Stan James' Head of PR Charlie McCann previews the up and coming World Matchplay darts tournament and goes through the specials that his firm have on offer for the prestigious event.
The StanJames.com World Matchplay which begins on Saturday July 17th is one of the highlights of the darts year with the 32 best players in the world going head-to-head in the magnificent amphitheatre that is the Winter Gardens’ Blackpool. Ten-time Champion Phil Taylor remains the one to beat and after his two nine-darters in the Premier League Final he is arguably in the form of his life.
A number of players have hit nine-darters on the floor this year, Raymond Van Barneveld achieved the feat in the World Championship at the beginning of the year and Mervyn King in the UK Open and the 4/7 on offer with StanJames.com for no nine-darters throughout the nine days of the tournament is surely too short.
Yes there has only been one nine-darter in the history of the StanJames.com Matchplay when Phil Taylor won £100,000 back in 2002 but with the competition intense and all 32 players capable of the perfect leg then I think the value lies elsewhere.
The statistics say I am daft but I honestly think the 50/1 on offer with ourselves at StanJames.com for there to be three or more this year is worth a very small interest. I can see very few matches (except those involving Phil Taylor perhaps) being uncompetitive and The Power each year informs me he is gunning for another nine-darter. We now know that if he gets one he can easily get two and at 50/1 we only need Phil to catch fire one night and those odds could look very attractive.
We are also asking punters how many maximum 170 check-outs do you think there will be in the competition this year? There wasn’t one in 2009 and we bet 10/11 that there is 0 or 1 and 10/11 2 or more. It’s not a bet I would get involved in but the logic is if the ties are going to be competitive and the standard high then 2 or more 170 finishes at 10/11 may attract some interest.
My second recommendation would be recent UK Open finalist Gary Anderson to win the third quarter at 15/8 with StanJames.com. Anderson ought to have too much for his fellow Scot Robert Thornton in the first round and then is taken to confirm his recent win at the Reebok over Merv King in the last 16. King hit a nine-darter against Anderson but the Scot showed his growing maturity by landing the deciding leg against the throw. It is likely that a ¼ final clash against Aussie Simon Whitlock will follow but now that Anderson has reached the Final of a Sky event he can take his game to another level.
World Matchplay 2010 ~ Outright Tournament, (place terms: 1/2 the first 2)
2-5 Taylor, Phil
12 Wade, James
14 Whitlock, Simon
14 Anderson, Gary
18 Barneveld, Raymond
33 Lewis, Adrian
33 King, Mervyn
50 Nicholson, Paul
66 Hamilton, Andy
66 Jenkins, Terry
66 Lloyd, Colin
66 Baxter, Ronnie
66 Osborne, Colin
80 Walsh, Mark
80 Webster, Mark
80 Stompe, Co
100 Tabern, Alan
100 Thornton, Robert
100 Caven, Jamie
100 Ovens, Denis
100 Van Der Voort, Vincent
100 Newton, Wes
125 Painter, Kevin
150 Klaasen, Jelle
150 Jones, Wayne
150 Dudbridge, Mark
150 Beaton, Steve
175 Priestley, Dennis
200 Bates, Barrie
200 Smith, Andy
400 Brown, Steve
400 Eccles, Tony
World Matchplay Quarter Betting 2010 ~ Quarter 1
10-11 Wade, James
5 Baxter, Ronnie
6 Osborne, Colin
10 Van Der Voort, Vincent
14 Caven, Jamie
16 Priestley, Dennis
16 Jones, Wayne
25 Smith, Andy
World Matchplay Quarter Betting 2010 ~ Quarter 2
5-2 Barneveld, Raymond
3 Lewis, Adrian
6 Hamilton, Andy
9 Stompe, Co
9 Webster, Mark
10 Tabern, Alan
10 Ovens, Denis
10 Newton, Wes
World Matchplay Quarter Betting 2010 ~ Quarter 3
15-8 Anderson, Gary
15-8 Whitlock, Simon
5 King, Mervyn
8 Jenkins, Terry
16 Thornton, Robert
20 Klaasen, Jelle
25 Eccles, Tony
25 Brown, Steve
World Matchplay Quarter Betting 2010 ~ Quarter 4
2-9 Taylor, Phil
14 Nicholson, Paul
16 Lloyd, Colin
16 Walsh, Mark
25 Painter, Kevin
28 Dudbridge, Mark
33 Beaton, Steve
50 Bates, Barrie
World Matchplay 2010 Specials ~ Total 9-Dart Finishes In Tournament
4-7 None
6-4 1
9 2
50 3 Or More
World Matchplay 2010 Specials ~ Total 180's In Tournament
11-8 Under 255
11-8 Over 268
11-4 Between 255 - 268 Inc
World Matchplay 2010 Specials ~ Total 180's In 1st Round
5-4 Under 103
13-8 Over 112
5-2 Between 103 - 112 Inc
Total Maximum 170 Check-Outs In Tournament
10-11 Over 1.5
10-11 Under 1.5
World Matchplay 2010 Specials ~ what’ll be Highest Check-Out In 1st Round?
EV Over 161
13-8 Under 158
7-2 Between 158 - 161 Inc
What'll Be the Championship Winning Double?
7-4 Any Other (Inc Bull)
2 Double 20
3 Double 16
8 Double 10
8 Double 8
World Matchplay 2010 Specials ~ Phil Taylor's Best 3-Dart Match Average
4-7 Under 114.1
5-4 Over 114.1
World Matchplay 2010 Specials ~ Phil Taylor's 3-Dart Tournament Average
5-6 Over 105.1
5-6 Under 105.1
StanJames.com World Matchplay 1st round matches:
V Van Der Voort 4/6 v D Priestley 6/5
C Osborne 4/7 v W Jones 11/8
R Van Barneveld 4/11 v D Ovens 2/1
R Baxter 4/7 v J Caven 11/8
A Hamilton 4/6 v C Stompe 6/5
A Lewis 8/15 v M Webster 6/4
J Wade ¼ v A Smith 11/4
A Tabern 10/11 v W Newton 10/11
T Jenkins 4/11 v S Brown 2/1
S Whitlock 2/11 v T Eccles 7/2
R Thornton 5/2 v G Anderson 2/7
M King 4/11 v J Klaasen 2/1
C Lloyd 8/11 v K Painter 11/10
M Walsh 4/7 v M Dudbridge 11/8
P Taylor 1/25 v B Bates 9/1
P Nicholson 8/15 v S Beaton 6/4
