World Matchplay Darts: Semi-final predictions, odds, betting tips, order of play & TV time

Just four players remain in contention for the 2017 World Matchplay title at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.

And remarkably none of them are Michael van Gerwen.

The odds-on tournament favourite - as he always is these days - and two-time defending champion crashed out in the quarter-finals after a remarkable 16-6 thrashing at the hands of Phil Taylor in what could feasibly be their last meeting in a major televised event.

Now the Power will continue his quest for a 16th Blackpool crown in his farewell season before retirement with a clash against fellow Stoke thrower Adrian Lewis and the winner will meet either Peter Wright or Daryl Gurney in Sunday night's final.

Here, we have tonight's full running order, the Sky Bet odds, our predicted scoreline for each game and a suggested bet of the night.  

World Matchplay Darts: Saturday July 29

Click on the odds for more Sky Bet match markets
Click here for all the World Matchplay results
Semi-finals: Best of 33 legs
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Action from 1900 BST

Daryl Gurney (2/1) v (3) Peter Wright (2/5)
Our prediction: 17-15

(8) Phil Taylor (4/11) v (4) Adrian Lewis (11/5)
Our prediction: 17-14

* Each game must be won by two clear legs, with up to a maximum of five additional legs being played before the sixth additional leg is sudden-death  

Sky Bet's World Matchplay title odds:

Phil Taylor - 5/4
Peter Wright - 7/4
Adrian Lewis - 5/1
Daryl Gurney - 7/1

Saturday's World Matchplay preview

Brace yourselves for a long, mentally draining night of darts.

It all starts with our 80/1 each-way tip Daryl Gurney bidding to make his major breakthrough on one of the biggest stages in the sport.

The unseeded Northern Irishman is already a 10/1 winner for us having come through his quarter so this is the stage where I believed he could reach despite his tough draw, which included a highly-impressive second-round victory over world number two Gary Anderson.

He had to survive three match darts in his 11-9 win over 15th seed Benito van de Pas in the opening round but he made the most of that opportunity before seeing off Anderson and then Mensur Suljovic 16-13 in a quarter-final classic.

He trailed the popular Austrian 4-2, 5-3, 6-4 and 11-9 but showed real character and found an extra gear under immense pressure to take seven of the next nine legs.

Gurney admitted he's "learned a lot about being patient" and "keeping my emotions in check" this season and he'll need to do the same when he comes up against the man who defeated him in his last major semi-final at the UK Open.

Peter Wright won 11-5 before going on to lift his maiden TV title as Gurney missed 12 of his 17 attempts at doubles before accepting that's what "separates the men from the boys" on the big TV stages, of which Snakebite clearly has more experience.

Since then the improving 31-year-old has gone on to land a first PDC title while his tally of five tournament finals this season has only been bettered by MVG, Wright and Anderson.

The most recent of which came at the US Darts Masters in Las Vegas earlier this month when he beat both Wright and Anderson before losing 8-6 to MVG - and those impressive displays have clearly given him confidence to keep building.

So far he's hit a tournament high 28 180s - which is 10 more than second placed Dave Chisnall - while he's hit over 50% of his doubles in each of his last two games. And he had to.

Wright was in  scintillating form against Cristo Reyes in his quarter-final, with an average of 104.18 and hitting 11 of his 14 attempts at doubles, but he wasn't put under any real pressure. He'd struggled in a hard-fought 10-8 triumph over James Wilson in the opening round and then won seven of the last eight legs to survive a scare against plucky Darren Webster (16-12) in the quarters.

On the evidence we've seen, Gurney can maintain a high standard of play over these longer matches and is certainly worth consideration at 2/1. Although those who backed him at 80/1 each-way should have hedging options to secure some profit.

I do anticipate this one going deep and therefore over 30.5 legs has appeal at 7/4. It really wouldn't be a surprise to see it go beyond 33 legs (a player must win by two clear legs) so you may want to consider backing Gurney at 16/1 or Wright at 12/1 to win by any scoreline within extra legs.

The 'main event' in the grand scheme of the night is Phil Taylor's quest to keep alive his bid for an emotional 16th World Matchplay title on his Blackpool farewell.

You could back the Power at 20/1 this time last week knowing he'd probably need to beat his Dutch rivals Raymond van Barneveld and Michael van Gerwen just to get to this point.

Not only did he beat them both - the latter obviously being far more unexpected - but he did so with a leg aggregate of 27-9. Talk about turning back the hands of time, eh?!

Last night's jaw-dropping 16-6 triumph over the rampant world number one was Taylor at his vintage best, combining consistent high scoring with ruthless finishing, while his levels hardly ever suffered even a momentary blip throughout.

With help from the partisan crowd, the 4/1 outsider on the night had the 1/6 favourite mentally rattled early on and the two-time defending champion simply never recovered, missing countless doubles and failing to embark on one of his trademark surge of legs.

It was hard to see this coming. I could only see Taylor keeping it relatively close, at best, before mental fatigue kicked in against a tireless younger opponent over the long format.

The darting legend may keep saying he's got no pressure on him and that he's just enjoying himself - but deep down he desperately wants another big title before he bows out. Everybody knows it.

If the semi-final - or indeed the final should he make it - is much closer than his three previous matches then expect the nerves to become as visible as they were during his Premier League semi-final defeat against Wright when he missed a match dart at 9-8 up before losing 10-9.

He said on that occasion: "I went in front and then went nervous - I could feel my heart beating - maybe because it's my last one. I don't know. But I'm shattered now."

I'm therefore not convinced he should be 5/4 tournament favourite ahead of Wright although he could arguably have the easier semi-final if opponent Adrian Lewis suffers back pain again.

Jackpot, who is enjoying a surprisingly good run in his first tournament since having surgery, was serenly heading into the last four when leading Alan Norris 13-5 but his form suddenly dipped as his back problems appeared to come to the fore and just about got over the line 16-13.

Lewis, who was disappointed to miss 30 attempts at doubles, said: "Since the operation I've had good days and bad days, and today was a bad day which wasn't helped by getting caught in traffic on my way to Blackpool."

If he's pain free on a 'good day' - although we're not going to find out until we see any grimaces in-play - then he can make this close and it's not as if he has any mental blocks against his fellow Stoke thrower either, beating him in four of their last eight encounters including once in this season's Premier League.

The 32-year-old is one win away from his second World Matchplay final having last made it in 2013 when Taylor won an epic encounter 18-13 with an average of  111.23, but given his expecations this time last week, I'd say he's still feeling a lot less pressure than the Power.

Just like the first semi-final, I expect another battle with so much on the line and 11/10 about there being more than 29.5 legs looks a decent option to get a run for your money.

By Chris Hammer

Posted at 0825 BST on 29/07/17.