Betting-Previews.com brings you betting tips and predictions for the opening two quarter-finals bouts at the 2021 PDC World Matchplay quarter, slated for Thursday, July 22. Today, we look at two exciting fixtures between Krzysztof Ratajski vs Callan Rydz and Grewyn Price vs Dimitri van den Bergh.
2021 PDC World Matchplay – Day 5 Recap
The fifth day of the 2021 PDC World Matchplay started with Michael Smith’s stunning win against Jose de Sousa and ended the day with the sole outsider to claim an upset win. The day continued with Nathan Aspinall’s narrow (11-9) victory against Gary Anderson, a closely contested series between Michael van Gerwen and Ian White (11-8), and culminated with Peter Wright’s commanding 11-5 victory over Joe Cullen.
There was plenty of action throughout the first rounds of play. However, with the 2021 PDC World Matchplay entering the quarter-final stage, we’re now down to only two matches per evening. Still, there are plenty of betting opportunities to look at.
Ratajski K. – Rydz C.
Thursday, July 22 – 19:10 BST
The Polish Eagle enters this match as a heavy betting favourite (1.28 at Bet365) to defeat Callan Rydz, which makes a lot of sense if you look at his performances this week. Krzysztof Ratajski has been playing extremely well, losing only nine legs across his wins against Luke Humphries (11-5) and Brendan Dolan (10-4), who were both priced as favourites for those games.
Ratajski has been averaging an impressive 48.84% double hit rate, 43.9% on a treble 20, and 47.8% treble 19 hit rate. What’s more, his scoring average on the tournament is at 100.69.
Looking at Ratajski’s metrics, it’s hard to doubt his chances to improve upon his showing here last year, when he reached the quarter-finals, and he will surely be confident in his ability to take one step further this evening. It’s worth noting, however, that Ratajski had looked very good in his two openers last year as well before he lost to Michael Smith.
Rydz has had some good showings this tournament and played well against Rob Cross (11-8), where he posted the tournament’s highest 170 checkout. Although an impressive performance, it seems like Rydz will have to look just as good tonight if he wants to stand a chance against Ratajski or perhaps play even better.
Everything points towards a victory for Ratajski, who is favoured to defeat Rydz in their first evert clash for a good reason. Rydz has been good, but he wasn’t as good as Ratajski this tournament.
Prediction: Krzysztof Ratajski -3.5 Legs – 2.00 at BetVictor
Price G. – van den Bergh D.
Thursday, July 22 – 20:30 BST
The defending Matchplay champion Dimitri Van Den Bergh will take on the reigning world champion Gerwyn Price this evening in what promises to be an exciting fixture between two of the best darts players in the world.
The Dream Maker enters this match following a comfortable win against Devon Petersen (10-5) and an impressive showing in his 11-8 victory against Dave Chisnall. In his recent outing, Van Den Bergh averaged 103.68 and scored 14 180s.
What’s even more inspiring is his average from the first nine darts on the day, where Van Den Bergh managed 119.86. He was also very accurate in treble 20 and treble 19, averaging a 52.7% and a 54.8% hit rate, respectively.
Price was just as impressive with his showings on the tournament, particularly in his 11-1 victory against Jonny Clayton.
The Iceman last met with Van Den Bergh in the 2020 UK Open quarter-finals, where Price won with 10-5 in a game that featured nine 180s. He averaged 102.15 on the day to Van Den Bergh’s 102.38.
Even though Price’s victory that day seemed fairly straightforward, it was a close affair, and we expect to see something similar this evening. Price enters the match as a 1.61 (Bet365) favourite, which seems fair, considering his win rate on the season (77.3%), and while he might come out ahead, it won’t be a one-sided affair.
Prediction: Over 27.5 Legs – 1.80 at Betway and William Hill
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