Stephen Bunting in action

PDC World Darts Championship 2023: Day 13 predictions, betting tips, acca, order of play and TV time

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Fri December 30, 2022 · 2y ago

The fourth round of the Cazoo World Darts Championship concludes on Friday so check out Chris Hammer's match-by-match predictions, best bets and a suggested acca.

Six more players will continue join Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals at the Ally Pally but who will continue their quests for glory in the New Year?

Here, we preview all six matches spanning two sessions, as Chris looks to follow up yesterday's profits of two winning tips (3/1 and 11/10) from four selections...

Darts betting tips: World Championship day 13

1pt both Cross and Dobey to hit 7+ 180s each at 5/4 (Sky Bet)

1pt MVG to win and van Duijvenbode to hit most 180s at 11/8 (Sky Bet)

1pt Stephen Bunting and Luke Humphries to both have a 110+ checkout at 6/5 (William Hill)

1pt Smith and Cullen to each have 6+ 180s and a 100+ checkout each at 11/10 (Sky Bet)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

World Championship: Friday, December 30

EVENING SESSION

TV Coverage: Sky Sports, 1900 GMT
Round and Format: Round 4 (Best of seven sets)
Statistics: The below stats are from this year's World Championship but the ones in brackets (courtesy of @CarlyFletch and his @DartsTracker) are their seasonal data. The averages and 180 per leg data is for all PDC events in 2022, while checkout percentage is for stage events only.

Rob Cross (4/9) v Chris Dobey (13/8)

Statistics are from this year's World Championship. The figures in brackets are their seasonal data.

Head to Head (TV): 7-4 (2-0)
2022 Head to Head (TV): 2-0 (1-0)
Three-Dart Average: 99.23 (96.58) - 91.67 (95.26)
180s per leg (2022): 0.32 (0.26) - 0.36 (0.31)
Checkout %: 48.98% (37.92) - 42% (31.88)
100+ checkout per leg won: 8.33% (13.13) - 9.52% (9.73)
Match Treble % (Win, most 180s & high checkout): 0% (21.57) - 50% (28.57)

Rob Cross continues to produce high-calibre performances on a consistent basis and followed up his 99.23 average against Scott Williams with an almost identical one during his 4-1 rout of Mervyn King.

As you can see from the stats above, Voltage is scoring pretty heavily and finishing clinically, so if he maintains this level form - which has helped him enjoy a resurgent season - then Chris Dobey really will need to raise his bar.

Cross defeated Hollywood 11-9 in a scrappy clash at the World Matchplay earlier this year, with both players averaging between 89 and 91 and Dobey hitting four more 180s as the stats suggested he would.

The Northumberland ace wasn't really given a game by Martijn Kleermaker in the last round and that understandably affected his levels but he was much more impressive against Gary Anderson, averaging 95.34, hitting eight maximums and pinning almost 39% of his doubles.

I did flag up Dobey as a value shout to win this quarter of the draw but I can't deny Cross looks the more likely winner of what we've seen so far.

That said, it should be close however, and that opens the door for plenty of maximums from both players, and I'm going for at least seven apiece.

Scoreline Prediction: 4-3

CLICK HERE to back both players to each have 7+ 180s with Sky Bet

Michael van Gerwen (1/5) v Dirk van Duijvenbode (10/3)

Statistics are from this year's World Championship. The figures in brackets are their seasonal data.

Head to Head (TV): 8-1 (1-0)
2022 Head to Head (TV): 2-0 (0-0)
Three-Dart Average: 106.03 (98.43) - 94.13 (97.26)
180s per leg (2022): 0.39 (0.27) - 0.39 (0.38)
Checkout %: 39.47% (39.01) - 35.96% (40.20)
100+ checkout per leg won: 4.16% (13.78) - 9.37% (10.84)
Match Treble % (Win, most 180s & high checkout): 50% (26.71) - 0% (35.81)

It's easy to forget how well Michael van Gerwen played against Mensur Suljovic after the Austrian totally stole the show with 'that' 161 checkout.

Had MVG hit the bullseye instead of laying up then all we'd be talking about is his 110+ average in an entertaining 4-1 thumping but thankfully we were treated to the moment of the World Championship so far. In fact, it will be hard for anything else to beat it.

When van Gerwen is in this mood, he too will be extremely hard to beat and Dirk van Duijvenbode must unleash an onslaught of 180 to put as much pressure as possible on the tournament favourite.

Aubergenius played the supporting role in a record-breaking match with Ross Smith as he landed 12 of the 31 maximums which saw the duo eclipse the previous best mark of 29 for a best-of-seven set clash.

Although he's been landing them at 0.39 per leg over his two matches so far - which is just above his seasonal rate - he admitted it's still not as high as he'd like it to be.

In fact, even MVG is matching that figure so far thanks largely to the 12 he fired against Suljovic in 24 legs - even though his seasonal mark of 0.27 is much lower - so don't be surprised if he gives van Duijvenbode a run for his money in this market.

That's why the MVG to win-DVD most 180s double with Sky Bet is odds-against at 11/8, but it's still a very tempting play given the amounts they'd usually be expected to produce.

Scoreline Prediction: 4-2

CLICK HERE to back MVG to win and DVD to have most 180s with Sky Bet

Luke Humphries (4/9) v Stephen Bunting (13/8)

Statistics are from this year's World Championship. The figures in brackets are their seasonal data.

Head to Head (TV): 5-2 (1-0)
2022 Head to Head (TV): 1-0 (0-0)
Three-Dart Average: 94.20 (97.57) - 97.36 (94.85)
180s per leg (2022): 0.31 (0.32) - 0.39 (0.29)
Checkout %: 35.37% (40.05) - 36.62% (34.04)
100+ checkout per leg won: 6.89% (12.27) - 19.23% (11.94)
Match Treble % (Win, most 180s & high checkout): 50% (31.21) - 100% (26.36)

Luke Humphries remains one of the leading contenders for glory but he's got this far mainly due to his fighting spirit and ever-growing character rather than the dazzling standard of darts we've come to expect from him.

In the press conference that followed his battling 4-3 victory over Vincent van der Voort, Cool Hand revealed he'd been struggling to shake off a flu-like symptoms over the past few weeks and puts that down to the lack of darting fireworks he's been able to release.

Given his condition, Humphries even surprised himself at the way he won the deciding set 3-0 in just 40 darts, kicking off all three of those legs with 180s and kicked each of those legs off with 180s and producing finishes of 140 and 79 along the way.

It's that kind of burst he'll need to produce more of if he's to land his maiden major title with the biggest of the lot and he certainly can't take anything for granted against Stephen Bunting.

The Bullet upset the odds to end an eight-match losing streak against Dave Chisnall in a thrilling St Helens derby in which both players averaged well over 100 and landed three 100+ checkouts apiece.

Bunting, who has a good track record in set play tournaments, also fired in nine of the 20 maximums in the match to maintain his prolific 180 per leg ratio during the tournament of 0.39 and his seasonal mark of 0.29 isn't too far below Humphries' 0.32.

Considering he's in full health and on the crest of a wave, I think this could be a mini upset in a game of high checkouts.

Scoreline Prediction: 2-4

AFTERNOON SESSION

TV Coverage: Sky Sports, 1230 GMT
Round and Format: Round 4 (Best of seven sets)
Statistics: The below stats are from this year's World Championship but the ones in brackets (courtesy of @CarlyFletch and his @DartsTracker) are their seasonal data. The averages and 180 per leg data is for all PDC events in 2022, while checkout percentage is for stage events only.

Kim Huybrechts (9/4) v Dimitri Van den Bergh (1/3)

Statistics are from this year's World Championship. The figures in brackets are their seasonal data.

Head to Head (TV): 5-8 (0-2)
2022 Head to Head (TV): 0-1 (0-0)
Three-Dart Average: 88.51 (92.30) - 94.49 (95.66)
180s per leg (2022): 0.17 (0.19) - 0.17 (0.30)
Checkout %: 35.59% (37.98) - 52.50% (40.41)
100+ checkout per leg won: 9.52% (11.02) - 4.76% (11.10)
Match Treble % (Win, most 180s & high checkout): 100% (17.36) - 50% (23.31)

Kim Huybrechts will still be on a high after dumping out the defending champion Peter Wright and pocketing a cool £35,000 that seals his place in the top 32 for the start of another season.

However, the Belgian was the first to admit he didn't beat the 'real' Snakebite and didn't even have to be near his own best to do so.

An average of 91.5 was enough to claim a 4-1 victory while he managed just four 180s and pinned a very mediocre 35% of his doubles.

He will probably to play much better to end the hopes of Dimitri Van den Bergh, who put Krzysztof Ratajski to the sword by the same scoreline thanks to his ruthless finishing.

Although the former World Matchplay champion also averaged in the low 90s, he hit over 52% of his doubles for the second match running having also done the same to Lourence Ilagan.

Van den Bergh may not be scoring as heavily as we've come to expect from him - or hitting 180s at the rate he has during the rest of the season - but his confidence on the outer ring should be key to progressing today.

Scoreline Prediction: 2-4

Gabriel Clemens (8/11) v Alan Soutar (1/1)

Statistics are from this year's World Championship. The figures in brackets are their seasonal data.

Head to Head (TV): 0-2 (0-0)
2022 Head to Head (TV): 0-1 (0-0)
Three-Dart Average: 96.95 (92.30) - 91.41 (91.81)
180s per leg (2022): 0.28 (0.27) - 0.26 (0.22)
Checkout %: 40% (34.13) - 44.29% (37.43)
100+ checkout per leg won: 16.16% (9.94) - 22.58% (10.22)
Match Treble % (Win, most 180s & high checkout): 100% (21.24) - 33.33% (19.23)

Gabriel Clemens is flying the flag for Germany and will become a hero in his homeland if he can reach the quarter-finals of the PDC World Darts Championship.

The Gentle Giant is favourite to do so after two highly impressive victories for contrasting reasons; first for his dominance over William O'Connor and then for brilliance and fighting spirit in equal measure to edge past Jim Williams.

His tournament average and 180 hitting are both superior to Alan Soutar while the Scotsman bosses the finishing stats and the rate at which he produces his signature 100+ checkouts.

He's fired in seven across his three matches so far but Clemens is no slouch either having managed four in two games.

I tentatively give the edge to Clemens and if we see at least five sets then there should be plenty more big finishes.

Scoreline Prediction: 4-3

Michael Smith (4/9) v Joe Cullen (13/8)

Statistics are from this year's World Championship. The figures in brackets are their seasonal data.

Head to Head (TV): 13-8 (5-2)
2022 Head to Head (TV): 3-1 (3-1)
Three-Dart Average: 95.67 (96.83) - 96.52 (94.44)
180s per leg (2022): 0.23 (0.35) - 0.34 (0.30)
Checkout %: 40% (39.46) - 38.88% (38.63)
100+ checkout per leg won: 15.38% (10.20) - 13.04% (13.97)
Match Treble % (Win, most 180s & high checkout): 50% (32.00) - 0% (27.85)

Michael Smith could easily be back at home in St Helens right now but a tremendous comeback against Martin Schindler kept his world title dreams alive.

Bully Boy held his nerve brilliantly to pin double top with his last dart in hand when the German was waiting to take out 76 for a shock 4-1 victory and after that it was pretty much one-way traffic.

Smith's scoring power hasn't exactly deserted him over his first two matches but it's fair to say his key to success has been his finishing and high checkouts rather than his usual 180 prowess.

Among Bully Boy's four 100+ outs so far was a stunning 170 finish against Schindler, and he was beginning to find his range for maximums towards the end of the contest.

He will probably need to raise his standards if he's to avoid another nail-biter against Joe Cullen, who beat so dramatically from 15-13 down en route to Grand Slam of Darts glory last month.

The Rockstar averaged 98 during a crushing 4-0 triumph over Damon Heta last time out and hit five 180s in the 17 legs played, while he added another 100+ finish to the pair he managed against Ricky Evans.

This clash promises to be another Ally Pally thriller with plenty of sets, maximums and high finishes but ultimately I'm sticking with the player I backed in my pre-tournament preview.

Scoreline Prediction: 4-2