PDC World Championship darts: Day five predictions, odds, betting tips, accas, order of play & TV times

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Michael van Gerwen gets his World Championship campaign under way on Saturday night while the other seeded player in action is the man he beat in the most recent major final - Mervyn King.

Here's our preview of both sessions but at the very bottom there are also graphics of every player's season stats as well as an additional one to chart how successful they've all been in achieving the 'Match Treble' in all their PDC matches this year (winning with the most 180s and highest checkouts).

World Championship: Saturday December 19

• TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts (1200 & 1800 GMT)
• First/Second Round: Best of 5 sets, no tie-breakers in any set

Saturday's darts accas

• Lennon, Campbell (+1.5), Huybrechts match treble & King at 4.13/1
• Kurz, Boulton & most 180s and Heta (-1.5) at 16/5
• Click here to build your acca

EVENING SESSION (1800 GMT)

Andy Hamilton (11/10) v Nico Kurz (8/11) (R1)

• Head to Head: 0-0
• 2020 Meetings: 0-0
• PDC Titles this Season: 0-0 (TV: 0-0)
• Career PDC Titles: 2-0 (TV: 0-0)
• PDC World Championship Appearances: 12-1
• PDC World Championship Best: Runner-up (2012) - Third round (2020)

It's been quite some journey and a test of character for Andy Hamilton get back on the Alexandra Palace stage for the first time since the 2016 World Championship and he should be incredibly proud of how he's managed to relaunch his career in the PDC at this stage of his life.

The 53-year-old may never scale the heights of an Ally Pally ever again or become a three-time Premier League player but he will have ambitions to perhaps climb back into the top 64 at least next year following this steady campaign back in the PDC ranks after three years away.

Hamilton, who spent 2018 and 2019 trying to rebuild his confidence in the BDO before reclaiming his Tour Card at Q School back in January, is up to 92 in the world rankings and managed to snatch the 31st of 32 places available for the Ally Pally via the Pro Tour Order of Merit.

One of his better runs to the third round of a European Tour event in October included a narrow 6-5 defeat to Michael van Gerwen - albeit both players averaging in the 80s - while his seasonal average of 90 is something to work on.

However, anyone who read my pre-tournament preview will know why I'm expecting rising German star Nico Kurz to come through this clash.

I wrote: "The 23-year-old beat Gabriel Clemens on his way to German Superleague glory earlier in the season and that sealed his Ally Pally return 12 months on from beating James Wilson and Joe Cullen on debut before bowing out to Luke Humphries in a cracker despite averaging a superior 96.

"He started the year with some impressive results on the Development Tour before lockdown and showed us a brief glimpse of his rich potential in the two European Tour events he qualified for in September and October. In the first, he defied Jason Lowe's 100 average to win 6-4 before defeat to James Wade with a 94 average, while Glen Durrant's ruthless finishing was too much in the second.

"The 23-year-old, who famously beat Gary Anderson at the 2019 German Darts Masters before losing 8-6 to Peter Wright, is unsurprisingly a massive price of 100/1 to get through this quarter but he's fresh, has the fearlessness of youth and the biggest shocks he needs to cause comes when the format is at its shortest."

• Score Prediction: 1-3
• Suggested Bet: Nico Kurz to win the match, score over 2.5 180s and checkout over 88.5 at 3/1

Andy Boulton (1/16) v Deta Hedman (15/2) (R1)

• Head to Head: 0-0
• 2020 Meetings: 0-0
• PDC Titles this Season: 0-0 (TV: 0-0)
• Career PDC Titles: 0-0 (TV: 0-0)
• PDC World Championship Appearances: 2-0
• PDC World Championship Best: First Round (2016, 2020) - Debut

Anyone who ever followed the BDO World Championship over the past 10 years will have rooted for Deta Hedman at some point to win a ladies title. Maybe not every year due to the popularity of Trina Gulliver and Lisa Ashton but given they both ended up with so many Lakeside crowns between them, not even their families or biggest fans would have begrudged Hedman the one piece of silverware her career richly deserved.

The 61-year-old's list of honours since winning her first of two World Masters titles in 1994 is immense, and the fact her second came 19 years later in 2013 underlines her tremendous longevity in the sport.

Although the condensed 'at a glance' sporting history books of the future will probably give Fallon Sherrock almost all of the credit for shattering the glass ceiling in darts, it was actually Hedman who was the first trailblazer in that sense, joining the PDC in 2002 and defeating two men (Aaron Turner and Norman Fletcher for those who are still trying to come up with zoom quizzes while in tier 3) on her way to the last 64 of the UK Open. Let those at a glance history books show that they were the first times a female had beaten a man in a major televised tournament.

Her three runners-up trophies at the Lakeside - to Gulliver, Anastasia Dobromyslova and Ashton - as well as her three semi-final defeats makes her the Jimmy White of female darts so for that reason alone I was thrilled to see her pip Sherrock by the barest of margins for a place at the PDC World Championship, where we were all hoping she'd get that People's Champion reception on the biggest stage of all. It all came down to how many legs each had won during the four-event PDC Women's Series after both had won a title each and pocketed £2,500. And Hedman edged it 85-83!

If you'd asked me what this tournament needed most before Christmas I'd have said either a Paul Lim win/nine-darter or a Deta Hedman win. We got the first in the bag last night, so now let's hope for the double!

Here's a couple of other storylines you might not be aware of which would make the achievement even more special. 'The Heart of Darts', who works for the Royal Mail as a day job, is the second oldest debutant in history behind 64-year-old John McGowan while her brother Al Hedman was beaten by Bob Anderson at the 2003 World Championship. Oh, and Aaron Turner - who she beat at the UK Open all those years ago - is the husband of Sky Commentator Laura Turner, who beat her at the last BDO World Championship.

Realistically, however, her average of 79 during the Women's Series won't strike fear into Andy Boulton although she did twice manage marks of 92 so she must reach that kind of standard in a set or two to give herself chances for a huge shock.

Steady operator Boulton, who boasts a creditable season average of 93, enjoyed some good results during the Winter Series, including a semi-final in which he beat the likes of James Wade, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Peter Wright with high 90 averages before losing out to Joe Cullen. He also averaged 104 later that week in a defeat to Jose De Sousa.

X Factor isn't a massive 180 hitter so that explains why the match double odds are so close to evens and the match treble is 5/4, but they are probably the best ways to eek some value without trying to set some specific standards that need to be hit.

• Score Prediction: 3-1
• Suggested Bet: Boulton to win, hit most 180s and have highest checkout at 5/4

Damon Heta (1/6) v Danny Baggish (4/1) (R1)

• Head to Head: 0-0
• 2020 Meetings: 0-0
• PDC Titles this Season: 1-0 (TV: 0-0)
• Career PDC Titles: 2-0 (TV: 1-0)
• PDC World Championship Appearances: 1-1
• PDC World Championship Best: Second round (2020) - Second round (2020)

* Firstly, having just written the previous preview, apologises if I accidentally refer to Danny Baggish's opponent as Damon Deta. *

Although I'm tipping Michael Smith to win the World Championship, I am keeping Damon Heta onside in the same quarter of the draw due to how big a force he's become this season.

It looked as though he was on course for a major semi-final at the Players Championship Finals last month only to blow a 7-2 lead against eventual runner-up Mervyn King but brushing that disappointment aside, his encouraging run was yet another step in the right direction for the Australian, who also reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts on debut before losing 16-13 to James Wade with an average of 98.

Those impressive runs have helped him climb rapidly up the Order of Merit to 56, which is incredible when you think he only earned his PDC Tour Card in January, while he also won his maiden ranking title during the Autumn Series and almost made that two when losing 8-6 to Gerwyn Price in a winter final.

Across the five days of the Winter Series, he won 16 of his 21 matches and averaged over 100 on nine occasions - three of them in defeat.

Heta, who stunned us all when defying 250/1 odds to beat James Wade, Gary Anderson, Simon Whitlock and Rob Cross to become the 2019 Brisbane Darts Masters champion, also has experience of the Ally Pally having thrashed Jose De Sousa 3-0 in last year's first round before bowing out by the same scoreline to Glen Durrant and he's ready for a potentially big run.

A follower of mind on Twitter then got in touch to say I'd failed to mention to potential threat of Danny Baggish in my pre-tournament preview, and he was right. I was at the Ally Pally last year to witness him beat Andy Boulton 3-2 on debut before giving Nathan Aspinall a huge scare with a courageous display in round two.

The 37-year-old, who qualified via the CDC USA Series, revelled in the atmosphere and memorably turned to the crowd and yelled "This is my town!" when taking the first set against the odds. Although some felt he was disrespectfully indicating he'd go and win 3-0 with his gestures, he later revealed he was sending out a message to those who claimed he'd lose 3-0!

I won't do that again but I can't seem him defeating one of my main tips.

• Score Prediction: 3-1
• Suggested Bet: Match to have over 12.5 legs, highest checkout to be over 110.5 and over 4.5 total 180s at 10/11

Michael van Gerwen (1/10) v Ryan Murray (6/1) (R2)

• Head to Head: 2-0
• 2020 Meetings: 1-0
• PDC Titles this Season: 5-0 (TV: 2-0)
• Career PDC Titles: 38-0 (TV: 55-0)
• PDC World Championship Appearances: 13-0
• PDC World Championship Best: Winner (2014, 2017, 2019) - Debut

The first time these players met back in 2017, Michael van Gerwen hit two nine-darters in one match and didn't even crack a smile about either.

Of course MVG was unplayable almost all of the time back then and Ryan Murray was three years away from earning his first Tour Card at Q School, so it's not quite the same mismatch now.

Van Gerwen is third behind Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright on seasonal averages this year with 98.96 - a mark that he'd probably dismiss as pub darts by his own standards a few years ago - but while he 'only' won seven titles overall, at least one of them was the most recent major at the Players Championship Finals.

His tournament average across his six matches - which included a semi-final win over Gerwyn Price - was an ominous 102 while he also went above three-figures on four occasions, with a best of 110 in a 10-5 mauling of Dirk van Duijvenbode. Although the final against Mervyn King could have been so different had he not held his nerve in the deciding leg, he still averaged 105.

The 'MVG is back' narrative that immediately followed highlighted the knee jerk reactions we get in darts. He's been back and finished so many times this year it's hard to know when he's here to stay.

Nevertheless few will give Murray much of a chance after he posted an 87 average during his 3-1 victory over the firey Lourence Ilagan in round one on Wednesday night. The Scotsman did weigh in with four 180s, a 116 checkout and pinned almost 41% of his doubles, however, so those 'Match Action' targets listed below don't seem too taxing.

• Score Prediction: 3-0
• Suggested Bet: Match to have over 11.5 legs, highest checkout to be over 110.5 and over 4.5 total 180s at 11/10

AFTERNOON SESSION (1200 GMT)

Steve Lennon (4/9) v Daniel Larsson (7/4) (R1)

• Head to Head: 0-0
• 2020 Meetings: 0-0
• PDC Titles this Season: 0-0 (TV: 0-0)
• Career PDC Titles: 0-0 (TV: 0-0)
• PDC World Championship Appearances: 3-1
• PDC World Championship Best: Second round (2019) - Second round (2019)

Steve Lennon opens up Saturday's play at the Ally Pally seeking his second win on this stage at the fourth attempt and he's been presented with a fairly soft draw to do it.

Daniel Larsson is one of the weaker tour card holders in the field and has only qualified due to the fact he was ranked in the top two of the PDC Nordic and Baltic tour, which was curtailed after just one weekend of action this year.

The 39-year-old from Sweden, who hit a nine-darter on the Home Tour in October, has averaged 89 during his maiden season on the circuit since winning his Tour Card at European Q School while he's struggled to pick up many wins in Players Championship events.

Lennon made a flying start to 2020 when reaching a Players Championship semi-final with some breathtaking 100+ averages along the way but although the Irishman hasn't gone as far since, he's still statistically shown signs of promise and can boast a creditable season average of around 94. His 180s per leg ratio of 0.22 is also higher than Larsson's 0.18 so it's worth throwing in the most maximums to boost his odds.

• Score Prediction: 3-1
• Suggested Bet: Lennon to win and hit most 180s at 6/4

Scott Waites (8/13) v Matt Campbell (5/4) (R1)

• Head to Head: 0-0
• 2020 Meetings: 0-0
• PDC Titles this Season: 0-0 (TV: 0-0)
• Career PDC Titles: 0-0 (TV: 0-0)
• PDC World Championship Appearances: 0-1
• PDC World Championship Best: Debut - First round (2020)

Canada were one of my tips to reach the World Cup of Darts semi-final due to the talents of both Jeff Smith and the lesser known Matt Campbell, so it was somewhat frustrating to see them pipped by Belgium in the last eight.

Campbell's singles victory over World Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh with a 98 averaged proved to be in vain but he also looked dangerous during their doubles win against Northern Ireland in round one and then again when they overcame New Zealand.

The 31-year-old, who earned his spot via the CDC Canadian Series, lost 3-1 to Mark McGeeney on his World Championship debut 12 months ago but at least he will now have the feel of the venue and should show more of his ability.

Scott Waites obviously knows how to peak at this time of year having won the BDO World Championship twice and also finished runner up in 2019 to history-making Glen Durrant but he's never played in the PDC version having only earned his maiden Tour Card at Q School back in January.

The Yorkshireman hardly ripped up trees with seasonal average of 92 and although his form picked up a little throughout the autumn and winter since losing all five of his matches at the Summer Series, I think a small upset is on the cards.

• Score Prediction: 1-3
• Suggested Bet: Matt Campbell to win the match at 5/4

Kim Huybrechts (1/20) v Di Zhuang (9/1) (R1)

• Head to Head: 0-0
• 2020 Meetings: 0-0
• PDC Titles this Season: 0-0 (TV: 0-0)
• Career PDC Titles: 4-0 (TV: 0-0)
• PDC World Championship Appearances: 9-0
• PDC World Championship Best: Quarter-final (2012) - Debut

According to the bookies, it's twice more likely Kim Huybrechts wins tonight than Michael van Gerwen - even though the latter is as short as 1/10!

Very little is known about his opponent Di Zhuang, who averaged just 76.63 to win his final match at the Chinese qualifying event in which only 16 players were able to attend.

Huybrechts is obviously a player who blows hot and cold and while he's done more of the cooler stuff in recent times, he reminded us off his talents during Belgium's run to the World Cup semi-finals - where he averaged 108 in one match - while he also got as far as the semi-finals of a Winter Series event.

There's surely no question he'll win this and should hit his Player Performance targets below even if the match is nine legs long.

• Score Prediction: 3-0
• Suggested Bet: Kim Huybrechts to win the match, score over 2.5 180s and checkout over 96.5 at 11/8

Mervyn King (8/13) v Max Hopp (5/4) (R2)

• Head to Head: 2-4
• 2020 Meetings: 0-0
• PDC Titles this Season: 0-0 (TV: 0-0)
• Career PDC Titles: 8-2 (TV: 0-0)
• PDC World Championship Appearances: 13-7
• PDC World Championship Best: Semi-Finals (2009) - 3rd Round (2019, 2020)

Mervyn King emulates Paul Lim by playing in his 25th World Darts Championship tonight although his first wasn't quite as far back as the Singapore legend's BDO debut of 1982!

'The King', who has actually played on the world stage every year since 1997, made his PDC bow when the Ally Pally first hosted it back in 2008 but apart from a semi-final run 12 months later, he's never been able to produce his best darts here.

However, the lack of fans and atmosphere this year may help him focus like he did at the recent Players Championship Finals, where he reached his first televised major final since the 2012 World Grand Prix.

History repeated itself in the sense he lost another thriller to Michael van Gerwen and while his facial expressions directed at the Dutchman's celebrations suggested otherwise, he should be mightily proud of his efforts that weekend, which included a superb comeback against Damon Heta and a 11-4 thrashing of Peter Wright.

The 54-year-old will have his work cut out against Max Hopp, who looked pretty sharp when averaging 95 in a 3-0 victory over Gordon Mathers on Wednesday night.

However, as I wrote in that preview, the German has struggled to find consistency this season and he'll be put under far more pressure tonight, so I fancy King to take this one with another confident performance.

• Score Prediction: 3-1
• Suggested Bet: Mervyn King to win the match, score over 2.5 180s and checkout over 92.5 at 6/4

Season Statistics

To help you with your bets throughout the tournament, here are some excellent statistical graphs for every player in the field from Darts Tracker creator and Sporting Life contributor Carl Fletcher (@CarlyFletch & @Darts_Tracker on Twitter), while there is an additional graphic at the bottom charting each player’s frequency of bringing up the ‘Match Treble’ in PDC events this season. That is when they win, throw most 180s and hit the highest checkout. You can read more about Carl’s research on that by clicking here.

NB: Averages & 180 per leg data covers events except World Grand Prix (which is double-start and distorts figures), 100+ checkout % is all events, and doubles percentage is stage events only (majors and European Tour) because definitive double stats for Players Championship events aren't available.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL TOURNAMENT DRAW, RESULTS & SCHEDULE

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• Carl Fletcher's 'what the stats say' preview
• Paul Nicholson's Ally Pally picks
• Carl Fletcher's Super Six Outsiders
• Carl Fletcher's Match Treble Masters
• James Cooper's Quarter masters
• Watch: All the World Championship nine-darters
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• 2020 PDC event calendar & results
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