Grand Slam of Darts: Thursday predictions, odds, betting tips, order of play & TV times

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Thu November 15, 2018 · 6y ago

The second round of the Grand Slam of Darts concludes tonight so here's the full order of play, match-by-match predictions, Sky Bet odds and a suggested accumulator from in-form Chris Hammer, who bagged an 8/1 treble on Wednesday.

Michael van Gerwen will come up against Michael Smith in a mouthwatering clash at the end of the night but before then James Wade, Gary Anderson and surprise package Krzysztof Ratajski will take to the oche at the Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton.

The eight players in action tonight came through Groups A-D on Tuesday and, unlike Wednesday's dramatic second-round programme that featured a nine-dart finish, there are two survivors from the eight BDO representatives that started out, namely Wesley Harms and Michael Unterbuchner.

Here, I'll run through every game, while there's a reminder of all the group standings and tournament results at the bottom.

Grand Slam of Darts: Thursday November 15

Click on the odds for more Sky Bet match markets

TV Coverage: Sky Sports (7pm GMT)
Second round: Best of 19 legs

Jonny Clayton (11/10) v Krzysztof Ratajski (8/11)

Group Position: 1st A - 2nd B
Group Points: 6 - 4
Head-to-head: N/A

Jonny Clayton has already gone down in Grand Slam of Darts folklore for that unforgettable group stage victory over Michael van Gerwen in which the world number one was averaging over 123 at one point. The Ferret produced sky high standard himself to stay with MVG before brilliantly holding his nerve in the decider. Clayton had been suffering from a loss of form before this tournament but after three straight wins I really think he's a spot of value as the outsider against highly-rated dark horse Krzysztof Ratajski. In my pre-event preview I too expected the Pole, who won back-to-back Players Championship events recently, to progress and he certainly impressed during his two wins over Raymond van Barneveld and Adam Smith-Neale - as well as his narrow defeat to Michael Smith. He boasts one of the highest tournament averages so far with 97 but I just wonder how he'll cope in the longer best-of-19 leg format on the big stage. Clayton has more experience of this kind of situation and he's on a roll. If you want to be bolder than just backing the Welshman then how about 5/1 on the match having over 16.5 legs, a high checkout of over 127.5 and more than 6.5 180s.

Prediction: 10-7

🎯😲 INCREDIBLE!

😯 Michael van Gerwen was averaging over 123 when leading Jonny Clayton 3-1, then had three match darts in his hands at 4-3...

👏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 But he missed them all and Clayton won 5-4! pic.twitter.com/1unfceNDvg
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) November 11, 2018

James Wade (1/7) v Michael Unterbuchner (9/2)

Group F Position: 1st C - 2nd D
Group Points: 6 - 4
Head-to-head: N/A

The rebooted Machine is on a mission right now and it's hard to see anyone other than Michael van Gerwen or Gary Anderson unplugging him any time soon. Fresh from winning both the European Championship and World Series of Darts Finals in successive weeks, James Wade has now won 13 matches on the trot and worryingly for his rivals, he's now backing up his usual impeccable timing skills with high averages and big margins of victory. Michael Unterbuchner has done brilliantly just to be here, having come runner-up ahead of Ian White in Group D, but his levels won't trouble Wade unless he malfunctions out of the blue. The new dad is obviously too short at 1/7 but you can get even money on him to win, score over 2.5 180s and have a checkout of more than 100.5. They are very modest targets he should comfortably achieve if this match lasts at least 13-16 legs.

Prediction: 10-5

🤖👶 James Wade since becoming a father last month...

🏆 Won first TV major since 2014
🏆 Won another seven days later
🙌 On a 13-match winning streak
💪 Overall average of 96
🎯 46 180s
👌 Doubles: 107/237
👊 Legs won/lost: 107-62
👏 100+ checkouts: 15https://t.co/FhFtztDZFE
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) November 13, 2018

Gary Anderson (1/10) v Wesley Harms (6/1)

Group F Position: 1st D - 2nd C
Group Points: 6 - 4
Head-to-head: 2-0
2018 meetings: 0-0

Wesley Harms was involved in one of the matches of the tournament on Tuesday night, beating Keegan Brown 5-4 in an epic to book his place in the quarter-finals. Both players averaged 104 and hit five 180s apiece, although the BDO star so nearly bowed out when Brown just missed double 12 for a stunning 138 checkout in the deciding leg. I'm doubt he can keep that standard going for a full best-of-19 leg encounter against someone who very much can so I'm going to be boring and pick Gary Anderson to win this one! The Flying Scotsman romped through the group stages with a 100% record and is desperate to win the tournament for the first time in his career - and like we saw at the UK Open, World Matchplay (making a nine-darter along the way!) and Champions League , he thrives on that kind of motivation. Even backing him to win, hit most 180s and have the highest checkout is odds on at 10/11 - but you can throw that into an acca.

Prediction: 10-4

👍🎯 Never underestimate the BDO!

👏 Wesley Harms beat Keegan Brown 5-4 in a thrilling battle in which both players averaged 104 & hit five 180s apiece.pic.twitter.com/Jt3tG8lwcU
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) November 13, 2018

Michael Smith (7/2) v Michael van Gerwen (1/5)

Group G Position: 1st E - 2nd F
Group Points: 6 - 4
Head-to-head: 6-24
2018 meetings: 2-6

It's the eagerly-anticipated repeat of the Premier League Darts final, which Michael van Gerwen soundly won 11-4, but the world number one has sustained quite a lot of battle scars since then and I reckon there could be another shock on the cards. Sure, MVG has won a breathtaking 18 titles in 2018, including the aforementioned Premier League, Masters and the World Grand Prix, but all those exits at UK Open, World Matchplay, Champions League of Darts, European Championship and World Series of Darts Finals have come as blows to his ego and lessened his fear factor. Michael Smith isn't the only player with a bad head-to-head record against him but he has managed a couple of wins this season, including in the semi-finals of the televised Shanghai Masters, an event he went on to win. Bully Boy came through a tough group with a 100% record whereas we all know what happened to MVG in his. At 7/2 I'm happy just to stick with a plain Smith win although if you fancy being a bit bolder, you can get 5/1 on him to triumph and hit the most 180s.

Prediction: 10-7

Thursday night's suggested darts bets

Clayton v Ratajski to have over 16.5 legs, a high checkout of over 127.5 & more than 6.5 180s at 5/1
Wade to win, score over 2.5 180s & a checkout of over 100.5 at evens
Smith to beat MVG at 7/2
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