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

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Darts statistician and analyst Carl Fletcher is back in the daily preview hotseat to look ahead to the latest the Ally Pally action across two more sessions.

At the very bottom of this match-by-match guide are his 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: Sunday December 20

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

Sunday's darts accas

• Treble: Jason Lowe, Martijn Kleermaker and Jonny Clayton all to win on the handicap (-1.5 sets ) at 2/1
• Double: Maik Kuivenhoven & Jonny Clayton both to win their matches, hit the most 180s and hit the highest checkout at 14/1
• Click here to build your acca

AFTERNOON SESSION (1200 GMT)

Derk Telnekes (20/21) v Nick Kenny (10/11) (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: 0-0
• PDC World Championship Best: Debut - Debut

Two World Championship debutants clash in the opening round and it should be a tight encounter. There’s not much to choose between these two whichever way you look at it. Both previous BDO players and their best performances in that World Championship are the same, a Last 32; they are both previous winners of the Belgian Open and their seasonal averages are very close, Telnekes at 89.59 and Kenny 90.07.

Looking at the current season you’d give the edge slightly to the Dutchman. Having come through the European Q-School, he’s reached two quarter-finals and a semi-final in the Players Championship events culminating in him qualifying for the Players Championship Finals. He also qualified for two of the four European Tour events.

Kenny also reached a semi-final on the Players Championship Tour when dispatching a few very decent players but that was as good as it got as he failed to qualify for any of the Euro Tours. Credit to him however for coming through the PDPA qualifier to claim a spot here, playing well and defeating Steve Brown, Ted Evetts and James Wilson on that occasion.

It’s a difficult match to call but one thing to note is Kenny has been a slow starter in matches this year, trailing in 41% of his matches after four legs. That may be an angle to look at when having a bet on this one.

• Score Prediction: Derk Telnekes 3-2 Nick Kenny
• Suggested Bet: Derk Telnekes to win the first set at 10/11

Jason Lowe (1/8) v Dmitriy Gorbunov (5/1) (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: 0-0
• PDC World Championship Best: Debut - Debut

Dmitriy Gorbunov is the qualifier through the EADC route, a berth which is usually reserved for Boris Koltsov. The Russian attempted Euro Q-School this year and only won two of his six matches - and he averaged a lowly 69.09 across them. He’s going to find it a struggle against a very consistent and often underrated Jason Lowe.

The man from the West Midlands comfortably came through the opening day of the UK school in January and has been very strong on tour. An excellent seasonal average of 94.43 underlines his quality, as do four last-16 runs in the Players Championship events, and he impressively qualified for three of the four Euro Tour events.

Whilst Jason Lowe isn’t a household name, many darts fans will recall him running MVG close in the last 32 of the UK Open. After trailing 5-0, he went on to lead 9-8 before ultimately losing a deciding leg. Lowe on stage this year hasn’t had the results his performances warrant, but his averages in these matches have been 95.15, 100.15, 96.21, 97.70, 95.47 and 94.15 despite just one victory.

Lowe is a classy player I don’t envisage Gorbunov giving him too much trouble. He should run out a facile winner.

• Score Prediction: Jason Lowe 3-0 Dmitriy Gorbunov
• Best Bet: Jason Lowe to win 3-0 at evens

Maik Kuivenhoven (10/11) v Matthew Edgar (10/11) (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: 0-2
• PDC World Championship Best: Debut - First Round (2019, 2020)

Another tight affair to look forward to here. Edgar has twice appeared at the Worlds but unfortunately he’s lost in the opening round, on both occasions to Darius Labanauskas. The star of Edgar TV, he’s actually improved this year and posted some decent performances. His best result this year was a last-32 run in the UK Open and four such runs in Players Championship events. He came through the PDPA qualifiers to get here with three excellent performances, all averaging 92 and above. His ceiling seems to be getting higher too with two 100+ averages this year.

Kuivenhoven however is probably slightly better, as he’s posted a 100+ average on five occasions during 2020. His results are better too, with two quarter-finals on the floor this year, another in the European Tour Grand Prix where he defeated both Daryl Gurney and Glen Durrant, and he also qualified for both the European Championships and Players Championship Finals. This all represents a solid year for the Dutchman, who is now making his debut in this event.

Kuivenhovens’ statistics read slightly better too. His seasonal average is 90.43 with a 180 per leg ratio of 0.24. Edgar in comparison has averaged 89.55 with a 180 per leg ratio of 0.14. Everything points to the Dutchman edging this.

In a recent Sporting Life column I have already given mention to Kuivenhoven’s decent enough ability to secure the match treble and that may be worth a little flutter here given he’s the stronger 180 hitter.

• Score Prediction: Maik Kuivenhoven 3-1 Matthew Edgar
• Suggested Bet: Maik Kuivenhoven to win the match, hit the most 180s and hit the highest checkout at 3/1

Vincent van der Voort (8/13) v Ron Meulenkamp (5/4) (R2)

• Head to Head: 3-5
• 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: 13-4
• PDC World Championship Best: Quarter-Finals (2011, 2015) – Second Round (2019, 2020)

A clash of two Dutchmen here with 27th seed Vincent van der Voort coming into the match as a narrow favourite.

Meulenkamp averaged just 87.71 has he came through a cagey affair with Croatian Boris Krcmar in the opening round, less than impressed with some of the antics of his opponent. A win’s a win however and today could be a different day. He’s certainly better than that as his seasonal average of 91.39 suggests. He’s also a very good 180 hitter usually at around 0.26 per leg. One thing to note however is that he has never advanced past this stage in four previous appearances in the event.

Van der Voort on the other hand has reached the last eight twice, the latest back in 2015. The veteran seems to have had somewhat of a resurgence in recent years after being plagued with back problems. His season average is slightly higher than his opponent at 92.38 and he’s had some good runs during 2020. On the floor he’s reached the last 16 on five occasions, with one quarter-final and one semi-final - the latter two both coming during the recent Winter Series.

His most notable run however ended in a quarter-final defeat to Glen Durrant at the Matchplay, where he lost 18-16. He looked the likely winner throughout until a correct ticking off from Kirk Bevins seemed to halt his momentum as he went on to lose. During this event he was very consistent and his tournament average was 95.95.

Meulenkamp leads the head to head 5-3 albeit their last meeting was midway through 2019, and they’ve never met on the big stage. This is not the easiest game to call but I think the pace of the game will suit both and hopefully without any antics they should settle well.

Meulenkamp has registered the highest checkout in 58% of his matches this year so that could be an angle to take in what should be a close and entertaining encounter.

• Score Prediction: Vincent Van Der Voort 3-2 Ron Meulenkamp
• Suggested Bet: Meulenkamp to hit the highest checkout at 11/10

EVENING SESSION (1800 GMT)

Martijn Kleermaker (1/8) v Cameron Carolissen (5/1) (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: 0-0
• PDC World Championship Best: Debut - Debut

Devon Petersen has often used the African qualifier to secure his place at the Worlds but given his successful season on Tour there was no need to do so in 2020. Compatriot Carolissen came through this year, defeating another previous World Championship qualifier, Charles Losper, in the final, where he registered a respectable 83.17 match average with a 40% strike rate on his doubles. On face value alone those look decent statistics but other than his evidence from the qualifying event we have no long-term data to analyse.

There’s a lot more known about his opponent, Kleermaker. His seasonal average is 90.77, he has a 180 per leg ratio of 0.20 and doubles percentage of 36.54% and he reached the last 16 of the BDO World Championships at the start of 2020.

Last year on the BDO circuit he also won the Luxembourg Open, Welsh Open, Westfries Open and Westfries Masters. He’s pushed on this year with a consistent year on the PDC Tour, making the last 32 on nine occasions on the floor and a further quarter-final too. He also qualified for three of four Euro Tour events, narrowly failing to make the other and in fact losing to Devon Petersen in that qualifier. He played particularly well when reaching the last 16 of the European Championships where this slick-paced thrower caught the eye.

It’s actually taken a good player to beat him on stage this year with his defeats coming at the hands of Clemens, Ratajski, Cross, King and Petersen. I think he’s better than his seasonal record reads but he does also has a tendency to underperform from time to time, and this may be enough for his South African opponent to pinch a set.

Score Prediction: Martijn Kleermaker 3-1 Cameron Carolissen

Suggested Bet: Martijn Kleermaker over 2.5 180s at 8/13

Keegan Brown (4/5) v Ryan Meikle (1/1) (R1)

• Head to Head: 4-1
• 2020 Meetings: 0-0
• PDC Titles this Season: 0-0 (TV: 0-0)
• Career PDC Titles: 1-0 (TV: 0-0)
• PDC World Championship Appearances: 5-1
• PDC World Championship Best: Third Round/Last 16 (2018) – First Round (2020)

2014 World Youth champion Keegan Brown has been busy in his day job due to the Covid pandemic and it’s no surprise to see that this had some impact on his results. Just a solitary quarter-final and a last-16 run on the floor this year is about as good as it’s got for him. He’s lost in the opening round of the four Euro Tour qualifiers, the Grand Slam qualifiers, the World Series qualifiers, the Players Championship Finals, the Matchplay and the UK Open. He also lost in the opening round last year here to Seigo Asada. He’ll be hoping to stop the rot here.

Meikle didn’t perform well in the opening round in this event last year either as he lost to Yuki Yamada 1-3 with just an 81 average. His season started slowly too this year after he missed a couple of Euro Tour qualifiers and Players Championship events due to his son having an operation. He’s improved of late however with two last-16 appearances in the Players Championship events, and was particularly impressive in the Players Championship Final despite losing 6-5 to Peter Wright in a terrific tungsten tussle.

Despite a head-to-head record in favour of Brown (4-1), Meikle is the stronger 180 hitter of the two on seasonal data and if he can settle on the big stage I can see him coming out on top in a tight game, where hopefully he can build on the aforementioned performance against the reigning world champion and show us his true ability on a more frequent basis.

• Score Prediction: Keegan Brown 2-3 Ryan Meikle
• Best Bet: Ryan Meikle to win and hit the most 180s at 3/1

Jeffrey de Zwaan (Evs) v Ryan Searle (10/11) (R1)

• Head to Head: 1-2
• 2020 Meetings: 0-1
• PDC Titles this Season: 0-1 (TV: 0-0)
• Career PDC Titles: 2-1 (TV: 0-0)
• PDC World Championship Appearances: 3-2
• PDC World Championship Best: Fourth Round (2020) – Fourth Round (2019)

This could be an absolute classic. De Zwaan, the 23rd seed, was excellent in this tournament last year before losing to eventual champion Peter Wright in the last 16. He will also be remembered for his impressive run to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Matchplay where he dispatched of MVG along the way. He almost certainly is a better player in the the big TV events where he’s averaged 96.71, 92.05, 100.25, 100.23 and 91.79 this year in comparison to his seasonal average of just 91.08, something backed up by a quarter-final appearance in the World Grand Prix and a last 16 run at the Players Championship Finals, losing to eventual champions Gerwyn Price and MVG respectively.

Following his impressive victory over Dan Lauby in an opening round humdinger where he averaged 98.31, you must expect Ryan Searle to be a very tough opponent for the seed - in fact he might go off favourite. It’s also worth noting that ‘Heavy Metal’ has a liking for this event having reached the last 16 and last 32 in his two previous appearances. A winner on the floor at Players Championship 3, where he beat today's opponent 7-5 in the semi-final, he boasted a superior seasonal average heading into this event of 94.34, compared to the 91.08 of De Zwaan. He also leads 2-1 in their head to head meetings and 1-0 in 2020 as mentioned already.

Having said all above this a very tough match to call given De Zwaan's improvement in televised matches but I’m going to stick with Searle to come out on top after suggesting he could be an outsider to follow in this event in my pre-tournament Super Six write-up.

I’d be more confident however of having a wager on the 180 market here. Both are relatively big hitters at 0.27 per leg and 0.26 per leg in favour of De Zwaan. I think the overs market could be the one to side with especially if it goes all the way.

• Score Prediction: Jeffrey De Zwaan 2-3 Ryan Searle
• Suggested Bet: Over 9.5 180s at 11/10

Jonny Clayton v (1/3) v John Henderson (23/10) (R2)

• Head to Head: 4-3
• 2020 Meetings: 0-0
• PDC Titles this Season: 1-0 (TV: 1-0)
• Career PDC Titles: 4-0 (TV: 1-0)
• PDC World Championship Appearances: 4-8
• PDC World Championship Best: Third Round (2020) – Third Round/Last 16 (2018)

Medium Hendo as he was labelled on Sky on Friday night will be very happy to have won his opening round match with Marko Kantele despite labouring to victory after what’s been a fairly barren year for the well-loved Scot. His season average heading into this event was sub 90 at 89.74 with his best run this year a quarter-final appearance at Players Championship 13. His stage form has not been anything special either with early exits at Euro Tour 3, the UK Open and the Players Championship Finals.

The same can’t be said of Clayton. A World Cup winner with his fellow countryman, Gerwyn Price, a runner-up in Euro Tour 2 and a semi-finalist in both the UK Open and the European Championships, he's been in excellent form. His seasonal average of 95.73 is someway superior to that of his opponent and he’s also a strong 180 hitter at 0.27 per leg.

If confidence levels are anything to go by then the buoyant Welshman should head into this match a strong favourite. This will be his fifth appearance in this event and he’ll be hoping to eclipse his best performance, which is a last 32 run. He leads in their head-to-head 4-3 and there’s no doubt for me that Clayton is a better player now than in previous meetings. I expect him to come out on top.

• Score Prediction: Jonny Clayton 3-1 John Henderson
• Suggested Bet: Jonny Clayton to win -1.5 Sets at 10/11

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

More World Darts Championship content

• World Championship draw & schedule
• Chris Hammer's pre-tournament betting tips
• 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
• Sky Bet's darts odds