The 2025 Paddy Power World Darts Championship continues on Thursday so check out Chris Hammer's match-by-match predictions, best bets and an acca.
Darts betting tips: World Championship day five
1pt Matt Campbell to beat Mensur Suljovic at 5/4 (Unibet, BetMGM)
1pt Scott Williams to win and hit most 180s at 6/4 (Paddy Power, Betfair)
SL Acca: 1pt Lukeman to win 3-0, Williams and Campbell both to win at 9/2 with Paddy Power
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
- TV Coverage: Sky Sports
- Format: best of five sets
Nick Kenny (4/6) v Stowe Buntz (11/10) (R1)
- Three-dart average (2024): 89.85 - 87.70
- 180s per leg (2024): 0.22 - 0.19
- Checkout % (2024): 37.28% - 37.41%
Stowe Buntz is best remembered for his dream run to the Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finals last season but a first victory on the Ally Pally stage would rival that achievement as he prepares to face Nick Kenny.
The American, who qualified via the CDC Pro Tour, beat Peter Wright and Stephen Bunting during that Wolverhampton major but his debut World Championship a month later lasted just one night as he bowed out to Kevin Doets in the very first match.
He still averaged a creditable 88 despite the 3-0 scoreline and is the type of confident character not to be fazed by a big crowd.
Having warmed up for this event in the Modus Super Series, he'll be more prepared than last time and his seasonal stats suggest he can certainly give Nick Kenny a run for his money.
The Welshman has been pretty steady this season but as he's currently ranked 75th in the world, he has the pressure of needing at least three wins to climb up into the top 64 and avoid having to go back to Q School in January.
Verdict: 2-3
Mensur Suljovic (4/6) v Matt Campbell (11/10) (R1)
- Three-dart average (2024): 90.29 - 89.79
- 180s per leg (2024): 0.19 - 0.16
- Checkout % (2024): 37.35% - 37.89%
Mensur Suljovic doesn't seem like the most reliable favourite you'll see in the first round after a difficult season which has seen him slide worryingly down the rankings and close to falling out of the top 64.
The Austrian failed to qualify for last year's World Championship and since then he's only qualified for three majors and one of those - the Grand Slam - was due to finishing runner-up in the World Cup with Austria.
Suljovic showed some signs of promise in Wolverhampton with a couple of 98 averages but the other was 78 and he lost all three matches.
Matt Campbell hasn't had a fantastic season either but his averages are very similar to Suljovic over the year and also since the start of October (both around 90) and coming through the pressure of the last-gasp qualifying event at the end of November will certainly have given him a shot in the arm confidence-wise.
The Canadian also won his first two matches on this stage 12 months ago - including a superb 3-2 victory over James Wade in round two with a 96 average - before being thrashed by Luke Littler, so I feel he's worth siding with as the underdog.
Verdict: 2-3
CLICK HERE to back Campbell to win with Sky Bet
Scott Williams (8/11) v Niko Springer (11/8) (R1)
- Three-dart average (2024): 91.33 - 88.46
- 180s per leg (2024): 0.28 - 0.23
- Checkout % (2024): 42.03% - 36.64%
Scott Williams is one of my pre-tournament outsiders who I feel can reach the quarter-finals even though he's not really ripped up any trees since his astonishing semi-final run here 12 months ago.
Shaggy just seems to be one of those players who needs the big stage atmosphere to bring out his best form and the Ally Pally is certainly a venue where showmen can really thrive with the right amount of ability.
Williams has an abundance of talent and while he wasn't showing it too much in the quiet surroundings of Pro Tour events this year, the minute he got himself back into major competition in Minehead last month, he reached the quarter-finals of the Players Championship Finals with some strong performances.
Niko Springer is a rising German star who enjoyed some viral fame in 2023 for hitting a nine-darter in a leg that was more 'perfect' than Michael Smith v Michael van Gerwen in the World Championship final. Watch it below to see what I mean.
Michael Smith's nine-darter v MVG may have been the best leg of this year/ever...but technically this one is the most 'perfect' of 2023.
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) December 31, 2023
🔊 Great commentary and scenes at the end too pic.twitter.com/62izVWyNKq
But this year the 24-year-old's stock has risen for his superb efforts on the Development Tour, where he finished runner-up to Wessel Nijman and earned a spot at his debut World Championship.
While I'm not doubting his potential, it's hard to expect too much from someone who doesn't have any PDC major experience and Williams therefore has a big advantage.
The Englishman's 180 hitting is superior as well so I'll add most maximums into the mix too.
Verdict: 3-1
CLICK HERE to back Williams to win and hit most 180s with Sky Bet
Michael Smith (3/10) v Kevin Doets (10/3) (R2)
- Three-dart average (2024): 95.29 - 90.24
- 180s per leg (2024): 0.32 - 0.29
- Checkout % (2024): 37.78% - 36.26%
This time last year, Michael Smith was handed a tricky second-round tie with a player many felt would give him a scare on opening night as defending champion.
It was Kevin Doets. And they were right.
Twelve months later he has to deal with the same opponent after a difficult season in which he's struggled to find any momentum with his form, whether that's been in majors or the smaller tournaments.
Aside from the World Cup with Luke Humphries, Smith has just one Players Championship title to show for his efforts although the fact that he reached the semi-finals of the World Matchplay and also the Premier League play-offs, does at least prove there has been flashes of his old self.
Bully Boy bowed out of the Grand Slam in the group stages thanks to a couple of very disappointing defeats and performances, while an early exit at the Players Championship Finals also dampened his mood.
He has spoken openly in the past about how difficult he found it to 'go again' after the highs of finally realising his potential of becoming a world champion, and maybe he's just one of those sports stars that feel a sense of completion when they reach the top rather than have a burning desire to keep doing it.
And there's no shame in that, especially because he went so many years of people questioning his bottle and doubting if he could ever do it.
Everyone wants the real Michael Smith back and tonight will show us a lot about his confidence and state of mind right now.
Doets has bags of potential but his form and stats this year won't strike fear into Smith, and neither will the 88 average he posted in a 3-1 win over Noa-Lynn van Leuven.
However, I think we'll see an improved display and at least four sets in this one which could mean a hefty amount of 180s given their seasonal maximum per leg ratios.
Verdict: 3-1
Afternoon Session (1200 GMT)
- TV Coverage: Sky Sports
- Format: best of five sets (R1/R2)
Chris Landman (1/8) v Lok Yin Lee (9/2) (R1)
- Three-dart average (2024): 89.00 - 79.58
- 180s per leg (2024): 0.22 - 0.10
- Checkout % (2024): 36.57% - 31.57%
Chris Landman ends his debut season as a PDC Tour Card holder with his second Ally Pally appearance thanks to his solid performances on the Pro Tour.
Landman qualified back in 2022 through a West Europe Qualifier and picked up an impressive 3-0 win over Scott Mitchell prior to a defeat to Ian White, and in the following year he went all the way to the final of the WDF World Championship final.
Recent confidence levels will be pretty high for Landman having reached the semi-finals of the last Players Championship event of the season back in October while he regularly averages in the 90s.
Hong Kong youngster Lok Yin Lee booked his place at his debut World Championship thanks to a run to the PDC Asian Championship but his seasonal stats don't suggest he'll pose too many problems for Landman.
The gulf certainly isn't big enough to assume a whitewash, but he should get through in four.
Verdict: 3-1
Callan Rydz (1/4) v Romeo Grbavac (11/4) (R1)
- Three-dart average (2024): 92.52 - 84.74
- 180s per leg (2024): 0.28 - 0.11
- Checkout % (2024): 37.52% - 37.66%
Callan Rydz is an unseeded player at the World Championship for the first time since his stunning run to the quarter-finals of the 2022 edition - which was also the last time he won on the Ally Pally stage.
Rydz fell in the second round in each of the last two years and his losing streak could become three in a row if he struggles to settle against the potentially dangerous Croatian Romeo Grbavac.
The 40-year-old teamed up with Boris Krcmar to knock Wales out of the World Cup back in June during their run to the quarter-finals while he's also enjoyed some decent results in the Modus Super Series in recent weeks.
I'd still expect Rydz to have enough quality but it may all boil down to whether he wins the opening set and grows in confidence.
Verdict: 3-1
Martin Lukeman (1/33) v Nitin Kumar (10/1) (R1)
- Three-dart average (2024): 93.78 - 81.58
- 180s per leg (2024): 0.19 - 0.13
- Checkout % (2024): 42.65% - 35.88%
Ever since Martin Lukeman completed work on his new darts cabin at home, he's transformed himself from a handy journeyman pro into a major finalist so he'll have high hopes of going further than he ever has at the Ally Pally.
Lukeman, who brilliantly reached the Grand Slam of Darts final before being thrashed by the Squashies-fuelled Luke Littler, has won both of his first-round matches in his two previous appearances and it's hard to see how Nitin Kumar halts that run.
The Indian lost 3-0 in each of his three previous meetings here from 2019 to 2022 and his seasonal average of 81.58 suggests he'll once again be fortunate to win a set.
Verdict: 3-0
Gabriel Clemens (2/5) v Robert Owen (7/4) (R2)
- Three-dart average (2024): 93.97 - 90.50
- 180s per leg (2024): 0.32 - 0.21
- Checkout % (2024): 38.03% - 36.21%
Robert Owen showed everyone how it must feels to win your ever first match on the Ally Pally stage with a superb comeback win as the slight underdog against Niels Zonneveld.
Imagine winning your first ever match at the Ally Pally like this. What a celebration from Robert Owen!pic.twitter.com/swvOaVa9Ri
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) December 16, 2024
The Welshman averaged a pretty impressive 91.64 and a similar performance could put Gabriel Clemens in all kinds of bother.
The German has endured a pretty poor season by his standards and crashed out at the first hurdle of all five televised events that he featured in while he didn't qualify for the World Matchplay or the World Grand Prix like he'd previously managed to do in each of the last four years.
Clemens will have a good amount of support from the travelling German darts fans but I feel there's enough reasons to go for a minor upset.
Verdict: 2-3
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