*** World Darts Championship - Day 9 ***

Last 2 days have gone pretty well so let's hope we can carry on the momentum with another couple of winners. Today sees the culmination of R2 and the start of R3 so let's see what the matches have to offer

Michael Smith v Brendan Dolan:

R1 - Smith bt Mensur Suljovic
Ave: 97.47
180's: 9
HC: 124
CO%: 50%

Dolan bt Nolan Arendse 3-0
Ave: 90.18
180's: 2
HC: 108
CO%: 43%

Opening match of the day sees the bully boy take on the irishman Dolan. Smith actually knuckled down well in the first match v Suljovic but I'm still not convinced about his attitude at times. Looks very sulky and at times it looks like he doesn't actually enjoy being on stage. Dolan beat the south african qualifier easily in R1 and he's a stuffy opponent who will take advantage of any slackness in Smith's play. I like the look of Smith's maxes in this match simply because I can see it going 6 sets at least and if we know one thing about Smith it's that he can hit the lipstick for fun. He had 9 in 20 legs in R1 and if we get the same again then the mark is easily achievable.

Recommendation: 2pts win Michael Smith over 6.5 maxes @ 5/6 (365)

Vincent Van Der Voort v Max Hopp:

R1 - VDV bt John Henderson 3-2
Ave: 93.39
180's: 7
HC: 157
CO%: 40%

Hopp bt Mervyn King 3-2
Ave: 96.6
180's: 10
HC: 161
CO%: 38%

Should be a decent game this between 2 quick players who can score very heavily at times. VDV was not happy with his performance in R1 but I actually thought he played pretty well. Scored heavily and doubled pretty well for him too as he is often very flaky on the finishing. Hopp had the most maxes in R1 and showed for the first time on tv why he is very highly rated. King was struggling a bit with an injury but take nothing away from young Max who punished him superbly. Again I like the maxes of Hopp here as he showed he is very capable on song and the line looks a bit lower than I anticipated.

Recommendation: 2pts win Max Hopp over 5.5 maxes @ 6/5 (365)

Raymond Van Barneveld v Jamie Caven:

R1 - Barney bt Rowby John Rodriguez 3-0
Ave: 99.93
180's: 3
HC: 170
CO%: 50%

Caven bt Jason Hogg 3-2
Ave: 80.87
180's: 5
HC: 77
CO%: 24%

Last match of afternoon sees 5 times world champ Barney take on the disappointing on tv Jamie Caven. They met last year and it was an absolute classic which Barney edged 4-3 and I'd take the same again tomorrow. Barney strolled to an opening win but was under no pressure and in my opinion he is still seriously vulnerable when it gets tough. Caven was awful in his first match though and if he plays like that again then it will be a pressure free afternoon for Ray. Can't see a bet here but I would say that something tells me Caven sometimes seems to be a better player in the afternoon (Or I could be imaging that) so he might keep it close.

Recommendation: No bet

James Wade v Stephen Bunting:

R1 - Wade bt Jamie Lewis 3-1
Ave: 97.14
180's: 4
HC: 96
CO%: 37%

Bunting bt Robert Marijanovic 3-1
Ave: 90.2
180's: 2
HC: 124
CO%: 59%

Last match of the round and on paper probably the one that most were looking forward to. Wade has been a much improved player of late and played well in his opening win. He seems to be enjoying his darts now and credits much of that to his off the board happiness. Bunting is the reigning BDO champ and he is capable of spells of darts when he is simply unplayable. However at times since coming over he has showed some inconsistency too and if he's not at his best then I think Wade will jump all over him. I think Wade is actually a fair price for the win here and will be having a small bet on him progressing.

Recommendation: 1pt win James Wade @ 4/6 (General)

Michael Van Gerwen v Terry Jenkins:

R2 - MVG bt Sascha Stein 4-1
Ave: 99.87
180's: 8
HC: 86
CO%: 38%

Jenkins bt Lawrence Ryder 4-0
Ave: 96.45
180's: 7
HC: 164
CO%: 41%

First match of the last 16 sees a mouthwatering clash which I am really looking forward to. MVG has dropped a set in both wins so far and I think the common consensus is he is more vulnerable now than he was 12 months ago. He still scores very heavily but seems much more prone to spells of legs when nothing he goes for actually lands. Jenks on the other hand has played very solidly in his 2 wins so far and never dropped a leg in R2. He also came within a whisker of another 9 dart leg and I think he will fancy the job here. There could be a lot of maxes in this but the line of over 14 looks high in case Jenks is blown away which could happen. However I'm willing to chance a small bet on a high check here as both are very capable of the big finishes.

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

Robert Thornton v Benito Van De Pas:

R2 - Thornton bt Ronnie Baxter 4-0
Ave: 93.78
180's: 7
HC: 40
CO%: 31%

Van De Pas bt Dave Chisnall 4-2
Ave: 91.44
180's: 4
HC: 127
CO%: 31%

Last match of the evening session sees Thornton take on the surprise package in young dutchman Van De Pas. Thornton was under no pressure v Baxter but did what he had to do and won easily. He's still a player who I think is impossible to figure out though as he is extremely inconsistent. He's a worthy favourite here but Benito is riding the crest of a wave and will fancy his chances of creating another upset. He has knocked out 2 seeds so far and he was very gritty in coming from behind to beat Chissy in R2 and if he can average mid 90's again then he might stand a chance. I think the prices all look right here though and I will be happy to watch and see who advances to the QF.

Recommendation: No Bet

Summary: I fancy Wade to win and a couple of players maxes tomorrow in the hope we can keep up the good run. All views and bets as always welcome and best of luck to all the regulars on here tomorrow. I might even try and stick up a winner at the horses again!

HH