PDC World Darts: Bunting to dismantle the Machine

There’s just four matches left in the second-round of the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, with eight men set to square off for a last-16 berth.

We’re expecting a slew of epic encounters, and we’ve even tipped up an early exit for sixth-seed James Wade.

Here are our best bets for the final batch of second-round matches,

Over 5.5 sets in Raymond van Barneveld v Jamie Caven @ 4/5

Considering he averaged 99.93 as he beat Rowby-John Rodriguez 3-0 in the first round, and even chalked up a 170 finish, there’s a chance Barney could romp into round three without dropping a set.

However, his past matches with Caven have always been tight, with their last four meetings settled by just a single set, and we expect another close affair at Alexandra Palace.

The pair met at this stage last year, when Van Barneveld won 4-3, and betting on the same scoreline at 9/2 might prove a savvy wager.

Stephen Bunting to beat James Wade @ 6/5

The Bullet is aiming to become the first man to win the BDO world championship and then the PDC event in consecutive years, and he could make a major statement about his intentions by knocking out the sixth-seed Wade.

Bunting has already bested the Machine twice this year, most recently in the last 16 of the Grand Slam of Darts, and is a fine bet to upset the odds and progress from this exciting second-round encounter.

Brendan Dolan to beat Michael Smith @ 7/4

Smith has had an excellent 2014, and has fine memories of this stage of the World Championship from last year, when he beat Phil Taylor, but we fancy Dolan’s price is too long here.

The Northern Irishman has played Smith five times this year, and won on four of those occasions, and was impressive in beating South African Nolan Arendse 3-0 in the opening round.

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

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