World Matchplay tips: Raymond van Barneveld and Peter Wright can be toppled at the Winter Gardens
- Seb Sternik
- 17 July 2023
Planet Sport looks at the betting for four games on Day Three of the World Matchplay.
Michael van Gerwen was the big favourite heading in to this year's World Matchplay, but with the Dutchman facing a shock first round exit on Sunday, the remaining players will be desperate to capitalise.
Here, we run through Monday's action and pick out a tip in each match.
Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Ross Smith
Dimitri Van den Bergh is currently priced among the top 10 favourites to go all the way at the Winter Gardens following MVG's stunning loss to Brendan Dolan.
Of all the major tournaments, The DreamMaker delivers his best darts at the World Matchplay.
The Belgian star won the event in 2020, finished runner-up a year later and reached the semi-final 12 months ago.
Ross Smith will be looking to cause an upset when he squares off with the 29-year-old, though his recent form doesn't fill us with much confidence.
Smith bowed out in the first round of his last three events on the Tour and has only managed three wins from his last nine matches.
With that in mind, we're backing Van den Bergh to deliver.
Ryan Searle vs Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld won countless titles during his legendary darting career, though the one event which has always stumped the Dutchman has been the World Matchplay.
Between 2007 and 2011, Barney made four quarter-finals and also finished as a runner-up. Since then, he has failed to progress past the second round.
We don't expect things to get any easier for the five-time world champion against Ryan Searle.
The current world number 15 has won five of his last six head-to-head encounters against Barney.
What's more, the Dutchman enters Monday's match on the back of two disappointing first round exits at recent Players Championship events.
Searle to eliminate Van Barneveld is our tip for the evening.
Tip: Ryan Searle
Peter Wright vs Andrew Gilding
Peter Wright has been priced at 16/1 to win the World Matchplay and there's a good reason for that.
Snakebite is far from his top form at the moment, winning just one match since claiming the Czech Darts Open title last May.
The Scotsman averaged 87 and 88 in his last two televised outings at the Premier League Finals Night and the US Darts Masters.
Wright has also endured disappointment in recent Players Championship events, including a 6-0 drubbing against Stephen Burton.
With that in mind, this may be the perfect opportunity for Andrew Gilding to strike. Goldfinger won his last outing against Wright and has been relatively consistent on the Tour.
This is certainly Gilding's best opportunity of making it to the second round at the Winter Gardens for the first time since 2015.
Tip: Andrew Gilding
Jonny Clayton vs Gabriel Clemens
The PDC have served up a real heavyweight clash for Monday's main event as Jonny Clayton and Gabriel Clemens collide.
Following a couple of early exits on the European Tour, Clayton has come back strong with back-to-back quarter-final runs at the Players Championship events.
The German Giant, on the other hand, cannot be underestimated. The world championship semi-finalist has faced defeat in the opening round of this tournament for the last two years and he is intent on changing that.
Despite this, Clayton has won 11 straight head-to-head encounters and we simply can't go against the Welshman.
The world number seven is our pick in the final match on Day Three.
Tip: Jonny Clayton
