Michael van Gerwen takes on Dave Chisnall on Friday

PDC World Championship darts: Friday's predictions, odds, betting tips, accas, order of play & TV times

By Carl Fletcher

Darts

Fri January 01, 2021 · 5y ago

All four quarter-finals at the PDC World Championship take place on Friday as eight become four - and Carl Fletcher has a guide to each of them.

Our guide to Friday's quarter-final action at the PDC's William Hill World Darts Championship includes the order of play, match-by-match previews, predictions, seasonal statistics, head-to-head records, odds and a suggested acca.

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World Championship: Friday January 1

TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts (1200 & 1800 GMT)
Quarter-finals: Best of 9 sets, no tie-breakers in any set

Friday's darts accas

Each player to win 2+ sets & each player 5+ 180s
Price highest checkout, Bunting & Chisnall most 180s
Click here to build your acca

AFTERNOON SESSION (1200 GMT)

Krzysztof Ratajski (1/2) v Stephen Bunting (13/8)

Head to Head: 0-1
2020 Meetings: 0-0
PDC Titles this Season: 1-0 (TV: 0-0)
Career PDC Titles: 7-1 (TV: 0-0)
PDC World Championship Appearances: 2-6
PDC World Championship Best: Third Round (2020) – Quarter-Final (2015)

We say this quite often but is this finally the event in which we see Krzysztof Ratajski get into the winners' enclosure on the big TV stage? Of the four quarter-finals we have, this is arguably the biggest surprise given that the section included defending champion Peter Wright and an in-form and quietly fancied James Wade. Now here, this represents a real opportunity for Ratajski to progress.

‘The Polish Eagle’ has reached this stage with the best set win percentage but that is mainly due to the fact he came through his opening games with Ryan Joyce and Simon Whitlock without dropping one. His last 16 encounter with Gabriel Clemens couldn’t have been more different however, as he was pushed all the way to a last-leg decider in a match that featured 34 of a possible 35 legs and one in which he had to survive seven match darts from ‘The German Giant’ to prevail.

Despite that it’s hard to argue that he didn’t deserve it as he averaged 3.5 points higher than his opponent, was the first player to have match darts and was pretty much always in front. All players need that little bit of luck to win things and perhaps he's getting his now.

The winner of Players Championship Four earlier this year, he has been the victim of some terrific performances in the big events from his opponents. In the UK Open he lost to Chris Dobey 10-9 where both players averaged 105 and was defeated in the quarters of the Matchplay to ‘BullyBoy’ Michael Smith in another tight encounter. In fact other than his surprise defeat to Karel Sedlacek, all his defeats on stage this year have come at the hands of players averaging 95+. He certainly hasn’t had the luck of the draw either at times, coming up against Michael van Gerwen in the Grand Prix then being drawn alongside Michael Smith, Jose De Sousa and Lisa Ashton in what was coined the Group of Death at the Grand Slam of Darts.

His has a tournament average of 95.92 and 180 per leg ratio of 0.23 but the Pole likes to switch and his first nine darts average of 106.91 and 171+ per leg ratio of 0.29 is a better representation of how well he scores. If anything he needs to improve his doubles percentage of 34.23 if he’s to go on and win the event but his seasonal percentage of 39.35 suggest he’s capable of doing that.

His opponent Stephen Bunting – the current outsider of the eight players remaining – is arguably the biggest surprise player left in the event. He’s not had the best of years having failed to qualify for the World Matchplay then had to miss the World Grand Prix due to a positive Covid-19 test. His last 16 run in the UK Open is the best effort he has to his name on TV this year but he did manage to muster up two quarter-finals and two semi-finals on the floor, to suggest he remains dangerous.

Bunting has recently stated he’s practicing better than ever and the fruits of this have certainly begun to show over the past fortnight. His tournament average (94.68), 180 per leg ratio (0.27) and doubles percentage (33.88) are all slightly up on his seasonal stats which are 93.54, 0.25 and 32.64 respectively.

To get to this stage he’s had survive to last leg deciders against both Andy Boulton and Ryan Searle, having said that he won them both in fine style with an 11-dart leg with the throw against Boulton and a 13-dart leg against it versus Searle.

In the latter match, having looked the most likely winner throughout he then looked beaten having trailed 2-0 in the final set before producing some magical darts under the most intense pressure to get over the line.

Bunting's most comfortable win to date was surprisingly his third round, 4-2 victory over Wade. He trailed 2-0 in sets but hardly deserved to be but for missed doubles; he then reeled off four sets on the bounce to emphatically pick up a deserved victory against an under par opponent.

The 2014 BDO world champion will quietly fancy himself and he upped his game tremendously in his latest match, averaging 97.86 having performed to a similar standard of around the 93 mark in his first two games.

The pair have only met once before and ‘The Bullet’ won that one back in 2018 but Ratajski, the 2017 BDO World Masters champion, has been the more consistent and indeed better player over the past two years having at times matched the standards set by the game's elite. He’s averaged 100+ on 30 occasions this year alone, compared to Bunting's 16 and I expect him to come out on top.

One other thing to note is that Bunting comes into this match on a run of five games where his opponent has had the higher finish and Ratajski comes into this having registered the highest checkout in five of his last six matches. Given his propensity to switch and these numbers, backing the favourite to dominate in every department bar 180s is the way to go.

Score Prediction: Krzysztof Ratajski 5-3 Stephen Bunting
Suggested Bet: Ratajski to win the match, Bunting most 180s and Ratajski highest checkout

Gary Anderson (4/5) v Dirk van Duijvenbode (evs)

Head to Head: 3-1
2020 Meetings: 1-1
PDC Titles this Season: 1-0 (TV: 0-0)
Career PDC Titles: 41-0 (TV: 15-0)
PDC World Championship Appearances: 11-1
PDC World Championship Best: Winner (2015, 2016) – First Round (2016)

Of the eight remaining no player has been involved in more legs at this year’s event than Dirk Van Duijvenbode (85) and no player has played fewer than Gary Anderson (59). This is partly due to the fact that to reach this stage the former has come through four matches - being the only non-seed remaining - three of which were gruelling encounters, two requiring last-leg deciders. Anderson on the other hand couldn’t have a had an easier match in the last 16 against Devon Petersen, who lost the 180-hitting ability we’ve become accustomed to.

The back-to-back winner of this in 2015 and 2016, Anderson came into this event relatively unfancied having nursed a knee injury in recent months, which was clearly affecting his performances. He’s currently on a 15-match run without a 100-plus average.

Nevertheless the Scot has reminded us at times this year just what he’s capable of. His sole title in 2020 was in the opening event on the Players Championship circuit having reached the semis of the opening TV event of the year, the Masters, just a week before.

His best efforts in the big events have been finishing runner-up in the World Matchplay to Dimitri Van den Bergh having beaten Justin Pipe, James Wade, Simon Whitlock and Michael Smith to get there. He was also a semi-finalist in the Premier League, losing to Glen Durrant when looking the likely winner, and therefore hasn't been all that far away despite numbers which are lower than we've come to expect.

He’s yet to hit top gear in this event so far but he’s not had to really with averages of 96.86, 92.49 and 95.55, and a tournament average of 94.49. There were promising signs however towards the end of his 4-0 thumping of Petersen that he was beginning to find his rhythm as he closed out the final set averaging 112.73, and if that’s the case his current tournament odds would be very tempting.

The biggest concern for backers of the 'Flying Scotsman’ is his 180 per leg ratio, which is just 0.24. Previously, an on song Anderson would be around the 0.30 per leg rate and at this stage of proceedings a lapse in power scoring can prove very costly.

There’s no such concerns over van Duijvenbode, who is playing very well. He’s had a breakthrough year in 2020 and although he’s yet to claim his maiden PDC title he has come close and is one of the most improved players around.

Having started the Players Championship floor events well, he backed this up on stage with a run to the semi-finals of the Belgian Darts Championship where he lost to Gerwyn Price along with a last 32 berth at the UK Open, and his form looks solid.

If anything the break in events due to Covid-19 has allowed the ‘Aubergenius’ to come back an even stronger and more confident player as demonstrated at the World Grand Prix where he reached his first major final, again finding just Price too strong. During this event he beat his idol and today's opponent in the quarter-final, too.

So far this week he’s beaten Bradley Brooks, Rob Cross, Adam Hunt and Durrant with averages of 92.57, 95.54, 104.09 and 96.75 respectively, culminating in a tournament average of 97.08, and on numbers alone he holds an edge over his opponent.

Averages aside what’s most pleasing about these victories is that they have demonstrated his battling qualities - even the 4-0 victory over Hunt required him to be at his best as his opponent was throwing everything at him.

Whilst over the course of the year he has only won 7.1% of his legs with a 100+ outshot, during this World Championship he’s doubled that effectiveness to 14%, including two 170s to break throw when his opponents have been sat on 25 and 32. Despite that, it would take something to top his match-winning, deciding leg checkout of 99 against Rob Cross and he's shown a real ruthlessness at times.

Anderson himself has also notched seven 100-plus outshots and whilst he can’t match the 170s Dirk has delivered he has registered a 156, a 160 and a 161. That could be a real feature of this match and the highest checkout line of 141.5 should be covered with something to spare.

I expect another tight tungsten tussle here and think it may even go to a deciding last set, but I’m edging towards the Dutchman to come on top - just.

Score Prediction: Gary Anderson 4-5 Dirk Van Duijvenbode
Suggested Best: Match to have over 30.5 legs, highest checkout over 141.5 and over 16.5 180s

EVENING SESSION (1800 GMT)

Gerwyn Price (2/5) v Daryl Gurney (2/1)

Head to Head: 0-2-0
2020 Meetings: 9-4-3
PDC Titles this Season: 8-0 (TV: 3-0)
Career PDC Titles: 17-5 (TV: 5-2)
PDC World Championship Appearances: 6-7
PDC World Championship Best: Semi-Final (2020) – Quarter-Final (2017)

Considering Daryl Gurney, a two-time major winner, came into this event as the number 11 seed not many gave him much hope of winning the title and on form it was hard to make a case for him. He has gone under the radar as a result but his performances over the opening fortnight suggest he now holds every chance of adding this title to his trophy cabinet and would arguably become favourite for the bottom half of the draw if he can come through this.

It may not be as clear cut as most envisage, especially as the pair have met twice in the Premier League and both matches ended in a stalemate. Gurney also boasts the superior tournament average of 97.65 compared to Gerwyn Price’s 96.94 so there are a couple of things in his favour.

Looking back over the past 12 months, Gurney did well to avoid elimination from the Premier League at the Judgement Night stage having looked in trouble. After that he managed a draw with Price and register victories over Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen. He also had a deep run to the semi-final of the UK Open.

The end of the year didn’t go as well though as he was eliminated in the opening round at the World Grand Prix, European Championship and Players Championship Finals, hence the reason he came into this without much fanfare.

A previous winner of the World Grand Prix and Players Championship Finals, in his three matches thus far, he’s averaged 99.19 in a 3-2 victory over William O’Connor, 101.39 as he withstood everything Chris Dobey could throw at him to win 4-1, before always being in control to beat Vincent van der Voort 4-2, averaging just 93.65.

My biggest concern is that during his victory over the Dutchman, despite generally appearing in control he was often second to the double (particularly early on) and whilst he took his chances and van der Voort didn’t, he may not be as fortunate here.

If 2020 hasn’t been a year to remember for Gurney it certainly has been for Price, who is arguably player of the year. He’s amassed eight titles including three televised - the World Grand Prix, World Series of Darts Finals and World Cup - and will be hoping to end it as world champion and world number one.

He laboured to victory in his opening match over Jamie Lewis, getting a bit of luck as his opponent bust his score at crucial time in the deciding set, but since then he’s not done all that much wrong. Whilst his tournament average is just 96.94 that doesn’t show the full picture and is dragged down somewhat by his lacklustre opening display.

Against Brendan Dolan, which required a last-leg decider, he averaged over 100 as he was pushed all the way by a talented opponent who really upped his game. Many players would’ve buckled under such pressure but ‘The Iceman’ seems to thrive in those conditions and deserved to win.

Similarly, many tipped Mervyn King to run him close in the last 16 but they couldn’t have been much more wrong. Although the final score probably flatters the Welshman slightly, similar sentiments to those from the Dolan match apply to this match - he was always in control and averaging around 100 for most of it.

What’s most noticeable about his tournament so far is the number of 100+ checkouts he’s managed, with nine already including a 138, a 148, a 160 and a 170. This is no fluke either - during 2020, 15% of his winning legs have been won by virtue of a 100-plus finish, and this could be a decisive factor.

Whilst Price is a good 180 hitter at 0.26 per leg, he loves the switch to treble 19 (with 46% accuracy) and his 171+ per leg ratio of 0.31 underlines how much of an important part of his game that is. To finish off his all round game, his double 20 prowess this week or so has been very proficient, hitting it on 22 occasion from 36 attempts, and there’s no real facet to his game that’s weak.

I therefore expect Price to have too much for his opponent over this longer format and although Gurney can match him early on I envisage the Welshman getting on top from the mid-point and pushing on to a relatively comfortable success, and a semi-final place.

Score Prediction: Gerwyn Price 5-3 Daryl Gurney
Suggested Bet: Gerwyn Price 3 or more 100+ Checkouts

Michael van Gerwen (1/6) v Dave Chisnall (4/1)

Head to Head: 48-2-9
2020 Meetings: 0-0
PDC Titles this Season: 5-0 (TV: 2-0)
Career PDC Titles: 138-15 (TV: 55-0)
PDC World Championship Appearances: 13-9
PDC World Championship Best: Winner (2014, 2017, 2019) – Quarter-Final (2017, 2019)

Heading into this match there are two points that really stand out. Firstly, Dave Chisnall is still searching for his maiden TV title in the PDC and secondly he has an abysmal record against Michael van Gerwen, which stretches back some 27 matches without victory. Now seems to be as good a time as any to overcome these two barriers but at 4/1 he's a big price to win the match, let alone the tournament.

Whilst the odds may not suggest this is likely to be close, performances over the past week hint at otherwise. ‘Chizzy’ comes into this with the second highest tournament average (99.72) of the eight players remaining with only MVG surpassing this. In fact his tournament statistics in general are seriously impressive: a first nine average of 109.14, a massive 180 per leg ratio of 0.38 and doubles percentage of 45 - something which has always been considered to be his Achilles' Heel.

It's otherwise been a relatively disappointing year for him, as he lost in the final of Players Championship 10 to Ryan Joyce from what seemed a winning position and he lost in the semi-final of the World Grand Prix to Gerwyn Price missing match darts.

During the Worlds this year though he’s looked a different player. The first two matches where he beat Keegan Brown (3-1) and Danny Noppert (4-2) he always looked the superior man and managed to close out both in convincing fashion with averages of 97.35 and 99.69.

If you thought that was good however, his match against Dimitri Van den Bergh was an absolute belter. He was outscored by his young opponent for a large part of it - even in the 180 count - but finished with aplomb with three timely 100-plus checkouts and a 50% record on his doubles to always be in control and close out in what the end became a bit of nervy victory. He’ll need more of the same if he’s to reach the semis for the first time here.

The tournament could have looked completely different had Joe Cullen hit either of those bull match darts to beat van Gerwen in the match of the tournament so far where despite 19 180s from ‘The Rockstar’ he just couldn’t get over the line. That’s what champions do however and if there were any doubts about whether ‘The Green Machine’ was back to his best they have been put to rest now.

MVG is yet to average below 100 and his tournament statistics are superior to that of any of his opponents. A tournament average of 104.14, a first nine dart average of 112.61, a 171+ per leg ratio of 0.46, doubles percentage of 47.67 and accuracy on treble 20 and treble 19 of 47.7% and 52.3% respectively – these numbers are just outstanding and the outright market has reacted in kind.

Should we have ever doubted MVG? He had a wobble mid-year where his confidence was in question but you must remember that he’s also won the UK Open and Players Championship Finals (plus three other titles) in what many suggest constitutes a bad year for the three-time world champion. On reflection I think a lot of criticism aimed at him is due to the fact he faded so tamely in the Premier League from what seemed a relatively strong position.

The signs of revival were there for all to see heading in to the tournament, in fact if you include his opening three matches against Ryan Murray (won 3-1), Ricky Evans (won 4-0) and Joe Cullen (won 4-3) he’s now registered a 100-plus average in 15 of his last 21 matches, since losing the final of the fourth Euro Tour event of the year to Cullen, over which period he’s averaged 101.35.

‘Mighty Mike’ has never lost at this stage of the World Championship and remains the one they all have to beat. Whilst I don’t expect Chisnall to win I do envisage a tight affair to begin with given his form and the fact Cullen proved the number one seed can be vulnerable. The problem is I still expect the jitters to get the better of ‘Chizzy’ and van Gerwen to run away with it towards the end, with over 7.5 sets the value play in what should be a fine game to watch.

Score Prediction: Michael van Gerwen 5-3 Dave Chisnall
Suggested Bet: Over 7.5 Sets