Grand Slam of Darts Opening Days Match Tips

Without doubt Phil “The Power” Taylor is a man who possesses a stunning ability in Darts and a drive to be the best. Although he has literally won everything there is to win many times in Darts his quest to become the greatest ever and place records that cannot be broken continues to drive him on to win. Other players dislike him for it, but there is nothing they can do as he wins nearly all of his matches. Every once in a while, however, he loses. Can this be the tournament where we get a different winner? The first round of matches takes place this Saturday. The odds given here are correct at the time of writing and subject to change. You can bet on other matches by exploring the section dedicated to darts at bwin.com.

The Grand Slam of Darts features players from the BDO and PDC, so do not miss it!

Mervyn King 1.16 versus Kirk Shepherd 4.50

The King is a devastating and intimidating competitor, but Kirk Shepherd is a former world darts finalist, losing to John Part in 2007 after an amazing run through the tournament. After turning professional he has ground his way through the lower reaches of the professional game and perhaps now is the time he will break into the top echelon of the game. Perhaps a small bet for him to win would hold a little value, but beating Mervyn King is perhaps too much for him.

Tony O’Shea 1.40 versus Brian Woods 2.70

Tony is a BDO player who is looking to make a name for himself on the bigger stage. I think 1.40 are good odds for a player who gets the business end of many tournaments he plays in and can win matches against excellent players. First bit of value here I feel, useful for double and treble bets.

Colin Osborne 1.60 versus Colin Lloyd 2.20

The battle of the Colin’s sees the northerner Osborne favourite at 1.60. This is one of the best matchces of the first round. I would favour Osborne for no other reason than Jaws (Lloyd) seems to be eliminated in the first round more often and seems to play into tournaments, leaving him open to upsets.

Mark Webster 1.90 versus Vincent Van Der Voort 1.80

Both of these players are very good. Mark Webster won the BDO World Championships and moved across to the PDC amid controversy. He has not had the easiest of starts in the PDC; he is still studying to be a plumber. He is a good player, but so is Vincent who plays extremely quickly. I fancy Mark to do well here and perhaps break through in this tournament and fulfil his undoubted potential. 1.90 for Mark to win is a good bet, but this is certainly very close.

John Part 2.10 versus Kevin Painter 1.65

Darth Maple versus The Artist. Surely the tie of the round here although there are other great matches. I think that John Part is value here at 2.10. He used to be clearly the second best player in the world before Raymond Van Barneveld joined the PDC and I think he will have a good chance at beating Painter who has not enjoyed results of past years recently. I tip John Part to win at 2.10.

Phil Taylor takes on Anastasia Dobromyslova and Phil has been given odds of 1.01 for this match. This is expected and most likely Phil will win this game. But will the fear of being beaten by a woman in the first round play on his mind? 11.00 are the odds for Anastasia if you want to bet on her to beat The Power. This match is worth watching, but not worth wagering on in my opinion. Players like Gary Anderson, Andy Hamilton, Co Stompe, Wayne Mardle and Ted Hankey play on Sunday.

By Malcolm Clarke