Follow @SBTSportBetting [Get Exclusive Tips on our Patreon, Ad-Free]
Welcome to the Second Round of the PDC 2012 World Championship! We’ve had a couple of shocks along the way, with Mark Webster being the firrst big casualty, then Raymond van Barneveld, but last night we had the shock of Andy Smith not even winning a leg and then Devon Petersen taking out the seeded Steve Brown.
Still, we’ve avoided the shocks, and we’re now 14-12 and we’re now in profit to the tune of +8.17 units. So, after a slow start we’ve picked things up, we’re in decent profit and we’ve got some nice spending money for Christmas. But there’s still one more darting day to go before Christmas, so there’s more tips to get that bank balance boosted to have a very merry Christmas and an exceedingly happy New Year.
Betfair. have a lot of great markets and a lot of great valueevery year during the PDC World Championships. Head on over, get yourself a free bet and get stuck into the in-running betting. You’ll struggle to find a better place to bet during the PDC World Championships than Betfair.
Wayne Jones (15) versus Roland Scholten.
Wayne Jones: Best price – 4/11 @ 888.com.
Round 1:
Beat Scott MacKenzie 3-1.
Average: 94.49
180s: 8
Highest checkout: 89
Legs played: 16
Roland Scholten: Best price – 5/2 @ Betfair.
Round 1:
Beat Jamie Caven 3-1
Average: 83.79
180s: 7
Highest checkout: 138
Legs played: 16
Wayne Jones put in an extremely solid performance in the first round, in what could have been a bit of a sticky one for him, against Scott MacKenzie. Jones was expected to beat the qualifier and he did it with aplomb, firing in 8 maximums, although not putting in a great performance on the checkouts, hitting 29%. For someone who’s not a great 180 scorer, it was impressive seeing Jones scoring heavily.
Roland Scholten finally got a win under his belt, after going so long without winning on TV (or being on TV for that matter), but admittedly it was against a shocking Jamie Caven. The highlight of the Dutchman’s performance was his 180 scoring, but his average shows that he threw in some shockers, too. Usually it’s the doubling that bring an average down to the level of Scholten’s, but he hit 36%, so it wasn’t too bad.
I think that Jones should have far too much for Scholten here. The Dutchman has admitted that he’s still not 100% fit and we’re looking at over 10 points discrepancy in the averages, which just shows how bad Caven actually played in his first round match. While it’s nice to see Scholten back here, I think this run will be coming to an end soon. However, Jones is no value at 4/11. But the handicap is where we want to be looking at. Jones -1.5 sets is still odds on, but I can’t see Scholten taking 3 sets against Jones. I really can’t.
Wayne Jones -1.5 sets to beat Roland Scholten: 4/6 @ Paddy Power.
Recommend: 3 units.
Adrian Lewis (2) versus Robert Thornton (31).
Adrian Lewis: Best price – 1/6 @ 888.com.
Round 1:
Beat Nigel Heydon 3-2
Average: 96.41
180s: 7
Highest checkout: 134
Legs played: 26
Robert Thornton: Best price – 9/2 @ Paddy Power.
Beat Ian White 3-1
Average: 93.35
180s: 5
Highest checkout: 101
Legs played: 19
Adrian Lewis can consider himself a lucky, lucky boy. Nigel Heydon had his chances to knock out the defending champion, but he didn’t and Jackpot lives to fight another day. It should certainly be the kick up the backside that Lewis needs, as he has struggled a bit for form over the year. Lewis averaged one maximum every four legs, which is a bit low for him, especially when you consider the length of his first round match and the reputation Lewis has of being a high scorer. But his doubling at 45% is impressive, especially by Lewis’ standard. It kept him in his first round match, and he’ll need it to get through here.
Robert Thorton surprised me. I didn’t think he had that kind of form in him, especially after recovering from a pretty serious illness over the summer. However, he put in a great performance and deserves his place in the second round. He doubled at 34%, which was pretty average, but definitely good enough for this level. But Adrian Lewis is going to be a totally different challenge than Ian White, so Thornton needs to keep this form up, but I don’t know if he can.
I see Lewis getting through here, as he did put in a good performance and fought hard to beat Nigel Heydon. I also don’t think Robert Thornton is capable of hanging with Lewis at this level, if Lewis can play to the best of his ability. That’s not to say Lewis will, of course. But, like the first match, there’s no value to be had in backing the favourite, so we have to look elsewhere. I’m looking at at least 6 sets here, so the chance of a bit checkout is definitely on the cards. Plus, Lewis did hit a 134, which would be more than enough to crush and line the bookies have for this match. Lewis is always great for a big checkout, as he loves to please the crowd. Add in that Thornton is in a bit of form and he’s always capable of a decent checkout, too, so the chances of getting a high checkout are pretty darn good.
Highest checkout in Adrian Lewis versus Robert Thornton match over 125.5: 5/6 @
Recommend: 2.5 units.
Wes Newton versus Justin Pipe.
Wes Newton: Best price – 1/3 @ Betfair.
Beat Kurt van der Rijck 3-0
Average: 93.30
180s: 2
Highest checkout: 108
Legs played: 14
Justin Pipe best price: Best price – 12/5 @ Betfair.
Average: 88.65
180s: 2
Highest checkout: 62
Legs played: 15
Beat Sean Reed 3-1
Wes Newton put in a professional performance in the first round. He dispatched of his Belgian opponent with consummate ease, didn’t score to his usual high standard, but was simply solid. Newton will be looking for a good run here, and the draw has been kind to him, so if he wins here, he could be looking at a run to the semi-finals if everything plays out well for him. I do like Newton, as he is just completely consistent, and the same will be expected of him again tonight.
Justin Pipe is one of the most frustrating men on the PDC Tour, especially when it comes to backing him. He’s done us one or two favours in the past, but mostly he’s disappointed us at the big times. He wasn’t especially great in the first round, and was made to work for his place in the second round by Sean Reed. After the first set, he did settle down, but he still wasn’t special and his average shows this. He didn’t even manage a decent checkout, which is worrying. However, he did manage a 50% checkout rate, which is exceptional and could be the one thing which keeps him in this match.
I think this could be quite a close one, simply because Justin Pipe is one of the most frustrating players on the tour. His style will stop Newton getting into a rhythm. But scoring inconsistencies with Pipe are what could lead him to never getting the spot in the rankings that his floor tournaments results would have you believe was possible. I can see newton winning this in a bit of a struggle, it won’t be pretty, but I just think he’s more consistent that Pipe. But like the other two favourites tonight, there’s no value in backing him. However, both men didn’t hammer the lipstick in the way they would have wanted, so the maximums might not be the order of the day here. The line looks a bit high, but it’s no forgone conclusion.
Total 180s in Wes Newton versus Justin Pipe match under 10.5: 4/5 @ 888.com.
Recommend: 2 units.
And that’s all your free darts betting tips before Christmas. The second round restarts on December 27th, with a bumper double dose of darts.
But until then, remember our good friends that are offering £50 of free bets to their new customers. Don’t forget to head over to 888.com.