Grand Slam of Darts 2024: Day eight predictions, betting tips, acca, order of play and TV time

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Sat November 16, 2024 · 2h ago

The 2024 Grand Slam of Darts continues on Saturday night with two more quarter-finals so check out Chris Hammer's match-by-match predictions, best bets and a suggested acca.

Darts betting tips: Grand Slam of Darts day eight

1pt Gary Anderson to hit most 180s on the night at 2/1 (Sky Bet, Ladbrokes)

0.5pts a nine-darter on the night at 8/1 (Paddy Power)

SL Acca: 1pt Anderson to hit more 180s v Van Veen & Littler (-4.5) to beat Wattimena at 2/1 with Sky Bet

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Evening Session (1900 GMT)

TV Coverage: Sky Sports
Format: Quarter-Finals, best of 31 legs

Jermaine Wattimena (7/2) v Luke Littler (1/6)

Tournament Ave: 95.26 - 105.03
Tournament 180s per leg: 0.22 - 0.53
Tournament Checkout %: 49.02% - 47.17%

Luke Littler has combined his dazzling ability with herculean fighting spirit to reach the Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finals on debut and it would certainly be a very bold call to back against him tonight.

The 17-year-old took a much needed rest after he was subjected to some unfairly harsh headlines following his early exit at the European Championship last month and he return to action in Wolverhampton firing on all cylinders.

Three easy group stage wins attained with averages of 112, 107 and 102 was followed by a thrilling first instalment of what could well end up being a blockbuster rivalry with Mike de Decker, in which he trailed 7-4 and 9-7 before mounting a stirring comeback under pressure.

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Both players averaged around 104 despite missing a host of doubles thanks to their respective artillery of heavy scoring and if Littler maintains this level of performance over the longer best-of-31 leg format then you'd expect him to blow Jermaine Wattimena away.

He hit 10 maximums in the 19 legs which pretty much matched his 180s per leg ratio this tournament of 0.53 and I don't feel it's disrespectful to say that Wattimena will require Littler to have an off day.

The Dutchman is fortunate to be here after a monumental scrap with Dimitri Van den Bergh, whose lucky penny deserted him with all those missed match darts, and his tournament average of 95 is some way short of Littler's 105.

That said, this is the best spell of Wattimena's career so far and his body language on the big stage is certainly more confident than ever before - but I'm not sure how his game will stand up over such a long format against a Littler onslaught.

If it's as wide a margin as I expect then it could open the door for Gary Anderson to hit most 180s on the night - but that will be explained more in the preview below.

Verdict: 9-16

Click here to bet on Wattimena v Littler with Sky Bet

Gary Anderson (4/6) v Gian van Veen (11/10)

Tournament Ave: 102.23 - 107.98
Tournament 180s per leg: 0.34 - 0.53
Tournament Checkout %: 47.17% - 55.56%

Gary Anderson is just three wins away from achieving his dream of lifting the Grand Slam of Darts at the 17th attempt but must be secretly cursing his luck that he's on the wrong side of the draw.

The Flying Scotsman's stunning tournament average of 102.2 is the third highest out of the four players left in this section and facing him tonight is the Gian van Veen, who has the highest with a whopping 108!

Van Veen's group stage average of 108.89 was the highest in the tournament's history which is a remarkable feat when Phil Taylor entered this tournament 11 times and Michael van Gerwen 17 - but more importantly, he maintained that standard in a crushing 10-2 victory over Ryan Joyce in the previous round.

So how will his game stand up in the longest format match of his career against a legendary figure who is still producing darts of exceptional standard and will also have the crowd heavily on his side?

Father Time may well be coming for Anderson, but it's not as if he can't handle one lengthy match after a day of rest.

The main concern from that perspective is whether he can handle three best-of-31 leg matches in two days, but let's cross that bridge if he can get get to Sunday.

If van Veen plays to a 100+ level again then Anderson must be at his heavy scoring best, especially when the young Dutchman has been throwing 180s at an astronomical rate of 0.53 per leg.

Anderson's is down at 'just' 0.34 but seasonally he's usually far more prolific than van Veen at 0.40 compared to 0.26 so don't be the least bit surprised to see his maximum count win the whole session - let alone this match.

CLICK HERE to back Anderson to hit the most 180s on the night with Sky Bet

I feel this match will have more legs than Littler v Wattimena and if it does, then that gives Anderson an even greater chance of hitting most 180s.

As for my small bet on the nine-dart finish, Littler, Anderson and van Veen are producing the kind of magic darts that makes it seem more possible than usual and the rate at which they're all hitting 180s, you'll always feel there's a chance until the very last leg of the night.

Verdict: 16-13