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BDO 2014 World Championship Day Six Premium Picks.
Another perfect day, and it was a shame Rick Hofstra didn’t get to finish his match over Martin Atkins, as we could have had a Super six instead of a Fabulous Five! The tournament favourites all did their jobs well, with Robbie Green beating the handicap in his 4-1 win over Gary Robson. Stephen Bunting beat Dave Prins, but The Badger outscored The Bullet on the 180s in the tip I was extremely positive on. James Wilson got the big checkout out of the way for us, hitting a 140 to easily beat the 126.5 line, and Tony Eccles “upset” Wesley Harms, although, again, we were all over it at another tasty price. We are now 17-11 and sitting with a profit of 13.02 units. We’re looking at a healthy profit after less than a week of darts. It doesn’t get much better, even if we did start decidedly shaky!
Today, Round Two comes to an end and the quarter-finals begin. Only two matches in the afternoon, with Martin Adams taking on Ross Montgomery, and that’s followed by Jan Dekker taking on Geert de Vos. Then we get the first quarter-final matches, with Stephen Bunting facing Rick Hofstra and Robbie Green facing the resurgent Tony Eccles. The winner of those two matches will go on to face each other in the semi-finals on Saturday, and Bunting is a man really in form.
Martin Adams vs Ross Montgomery.
Here’s Wolfie… for what seems like the 100th time. The ever-present England captain is showing a resurgence at this late stage of his career, and his whitewash win over Tony O’Shea has put him on people’s radars for the title, as he was the forgotten man before the tournament began last Saturday. Ross Montgomery, well, he didn’t impress against qualifier Michael Meaney in Round One, and he’s got a lot on his plate in his Round Two match. Wolfie averaged 87.37 against O’Shea, Montgomery 80.19 against Meaney. However, Montgomery is an old hand, and he might just nick a couple of sets from Adams. If that’s the case, I think we could see a few 180s. Adams only hit 1 against O’Shea, but he his 3 against Dave Cameron in the prelim round. Montgomery hit 3 in his win over Meaney, and should be good for at least that, and Adams a couple more if we get 6 sets of more.
Over 7.5 180s in Adams vs Montgomery match Best price Evens (888)
Recommend: 1.5 units.
Jan Dekker vs Geert de Vos
I have a feeling this isn’t going to be pretty. Jan Dekker is the man I love to hate – he seems to get so far without showing too much. In his first round match, he averaged 83.61 and won 3-0, all because his opponent averaged 75.66. He always seems to do just enough to get by. But I wasn’t that impressed by him against Benito van de Pas, and Geert de Vos is going to be a much tougher task. De Vos averaged 84.93 in his match against qualifier Madars Razma. While I don’t think the No.11 seed is capable of a lot more, it should be enough to give Dekker a run for his money. However, Dekker has a canny ability to win, especially at the Lakeside, and you also have to factor in the recent result at the World Masters – Dekker won 3-0 and he looked decent. Add in the Lakeside Factor and Dekker should be on for a quarter-final place. 3-0 at the World Masters, I can see 4-1 or 4-2 here, so we’ll play the handicap.
Jan Dekker -1.5 sets to beat Geert do Vos Best price 11/8 (Boylesports)
Recommend: 1.5 units.
Tony Eccles vs Robbie Green
As mentioned yesterday, I have a vested interest in Robbie Green going well here, and I couldn’t be happier with the way he’s playing. Two wins, two strong averages of 94.29 and 90.21, and he’s only dropped one set. He’s also going to be happy with the draw. While Tony Eccles is a quality player, he seems to have surpassed everyone’s expectations by reaching the quarter-finals. And I think this is a bridge too far. Eccles has managed averages of 86.31 and 87.87, but if Green continues in the same form, Eccles simply has to find a couple of points, and I think, right now, he’s playing in top gear. Green certainly has another gear in him, and could run right over Eccles. What I can’t see is a huge amount of 180s. Green hit 4 yesterday, and he might be good for a couple more, but Eccles only hit 3 in his match which went 33 legs. He won’t get 33 legs tonight, and even if he does get 3, Green isn’t likely to hit 9 to beat the line.
Under 11.5 180s in Eccles vs Robbie Green match Best price: Evens (Boylesports)
Recommend: 1.5 units.
Stephen Bunting vs Rick Hofstra
The procession to glory continues for Stephen Bunting. His 100.65 average against Dave Prins is the highest of the tournament, and he only hit 3 180s over 13 legs of darts. He was clinical with his finishing, with only 3 legs won with over 15 darts. Will be be worried by Rick Hofstra? I wouldn’t think so. Hofstra had a walkover yesterday, but his first round match wasn’t bad, a whitewash of Remco van Eijden. However, his form doesn’t compare to that of Bunting, and there is a reason why the Dutchman isn’t seeded. Can he pull off a shock? I don’t think so. I think Butning could be as ruthless as he was against Prins, limiting his opponent to 1 leg won, and we could see no more than 16 legs here. 16 legs, not a lot of time for 180s, and the line is 9.5 – we have to take the unders here. Bunting hasn’t been prolific with the maximums and Hofstra isn’t the power-scorer you’d need him to be if you were backing the overs.
Under 9.5 180s in Bunting vs Hofstra match Best price: Evens (888)
Recommend: 1.5 units.
That’s all for the Day Six of the 2014 BDO World Championship. I’ll be back tomorrow with more Premium Picks.
