Wade and Lewis can start Match Play round two with runaway wins

The first round is now over at the Darts World Match Play and it is obvious which game dominates the opening night’s action in the second round, as former finalists Raymond Van Barneveld steps up to the oche to face Terry Jenkins.

However, there are four matches making up the night’s play, with James Wade and Adrian Lewis expected to enjoy simple passages into round three.

Steve Beaton to beat Michael Van Gerwin @ 13/8

Both players sprung surprises in the opening round, with Beaton getting the better of Kevin Painter and Van Gerwin arguably securing the greater shock against Simon Whitlock.

But Beaton’s scoring was far superior and he has typically performed better of the duo when in front of the television cameras.

James Wade (-5.5 games) to beat Mark Walsh @ 5/6

Walsh took Wade to the wire at the same stage of the Match Play last year when going down 13-11, but the victory margin can be far greater this time.

He blitzed out of the blocks to beat Richie Burnett in the opening round and Walsh will struggle to take any more legs than this if failing to improve on his average of less than 90 in his first encounter.

Wade has prevailed in the last four between the pair, likes the Match Play format and is by far the better in terms of consistent big scoring and taking out finishes.

Terry Jenkins (+3.5 games) to beat Raymond Van Barneveld @ 8/11

This game has every possibility of being close and it would be no surprise to see extra legs required to find a winner.

Seven of their last nine encounters and all of the last four have been won by no more than two legs and this bet will obviously be successful if this run continues.

Jenkins also has nothing to lose, as arguably he should have been dumped out in the first round when battling back from 9-5 behind to beat Kim Huybrechts.

Adrian Lewis (-5.5 games) to beat Andy Smith @ 5/6

Having whitewashed an in-form Robert Thornton 10-0 in the opening round, things can realistically only go downhill for Lewis, but another heavy success can still be expected against Smith.

Smith is not in the best current form and his victory against Paul Nicholson in the first round was in a game of a relatively low standard for this level.

13-0 may be too much to expect, but 10/1 could be worth a small wager that Lewis prevails 13-3.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.