CO %: 33%

Opening match sees an out of form Hamilton take on last year's 9 dart hero. Hamilton came through a close match in his opening round and it was probably the best he's played on tv all year. However I'm not convinced it wasn't a bit of his opponent seeing the finishing line too early at 2-1 as he totally went off the boil after that. Anderson was very average but was lucky to run into Steve Beaton in even worse nick I think it's fair to say. He's a decent enough scorer but definitely isn't the most consistent around. Not really got a strong opinion on this match as Hamilton is toiling this season and I really don't rate Anderson all that highly.

Recommendation: No Bet

Kevin Painter v Cristo Reyes:

R1 - Painter bt Boris Koltsov 3-1
Ave: 89.57
180's: 1
HC: 138
CO %: 38%

Reyes bt Wes Newton 3-2
Ave: 93.47
180's: 4
HC: 126
CO %: 42%

Interesting match up here between former world finalist Painter and spanish qualifier Reyes. Painter has already beaten one qualifier in R1 as he beat Russian Boris Koltsov with relative ease. He's nowhere near the force he was a decade ago but he is still capable of playing some decent darts. Really surprised at how well Reyes played in both his matches to date and interested to see if he can perform at the same level again. I see no reason why not and he could definitely be playing a bigger name that would really pressure him. I really like the look of Painter's maxes here as I simply think the line is too low. He's capable of hitting 180's for fun when in the mood and I think they've read too much into his opening match when he only hit 1. However I think this match will go at least 5 sets maybe more and if thats the case he can definitely hit 5.

Recommendation: 2pts win Kevin Painter over 4.5 maxes @ 11/10 (365)

Kim Huybrechts v Ian White:

R1 - Huybrechts bt Michael Mansell 3-0
Ave: 99.4
180's: 1
HC: 146
CO %: 41%

White bt John Michael 3-1
Ave: 86.72
180's: 3
HC: 101
CO %: 31%

Last match of the afternoon sees the exciting belgian take on the steady Ian White. I was really impressed with Kim in R1 as he scored and finished well and carried on the momentum of his great run at the GSOD. On his day he is a terrific talent and he's a player who I have a lot of time for. White is a funny player who doesn't do much wrong but I think just lacks something (what it is who knows killer instinct maybe?). I fancy Kim to win this match but I also believe he looks the right price at 2's on so will be sitting this one out.

Recommendation: No Bet

Dean Winstanley v Darren Webster:

R1 - Winstanley by Wayne Jones 3-2
Ave: 93.66
180's: 7
HC: 136
CO %: 41%

Webster bt Simon Whitlock 3-1
Ave: 94.24
180's: 5
HC: 136
CO %: 48%

Opening match of the night sees an intriguing match between former BDO finalist Winstanley and the sniper Darren Webster. Both players played really well in their opening wins and it's fair to say Webster probably caused the biggest upset of R1. He showed a lot of composure to hold himself together at the death v Whitlock and thoroughly deserved his victory. Winstanley also came through a tough test v Wayne Jones and again actually held himself together well when the line approached. I like Winstanley maxes in this match because at his best he is a very heavy scorer but a notoriously flaky doubler. I think this match will be a 6 or 7 setter and if thats the case he will hopefully cover the line of 5.5

Recommendation: 2pts win Dean Winstanley over 5.5 maxes @ 8/11 (365)

Phil Taylor v Mark Webster:

R1 - Taylor bt Jyhan Artut 3-0
Ave: 100.57
180's: 2
HC: 90
CO %: 60%

Webster bt Ron Meulenkamp 3-1
Ave: 81.91
180's: 5
HC: 107
CO %: 21%

On paper this looks a bit of a mismatch and the only thing I can give in Webster's favour is he is one of the few people to have beaten Phil at the Worlds. On known form this year though he has little hope. Phil averaged over 100 and moaned about his opponent so nothing new there but he really should have too many guns for Webster. Can't really see a bet here as I toyed with 4-0 at a shade of odds against but Webster might just string together 3 decent legs as he is capable of heavy scoring.

Recommendation: No Bet

Adrian Lewis v Keegan Brown:

R1 - Lewis bt David Pallett 3-0
Ave: 101.9
180's: 4
HC: 127
CO %: 39%

Brown bt John Part 3-2
Ave: 88.07
180's: 3
HC: 62
CO %: 33%

Last match of the day promises to be the most exciting in terms of quick play and heavy scoring. Lewis had the best performance average wise in R1 and looked really good in his win. Think he averaged 125 in 1 set which is something special and he is always capable of bursts such as this. He lost to Brown at the GSOD and I think that might serve him well as he knows he has to play well or else he will lose. Brown started off like a house on fire in his first match but then lost his way and was hanging on a bit at the death. He did get the win though and I think he might feel like he is freerolling this match as nothing much is expected of him. I think this match will feature plenty of high scoring and the max line reflects this as it's 13 or 14 to cover. I'm going to have a small bet on a high check though as I think alongside Wade then Lewis is my favourite player for this bet. So natural that if the first treble goes you expect the other 2 darts to finish the combination and at the odds I think he can help us out.

Recommendation: 1pt win over 130.5 high check @ 5/6 (General)

Summary: Fancy a couple of players maxes tomorrow and a small play on a high check. Potentially some close matches as well so hopeful for some thrillers and stuff to get excited about. All views and bets are welcome as ever and here's to plenty of luck for all the regulars.
HH