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Check out all the key stats and preview ahead of Friday's semi-finals

World Grand Prix darts: Semi-final predictions, odds, betting tips, accas, order of play & TV times

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Fri October 11, 2019 · 5y ago

Our guide for Friday night's semi-finals at the Boylesports World Grand Prix includes the order of play, match-by-match predictions, stats and a suggested acca.

World Grand Prix draw, schedule & TV guide
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Only four players remain in the hunt to win the PDC's double-start major but who will reach Saturday night's final?

Here I'll run through both matches with statistics, scoreline predictions, best bets and a double.

World Grand Prix: Friday October 11

Click on the odds for more Sky Bet match markets

TV Coverage: Sky Sports (1900 BST)
Semi-Finals: Best of 7 sets, players must start and finish all legs on a double/bullseye

Glen Durrant (4/5) v Dave Chisnall (1/1)

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Overall: 1-1
2019 Meetings: 0-1
TV Meetings: 1-0 (10-8 in 2017 Grand Slam of Darts)

TITLE RECORD

PDC Titles this season: 2-3
Career PDC Titles: 2-16
Major TV PDC Titles: 0-0

ROUTES TO THE SEMIS

Glen Durrant

First round: 2-1 v Krzysztof Ratajski (0-3, 3-1, 3-1)
Second round: 3-2 v Rob Cross (3-2- 0-3, 3-1, 2-3, 3-0)
Quarter-finals: 3-2 v Jermaine Wattimena (0-3, 3-0, 3-2, 1-3, 3-1)

Dave Chisnall

First round: 2-1 Gerwyn Price (2-3, 3-0, 3-2)
Second round: 3-0 Stephen Bunting (3-2, 3-1, 3-0)
Quarter-finals: 3-1 Nathan Aspinall (3-2, 3-1, 2-3, 3-1)

TOURNAMENT STATS (Durrant stats left)

Tournament Average: 85.26 - 89.61
Best Average: 85.42 (v Cross) - 92.50 (v Price)
Tournament 180s: 3 - 11
Starting Doubles Missed: 56 in 50 legs - 64 in 43 legs
Number of no score opening visits: 10 (3, 5 & 2) - 12 (6, 4 & 2)
Checkout %: 47.37% (27/57) - 40.58% (28/69)
High Checkout: 116 - 121
Ton+ Checkouts: 3 - 8

MATCH PREVIEW

Dave Chisnall's long, long quest for an elusive televised title is 'just' two wins away but standing in his way of a fifth major final is a man hoping to break his duck in just his first season on the PDC circuit.

Having tipped Chizzy to win his quarter at 6/1 and also at 50/1 each-way to lift the trophy, there's no prizes for guessing who I'd prefer to triumph tonight although from a purely sporting perspective, it would be equally as crowd pleasing to watch Glen Durrant take his dream debut one step further.

Chisnall headed to Dublin in a much better place than he has been for several years having won three titles during a consistently impressive 2019, including his first on a stage since 2013, and it's fantastic to see his confidence continue to grow this week with a series of superb performances.

There's been a couple of trademark Chizzy wobbles along the way, but crucially - as mentioned in Thursday's preview - this format can end up making crunch legs less pressured if his opponents struggle to get away.

As you'll see in both semi-final stats sections, the St Helens man has been fairly solid getting away but despite not being as clinical as Durrant with his doubles at either end of legs, his tournament average can only be bettered by MVG of the surviving players.

My main concern for Chizzy's hopes is whether Duzza's consistency on his doubling will give him enough chances against the throw while the Teessider's scoring may be 'due' to come back.

After beating Jermaine Wattimena in another five-set classic, the three-time BDO world champion said: "I've got that fight and a will to win. I honestly don't know how I'm winning, I don't know where my scoring's gone."

The 48-year-old is preparing for his second major semi-final having made the last four at the World Matchplay and it speaks volumes how his victory over Blackpool champion Rob Cross in the quarter-finals didn't really catch anyone by surprise.

If I had no vested interest in this fixture then I'd find this incredibly tough to call and end up going with either player to win 4-3 at 5/1 apiece.

Score Prediction: 3-4

Michael van Gerwen (1/6) v Chris Dobey (4/1)

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Overall: 4-0
2019 Meetings: 1-0
TV Meetings: 0-0

TITLE RECORD

PDC Titles this season: 2-3
Career PDC Titles: 125-16
Major TV PDC Titles: 35-0

ROUTES TO THE SEMIS

Michael van Gerwen

First round: 2-1 Jamie Hughes (2-3, 3-1, 3-1)
Second round: 3-0 Jeffrey De Zwaan (3-0, 3-1, 3-1)
Quarter-finals: 3-1 Mervyn King (3-2, 1-3, 3-1, 3-2)

Chris Dobey

First round: 2-0 Ricky Evans (3-1, 3-1)
Second round: 3-1 Gary Anderson (2-3, 3-2, 3-0, 3-1)
Quarter-finals: 3-2 Ian White (3-0, 1-3, 0-3, 3-1, 3-0)

TOURNAMENT STATS (MVG stats left)

Tournament Average: 91.45 - 88.21
Best Average: 94.79 (v De Zwaan) - 90.13 (v White)
Tournament 180s: 7 - 7
Starting Doubles Missed: 73 in 42 legs - 53 in 42 legs
Number of no score opening visits: 17 (6, 6 & 5) - 10 (0, 3 & 7)
Checkout %: 43.55% (27/62) - 48.21% (27/56)
High Checkout: 170 - 156
Ton+ Checkouts: 5 - 7

MATCH PREVIEW

You'll notice from the stats sections that of the players left in, Michael van Gerwen has considerably the worst double-in record this week, with 72 misses across 42 legs while his number of no scoring visits at the start of legs is 17.

Granted, there were two occasions - once against Jamie Hughes and then another against Jeffery de Zwaan - where he failed to hit a double in three successive visits in a single leg and that somewhat distorts the data in the sense he's not consistently terrible at getting away.

In a way that makes his tournament average of 91.45 even more impressive although Chris Dobey has also scored well this week while he's been extremely clinical with his doubles at both ends of legs.

The 29-year-old, who is seeking his first PDC title of any kind as he prepares for a maiden TV semi-final, fired in no fewer than five 100+ checkouts in a Hollywood display of finishing against Ian White and you really get the sense he's now truly fulfilling his rich potential, regardless of tonight's outcome.

His second-round triumph over his mentor Gary Anderson will have filled him with extra belief that he can also topple the defending champion so if he can stay cool and collected, then a shock is on the cards.

Despite winning 10 titles this season, including four of the televised ones - Masters, Premier League, Melbourne Masters and New Zealand Masters - the world champion still doesn't quite hold the same fear factor as in years gone by so don't be too surprised if Dobey runs him close.

If you're not willing to be bold enough in backing Hollywood at 4/1, then how siding him with a 1.5 set start on the handicap at 23/10?

Score Prediction: 3-4