The upsets continue to rain at Alexandra Palace as two-time champion Adrian Lewis fell to qualifier Kevin Munch. Two of the best players in world take to the stage on Wednesday night when the quick-throwing Michael Smith plays Steve Lennon and Australia’s Simon Whitlock takes on Martin Schlinder.
Will there be another upset on the cards with one of the top seeds bowing out of the World Championship? Or will Smith and Whitlock rightfully dispose of their inferior opposition? That’s the beauty of the PDC World Championships. Nothing is guaranteed and bettors love it.
Michael Smith vs. Steve Lennon form and tips
We have been big fans and supporters of Michael Smith since the “Bully Boy” burst onto the world darts stage, but we have been disappointed with his recent form attitude. The #13 ranked player has slowly slipped down the rankings and recent losses haven’t helped his cause. He lost to Jan Dekker at the Players Championship in the first round and that sort of defeat isn’t going to win over fans or bettors.
His only recent win came over the unranked Mark McGeeney at the Grand Slam before he lost to Gary Anderson in the quarter finals. He’s a quick player which can be to his detriment most of the time and we believe if he slows down a touch, he’ll be a much more composed player. Facing the #66 ranked player in Steve Lennon should help his cause. Lennon has defeated only regular tour players in recent months and his losses against the big guns were one-sided. He lost to Michael van Gerwen 10-3 at the Grand Slam and 5-2 to Raymond van Barneveld. Michael Smith isn’t quite up to that standard, but he’s still one of the best players in the world. Bookmakers are treading cautiously with Smith, knowing that he can lose to any player no matter what the rankings say, but we’ll back him in for this game. Smith is currently 2/5 at Ladbrokes to win the match, which is a fair price.
Simon Whitlock vs. Martin Schlinder form and tips
Martin Schlinder is an emerging talent who has worked his way to be ranked #75, but this would be his biggest career win. The German player is coming off three consecutive losses since beating John Bowles on the European Tour, but during that time he managed to take four legs off Peter Wright and two from Michael van Gerwen. That might not sound like a great result, but it shows that he can hold his throw against the best in the world and we’re hoping he’ll get over his 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Robert Cross in October.
The results for Simon Whitlock haven’t been all too great in recent times either. The Australian has lost his last five of six games, which came immediately following a good form patch.
During his losing streak he has suffered humiliating defeats against some unranked players and Martin Schlinder could provide another strong test. Neither player is going well enough to back outright and the 2/7 for Whitlock is far too short, so recommend taking Martin Schlinder +1.5 sets at 6/5.
PDA World Championship form players
Michael van Gerwen will remain the favorite as long as he’s in the tournament, but bettors could find value with the form players of the competition. Rob Cross is one of the form players currently and he has rocketed up the PDC rankings after spending plenty of time in the BDO. Cross hasn’t escaped the sights of bettors as a 12/1 chance and we think he’s great value at those odds to win the tournament.
Daryl Gurney (28/1) is another long-shot chance. He has a stack of confidence and he has major winning experience. Temperamental at times, Gurney can be tough to watch, but he’s a real talent.