Football Previews
It’s crunch time in the 2013 PDC Ladbrokes World Darts Championship with four of the world’s in form players taking to the stage this Sunday evening. Michael Van Gerwen takes on James Wade in the first semi-final followed by Phil Taylor against Raymond Van Barneveld. The semi-finals draw is below:
Phil Taylor and Raymond Van Barneveld both enjoyed comfortable wins on Friday evening and are set to face each other for the fourteenth time since 2009. This match is expected to begin at 21:15 GMT+0 depending on when the first match between Michael Van Gerwen and James Wade finishes. History shows us that Phil Taylor has dominated Van Barneveld in recent years winning 13/13 since 2009 with only a few of those matches being decided by a single set.
Current betting odds:
Phil Taylor (8/15) vs Raymond Van Barneveld (6/4)
There are two ways at looking at this match from a betting perspective; The first is side with 15-time world champion Phil Taylor who has history on his side and without doubt Barney will be more than aware of their recent history. The second angle is siding with Van Barneveld based on his recent win in the 2012 Grand Slam of Darts and current run of good form and hope that he can use the negative history between these two players as a positive to “make things right”.
Gamingtips Prediction – Phil Taylor WIN
This match could go either way but given the fact that Phil Taylor has history on his side, has more experience on the Ally Pally stage at crucial stages and the fact that he has hinted at retirement sometime in the next few seasons suggests he is ready to add another World Championship to his long list of trophies. This could very well be Phil Taylor’s last chance to win his favorite tournament.
Michael Van Gerwen takes on James Wade in the first semi-final of the evening in a very interesting match-up. Both players endured 9 sets on Saturday evening and managed to scrape through after potentially going out only by their opponents missing crucial darts. Michael Van Gerwen has been struggling with a foot injury and has said he will be seeing a physio on the morning of the match however his injury did not effect his performance hitting 6 perfect darts in a row leaving himself on a 9-dart finish which he couldn’t finish under the pressure. James Wade has looked very relaxed on stage this week and has said that if he plays how he knows he can, he can beat any player in the world. These players have played just twice in recent years and although both games were close, James Wade has managed to win both.
Bookmakers make this a one-sided affair with Michael Van Gerwen clear favorite.
Current betting odds: Michael Van Gerwen (1/5) vs James Wade (7/2)
Gamingtips Prediction – Michael Van Gerwen WIN
Michael Van Gerwen has been in superb form of late and his narrow win against Adrien Lewis could’ve been a lot more convincing if he didn’t miss so many shots at doubles which he is normally very good at. He outscored Adrien Lewis for most the match and he should be able to outscore James Wade and if he can finish this could be a dominant display. He should definitely be favorite for this match given the fact he defeated last years champion Adrien Lewis but odds of 1/5 are very short and should definitely be avoided. 7/2 odds for James Wade seem reasonable given the fact he has said he hasn’t been playing at his best and there is a chance the James Wade he mentions may turn up and dominate MVG.
Whatever the outcomes are we can be sure that we are in for a treat this Sunday followed by the final on the 1st January 2013.
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