World Darts Championship Day 5: Could Barney be in trouble tonight?
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Raymond van Barneveld is the star name on show tonight as the 2019 World Darts Championship enters its second week at the Alexandra Palace.
Barney will take on Darius Labanauskas in the round two encounter at the end of the night. Before that there’s three tasty looking first round ties to salivate over.
We’ve previewed them all in our daily darts tips.
Vincent van der Voort v Lourence Ilagan
This might not be as easy as some people think for two-time quarter-finalist van der Voort, who is an odds-on shot at 1/4 to progress.
The Dutchman hasn’t exactly been firing on all cylinders over the last 12 months and has dropped to 37 in the rankings. A quick look at his form in the floor events makes for grim reading.
Contrast that with Ilagan, who has been the dominant force on the Asian Tour, winning four events. That does come with the caveat of easier opponents, but it’s an impressive record nonetheless.
He’s 3/1 to spring a shock, although Over 3.5 Sets looks more a sounder proposition. Both players are big treble 20 hitters, and that could see Over 6.5 180s land at 11/10.
Wayne Jones v Devon Peterson
It’s difficult to see a way through for Devon Peterson against Wayne Jones. The South African has had a torrid year on the tour and accumulated just £4,000 in prize money in the process.
His opponent hasn’t exactly set the world alight. But Jones has at least had a couple of runs to the last-32 and last-16 of tournaments in 2018, which represents a better form line ahead of this one.
Dancing Devon could up his game in front of the Ally Pally crowd at 11/10, although it’s the Jones who is the worthy favourite at 4/6. Under 5.5 180s is 11/10 between two out-of-form men.
Ryan Joyce v Anastasia Dobromyslova
Our traders can’t see a way 1/7 shot Ryan Joyce gets beat by Anastasia Dobromyslova. But we’re here to tell you it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the 9/2 chance causes an upset.
The Russian ace consistently clocked mid-80 averages at the BDO World Championships last year. That should keep her within touching distance of the high-80s to low-90s Joyce tends to post.
Even if From Russia With Love doesn’t upset the odds, she should still be competitive. It’s 4/6 for Over 3.5 Sets, which suggests that the Englishman could eventually run out a 3-1 winner.
Raymond van Barneveld v Darius Labanauskas
After stuttering through the first set against Matthew Edgar last night, Labanauskas turned on the afterburners to win 3-1 and set up a mouthwatering tie with Raymond van Barneveld.
Barney is playing in his penultimate world championship after confirming his decision to retire next year. But Labanauskas will be in no mood for sympathy ahead of their second round clash.
The Lithuanian showed enough in his scoring, and eventually his finishing, to suggest he could trouble RVB. Victory may be beyond him at 13/5, but nicking a set or two is not.
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All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
