PDC World Darts Championship: Day 2 Betting Tips - Evening Session

Niels Zonneveld vs Robert Owen

Niels Zonneveld is starting to make strides in the PDC and has risen to 49th in the World Rankings. The young Dutchman is making his 4th appearance at Alexandra Palace with his best a last 64 twice.

He has had a good last few months after a run to the Semi-Finals on the Euro Tour in the Czech Open and backed that up with a run to the Last 16 of the recent Players Championship Finals, beating Nathan Aspinall 6-3 in round 2. He will definitely be looking at having a deep run at this year's Worlds after being handed a pretty decent draw.

Robert Owen will be over the moon to be here for his 2nd World Championship appearance after failing to qualify. Luckily for him though Dom Taylor was suspended after failing a drugs test and the Welshman has taken his place.

Owen has had a decent season on the Pro Tour, his best being two quarter finals in the Players Championship floor events. He lost on his debut here in 2023 to Andrew Gilding 3-2 and will need a good run this time around to keep his Tour Card and professional status. 

This may well turn into a bit of a nervy encounter but in my opinion, Niels Zonneveld will have far too much for the Welshman and has experience winning games on this stage so should get through this contest pretty comfortably.

Connor Scutt vs Ben Robb

Connor Scutt’s breakthrough season has been extremely impressive considering he doesn't currently have a PDC Tour Card.

He’s risen to 70th in the World Rankings after 3 quarter-finals and a final on the Players Championship floor events this year. He qualified for the Grand Slam and the Players Championship Finals where he had a great run to the quarter-final in Minehead.

Scutt finished as number 1 on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, giving him a PDC Tour Card for the next 2 years.

He’s a big power scorer and is ranked 7th in 180s hit over the last 12 months with 525. The Sniper will be one to watch at Ally Pally and he is without doubt a draw the majority of players would have preferred to avoid.

Ben Robb has qualified for his 5th PDC World Championship, courtesy of winning DPNZ Qualifier. ‘Big Rig’ finished 2nd on the DPNZ Order of Merit after winning 2 tournaments this season. Robb has never won a game at Ally Pally and has only won 2 sets in four previous attempts. With a seasonal average of 81.71, he will need to dramatically improve to trouble Connor Scutt.

This first-round tie should be straightforward for the impressive Connor Scutt. The only way it goes a different direction is if Ben Robb improves on his previous appearances here.

Cameron Menzies vs Leonard Gates

The unpredictable enigma that is Cameron Menzies has had a major breakthrough season this year and has risen to world number 39. He has an impressive 70% win rate and a running average of 96.12 for the season.

He has certainly calmed down slightly which in my opinion is why he’s now become a top player. On TV this season he made the Quarter Finals of the Grand Slam and the last 32 of the recent Players Championship Finals.

He won his first PDC title at Players Championship 29, which saw him finish 20th on the Pro Tour order of merit winning £82,000. He’s not got the best draw in the world with Leonard Gates but if he wins here I think he's primed for a deep run in this year's tournament.

The dancing American Leonard Gates has qualified for his second appearance at Ally Pally by finishing top of the CDC Order of Merit. He won 3 titles this season on the CDC Tour and also won the Continental Cup.

He qualified for the Grand Slam this year where he had a victory over Peter Wright but ultimately failed to get through the group stage. He’s been dominating the senior's tour over the last couple of years and has gained valuable match experience in front of the cameras. 

This may well be a closer game than people predict as Leonard Gates will certainly not be scared of whoever he was to play. However, if Menzies gets into the groove quickly it will be a very tough evening for the American.

Gerwyn Price vs Keane Barry

Gerwyn Price returns to Ally Pally seeking a second World crown after winning here in 2021. He’s certainly not in that kind of form right now though and is coming into this tournament with many question marks over him.

He seems to have lost that spark and aggression in his game that made him so dangerous over the years and he's fallen to number 10 in the World Rankings. His stats are still very impressive but his results have been underwhelming. He did win twice in the World Series this season but a disappointing Premier League campaign seems to have set the tone for his year.

He failed to qualify for the Grand Slam and most recently lost the first round in the Players Championship Finals. His seasonal average is 97.39 which is still up there with the world's elite so I think it's only a matter of time before ‘The Iceman’ starts getting results. 

Keane Barry came through a belter of a match with Kim Huybrechts last night 3-1 averaging 94.97. He hit 7 180s and had a very impressive 50% checkout rate. This will be a tough test for the youngman but if he keeps Price under pressure he may well have a chance here. 

Personally, I think Gerwyn Price is close to having a deep run somewhere and it wouldn't surprise me if it was at Ally Pally.

Keane Barry won't be an easy opponent and will definitely keep the Welshman honest but I think he's going to be up for this and I fancy him to get through this game.