World Darts Championship: Easy progress for Lewis and Whitlock
Published:Getting to see two of the leading challengers for the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship is a perk for fans at the evening session on day eight at Alexandra Palace and there looks little danger in either Adrian Lewis or Simon Whitlock being sent packing.
However, Wes Newton is in more danger in the evening opener against Scott Rand.
Scott Rand to beat Wes Newton @ 6/4
It is never a bad thing to save your best for the World Championship, but Scott Rand managed this when averaging 97 in the first round when upsetting Kim Huybrechts.
Whether he can repeat this remains to be seen, but he has won each of his last three showdowns with Wes Newton, including both in 2012.
If Newton produces his best he will win, but he has had a quiet few weeks and there is a chance of an upset here.
Simon Whitlock to beat Colin Osborne 4-2 @ 11/4
Interestingly, this pair only managed four 180s between them in the first round and as a result some may be tempted by the 1/1 that there are no more than eight maximums here.
In terms of picking a winner, Whitock is the better player and has triumphed in each of the last five encounters between the two.
In both meetings this year, Osborne has lost 6-3 and so punters looking for some value may want to back him to score half the Whitlock total again and plump for a 4-2 win for the Wizard.
Adrian Lewis to beat Dennis Ovens 4-0 @ 13/8
A somewhat surprising statistic is that Dennis Ovens has won three of his last four meetings with Adrian Lewis, but this streak over the world champion of the last two years will not extend here.
Ovens was gutsy, but not particularly inspiring in his victory over rising German prospect Max Hopp and has been struggling with a condition in the last year that causes numbness, alongside shoulder and neck pain.
Lewis admits he was below par in the first round, but now should be able to settle down as he bids for a third straight title.
1/14 is not much of a price for the Lewis victory, but there may prove some mileage that he dismantles Ovens 4-0.
All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date
