Darts tips: Betting preview for the second stage of the PDC Home Tour

• Follow @ChrisHammer180 on Twitter

PDC Home Tour: Recommended bets

1pt Dave Chisnall to win PDC Home Tour at 14/1

0.5pts each-way Joe Cullen at 28 (1/2, 1,2)

0.5pts each-way Ryan Searle at 33/1 (1/2, 1,2)

• Click here to back these selections with Sky Bet
• PDC Home Tour fixtures & results

For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record

There's only so much nostalgia we can ‘relive’ in a desperate attempt to fill the barren months of lockdown, so it can be of little surprise that watching top darts players from their man caves, cabins, kitchens and bedrooms has taken the internet by storm.

The social media reaction to Gary Anderson’s dodgy WiFi managed to almost break it before a dart was even thrown in the PDC Home Tour but since then – despite some early teething problems – all the various online events out there have given fans some actual live sport to enjoy as well as providing players with much-needed match practice to keep the competitive juices flowing.

From the big stars to the lesser-known names, we’ve been treated to glimpse of where players hone their skills and also learned more about their personalities in a generally light-hearted format, but amidst the banter exchanged in empty rooms, they’ve all been taking it more and more seriously as the weeks roll by.

Anyone who has followed the tournaments closely will know the Modus Live Leagues, which often feature our columnist Paul Nicholson as a competitor or commentator, have been at the forefront of this ever-improving and expanding version of the sport from a technological viewpoint and recently introduced a two-camera set up in each room so viewers could see both the player and his/her board.

Hopefully the PDC have been able to spend the week-long break since the end of the first stage last Monday working on the logistics to follow suit as it certainly makes the experience more watchable and closer to the ‘real thing’.

There are now 32 players remaining from the original 101 Tour Card holders who accepted the invite to take part, with 27 of those topping a group at their first attempt, and the other five doing so at their second during the final seven nights of action having previously finished runners-up in Groups 1 to 25.

Anderson and Cristo Reyes were so late entering the fold that they found themselves in Groups 29 and 30 alongside previous runners-up but still managed to win all three of their matches to progress to the next group stage, which runs from Tuesday until Monday June 2.

Again, all eight groups will consist of four players and only the winner of each will qualify for the ‘semi-final’ group stage on June 3-4 before the tournament concluding ‘Championship Group’ on Friday June 5.

Shocks and stats

The first stage of the PDC Home Tour was characterised by the number of ‘surprise’ results and also the general struggles of players to reach the same kind of standards they’d regularly produce in regular tournaments.

One of Paul Nicholson’s recent columns went into depth about why it’s so difficult to adapt to the surreal settings at the start, such as not having an opponent in the room to build a rhythm off and also having to convert what’s usually a ‘relaxing’ space of home into a competitive environment – both from a technical and emotional perspective.

The ‘levelling’ nature of the unique and short format seemed to make the higher ranked players more vulnerable to shocks than usual, and this was highlighted by 21 ‘top seeds’ failing to win the 32 groups.

Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith were among the six players who were unable to progress despite two attempts as top seeds but Peter Wright made the most of his reprieve on the last night of the first stage and he now finds himself outright tournament favourite at 3/1.

Statistically, an upward curve of standard was clear to see as the weeks progressed, with the players on the opening 25 nights combining for an average of 88.8 while Groups 26-32 consisting of mostly runners-up weighed in with 93.6.

There had been just 17 ton+ averages in the first 144 matches across the opening 24 groups but when the 25th – spearheaded by the brilliant Jose De Sousa - raised the bar with four, we saw another 12 across the remaining seven.

Many of the remaining players are particularly seasoned and conditioned to online darts by now – not just from their experiences in the Home Tour but also regularly playing their usual practice partners and other peers via this medium.

I think we can expect to see averages continue to rise from the comforts of their respective own living quarters and it’ll be fascinating to see if some of the so-called underdogs can compete with the surviving stars as well as they did before.

Impressive performers

Luke Woodhouse shot to online stardom by hitting the PDC’s first tournament nine-darter from a kitchen as he averaged an incredible 113.86 against Gerwyn Price on night two.

That’s the highest so far by some distance while the next four names on the list out of players left in the competition are De Sousa, who managed 110.51 and 106.79, Luke Humphries (108.55) and Joe Cullen (107.64, 106.17 and 105.85) and Ryan Searle (103.26).

Those five were consistently impressive on their winning nights although in the case of Humphries and Cullen, who effectively knocked out Michael Smith and Gerwyn Price respectively, they were enjoying their second chances in the competition.

The Rockstar’s sensational night was easily the greatest overall while Humphries, De Sousa and Searle both managed two ton+ averages on a single night. Woodhouse’s other two performances were low 90s but still managed to win both matches 5-2 against Ted Evetts and Rowby-John Rodriguez.

Glen Durrant averaged a ton after three consistent stellar displays while the likes of Dave Chisnall, Chris Dobey, Stephen Bunting and Peter Wright (second attempt) were the bigger names to have recorded marks of around three figures on two occasions.

Rob Cross remarkably won all three of his matches without an average above 85 but he came into the night off the back of a very hard few weeks in which he lost his grandfather.

He’s the 12/1 fifth favourite behind Wright (3/1), Nathan Aspinall (7/1), Gary Anderson (8/1) and Durrant (10/1) but he’ll have worked harder on his game since then to get his levels back up.

My original 'ante-post tip' was Dave Chisnall at 20/1 and while his odds have now shortened to 14/1, his online form from his darts cabin should make him an attractive proposition. The lack of a crowd obviously doesn’t seem to bother him either and it would be quite fitting if he could add this to his list of non-televised titles.

Cullen has surely got to be worth some interest at 25/1 given his superb displays just over a week ago, plus he has the benefit of two nights worth of Home Tour experience.

He’s in a group with the talented Dobey, dangerous Jeff Smith and outsider Martijn Kleermaker, who stunned Michael Smith, so it won’t be easy.

De Sousa’s odds of 16/1 look big on stats alone but we’ll have to see if he can reproduce this kind of magic when put under more pressure from tougher opponents.

My final pick is going to be Ryan Searle, who I feel is a massive price at 33/1 despite his commanding first-round efforts and the fact he’s in a winnable group with Cross, Woodhouse and Daniel Larsson.

Having won a maiden PDC Tour title this season before the coronavirus, Searle’s confidence has continued to grow and his online performances were better than his next three opponents overall.

The tournament still feels a lot more unpredictable than what we’re used to so on a nightly basis it may still prove profitable to side with the outsiders.

PDC Home Tour Darts: Second round fixtures

• Click here for Sky Bet odds
• Each night’s action begins at 1930 BST, and will include webcam footage of each player and their dart board, live score graphics and commentary from Dan Dawson. All PDC Home Tour action will be broadcast live on PDCTV for FREE to ALL registered PDCTV users, regardless of whether you have a paid or free membership

Group One - Tuesday May 26

• Peter Wright v Ryan Murray
• Cristo Reyes v Jelle Klaasen
• Ryan Murray v Jelle Klaasen
• Peter Wright v Cristo Reyes
• Cristo Reyes v Ryan Murray
• Jelle Klaasen v Peter Wright

Group Two - Wednesday May 27

• Stephen Bunting v Mike De Decker
• Glen Durrant v Alan Tabern
• Mike De Decker v Alan Tabern
• Stephen Bunting v Glen Durrant
• Glen Durrant v Mike De Decker
• Alan Tabern v Stephen Bunting

Group Three - Thursday May 28

• Gary Anderson v Nick Kenny
• Luke Humphries v Jamie Lewis
• Nick Kenny v Jamie Lewis
• Gary Anderson v Luke Humphries
• Luke Humphries v Nick Kenny
• Jamie Lewis v Gary Anderson

Group Four - Friday May 29

• Dave Chisnall v Damon Heta
• Darren Webster v Geert Nentjes
• Damon Heta v Geert Nentjes
• Dave Chisnall v Darren Webster
• Darren Webster v Damon Heta
• Geert Nentjes v Dave Chisnall

Group Five - Saturday May 30

• Rob Cross v Daniel Larsson
• Ryan Searle v Luke Woodhouse
• Daniel Larsson v Luke Woodhouse
• Rob Cross v Ryan Searle
• Ryan Searle v Daniel Larsson
• Luke Woodhouse v Rob Cross

Group Six - Sunday May 31

• Joe Cullen v Martijn Kleermaker
• Chris Dobey v Jeff Smith
• Martijn Kleermaker v Jeff Smith
• Joe Cullen v Chris Dobey
• Chris Dobey v Martijn Kleermaker
• Jeff Smith v Joe Cullen

Group Seven - Monday June 1

• Nathan Aspinall v Jesús Noguera
• Jamie Hughes v Jose De Sousa
• Jesús Noguera v Jose De Sousa
• Nathan Aspinall v Jamie Hughes
• Jamie Hughes v Jesús Noguera
• Jose De Sousa v Nathan Aspinall

Group Eight - Tuesday June 2

• Jonny Clayton v Scott Waites
• Max Hopp v Carl Wilkinson
• Scott Waites v Carl Wilkinson
• Jonny Clayton v Max Hopp
• Max Hopp v Scott Waites
• Carl Wilkinson v Jonny Clayton

Play-offs format

• The Last 32 onwards will be played over the best of 11 legs in a round-robin, four-player group format.
• It will feature eight groups from May 26 to June 2, with each group winner moving into the last eight.
• Group winners will be allocated to one of eight groups in ranking order (one player from each pool of 1-8, 9-16, 17-24, 25-32).
• The last eight will feature two groups on June 3-4, with the top two players in each group moving into the Championship Group on Friday June 5
• If a player is unable to complete their group matches on the night from the last 32 onwards, they are eliminated from the tournament.

CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE TOURNAMENT'S RESULTS SO FAR

Related Darts Content

• 2020 Premier League venues & dates
• 2020 PDC event calendar & results
• 2020 World Darts Championship results
• 2019 PDC event results
• Sky Bet's darts odds

Responsible gambling

We are committed in our support of responsible gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

Sky Bet's responsible gambling tools are detailed here and if you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, or visit begambleaware.org.

Further support and information can be found at GamCare and gamblingtherapy.org.