Only one market in which to bet on Wade in Matchplay darts final
Published:James Wade may have ended Phil Taylor’s seven-year unbeaten streak at the World Matchplay when winning their semi-final at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, but finding a market in which to back the left-hander against Michael van Gerwen in the final is a challenge.
The Dutch world number one has triumphed in 14 of their last 15 showdowns, which not only includes all of the last eight, but also a 7-0 whitewash in the Premier League this season.
In fact from their four meetings in 2015, Van Gerwen’s aggregate success is 26-10.
Therefore, Mighty Mike is tough to oppose at 1/4 to win the World Matchplay for the first time and 1/1 is also a fair price that he does so even if giving up a six-leg headstart in this race to 18.
Alongside his clear head-to-head dominance, Van Gerwen also trumps Wade in many of the critical darts departments in this tournament. He has a higher checkout success, has thrown over double the number of 180s and owns a superior three-dart scoring average.
It is no surprise that Van Gerwen is 1/9 to outscore Wade in terms of maximums and this has to be considered the biggest betting banker on offer.
In terms of finding a positive bet on Wade, options do appear limited.
However, there could be some mileage in the 5/4 that Wade registers the highest checkout in the match.
For all of Van Gerwen’s heavy scoring in the four previous rounds, he has not been especially consistent with big finishes.
The Dutchman did check out 156 against Ian White in the quarter finals, but from his three other matches, his top finish is 116.
Wade has not been as accurate with his doubles on the whole, but in three of his four victories so far, his highest finish has been at least 120.
A similar top finish here could be enough to land the profits at 5/4.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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