Sports Blog 30/12/2014: Darts Preview – PDC World Championship Round 3, Tuesday 30th December

Today sees a busy darts schedule as the PDC World Championship wraps up its third round in preparation for the first of the quarter finals on New Year’s Day.

With Michael van Gerwen already set to face Robert Thomton, the other four quarter finals are still to be decided in a day of six darts matches.

In the afternoon session, the first match of the day is at 12.40pm, and sees last year’s runner-up Peter Wright, face Andy Hamilton, who came second in 2012. Our Spreadex clients are fancying Wright to progress further, at a Wright/Hamilton 10-3 Set Supremacy spread betting quote of 8-11. With Wright also at 2/7 fixed odds betting, Hamilton may be worth a punt at 5/2.

Then at 2.15pm there is a potential scalping on offer, as 4th ranked, and 2011’s runner-up, Gary Anderson takes on minnow Cristo Reyes, who is competing in his first PDC World Championship. Reyes won the Iberian Qualifier to get into the tournament, and then shocked everyone to beat Kevin Painter in the second round to become the first ever Spaniard to reach this point in the competition. However, his minor status against Anderson is felt in Spreadex’s Anderson/Reyes 10-3 Set Supremacy spread betting quote of 14.5-17.5, with Reyes 8/1 fixed odds betting to win the match.

The final match-up of the afternoon session is 2011 quarter finalist Vincent van der Voort against Dean Winstanley, who has achieved his best position in the championship this year. The more seasoned of the two players is the favourite here at Spreadex, with a Van der Voort/Winstanley 10-3 Set Supremacy spread betting quote of 0-3.



The evening session then sees three big games that promise to excite for different reasons. First up is what many are calling the choice-pick of the third round, as 2011 and 2012 champion Adrian Lewis faces 2007 champion Raymond van Barneveld at 7.10pm. Van Barneveld almost slipped up in the last round, leaving Lewis the favourite at a Lewis/van Barneveld 10-3 Set Supremacy spread betting quote of 4.5-7.5.

After this is a fan favourite, as the much-lauded Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor faces Kim Huybrechts in an 8.40pm match. Huybrechts’ best ever finish in the competition was the quarter finals in 2012; compare this to 14-time PDC World Champion Taylor, and it is understandable why Spreadex are offering a Taylor/Huybrechts 10-3 Set Supremacy spread betting quote of 12.5-15.5.

The final event of the day is an interesting match, as current BDO World Champion Stephen Bunting goes against underdog Michael Smith at 22.15pm. With the BDO World Championship beginning on the 3rd January, Bunting won’t be there to defend his title as he switched to the PDC for this tournament. As Bunting attempts to become the first player ever to hold both titles at the same time, Spreadex fancies his chances at a Bunting/Smith 10-3 Set Supremacy spread betting quote of 3-6.