World Matchplay Darts Semi Final Betting Tips

World Matchplay Darts Semi Final Betting Tips

World Matchplay Darts

The big names have been tumbling all week. On Sunday we lost reigning champion Rob Cross, on Monday we lost Grand Slam champ and world number three Gerwyn Price. By Tuesday, the best player in the world, Michael van Gerwen, was eliminated at the hands of Simon Whitlock and a day later world champion Peter Wright was a goner.

Those eliminations, and quite a few others, leaves a semi-final line up which will see Michael Smith, the top seed left in the competition, take on two times world champion Gary Anderson and another which pits former BDO hero Glen Durrant against debutant Dimitri van den Bergh as the players duke it out for the next two nights in order to get their hands on the Phil Taylor Trophy.

Site
Bonus
Details
Play
Bet365 Bonus Code
BET365
BONUS CODE: BET247
Get up to €100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365 Bet365 Review
Min deposit €5 Up to €100 in Bet Credits
Bet Credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. The bonus code BET247 can be used during registration, but does not change the offer amount in any way.

Has Bully Boy’s moment finally come? (9/4 Outright Winner Price)

Michael Smith takes on close friend Gary Anderson and, after years of playing the bridesmaid might finally feel like his time has come. Bully Boy is now the top seed left standing in this year’s tourney and has met his former mentor in a semi before.

The pair met in the 2018 Darts Premier League semi-final when Bully Boy went through as the underdog before losing to Michael van Gerwen the final. Should the St Helens chucker proceed again it would mean a sixth televised major final and another opportunity to finally get that elusive major title under his belt.

Smith, of course, has famously been runner-up in the World Championship (2018), World Matchplay (2019), Premier League (2018), Darts Masters (2020) and the World Series of Darts Finals (2018).

Michael Smith to win semi-final: 4/5 at bet365

Old Master Anderson To Rewind The Clock (9/4 Outright Winner Price)

As for The Flying Scotsman, it would represent a 19th PDC major final and a chance to lift his ninth TV trophy in all. And, lets be honest, few would back against him picking up his second ever World Matchplay.

Anderson has admitted to struggling while playing without a crowd in attendance, although his performance here and on the PDC Home Tour, not to mention when winning the 2018 UK Open say differently.

On that note, next Saturday, the Glorious Goodwood horse racing festival will be trialing crowds on its final day for other sports to take note so perhaps some form of darts crowd in attendance may not be so far off.

Back to Anderson though and he has so far seen off Justin Pipe, James Wade and Simon Whitlock which, coupled with his winner’s experience, make him a dangerous member of the last four. Can he produce the old magic over 33 legs against a younger, hungrier opponent? I wouldn’t bet against it.

Gary Anderson to win semi-final: Evens at bet365

Duzza Ready For PDC Glory (9/4 Outright Winner Price)

Glen Durrant is playing in his fourth PDC semi-final since joining the tour at the start of this year. Duzza needed to show all his grit and determination to hang on in there in a bad-tempered semi-final against Vincent van der Voort, where he was at one point trailing 10-5 in an initial race to 16.

The three-time boss of the BDO kept in there though and clawed himself back into the game with two back to back 23 darters to cut the gap to 12-10 after which the Dutchman lost his cool completely and shot an illegal, not to mention dangerous, underarm throw for which he really should have been penalised.

From there though, Duzza had it in the bag despite putting in a less than vintage performance. Despite that, he still managed an average of 95.21 compared to his opponent’s 93.79.

Three-time world champion Duzza knows how to win and the longer this game goes on, the more likely Duzza is to make his first-ever PDC final, something which I think he will achieve.

Glen Durrant to win semi-final: 1/2 at bet365

Dancing Dimitri Looking Sharp (5/1 Outright Winner Price)

Young long shot Dimitri van den Bergh started out at odds of around 200/1 before a dart was thrown last week and has seen off some pretty big names on his relentless march to the last four. The Belgian spent three months staying at world champion Peter Wright’s house during lockdown which must have paid off as he has outlasted Snakebite by some distance.

The uber-confident two-time world youth champion who likes to boogie his way up to the oche has gone deep before reaching four major quarter-finals in the last two years – and third in a row given his deep runs at the World Championship and UK Open at the outset of this interrupted season – so a semi appearance isn’t really that surprising.

The Dream Maker saw off Nathan Aspinall in a comfortable 10-5 victory before beating Joe Cullen 11-9 and two-time world champion Adrian ‘Jackpot’ Lewis and is unlikely to be fazed by Glen Durrant who recently admitted to being thoroughly outplayed in practise by the 26-year-old. Don’t rule out Dimitri.

Dimitri van den Bergh to win semi-final: 13/8 at bet365

QUICK GLANCE AT WORLD MATCHPLAY DARTS

Venue: Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes

Dates: 25.07.2020

Format: Best of 31, 33

Current Champion: Rob Cross

Where To Watch: Sky Sports

When To Watch: (1800 GMT)

Read More
World Matchplay Darts 2020

World Matchplay Darts 2020

World Matchplay Darts 2020
Proper live darts returns this weekend as the second most prestigious event on the tour gets underway. Forget the Summer Series and before that the PDC Home Tour, this is Darts’ true return.

Sadly, there will be no crowd for this year’s World Matchplay Darts, which for the first time in many years, will not take place at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens but instead, behind closed doors at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.

Play will run from July 18-26 and will include a star-studded field of 32 with the likes of Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright and Gary Anderson who have all been sorely missed.

Site
Bonus
Details
Play
Bet365 Bonus Code
BET365
BONUS CODE: BET247
Get up to €100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365 Bet365 Review
Min deposit €5 Up to €100 in Bet Credits
Bet Credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. The bonus code BET247 can be used during registration, but does not change the offer amount in any way.

Michael van Gerwen is the 13/8 favourite with bet365 to win his third World Matchplay. It would be the Dutch world number one’s first Matchplay title since 2016. Last year’s champion Rob Cross is the long priced 20/1 but he has big tourney form so this price might tempt some.

World champion Peter Wright, who defeated Gerwyn Price to win the fifth and final Players Championship event of the PDC Summer Series, is the second favourite at 11/2. This is ahead of The Iceman Price himself who is priced at a reasonable 13/2.

Recent PDC Home Tour victor Nathan Aspinall is likely to have plenty of backers at 10/1, while some will like the look of 12/1 for Gary Anderson who finished runner-up in the Home Tour, once he’d fixed his home Wi-Fi issues.

Each game must be won by two clear legs, with up to a maximum of five additional legs being played before the sixth additional leg is played to sudden death. Further down the field, Michael ‘Bully Boy’ Smith is 20’s, Glenn ‘Duzza’ Durrant is 25’s and Daryl ‘SuperChin’ Gurney is a best price of 40/1, all with bet365.

World Matchplay Darts Draw

Saturday, July 18

First Round (best of 19 legs)

  • Simon Whitlock v Ryan Joyce
  • Krzysztof Ratajski v Jermaine Wattimena
  • James Wade v Keegan Brown
  • Michael van Gerwen v Brendan Dolan
  • Gary Anderson v Justin Pipe

Sunday, July 19

First Round (best of 19 legs)

  • Mensur Suljovic v Jamie Hughes
  • Glen Durrant v Jeffrey de Zwaan
  • Rob Cross v Gabriel Clemens
  • Peter Wright v Jose De Sousa
  • Michael Smith v Jonny Clayton

Monday, July 20

First Round (best of 19 legs)

  • Dave Chisnall v Vincent van der Voort
  • Ian White v Joe Cullen
  • Daryl Gurney v Ricky Evans
  • Gerwyn Price v Danny Noppert
  • Adrian Lewis v Steve Beaton

Tuesday, July 21

Second Round (best of 21 legs)

  • First-round: Nathan Aspinall v Dimitri Van den Bergh
  • Smith/Clayton v Suljovic/Hughes
  • Anderson/Pipe v Wade/Brown
  • Van Gerwen/Dolan v Whitlock/Joyce
  • Cross/Clemens v Ratajski/Wattimena

Wednesday, July 22

Second Round (best of 21 legs)

  • Gurney/Evans v Chisnall/Van der Voort
  • Aspinall/Van den Bergh v White/Cullen
  • Wright/De Sousa v Durrant/De Zwaan
  • Price/Noppert v Lewis/Beaton

Thursday, July 23

Quarter-Finals (Best of 31 legs)

Friday, July 24

Quarter-Finals (Best of 31 legs)

Saturday, July 25

Semi-Finals (best of 33 legs)

  • Winner QF 1 v Winner QF 2
  • Winner QF 3 v Winner QF 4

Sunday, July 26

  • Final (best of 35 legs)

QUICK GLANCE AT WORLD MATCHPLAY DARTS 2020

Venue: Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes

Dates: 18.07.2020 – 26.07.2020

Format: Best of 19, 21, 31, 33

Current Champion: Rob Cross

Where To Watch: Sky Sports

When To Watch: (1800 GMT)

Premier League Darts 2020 Updated Schedule

The 2020 Darts Premier League season will pick itself up again in August following its coronavirus enforced shutdown after only six rounds of fixtures. Naturally, the tour element has gone out of the window for most of the rest of this year’s event. Instead, Milton Keynes’ Marshall Arena, where this week’s World Matchplay is taking place, will host the next six rounds of fixtures on six consecutive nights behind closed doors beginning August 25.

After this, on September 17, the play picks up the same as before on Thursday nights in Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and London where the tourney plays to a climax.

When we get back underway, Michael van Gerwen will again be looking for his sixth Premier League crown which would also be his fifth in succession. Glenn Durrant is tops right now but MVG will surely be hunted down by the likes of Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Gary Anderson and Nathan Aspinall.

The challengers will return, meaning Chris Dobey, Jeffrey de Zwaan and Jermaine Wattimena all still have the chance to enjoy Premier League nights, even if the Dutch pair, in particular, will lose the chance to do it in front of home fans as Rotterdam’s doubleheader hosting has been canceled.

Second-placed Michael van Gerwen is the short-priced favourite to win the event.

Night Seven, Tuesday, August 25

  • Michael Smith v Gary Anderson
  • Michael van Gerwen v Rob Cross
  • Nathan Aspinall v Gerwyn Price
  • Chris Dobey v Daryl Gurney
  • Peter Wright v Glen Durrant

Night Eight, Wednesday, August 26

  • Gary Anderson v Gerwyn Price
  • Nathan Aspinall v Daryl Gurney
  • Michael Smith v Rob Cross
  • Michael van Gerwen v Glen Durrant
  • Peter Wright v Jeffrey de Zwaan

Judgement Night, Thursday, August 27

  • Glen Durrant v Rob Cross
  • Nathan Aspinall v Michael Smith
  • Peter Wright v Daryl Gurney
  • Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson
  • Jermaine Wattimena v Gerwyn Price

Night 10, Friday, August 28

Night 11, Saturday, August 29

Night 12, Sunday, August 30

Night 13 – Thursday, September 17

  • The SSE Hydro, Glasgow

Night 14 – Thursday, September 24

  • The Manchester Arena, Manchester

Night 15 – Thursday, October 1

  • The Utilita Arena, Newcastle

Night 16 Thursday, October 15

  • The FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield

Play-Offs Thursday, October 22

The O2, London

  • 2x Semi-Finals (Best of 19 legs)
  • Final
Read More
Rob Cross Wins 2019 World Matchplay Darts

Rob Cross Wins 2019 World Matchplay Darts

Rob Cross World Matchplay Darts

Rob ‘Voltage’ Cross picked up his second ever major title on Sunday when he beat Michael Smith 18-13 in the final of the World Matchplay Darts in Blackpool. The 2018 world champion has now landed the two biggest prizes in the sport, becoming only the ninth ever winner of the Matchplay and the fourth player to win both, despite having only turned professional three years ago.

The final was another low-quality affair with Smith starting poorly and allowing Voltage to race into a huge 9-0 lead, threatening Blackpool’s biggest ever final victory when in 2009 Phil Taylor destroyed Terry Jenkins 16-4.

A look back at Cross’s 2019 World Matchplay Darts win

While this wasn’t the fitting climax that what was otherwise an excellent week’s darts, the crowd were soon to be suitably entertained as another epic comeback was on the cards. When Bully Boy finally got his first leg on the board, he was greeted with a chorus of ironic cheers before clawing the match back to 11-4.

Bully Boy managed to stop Cross running away with an uncontested – if inevitable – victory by landing a 147 checkout plus legs of 12, 13 and 12 to follow. Following the break, Smith managed to land an 11-darter which reduced the deficit still further to 14-11. A brilliant save from Cross, checking out from 110 when Smith had only 16 left, in the next helped to nip Smith’s momentum though. Had Bully Boy got the chance to shot for the 16 and pin it, perhaps that would have been the pivotal point of the contest.

Still, Smith managed to close the gap on his own throw to within two legs, and finally enjoying themselves, the Winter Gardens crowd began cheering Voltage’s six missed doubles. Smith, though, also wasted five of his own before pinning tops for a 20-darter that brought the game to as close as it would ever get. From here, Cross closed out the match and the title by taking down the next three legs, albeit surviving multiple bullseye shots from Smith.

Cross had himself needed to stage a dramatic comeback only 24 hours earlier against Daryl Gurney when he found himself 13-7 down only to win 17-15. In turn, what had been a great week of darts also saw Gurney star in a quarter-final epic against Peter Wright in which Superchin came out on top in a 13-16 thriller.

In the other semi-final, 28-year-old Smith, who is still seeking his first major title, saw off the challenge of MVG slayer Glen Durrant 17-10. The Bully Boy keeps on coming close and the 2018 Premier League, 2018 World Series of Darts Finals and 2019 World Championship runner-up is now 14/1 to go one better and win the World Championship of Darts at the Ally Pally, which starts in December.

For Voltage, he is celebrating his first title of any kind since the Brisbane Darts Masters in August last year. Since then, he has finished second to Nathan Aspinall at the UK Open and again to Michael van Gerwen in the Darts Premier League, a win that would have seen him complete the Triple Crown of Darts if he had beaten the Dutchman. Naturally, Mighty Mike is in the elite group of players to have won the Triple Crown of Darts that also includes Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor and Gary ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson.

For now though, he can enjoy being in the same esteemed company of those who have collected the top two trophies in darts. What’s more, is that he would be the second quickest to have achieved such a feat having taken only three seasons to do so. Phil Taylor, who Cross beat in the 2018 World championship final -– a match that was Taylor’s last professional appearance — managed to achieve both titles within two years but it took Michael van Gerwen eight and Gary Anderson ten.

World Matchplay Most Titles

  • Phil Taylor (16)
  • Michael van Gerwen (2)
  • Rod Harrington (2)
  • Gary Anderson (1)
  • Larry Butler (1)
  • Peter Evison (1)
  • Colin Lloyd (1)
  • James Wade (1)
  • Rob Cross (1)

A look at World Darts Championship

At Betway, they still consider Michael van Gerwen to be the favourite for the World Darts Championships at the end of the year, putting an 11/8 price on his head. Value has been lost on Rob Cross though as his recent win draws his price into a still pretty decent 15/2. Gary Anderson is 9/1 to pick up his third ever World Championship, while Peter Wright is worth 12/1. Current BDO World Champion, Glen Durrant is available at 16/1, Nathan Aspinall 25/1 and Gerwyn Price 28/1. James Wade can be picked up for the same price, while Daryl Gurney is 33/1. Others, including 65-year-old Singapore star Paul Lim, who qualified through a PDC Asian Tour event over the weekend, are available at Betway.

Read More