World Darts - Day 10 - Sat Eve
This is going to be an absolutely cracking session - Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen both playing is a treat for those lucky enough to hold the golden tickets, but it is the Ryan Searle v William O Connor match which gives us our betting interest on the night. Neither bets are huge value, so it's a night to largely keep the powder dry however.
Searle showed tremendous bottle to come back from a 1-0 down against a fast-starting Mensur Suljovic, and my data suggests he should be marginal favourite in this one. Add in the gut factor after that great win, and it feels worth a small bet at even money with Paddy Power on him progressing deeper into the tournament. He's also beaten him in each of their three meetings over the past 16 months - 6-3 on each occassion.
Searle also tends to be the better man when it comes to hitting the big check outs, so if we think he might win more legs in any case, the 10/11 appeals on him hitting the highest Check Out in the match. It's available with a wide range of firms.
1pt Searle to beat O-Connor at Evens (PP)
1.1pt Searle Highest CO at 10/11 (General)
We'll also take a small punt on Max Hopp putting in some decent darts when he meets MvG in the closing match. MvG pretty much always averages over 100 these days, which tends to limit his opponents to not many missed doubles. The inevitable result of that is the rise in averages of those playing against him, as all their darts are going at the big numbers.
William Hill are asking whether Max Hopp will go over or under 93.5 and given he's topped that line in six of his 12 TV matches this season, it seems fair enough to punt he'll do so once again when he meets the best player on the planet.
2pts Max Hopp to average over 93.5 (William Hill)