World Darts Championship: Dutch duo to keep starring as things hot up
Published:There could be much Dutch delight with quarter-final places up for grabs at the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship, with Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld expected to continue their progress through the competition.
Michael Van Gerwen (-2.5) to beat Colin Lloyd @ 4/7
Having beaten Michael van Gerwen eight times in succession, Colin Lloyd is now enduring his own miserable run of six straight defeats against the Dutchman.
Van Gerwin was at his blistering best when coming back from a slow start to beat Peter Wright and anything close to a repeat will see him blow away Lloyd again.
Lloyd has not made it past the last 16 here since 2005 and this run also looks set to continue and Van Gerwen can be expected to overcome a 2.5-set handicap.
Raymond Van Barneveld to beat Gary Anderson @ 8/13
Undoubtedly the tie of the round with two of the top six in the rankings squaring off, but Raymond van Barneveld is the clear form horse of the duo at present.
Having won the Grand Slam of Darts, he demolished Michael Smith at Alexandra Palace in under 20 minutes and was on the verge of another steamroll over Brendan Dolan, until a small blip in the middle of the second round.
He leads the head-to-head record with Anderson, but the Scot should not be underestimated given how well he scored in beating John Bowles, when registering 19 180s.
Van Barneveld has to be backed at the prices, but this could be a classic.
Adrian Lewis to beat Kevin Painter 4-2 @ 7/2
Average is perhaps the best word to describe Adrian Lewis’ progress to round three, as he has been very ordinary in seeing off Gino Vos and Dennis Ovens.
He has lost two of the last three to Kevin Painter, one of which was only last month, but Lewis regularly saves his best for Alexandra Palace and you cannot help but feel that he will turn it up a notch when the situation arises.
Lewis is 8/15 to triumph, with 7/2 looking decent value that he reaches the quarter finals with a 4-2 victory.
All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date
