If the first two days of action in the PDC World Matchplay tournament were relatively quiet for shocks, the third day of action on Monday evening proved to be anything but, with three top seeds biting the dust in the five games played last evening.
The final first round game between sixth seed Nathan Aspinall and Belgian former youth world champion Dmitri Van den Bergh is to be played tonight ahead of the first clutch of second round games, which will feature the current world number one and tournament favourite, Michael van Gerwen in action against the Wizard of Oz, Simon Whitlock.
The action is set to come thick and fast over the next few days in Milton Keynes as we work our way through the second most sought after tournament in the PDC Tour and if you would like to enjoy a bet on the action and are looking to sign up with a bookmaker that offers precisely the markets you need to do so, then the latest bet365 New Player Bonus is the perfect starting place.
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Let’s now continue by taking a look at how the first round of the World Matchplay has gone so far and how the Second Round is shaping up, the first games of which get underway tonight.
World Matchplay First Round Review
The top seeds in the tournament, which are the top 16 in the PDC, found life pretty easy going in the main over the first two days of action. From those ten games, only last year’s winner, fourth seed Rob Cross, was eliminated from the tournament after he went down 10-8 to the up and coming German star Gabriel Clemens, who landed a maximum 170 checkout on his way to victory.
However, the third night of action on Monday evening proved to be far more difficult for the seeded players. Daryl Gurney was the only one to make relatively straightforward progress with a 10-5 win over Ricky Evans, but then the shocks started as Dave Chisnall was booted out of the competition by Vincent van der Voort, followed by Gerwyn Price’s fourth first round exit in a row as the Welshman lost 10-7 to Danny Noppert.
Adrian Lewis was pushed very hard by Steve Beaton before securing an 11-9 win, and then in the final game, we had a final leg decider between seeded Ian White and Joe Cullen, with Cullen eventually taking the 25th leg for a 13-12 win.
Tonight’s action sees the final First Round tie take place between sixth seed Nathan Aspinall and former world youth champion Dmitri Van den Bergh. Then the first of the second round ties will take place, which we will look at in the section below.
PDC World Matchplay Round 1 Results
- Michael van Gerwen (1) 10-7 Brendan Dolan
- Simon Whitlock (16) 10-4 Ryan Joyce
- Gary Anderson (8) 10-5 Justin Pipe
- James Wade (9) 12-10 Keegan Brown
- Rob Cross (4) 8-10 Gabriel Clemens
- Krzysztof Ratajski (13) 10-4 Jermaine Wattimena
- Michael Smith (5) 10-3 Jonny Clayton
- Mensur Suljovic (12) 12-10 Jamie Hughes
- Peter Wright (2) 10-8 Jose de Sousa
- Glen Durrant (15) 10-3 Jeffrey de Zwaan
- Daryl Gurney (7) 10-5 Ricky Evans
- Dave Chisnall (10) 6-10 Vincent van der Voort
- Gerwyn Price (3) 7-10 Danny Noppert
- Adrian Lewis (14) 11-9 Steve Beaton
- Ian White (11) 12-13 Joe Cullen
- Nathan Aspinall (6) v Dmitri Van den Bergh – Played tonight
World Matchplay Second Round Draw
- Michael van Gerwen v Simon Whitlock
- Gary Anderson v James Wade
- Gabriel Clemens v Krzysztof Ratajczki
- Michael Smith v Mensur Suljovic
- Peter Wright v Glen Durrant
- Daryl Gurney v Vincent van der Voort
- Danny Noppert v Adrian Lewis
- Nathan Aspinall/Dmitri van den Bergh v Joe Cullen
The first four second round matches till take place tonight, with the remaining four games taking place on Wednesday evening. Michael Smith takes on Mensur Suljovic in the first game up with Smith the 4/7 favourite to win that game. This is followed by another very even contest with Gary Anderson (4/6) set to take on James Wade (6/5) in another clash of darting giants.
Next up is the game most feel will be the most one-sided this evening with Michael van Gerwen a massive 1/12 to beat Simon Whitlock, who is 7/1 to get one over the world number 1 star. Finally, Gabriel Clemens is 6/4 to beat the talented Pole Krzysztof Ratajski who is 8/15 with bet365 to land a win in that game.
The following night will see Daryl Gurney (2/5) facing Vincent van der Voort in the opener, before the winner of the clash between Aspinall and Van den Bergh will take on Joe Cullen in the second match of the night. Peter Wright taking on Glen Durrant is arguably the tie of the round with Wright 4/9 to beat the Middlesbrough based ex BDO Champion who is a 7/4 shot with bet365, while the last game on Wednesday night pits Adrian Lewis (8/11) against Danny Noppert (11/10).
Who will claim the overall victory at the World Matchplay?
In terms of outright odds, Michael van Gerwen is the 11/8 favourite to win the tournament ahead of Peter Wright at 7/2. Nathan Aspinall, despite not being in the second round yet, is next at 9/1, but after that it is pretty tight with Gary Anderson and Michael Smith both 14/1 shots, Krzysztof Ratajski and Glen Durant 16/1 shot and all other players at least 20/1.
James Wade could be a good each way bet at 28/1, especially if he can get past Gary Anderson in the Second Round, but he does potentially face Michael van Gerwen in the semi final. Van Gerwen is the obvious pick here, but I think Peter Wright offers better value at 7/2 and I think he is a decent pick for the outright winner.
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