James Wade (Picture: Lawrence Lustig/PDC)

PDC World Darts Championship: Night six predictions, betting tips, acca, order of play and TV time

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Mon December 20, 2021 · 4y ago

The William Hill World Darts Championship continues on Monday night so here's Chris Hammer's match-by-match predictions, best bets and a suggested acca.

There's just an evening session at the Ally Pally as fourth seed James Wade begins his campaign and Raymond van Barneveld returns for his first World Championship since coming out of a very short retirement. We preview all four matches...

Darts betting tips: World Championship day six

1pt James Wade to win and Maik Kuivenhoven to hit most 180s at 2/1 (Sky Bet)

1pt James Wilson to win and hit most 180s at 9/4 (Sky Bet)

1pt Lourence Ilagan (+1.5 sets) to beat Raymond van Barneveld at 11/8 (888 Sport)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Monday December 20: Evening session

TV Coverage: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
Format: Best of five sets (Rounds 1 and 2)

SL Acca: Wilson, Rodriguez & Wade (-1.5 sets) all to win with Sky Bet

Luke Woodhouse (4/7) v James Wilson (11/8) (R1)

Head to Head (TV): 3-1 (0-0)
2021 Head to Head (TV): 0-0 (0-0)
2021 Titles (TV): 0-0 (0-0)
PDC Three-Dart Average (2021): 92.16 – 93.52
PDC 180’s per leg (2021): 0.22 – 0.29
PDC Checkout Percentage (Stage Events 2021): 26.67% – N/A
PDC 100+ checkouts per leg won (2021): 12.76% – 14.36%

James Wilson is the slight outsider to beat Luke Woodhouse on his first appearance here since 2019 and although he had to come through the last qualifying event to get here, it ended an alarming losing streak on tour and this could have restored his confidence.

Despite only qualifying for one major tournament this season - when he lost his first match at the UK Open 6-1 with an average of 80 - his season average is still slightly higher than his opponent while his 180s per leg ratio is significantly better.

Woodhouse has also struggled of late and although results enabled him to qualify for the Players Championship Finals last month, he was knocked out in the opening round by Ryan Joyce 6-4 with an average of just under 90 so he is a vulnerable favourite.

CLICK HERE to back James Wilson to win and hit most 180s with Sky Bet

Scoreline Prediction: 2-3

Rusty-Jake Rodriguez (1/2) v Ben Robb (13/8) (R1)

Head to Head (TV): 0-0 (0-0)
2021 Head to Head (TV): 0-0 (0-0)
2021 Titles (TV): 0-0 (0-0)
PDC Three-Dart Average (2021): 92.47 – N/A
PDC 180’s per leg (2021): 0.17 – N/A
PDC Checkout Percentage (Stage Events 2021): 38% – N/A
PDC 100+ checkouts per leg won (2021): 4% (TV matches) – N/A

Rusty-Jake Rodriguez makes his World Championship debut by virtue of his ranking in the Pro Tour Order of Merit which is made more impressive by the fact he doesn't have a Tour Card yet.

The youngest of the Rodriguez brothers is only 20 and after winning the European Development Tour title he was able to show us a glimpse of his talents on the big stage at the Grand Slam of Darts. Although he lost all three matches, he averaged 94 in a narrow 5-3 defeat to Jonny Clayton and also gave Mervyn King and Bradley Brooks a run for their money.

New Zealand's Ben Robb qualified for his second PDC World Championship by reaching three DPNZ Tour Finals, where he won two of them, and averaged around the creditable 92 mark.

He lost 3-0 to Ron Meulenkamp on his previous appearance here two years ago but he did take two of those sets to deciding legs and averaged 88 - so it was quite a harsh scoreline. This should be closer but I give the edge to the rising Austrian star.

Scoreline Prediction: 3-1

Raymond van Barneveld (1/4) v Lourence Ilagan (3/1) (R1)

Head to Head (TV): 0-0 (0-0)
2021 Head to Head (TV): 0-0 (0-0)
2021 Titles (TV): 0-0 (0-0)
PDC Three-Dart Average (2021): 94.7 – N/A
PDC 180’s per leg (2021): 0.23 – N/A
PDC Checkout Percentage (Stage Events 2021): 50% – N/A
PDC 100+ checkouts per leg won (2021): 12.5% – N/A

Lourence Ilagan is one of the most charismatic and fired up players you’re ever likely to see and although he’s lost all five of his matches on this stage, he’s always entertained the fans with his performances.

Last year he hit five 180s in defeat to Ryan Murray at an empty Ally Pally so he’ll revel in the atmosphere created by the Barney Army having triumphed at this year's Philippines Qualifier, where he averaged almost 90 in the final.

Raymond van Barneveld has enjoyed a pretty decent return to the circuit, averaging just short of 95 for the season and also winning a Players Championship title back in February but he seemed to be distracted by all the hype surrounding him at the Grand Slam, where he got knocked out in the group stages. To be fair it was a very tough group with Michael Smith and Gary Anderson but you always wonder if he's craving something special a bit too much these days.

He produced a dazzling 104 average in the opening round of the televised Players Championship Finals last month but struggled to get anywhere near that in an eagerly-anticipated showdown with Michael van Gerwen and lost 6-3 with an average of 93.

That kind of performance should still be enough to get through this encounter but I fancy Ilagan to come roaring out of the blocks and make this closer than the odds suggest.

CLICK HERE to back Lourence Ilagan (-1.5 sets) to beat Raymond van Barneveld with Sky Bet

Scoreline Prediction: 3-2

James Wade (2/7) v Maik Kuivenhoven (13/5) (R2)

Head to Head (TV): 0-0 (0-0)
2021 Head to Head (TV): 0-0 (0-0)
2021 Titles (TV): 0-0 (0-0)
PDC Three-Dart Average (2021): 95.9 – 91.49
PDC 180’s per leg (2021): 0.21 – 0.2
PDC Checkout Percentage (Stage Events 2021): 46.82% – 36.17
PDC 100+ checkouts per leg won (2021): 13.51% – 13.4%

James Wade is the top seed in this quarter but was not only priced up as second favourite to come through it at 9/2, but is regarded as a massive 33/1 outsider for the title.

It’s one of the few majors he’s never won despite the fact his timing expertise should really come to the fore in a long set-play format– after all, he has won the World Grand Prix twice during the early years of his career.

The UK Open champion not gone beyond the quarter-finals since 2013 but he will fancy his chances in this wide open section that still includes Dimitri Van den Bergh (3/1) and Joe Cullen (7/1), so Maik Kuivenhoven really shouldn't pose too much of a problem.

Wade's averages and results on the circuit may not have been earth-shattering in recent months but he got his act together at the Grand Slam of Darts - albeit after losing his opening match to Jim Williams - by reaching the semi-finals.

Maik Kuivenhoven only averaged 88 during a rather arduous 3-1 victory over Ky Smith but that was mostly down to shabby finishing because he did throw seven 180s in just 15 legs of darts. That's way higher than he usually manages so it would be naive to expect that again, but Wade is never too prolific on that metric either. If you back Kuivenhoven to hit most 180s in defeat, you can get 2/1.