2024 Betfred World Matchplay Day Four Review – Defending Champion Is Out
2024 Betfred World Matchplay Day Four Review – Defending Champion Is Out
A fantastic night at the Winter Gardens saw World Champion Luke Humphries defeat Stephen Bunting, while Gerwyn Price was despatched by Smith
Defending Champion Out
Nathan Aspinall title defence came to an end in a battle against James Wade who defeated 11-8.
The Injury Aspinall seemed to struggle early on and James Wade raced into a 4-0 lead which included a 128 checkout.
It was leg six which sparked some life into The Asp, after winning leg five he then won the sixth in style with a 180 followed by a 109 checkout to close the gap to two and he continued this success winning three of the next four legs to be level at 5-5.
Five straight holds from both players saw Aspinall 8-7 in front, but The Machine went into another gear and four straight legs saw him proceed to the next stage and he will be back on Thursday.
Humphries Does It Again
Luke Humphries secured his spot in the last eight of the Betfred World Matchplay with a 11-8 win over Stephen Bunting.
Six hold of throws before a magnificent 126 from The Bullet, but It’s only a break if you can hold the next leg, and Bullet was unable to with Cool Hand firing in a 13 dart leg.
There was nothing to split the pair and the next break came again for The Bullet for a 6-5 lead, however he was unable to get the hold again as he missed a couple of darts at a double and they seem to affect The Bullet who then lost three legs on the spin and that two leg cushion was what Humphries needed.
2024 World Champion put on the afterburners then, and he made a 102 average look normal in securing his place in the next round and one step closer to the Triple Crown.
Maximum Smith On Fire
Ross Smith produced 13 180’s in victory over Welshman Gerwyn Price 11-9 in the opening game of the second round of the 2024 Betfred World Matchplay.
Nothing separate the two players early on with plenty of missed doubles however, Ross Smith certainly wanted to make his mark on the stage and when he took left five it was a huge roar and a little smile from Gerwyn Price.
Gerwyn Price certainly gave as good as he got and when he took out 114 in the eighth leg to level up proceedings in the early stages of this affair.
Neither of the duo could steal a march, and it was on throw the biggest issue, with 16 legs played and the scores level he had breaks of throw than holds, however it was a crucial hold in the next leg for Ross Smith which nudged him in front.
Price did fire straight back, however it was the relentless 180 hitting from Ross Smith which was the difference in this game hitting 13 in the game and them all coming in the last 15 legs. Ross Smith will be returning to Empress Ballroom on Thursday when he will be competing in a Quarter Final against James Wade.
Dimi Defeats Jonny
Dimitri van den Bergh makes it a double blow for Wales defeating Jonny Clayton
First six legs nothing could split the pair, with Jonny scoring better than Dimi but The Belgian not missing a double. Dimi upped his scoring and with no change in double he raced into a 6-3 lead with Jonny having to battle to make the gap just two before the break.
Every time Jonny Clayton found form it was stopped by Dimi and this was show in leg 13 with a 112 checkout by Dimitri giving him a 8-5 lead.
That was the final the blow for Jonny Clayton and Dimitri will be back to take on the World Champion on Thursday
Each day we will be providing you recommend bets in partnership with Betfred.
Tuesday July 16
Second Round x4
Ross Smith 11-9 Gerwyn Price
James Wade 11-8 Nathan Aspinall
Luke Humphries 11-7 Stephen Bunting
Jonny Clayton 11-5 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Wednesday July 17 (1900 BST)
Second Round x4
Krzysztof Ratajski v Andrew Gilding
Rob Cross v Ryan Searle
Michael Van Gerwen v Joe Cullen
Michael Smith v Chris Dobey
