Darts World Matchplay tips: Dobey to upset Smith, Van Gerwen finding his form
- George Dempsey
- 17 July 2024
The PDC World Matchplay at Winter Gardens continues on Wednesday as Michael Van Gerwen and Chris Dobey look to reach the quarter-finals.
Tuesday produced a perfect set of results for our World Matchplay tips, as Ross Smith and James Wade produced wins, and Luke Humphries won by four legs.
The evening was rounded off perfectly by Jonny Clayton and Dimitri van den Berg, who produced 11 180s in 16 legs.
We’re back at it on Wednesday with four more World Matchplay tips.
Wednesday’s World Matchplay tips
Krzysztof Ratajski vs Andrew Gilding
We’re going to take a small risk and back Ratajski to win by a fair margin. No one produced a more decisive first-round win than the Pole, and he can produce the average required to give himself the chance to pull away.
Gilding played well above his yearly average in his last outing and given his tendency to disappoint at major events, you can make a case for this being a fairly routine 11-6 or 11-7 win.
Rob Cross vs Ryan Searle
Despite producing a 100 average against Gian van Veen, Rob Cross snuck through by the skin of his teeth, surviving six match darts to win 13-12. Ryan Searle fared much better as he thrashed Damon Heta with a 101 average.
We think Heavy Metal will be the more relaxed of the two on Wednesday and if he finds a similar groove and puts Voltage under pressure, he should be able to keep this match close.
Michael van Gerwen vs Joe Cullen
Michael van Gerwen has endured a challenging season so far, and we thought he would crash out against Luke Littler. However, MVG performed well, producing a 101.9 average. He wasn’t at his best, but it was a step in the right direction.
Joe Cullen is a capable scorer and he’ll punish the Dutchman if he lets his standards slip. That said, the Rockstar has been struggling for consistency, so there is the potential for Van Gerwen to pull away.
Michael Smith vs Chris Dobey
Michael Smith is the bookmaker’s favourite to win this match and the fourth favourite to win the World Matchplay. It may be true that his skillset makes him more likely to go all the way, but Chris Dobey can beat him in a one-off match.
Dobey won five of six meetings with Smith in 2023, including an 11-7 victory at this tournament. Not only that, Hollywood has been in good form recently, and he won’t buckle under pressure if Smith does nudge ahead.
