There was high drama last night with Stephen Bunting needing to win four legs in the final match to qualify, but in the end, he could only manage two, meaning Mike de Decker made it through to the last-eight. I had expected De Decker to play well and he duly delivered.
In Day 3 of the playoffs tonight Gary Anderson is the main attraction, with “Cool Hand” Luke Humphries also in action.
Gary Anderson v Nick Kenny
Tonight’s opener pits together two players who have a 100% record in this competition. Welshman Kenny is ranked outside the top 100, so I’m expecting a comfortable win for the former World Champion. Anderson to have the most 180s, highest checkout and to win the match is 2/1.
Luke Humphries v Jamie Lewis
I quite fancy Luke Humphries to win the group tonight as even though it took him two attempts to qualify, he played well the first time he went out and was fantastic second time around with one of the highest averages in the tournament so at around 101.
Humphries has won both the previous meetings, so I’m backing him all the way here with a 6-3 win.
Nick Kenny v Jamie Lewis
This could be the tightest match of the night. Nick Kenny is the underdog, but he has won the last two meetings against his Welsh opponent, even though Jamie Lewis was a World Championship semi-finalist a couple of years ago. Kenny to cause an upset though @ 11/10.
Gary Anderson v Luke Humphries
The match of the night. They played recently in the Premier League in Exeter and Humphries won 7-5 in a good match. I’m backing Humphries the underdog to win @ 13/8 and knock Anderson out.
Luke Humphries v Nick Kenny
Humphries lost to Kenny 5-3 during his first attempt to qualify so will definitely be motivated after that and out for revenge. I’m backing Humphries in this one for a 6-4 win @ 9/2.
Jamie Lewis v Gary Anderson
Looking at the head-to-head record, Gary has only lost once to Jamie Lewis in eight meetings and the last time they played Anderson destroyed Lewis 6-2. I think there could be a repeat of that performance tonight, so I’m tipping Gary to win again 6-2.
My top three bets
1 – Gary Anderson to have the most 180s, highest checkout and to win the match against Nick Kenny @ 2/1
2 – Luke Humphries to beat Jamie Lewis 6-3 @ 9/2
3 – Demolition job from Gary Anderson on Jamie Lewis 6-2 @ 11/2
- All prices correct at time of first publishing