May as well start this thread now. The first round draw was made today…
Vincent van der Voort (20) v Mansell/Ridd
Gary Anderson (11) v Padgett/Hashimoto
Wes Newton (15) v Darin Young
Andy Smith (27) v Shane Tichowitsch
Robert Thornton (21) v Nigel Heydon
Mark Dudbridge (28) v Alex Roy
Jelle Klaasen (26) v Steve Brown
Dennis Priestley (22) v Bernd Roith
Terry Jenkins (7) v Joe Cullen
Ronnie Baxter (8) v Scholten/Viinikka
Barrie Bates (30) v Kevin McDine
Michael van Gerwen (31) v Mensur Suljovic
Kevin Painter (18) v Brendan Dolan
Steve Beaton (24) v Mark Hylton
Denis Ovens (29) v Artut/McKenzie
Colin Osborne (14) v Chris Thompson
Colin Lloyd (9) v Andree Welge
Jamie Caven (19) v Petersen/Madhoo
Mervyn King (6) v Caris/Burger
Andy Hamilton (12) v Dennis Smith
James Wade (2) v Antonio Alcinas
Alan Tabern (23) v Richie Burnett
Phil Taylor (1) v Mawson/Gionzon
John Part (32) v Laursen/Krcmar
Raymond van Barneveld (3) v Steve Hine
Co Stompe (17) v Peter Wright
Simon Whitlock (4) v Steve Evans
Paul Nicholson (16) v Steve Farmer
Adrian Lewis (5) v Tony Eccles
Wayne Jones (13) v Rob Modra
Mark Walsh (10) v Justin Pipe
Mark Webster (25) v Steve Maish
I have backed Mark Walsh at 100/1 to win this. I think he is way over-priced and i may put a few more quid on him closer to the time. I would rate him better than some players marked up at 33’s and 40’s. Taylor obviously is the man to beat, but if Walsh (or anyone else) can avoid him for long enough he may eventually get knocked out by the likes of Lewis, Anderson, Wade, Whitlock, Barney who can all beat on the odd occasion he has an off say. Walsh is capable of beating all the fellas i just mentioned as well.
walsh is a great bet at those prices. on his day hes a match for any of the top pros, his problem is consistency. taylor and part due to meet in 2nd round. bad draw for taylor as part will see this as a great opportunity to reestablish him and taylor will fear part.
i think wade is the bet. you have to be able to finish well to win a world championship and taylor wade and whitlock are the best in the world. wade can score heavier and more consistently than whitlock and so would fancy him to take advantage of a phil taylor who maybe just maybe in decline.
You say Taylor is in decline, i’m not so sure. I never saw him play as well as i did in the early part of this year. He was blowing fellas away in the Premier League and didn’t he nearly hit 3 nine-darters in one match, actually hitting 2?
It’s a bit early to write Taylors obituary yet. But this is sport and anything can happen. I can’t be having Wade at all, don’t rate him that highly. Yes, on his day he is devastating but he can be beyond brutal at times too and is an absolute prick to boot. I have made money in the past by opposing Wade at odds on.
How has King been playing lately? For about a year there he was the best player in the world outside of Taylor and had some great matches with Taylor as well. He has been quiet the last six months or so. He can be backed at 50/1 or so. Not bad looking value there IMO.
I have taken a cut off 999/1 on betfair on Antonio Alcinas after his impressive showing earlier. He is playing Wade in the first round. There is still some money there at that price for anyone interested, i doubt it will be there much longer…
Scott Waites humiliated him in final of the Grand Slam. Wade went 8-0 up, Waites was so nervous he could hardly hold a dart. But then he threw off the shackles and demolished Wade, winning 16-12, clearly showing who the superior player is.
You look at some of the jokers in the PDC field and then think that the best player in the world on current form could well go out in the first round at Lakeside as he’s up against the great Ted Hankey. That kind of a tie just proves the strength in depth of the BDO. The gulf in class between the two organisations is, frankly, embarassing.
I’ve been reading that Mervyn Kings father has died in the past few weeks. He was Kings main cheerleader, in the crowd at all his matches. I won’t be backing King now after that, i don’t think his head will be in it. I’ll chance a few more quid on Walshy at 100/1. The price on Alcinas of 999/1 is gone…
thats awful, he’d be at all mervyn’s matches alright wearing a crown. whitlock is the bet dunph the more i think about it. he’d be due to meet wade in semi and wade’s record is terrible at the ally pally. in addition he looks like he is drinking a lot judging by his expanding gut. whitlock at times today produced darts that i thought only taylor was capable of. i’ll be having a right cut off him.
I won’t disagree with you about Whitlock. He is a class player and he played brilliant stuff in the World Championship last year. What price is he? He can score 180’s with the best of them, he can finish, he can take out big out-shots, he has composure and the right temperment. I would have him ahead of the likes of Wade, Anderson and Barney anyway. Sure Wade won’t even make it past the first round against ‘El Dartador’.
It’s a pity the likes of O’Connor and Rodriguez didn’t make it through. I see Brendan Dolan has made the first round, FFS.
He must have got dartitis, talk about falling from grace.
I think i’ll make Mark Webster the third player to add to my antepost portfolio, such is the form he is showing at the World Cup. He can be backed at around 66/1.