ITV GRAND SLAM OF DARTS – Second round predictions
Based on yesterday^s predictions we have established the following second round games as likely to happen.
Second Round.
Phil Taylor vs Tony O^Shea.
The number one player in the PDC meets the number one player in the BDO and the various merits of both codes will no doubt come under the microscope. O^Shea seems a decent bloke and clearly knows how to throw a dart. However in Taylor he meets darts very own G.O.A.T - that^s the greatest of all time to you and me. Only one winner here.
Winner – Phil Taylor.
Colin Osborne vs Vincent van der Voort.
Phil Taylor aside most players have a player who has something of the Indian sign over them. Unfortunately for Osborne - certainly in the big games, his own personal voodoo man is Vincent van der Voort. However the current Champions League of Darts player winner is taken to reverse the form book and progress in this one.
Winner - Osborne.
Mervyn King vs John Part.
A flip of the coin - as two talented and experienced players butt heads - it will be who wants it more on the day and it^s the more naturally teanacious King who is given the nod - especially as Part has had by his own standards a poor year.
Winner - King.
Raymond van Barneveld vs Darryl Fitton.
Van Barneveld seems on a personal quest to reinvent the wheel with his constant changes of flights, darts, stems and so on. If he stops the tinkering and gets back to basics he is a match for anyone. Fitton has had an anonymous kind of year and there is little to suggest he has the game to trouble the Dutchman.
Winner - van Barneveld.
Simon Whitlock vs Steve Beaton.
Six months ago the Australian battler Whitlock would have been the tip, but from nowhere Beaton has rolled back the years to string some fine results together. His fluid action has always been one of the best in the game and an in-form Beaton is taken to progress to the next round.
Winner - Beaton.
Gary Anderson vs Scott Waites.
Anderson^s power scoring is his biggest asset and he has the armoury to blow away Waites, who was selected for a second round slot on the basis that group rival Wayne Mardle is out of form and that the more naturally gifted Ted Hankey would react badly to the raucous PDC crowd.
Winner - Anderson.
Adrian Lewis vs Andy Hamilton.
Lewis has the slicker moves but Hamilton is a street fighter and a great clash of styles should ensue. If Lewis gets in front he will hard to beat - but he will not want a battle with a dog of war like ^Hammer^.
Winner - Lewis.
James Wade vs Terry Jenkins.
If Wade brings the A game to the oche then he will win, but recent big tournament defeats to wise old heads like Dennis Priestley, Peter Manley and Steve Beaton suggest that an old fox like Jenkins would be best approached with due care and attention.
Winner - Wade.
Quarter-Finals
Phil Taylor vs Colin Osborne.
Osborne^s darting evolution continues and he will be very close to a Premier League slot come 2010. With his calm persona and slim physique he is the embodiment of the modern dart player. However can he beat darts greatest ever over a best of 19 leg format ? - in a word - no. Though at the moment no one else can either.
Winner - Taylor.
Mervyn King vs Raymond van Barneveld.
King has often stalled at the latter stages of big tournaments when faced with Taylor, Wade, or van Barneveld. If van Barneveld traps out he wins, if he doesn^t and the head shaking starts then King will win the day. Much will depend on the mood of the Dutchman. Either way neither will fancy meeting Taylor in the next round.
Winner - van Barneveld.
Steve Beaton vs Gary Anderson.
Beaton^s recent return to form has been impressive but tellingly away from the TV cameras. At the televised World Grand Prix, when faced with an opponent he should have taken care of in Jacko Barry, he allowed the bullish home crowd and dogged Irishman Barry to win the day. Against a quality player like Anderson a less than A game Adonis will be be on his way home.
Winner - Anderson.
Adrian Lewis vs James Wade.
Sooner or later Lewis will come of age. A more deliberate throwing style as witnessed at the World Grand Prix is a definite step forward and only a few crucial missed doubles saw him defeated by his mentor Taylor. A similar approach from the young Stoke based star could see Wade - whose recent form has been patchy by his own high standards severely tested.
Winner - Lewis.
Semi-Finals.
Phil Taylor vs Raymond van Barneveld.
Darts very own clash of the titans has lost a little of its appeal as Taylor has found a sixth gear which has taken him off into the stratosphere. The Dutchman seems unable to work out how to keep up with his great rival and recent form suggests the puzzle for now remains unsolved.
Winner - Taylor.
Gary Anderson vs Adrian Lewis.
Lewis seemed to have the game to beat Anderson on the evidence of their recent clash in Ireland at the WGP. It could also be argued that he won the battle of the mind games as he also rattled the Scotsman enough into complaining to referee Russ Bray early in the game. Anderson won^t let it happen again and he will both be better prepared and miffed at being pushed into losing his cool. Despite this Lewis is tipped to edge a classic and make his first major final.
Winner - Lewis.
Final.
Phil Taylor vs Adrian Lewis.
Is seeing Taylor wining everything boring, or is it a pleasure to watch a genius at work ? There will be plenty of dart fans who agree with both arguments. Either way Taylor won^t care a jot what people think and he will return home to the Potteries with another trophy and a 100k cheque in his pocket.
The bad news for his rivals being that when the trophy is placed on his mantelpiece and the cheque is put in the bank, it will be straight back on the practice board for the World Championship finals.
Lewis can no doubt take great heart from his continued evolution as a dart player, a first major tournament final appearance and the fact that one day Taylor will eventually retire.
Winner - Taylor.