Phil Taylor has triumphed at the World Matchplay 15 times since its inaugural edition back in 1994. and 'The Power' has also lifted the trophy for the past 7 years on the bounce, the last time he lost was way back in 2007 against Terry Jenkins, only the sixth time he has lost on the Blackpool stage.
Taylor started the tournament 2nd favourite only behind World Number 1 Michael van Gerwen who is chasing his first ever World Matchplay title. 'The Power' began this campaign with an impressive 10-4 win over John Henderson then he followed this performance up with a 13-6 win over Andy Hamilton with an average of 99.37, a typical early round display from Taylor and you can be assured he will rise his standard for the upcoming rounds.
Dave Chisnall looked a bit out of sorts in his latest match against young star Keegan Brown, we know that 'Chizzy' is always liable to snatch a few of his darts during his matches, but on this occasion his arm seemed very tight and there was more snatching going on than usual. He still managed to squeeze through that match 13-11 with a 96 average, but I would think that the St Helens man will have fixed this problem when he plays the 16 time World Champion.
This match has 180s written all over it. 'Chizzy' is a maximum scoring machine and Phil Taylor is...well...Phil Taylor. There is also a good chance that there will be some 2 treble checkouts and it wouldn't surprise me if we seen a 170 checkout from these two top players.
The pair know each other very well as they have met 25 times in the past but its Phil Taylor who leads this particular statistic 18-7. The last time they met was back in May during a Pro Tour event in Barnsley and Chizzy won this bout 6-5.
Taylor is a deserved favourite for this match due to his nack for winnning over a long format which requires an extreme amount of concentration over a prolonged period of tme but, Chisnall will push him all the way. I honestly can't see Taylor wiping the floor of 'Chizzy' and don't be surprised if the unthinkable happens, Taylor losing.
Match Prediction: Phil Taylor 16-13 Dave Chisnall
Phil Taylor over 7.5 180s
James Wade vs Mensur Suljovic
First things first, I am a Suljovic fan. He has beat every person on the tour before and is quite possibly, along with Justin Pipe, the most frustrating player in the world to play against. He has a slow throw which is bad enough, but he also loves letting his feelings be known with a slow walk to the board while throwing his arms about and most annoying thing is how long he takes before a double to compose himself, but I love it! Known as 'The Gentle', Mensur gives the best players about such a hard time, not to mention his double 14 hitting is very good. He doesn't allow them to walk up to the oche, reel of 6 legs, then walk off, he makes them really work for their wins. His form of late has been good, in 2015 he has reached 6 Quarter Finals and reached a Semi Final on the Pro Tour, but the most impressive form has been that of the past week. His first round match was against Terry Jenkins where he averaged just shy of 90 and despite this low average, he was able to get the job done against an experienced veteran. The 2nd round seen him up against the World Champion and triple-crown chasing Gary Anderson. Nobody gave the Austrian a chance, but he pulled off the biggest upset of recent times by winning 13-9 with a 95 average to progress.
James Wade, the last man to win this event that isn't Phil Taylor, can be described in one word. Efficient. It sums up his game perfectly and is why he is nicknamed 'The Machine' as he gets the job done without many 180s or much jumping around the stage. He is quite possibly the best player in the world at checking out anything between 100 and 130 and his double 20 and double 10 hitting is impeccable. His first round match was against Australian Kyle Anderson where Wade was looking a bit shaky at times, but that was due to the brilliance of Anderson. It took a 103 average to win the match 10-7 and set up a 2nd round match with Brendan Dolan which he won comfortably 13-8.
Wade showed that he is capable of dealing with slow and awkward players when he beat Dolan in the last round and to be honest, Wade isn't the quickest player either. He is very methodical with his play and doesn't rely on rhythm so Sujovic's style shouldn't annoy 'The Machine' at all, but on the other hand, I could see Mensur's being rattled by some big checkouts by Wade and this could effect his game. I don't expect a walkover, but with regret, I must say that I think this is the end of the road for Mensur Suljovic.
Match Prediction: James Wade 16-9 Mensur Suljovic
Under 10.5 match 180s
Wade Highest Checkout over 125.5
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