Darts Tips
19:15: Jermaine Wattimena v Luke Littler – Wattimena highest checkout
20:45: Gary Anderson v Gian van Veen – van Veen to win
WHERE: WV Active Aldersley, Wolverhampton
WHEN: November 9-17th
TV: Sky Sports Mix
Jermaine Wattimena v Luke Littler – Wattimena highest checkout
Having come through the tournament’s best game and arguably the match of the year against Mike De Decker, Luke Littler is now the runaway favourite to lift the Eric Bristow Trophy on Sunday evening.
The Nuke came from 8-4 down to win 10-9, a scoreline that Jermaine Wattimena also managed as he survived eight match darts to defeat Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Wattimena was the runner-up at the European Championship last month and beat world number one Luke Humphries on his way to the final.
But the oddsmakers give the Dutchman little chance against his quarter-final opponent.
The Machine Gun’s round-of-16 victory was low-quality, and it isn’t easy to envisage him sticking with Littler over a best-of-31 format. The 5.5-leg handicap is a big spread, but with good reason.
Littler’s scoring is off the scale in Wolverhampton. He hits more than one maximum per leg, contributing to a first-nine darts average of 116.57, while Wattimena’s is below a ton.
All pro-Littler angles offer scant value, so the best route into this tie looks to be the highest checkout market. Wattimena has had big finishes at important times throughout the Grand Slam, including a 160 in his opening night win over De Decker and a 126 against Van den Bergh.
He has won the highest checkout match-up in each of his four games thus far, and he will certainly need to take those sorts of half-chances if he is to have any hope on Saturday.
Gary Anderson v Gian van Veen – van Veen to win
Remarkably, this is the only quarter-final in which both participants are ranked in the top 32. It is also the closest in terms of odds but not as tight as I expected, as Gary Anderson is installed as the clear favourite.
Gian van Veen has been the best player in the competition up to press. He has made it to the last eight without breaking a sweat and suffered no dip in standards as he transitioned from best of nine to best of 19.
It is a huge jump to best of 31, something he has never experienced, but it has been a long time since Anderson succeeded in such a lengthy match. His last semi-final appearance in an individual major was the 2022 World Championship.
The format will ask questions of both, so the fact that we get such a generous price on the man who has scored and finished comfortably better than the other during the tournament is too good an opportunity to refuse.
Grand Slam of Darts betting tips
19:15: Jermaine Wattimena v Luke Littler – Wattimena highest checkout
20:45: Gary Anderson v Gian van Veen – van Veen to win
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
READ MORE
- Check out Darts Betting Tips and previews at Paddy Power News
- Paddy Power World Darts Championship odds: Luke Humphries the early favourite
- Paddy confirms £1m donation to Prostate Cancer UK
The Paddy Power Guide To Safer Gambling – Everything You Need To Know
