David Connelly

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Ahead of World Matchplay in Blackpool this week, we preview each of the 16 first-round matches and reveal the best bet for each matchup in the opening round.
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<h3>(4) Gerwyn Price (-281) vs. Daryl Gurney (+221)</h3>
Gerwyn Price hasn&#8217;t quite gotten the results he has hoped for recently. He is just 4-4 across his past eight matches dating back to June 12 and is a player who seems to lose interest in less important tournaments. His ability to turn up in big moments makes him such a high seed, and we expect him to do the same in the opening round at the World Matchplay. Lay the spread with him against an inferior opponent in Daryl Gurney.
The Pick: Price -2.5 (-122)
&nbsp;
<h3>(8) Jonny Clayton (-165) vs. Raymond van Barneveld (+135)</h3>
Fresh off a Players Championship title last week, Jonny Clayton says he&#8217;s &#8220;got his mojo back" just in time for one of the biggest tournaments of the calendar year. As for Barney, it&#8217;s been a long time since he has made any noise at the World Matchplay. After reaching five consecutive quarterfinals from 2007 to 2011, he has failed to make it past the second round since. He&#8217;s shown some flashes throughout the Players Championships this year, but we&#8217;ll go with The Ferret as the more in-form player.
The Pick: Clayton ML (-165)
&nbsp;
<h3>(1) Luke Humphries (-890) vs. Ricardo Pietreczko (+590)</h3>
After reaching the Premier League Final and helping England capture its first World Cup since 2016, it&#8217;s hard to make the case that anyone other than Luke Humphries is the best player in the world right now. He takes on Ricardo Pietreczko, who has struggled lately. The German is 6-16 across his past 22 matches. We&#8217;ll lay it with Humphries here and expect him to finish the job.
The Pick: Humphries -4.5 (-113)
&nbsp;
<h3>(5) Nathan Aspinall (-205) v Luke Woodhouse (+165)</h3>
The Asp put in a respectable showing at the Players Championships last week, but there has been some concern about an arm injury for the Englishman, which <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8vvOqjYsvo">he pointed out during a press conference last month</a>. He hasn&#8217;t entirely looked like himself since he suffered the setback, and we&#8217;re just wondering if there is a chance for an upset here. Woody hasn&#8217;t been too hot, but getting him at +165 is too nice of a price to pass up on.
The Pick: Woodhouse ML (+165)
&nbsp;
<h3>(13) Ross Smith (-110) vs. Josh Rock (-120)</h3>
Ross Smith has been in rare form as of late, reaching the European Darts Open final last month and taking home the Players Championship 13 title just last week out of a field of 128 players. He is playing some of the best darts of his career but got a difficult draw with up-and-coming Northern Irishman Josh Rock. While Rocky has been hot with a recent win on the European Tour, we have to side with Smith and his generous price here at -110.
The Pick: Ross Smith ML (-110)
&nbsp;
<h3>(12) Danny Noppert (-171) vs. James Wade (+141)</h3>
Danny Noppert has been out of form lately, dropping four of five before falling short of expectations for the Netherlands at the World Cup. James Wade put together just enough at the previous two Players Championships to narrowly find his way into the World Matchplay, and we like the darts he has been playing lately.
The Pick: James Wade ML (+141)
&nbsp;
<h3>(9) Dimitri Van den Bergh (+110) vs. Martin Schindler (-140)</h3>
These players had some superstar moments at the World Cup two weeks back and entered the tournament in solid form. They are incredibly tight in form right now with some elite performances recently, so we will back them to go deep into a narrow shootout with the over.
The Pick: Over 16.5 Legs (-134)
&nbsp;
<h3>(16) Stephen Bunting (-185) vs. Ryan Joyce (+155)</h3>
A fan favorite, Stephen Bunting, looks to replicate the 2019 World Matchplay, the only time he has ever made it past the second round in this event. We expect him to at least reach that second-round cap here. While Ryan Joyce has enjoyed a great season thus far within the Players Championship, he doesn&#8217;t seem too keen on these on-stage events. He has not won a match on the European Tour in over three months. Back The Bullet to find a way to get things done here.
The Pick: Bunting ML (-185)
&nbsp;
<h3>(6) Rob Cross (-205) vs. Gian van Veen (+165)</h3>
Since the U.S. Darts Masters at Madison Square Garden, few in the world have been playing as well as Rob Cross. The former World Champion has the experience, steadiness, and ability to get things done here, while Gian van Veen seems a year or two too early to make a deep run in this event. Back Voltage to advance.
The Pick: Rob Cross ML (-205)
&nbsp;
<h3>(15) Joe Cullen (-115) vs. Brendan Dolan (-115)</h3>
Joe Cullen and Brendan Dolan have been neck-and-neck in their three-dart averages over the past year, within one point of each other, as steady presences within the second tier of the PDC Tour. It makes sense why this is a pick-em ahead of the contest, which leads us toward taking the over on the legs if things will be close throughout the matchup.
The Pick: Over 16.5 Legs (-134)
&nbsp;
<h3>(10) Peter Wright (-160) vs. Andrew Gilding (+130)</h3>
It&#8217;s been challenging to back Peter Wright in 2024, a player who has mightily struggled with his darts, headlined by a dead-last finish in the Premier League. Goldfinger showed some flashes at Players Championship 13, advancing to the quarterfinals and playing solid darts. We&#8217;ll take him at a plus-money price in more of a fade of Snakebite in his current form.
The Pick: Gilding ML (+130)
&nbsp;
<h3>(7) Dave Chisnall (-170) vs. Krzysztof Ratajski (+140)</h3>
Chizzy had been quiet for a while, but a triumph last month at the European Darts Open showed his true recent form. It&#8217;s no surprise that he&#8217;s in the top five in three-dart average over the past two months in the world. While Ratajski remains a fan favorite and a potent scorer on his day, we&#8217;ll back the more steady option in Chisnall here.
The Pick: Chisnall ML (-170)
&nbsp;
<h3>(11) Damon Heta (-115) vs. Ryan Searle (-115)</h3>
As close as Heavy Metal is to entering the elite tier in the world of darts, Damon Heta seems to be a half-step ahead of him and peaking at the right time. Consistency seems to be the biggest struggle for Ryan Searle lately, and it&#8217;s difficult to justify his ability to keep up in this longer format without a consistent scoring output. We&#8217;ll take Heta to advance.
The Pick: Heta ML (-115)
&nbsp;
<h3>(3) Michael Smith (+105) vs. Gary Anderson (-135)</h3>
This is interesting, as Michael Smith is the higher-ranked player but the betting underdog. We&#8217;ll side with the market and back Gary Anderson, as Bully Boy possesses perhaps the lowest floor among the seeded players, displayed in his disastrous performance at the U.S. Darts Masters, where he fell to Canadian Jeff Smith. Back Anderson to get it done.
The Pick: Anderson ML (-135)
&nbsp;
<h3>(2) Michael van Gerwen (+135) vs. Luke Littler (-165)</h3>
Easily the matchup of the opening round, it&#8217;s challenging to pick a side in this battle of the elites on Monday evening. Instead, we&#8217;ll back the over and hope we get fireworks from both in a shootout performance. These two are arguably the best in the world when they are both on their game, and we wouldn&#8217;t be surprised to see tons of averages from the pair in this matchup.
The Pick: Over 16.5 Legs (-134)
&nbsp;
<h3>(14) Chris Dobey vs. Ritchie Edhouse</h3>
Chris Dobey is a hefty favorite here, and it&#8217;s difficult to lay such a steep number with him. With that being the case, we&#8217;ll find a different way to back him to get things done handily, and that&#8217;s with the under on the total. If he can make quick work of Ritchie Edhouse, then this leg total should stay comfortably under.
The Pick: Under 16.5 Legs (-113)
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Ahead of World Matchplay in Blackpool this week, we preview each of the 16 first-round matches and reveal the best bet for each matchup in the opening round.

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