Polly James previews a potentially mouth-watering evening of darts at The Winter Gardens, with former World Champions Gary Anderson, Michael Smith and Michael Van Gerwen all in action on Day 3 of The World Matchplay in Blackpool.
The World Matchplay: Monday Preview
We’ll start with the Aussie number 1 taking on Heavy Metal to kick off proceedings at Winter Gardens. For me this is close call, an evenly matched tie which makes for a great battle and hopefully a lot of drama. Heta reached the quarter finals last year and lost to Luke Humphries, where on the other side of the draw, Searle also reached the quarters losing to Jonny Clayton.
You might remember that Heavy Metal hadn’t booked extra days in his hotel, so, I wonder if has made longer reservations for this year in case he runs deep again? When it comes to number crunching for a closer look, two of the last four matches between them have gone to a deciding leg, while Heta got the better of Searle in their most recent meeting in a close 6-5 victory.
The World Matchplay: Monday Matches
Damon Heta v Ryan Searle
Gary Anderson v Michael Smith
Luke Littler v Michael van Gerwen
Chris Dobey v Ritchie Edhouse
Two former world champions square up next in another mouth-watering round one tie. Gary Anderson will be hoping to get his hands back on the Phil Taylor Trophy for a second time, having done so previously in 2018. Bully Boy, fresh off the back of World Cup success with England with Luke Humphries, stands in his way and it is very much a Master v Apprentice’ vibe at The Winter Gardens. Whilst Michael Smith is be looking to make a statement in Blackpool and add the World Matchplay crown to his CV, evergreen Gary Anderson continues to show age is but a number and The Flying Scotsman and his legions of fans can roar into the last 16 .
The World Matchplay: Battle of the Heavyweights
MvG and Luke Littler are next and is easily the standout clash of the opening round of the 2024 World Matchplay. It does mean will see one of the these two heavyweights bow out early doors in the competition. Despite Michael’s pedigree at Winter Gardens being the only man in the field to have won the title multiple times, I feel Luke Littler’s wave might be too tough to ride on this occasion.
Both have struggled for form as of late, but the crowd is sure to be on Luke the Nuke’s side and I’m taking him to nick a likely close encounter at The Winter Gardens. You forget that 12 months ago he was relatively unknown in the sport, and now he’s box office with a World Championship Final and a Premier League of Darts Title to his name already. I will thoroughly enjoy this one and will tip The Nuke to take glory, just!
The World Matchplay: Hollywood Star
Finally, as we catch our breathe after MvG/Littler we have the last first-round match to be played which sees Chris Dobey go up against a very impressive Ritchie Edhouse of late. Edhouse is one of five debutants in this year’s star-studded 32-player field. He has had a brilliant year on the Pro Tour and has been rewarded with a place in the Matchplay for the first time in his career. I’m so looking forward to watching him play and while he will be out to ruffle a few feathers, Hollywood is likely to prove far too strong.
Polly’s Tips: Chris Dobey, Luke Littler and Gary Anderson all to win @ 3.29 with kwiff
By Polly James
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