The PDC World Championship returned from the festive break on Monday and there was no shortage of darting drama.
Comeback King Duijvenbode Sets Up Price Clash
Dirk van Duijvenbode and Ross Smith kicked off the day’s action and Smudger raced into a 3-0 lead. Van Duijvenbode looked on his way out, but an incredible comeback from the Dutchman saw him win the match 4-3.
Fellow Dutchman Vincent van der Voort was forced to withdraw from the event after testing positive for Covid and that handed James Wade a bye into the fourth round.
Defending champion Gerwyn Price was expected to cruise past Kim Huybrechts, and book his place in round four, but things were far from straightforward for the Iceman. Price eventually won in a sudden-death thriller, but the Belgian certainly had chances to get the better of the Welshman. Price moves on to face van Duijvenbode in the next round.
Dobey Can Push MVG
There is plenty of top-class darting action over the next few days and there could be a couple of good wagers. Michael van Gerwen has his eyes on the trophy, but the challenge of Chris Dobey may be more forceful than the prices suggest.
Of course, MVG is the a-side of this contest, but all the pressure is on the Dutchman and it’s almost a free-hit for Dobey. Hollywood has been putting up excellent numbers on the Pro Tour this term and he is inside the PDC’s top-five performers. There’s no denying that the Bedlington battler was way short of his best against Rusty-Jake Rodriguez in the previous round, but Dobey still put in a 92-three-dart average and there was a weight of expectation on his shoulders in that contest.
Van Gerwen dropped a set against Chas Barstow in round two and it seems reasonable to think that Dobey can take advantage of a 2.5-set handicap start at 5/6 when the pair clash this evening.
Wednesday provides one of the best darting days we have ever seen. There are top-class matches all over the card, with Gary Anderson taking on Ian White, Price clashing with van Duijvenbode. Michael Smith tackling Jonny Clayton, Dave Chisnall and Luke Humphries duelling and Nathan Aspinall facing Callan Rydz. In terms of punting the Aspinall v Rydz contest is the most interesting.
Asp Faces Rydz Test
The Asp has the World Championship back form after making back-to-back semi-finals in 2019 and 2020. However, 2021 was a pretty lean year for the Stockport thrower and he is clearly carrying an elbow injury at Ally Pally this year.
The Asp wriggled past Joe Murnan 3-2 in the previous round and it’s clear that Aspinall is going to need to up his game considerably to get past Rydz.
The Riot crushed an in-form Brendan Dolan 3-0 in round two and he put up a 102 three-dart average. There’s a lot to like about the Bedlington boy and he has yet to drop a single set in his two matches in this year’s Ally Pally showdown. There certainly seems to be a bit of juice in the 6/5 on offer about a Rydz victory.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
