PDC World Darts Championship day 14 tips.
James Wade v Mervyn King01/01/1970 01:00 |
Wade Win |
Luke Humphries v Gary Anderson01/01/1970 01:00 |
Humphries Win |
Peter Wright v Callan Rydz01/01/1970 01:00 |
Wright Win |
Gerwyn Price v Michael Smith01/01/1970 01:00 |
Smith Win |
Day 14 in the PDC World Darts Championship and we have reached the business end of the tournament as we have 4 Quarter-Final matches to look forward to in a huge bumper double session.
This is the stage where dreams start to become a reality. Every player will now believe they have a chance of achieving the big goal of every player’s career, becoming World Champion. Here is my analysis and tips for Day 14.
The first quarter-final match brings together two of the most successful and best players ever to not win the World Championship. Could this finally be the year one of these guys wins it? I’m not sure, but I’m sure this will be a brilliant match.
James Wade showed his class in his previous match, blowing away a tricky opponent in Martijn Kleermaker 4-0 with a 93.15 average. It was a pretty solid performance considering his first-round horror show, albeit a win, and then his bye in the third round meant that he came into that game pretty cold. He finished really well and ended up with a 40% checkout rate, 12/30, pretty solid. Amazingly, however, James Wade has made it to the quarter-finals without registering a 180 in the tournament. He did look much more comfortable against Kleermaker and I expect him to be very similar again this afternoon. The Machine will know this is another big chance for him to get that monkey off his back and win a World title and he won’t want to let another opportunity go begging.
Mervyn King once again showed his fighting qualities in his last match, coming back from 3-1 down to defeat the impressive Aussie, Raymond Smith 4-3. Mervyn averaged 87.29 but he won’t be too concerned about the average. The match turned into a real slog in the end and The King had to work really hard to come through, which he did. It’s Mervyn’s first quarter-final appearance in the PDC World Championship since 2009 which just shows the longevity the man has, pretty amazing for a guy who’s 55 years old. This could be one of the last chances Mervyn has at lifting the Sid Waddell trophy and rounding off his glittering career as a World Champion.
I’m not convinced this match will be one of the matches of the tournament or one of the best matches of the day. Both players have not been massively convincing in this tournament albeit making it to the quarter-finals. I do think James Wade looked much better in his last match and Mervyn King had a really long gruelling match in the previous round and that could make a big difference here. I just can’t see Wade letting this opportunity go so I think he’ll have too much for King here, but don’t expect too many 180s in this match!
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This has the potential to be a fantastic match and it’s certainly the match of the Afternoon session. It’s going to be played at a brilliant pace and you should expect plenty of 180s and big finishes.
Luke Humphries has had another brilliant tournament and again makes it through to the quarter-finals, incredibly the third time he has done so in five World Championship appearances. He came through one of the games of the tournament in the last round, coming from behind to defeat Chris Dobey 4-3 with a 97.77 average. Incredibly he hit 14 180s during that match, in a contest that had 25 in total. Although having a bye into round 4 he has looked really good in both matches he has played and I’ve been very impressed. He’s just simply an extremely talented dart player who relishes the big stage and I expect a really big performance from him this afternoon, and he’ll need it to defeat The Flying Scotsman.
Gary Anderson looked back to his old self in his last match in a game where he beat former World Champion and won the tournament favourites, Rob Cross 4-3 with a 97.27 average. He switched back to an older set of darts he’s more comfortable with and it certainly worked. He had 7 180s and a 42% checkout rate, including a 170 finish, a very solid performance. Anderson has a truly magnificent record at the PDC World Championship so he’s so used to that big ally pally stage. Can he win a 3rd World title this year?
I think this truly has everything to be an Ally Pally classic and I don’t think it will disappoint. I just have a little feeling that this may be Luke Humphries time to shine. He’s no stranger to being in this position so he’s used to a big match in the World Championship. He’s going to have it tough as Anderson is not only so experienced but he’s also looking in much better form. I think ultimately though, Humphries will outscore Gary Anderson and have just a little too much for him and progress to the Semi-Finals for the first time in his career.
Another match that looks extremely exciting on paper. It will be played at a really nice pace and both players look bang in form so expect a really good contest in this one!
Peter Wright since switching back to an older dart he’s comfortable with has looked really impressive. He defeated the highly fancied Ryan Searle 4-1 in the last 16 with a 98.91 average. He had 7 180s but only 37.14% on his checkouts so he will need to sharpen up his finishing if he wants to get past Callan Rydz. Snakebite will be desperate to win the World Championship again and I really believe he has a great chance of doing so this year.
Callan Rydz has been mighty impressive in this year’s World Championship and this has certainly been a breakthrough tournament for him. He played brilliantly once again in the last round, defeating Alan Soutar 4-1 with a 96.43 average. He only had 2 180s but a 46.43% checkout rate which is very solid, something he will need to carry on tonight. Rydz will know he has a huge task ahead of him but the way he’s been playing I certainly wouldn’t doubt his belief. Could this just be a step too far for the young man?
Overall I believe this really could be a great game but I just think that Peter Wright’s experience on that stage will see him through in this once. Rydz has been so impressive so I don’t expect it to be a walk in the park for Snakebite but I just feel this is a huge occasion and something Rydz will need to experience before progressing further later on in his career.
The final game of the day and certainly in my opinion the match of the day and of the Quarter Final stage. Two of the biggest names in darts going head to head in what may well turn out to be an Ally Pally classic.
Gerwyn Price has looked a little fragile at times during this tournament and certainly hasn’t had it all his own way. Whenever he’s had his back against the wall though he has somehow found a way out, a mark of a world-class operator. He looked much sharper in his last 16 matches, where he defeated an under par Dirk van Duijvenbode 4-1 with a 96.66 average. Even though Price looked much better because van Duijvenbode was poor, he wasn’t really under a whole lot of pressure so I’m not too sure if we can take much from that game form wise. Price is of course the defending World Champion so will be desperate not to start 2022 with a defeat and the loss of his World Championship crown.
Michael Smith has probably been the player of the tournament so far after 3 outstanding performances. He was involved in the match of the tournament in his last game, coming from behind to defeat the in-form Jonny Clayton 4-3 with a 99.84 average. In a match that had it all including 25 180s, Bully Boy got over the line in a tie break and showed us all how much he has matured now as a dart player. There have always been question marks about Smith when the pressure gets cranked up in matches, but there can be no doubt after the Clayton match that he’s certainly improving in that department. Could this finally be the year that he wins a Major TV Title?
Overall this match is going to be a close one with both players coming into this in form. It’s a tough call but I just think this may well be Michael Smith’s year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he went on to win the tournament now. Gerwyn Price will be doing all he can to defend his World Championship crown but I just feel ultimately that Bully Boy is feeling more confident right now and will progress through into the Semi-Finals.
Wade, Humphries, Wright and Smith all to win at 10.81/1 with MansionBet.
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Steven is the product manager on BettingLounge and is an experienced iGaming writer who has been working in the industry since 2018.
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