This weekend will be our final chance to see the World Championship contenders fighting it out on the big stage. The winner of this tournament has went on to win the 'Big One'on three of the last 5 years , so its should not be taken lightly as a big performance here could see them being taken very seriously next month.
The first round of The Players Championship Finals is best of 11 legs.
Robert Thornton hasn't had much going for him recently. He had an dismal Grand Slam tournament which resulted in three defeats in the group stages, but the bare result doesn't tell the whole story as he averaged 90+ in all of the matches and even managed a 97 average against Vincent van der Voort. 'The Thorn' will face Darren Webster in the first round, a match that he will be favourite to win considering he has won all five of their previous meetings. The draw has been kind as he will avoid Phil Talylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and James Wade until the Semi Finals if all win accordingly. The Scotsman will feel he is due a good run in a tournament and I feel that this could be his chance.
Benito van de Pas faces Peter Wright in the first round this weekend. 'Snakebite' Wright has not been anywhere near the form that he showed this time last year when he went all the way to the final in the World Championship although he came 2nd in a tournament last weekend. Van de Pas is capable of an upset here and will fancy his chances against either Andy Hamilton or Vincent van der Voort in the 2nd round if he is successful on Friday. He could meet Wade in the Quarter Finals but his price of 250/1 is very big considering his talent which has saw him claim the scalps of Newton, Pipe, Thornton, van Gerwen and van der Voort in recent months.
Simon Whitlock is another player who is capable of more than he has been producing lately but the draw has been kind to him this weekend. He may meet Wade in the 2nd round but if he can get over that obstacle then he will have a relatively easy Quarter Final match. His record against World Number 5 James Wade is impressive as he has won 19/33 meetings (57%) . He has drawn Dean Winstanley in the 1st round and the Aussie has the better of him in the head-to-heads winning 4/6.
Stephen Bunting is a regular on the blog. He is the current BDO World Champion and since his switch to the PDC in January, he has flew up the World Rankings to number 27 defeating many of the top players along the way including a 10-9 win over Phil Taylor in the European Championships last month. The man from St Helens is up against World Number 21 Steve Beaton and in the only previous meeting between the pair, Bunting won 6-2 in February. A stiffer task lies ahead in the latter stages as he will likely face Gary Anderson in the last 16 and Phil Taylor in the Quarter Finals but his high scoring and great checkouts will help him overcome any challenges he will face.
Predictions:
Robert Thornton - 35/1
Benito van de Pas - 250/1
Simon Whitlock - 33/1
Stephen Bunting - 22/1
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