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World Grand Prix Darts: Day two predictions, odds, betting tips, order of play & TV time
The first round at the World Grand Prix darts concludes in Dublin tonight so here's the full order of play, odds, predictions, best bet and a suggested accumulator.
There certainly won't be the same kind of drama as last night, when odds-on favourite, defending champion and world number one Michael van Gerwen suffered a huge shock against 500/1 tournament outsider John Henderson in the first round.
That result - coupled with the withdrawal of world number two Gary Anderson due to the impending birth of his next child - has blown the double-start event wide open and all the remaining players will no doubt be sensing an incredible opportunity to grab a major televised title.
Tonight we see the bottom half of the draw in action and that includes the new favourite Peter Wright as well as the increasingly popular Mensur Suljovic, who won his maiden TV crown at last month's Champions League of Darts.
Here, we have tonight's full running order, the , Chris Hammer's predicted scoreline for each game, his best bet of the night and suggested accumulator.
World Grand Prix Darts: Monday October 2
Click on the odds for more Sky Bet match markets
First Round: Best of three sets
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Main Event (1900 BST)
- Benito van de Pas () v Cristo Reyes ()
Reyes can do damage on a good day - as we saw during the World Championship when he averaged 106.07 in a thrilling second-round defeat to MVG - while he's shown relatively decent form over the past few months by reaching two semi-finals on the European Tour. He'll find it tough against Big Ben, who has plenty of potential, but he's pretty sharp on the doubles so I'll give him the edge here.
Prediction: 1-2
- Mervyn King () v Ronny Huybrechts ()
The King has the most epic walk-on music of them all - King of Kings by Motorhead - but sadly we're not going to hear it in Dublin due to the double walk-ons during the opening round. What about the second round, I hear you ask? Well, if my prediction comes in, he won't get there, sadly. This is a match between two steady operators and given it feels like a 50:50, it makes more sense to go with the Belgian at odds-against.
Prediction: 1-2
- Steve West () v James Wade ()
West 'did a John Henderson' last year when knocking out Phil Taylor in the first round and he'll feel another shock is possible against two-time winner James Wade, who has struggled to find his best form this season. The Machine knows he's in grave danger of being dropped from the Premier League Darts line-up next year unless he reminds everyone of his star quality before 2017 - and you can't underestimate that motivation for the world's top players. He managed a couple of runs to the semi-finals of the Auckland and Perth Darts Masters during the summer and hasn't competed since - so he'll be mentally fresh and ready.
Prediction: 0-2
- Simon Whitlock () v Christian Kist ()
The experienced Wizard's spells have helped him win three floor tournaments this season but the last of those was back in March. That said his consistency of going deep in the Players Championship and European Tour events means he should never be underestimated and I reckon he'll have too much for Christian Kist, who hasn't done much of note this season.
Prediction: 2-0
- Mensur Suljovic () v Ian White ()
Suljovic was already a tempting proposition to reach the final prior to Gary Anderson's withdrawal thanks to his heroics at the Champions League of Darts, where he beat the Scotsman (twice), Wright, Chisnall and Barney to make a mockery of his pre-tournament 40/1 odds. His scoring, finishing and ability to hit high checkouts under pressure is now proven on the big stage, plus he reached the semi-finals here on his Dublin debut last year - so the format doesn't seem to bother him. He also won Saturday's Players Championship event and with MVG going out last night, he'll have his sights firmly fixed on the title, let alone just getting to another final. He won't be stopped by Ian White.
Prediction: 2-0
- Michael Smith () v Gerwyn Price ()
Smith has won the last seven meetings between the pair but I think Price can cause a mini upset here. The Welshman reached the UK Open final earlier this year as he strives to climb the rankings and impress on the big stages while he's enjoyed a good little run of form in the last couple of weeks with runs to the quarter-finals of two events. He was unlucky to be drawn with Phil Taylor at the World Matchplay so he'll be fired up to make the most of an easier looking tie.
Prediction: 1-2
- Mark Webster () v Richard North ()
This is tough to call. On the one hand you could say Webster won't be that well prepared for this double-start event having been drafted in at the 11th hour due to Gary Anderson's withdrawal but on the other - what an opportunity! The same can, of course, be said for tournament debutant North, who would have been gearing up to try his best to cause a huge shock but now he's faced with a much more winnable challenge. I'll tentatively go with North, who has impressed more this season.
Prediction: 1-2
- Peter Wright () v Stephen Bunting ()
Nothing is guaranteed after yesterday and although Snakebite will feel he's been presented with the kind of opportunity he grasped at the UK Open earlier this year, he'll know he can't afford to be complacent in the slightest. Bunting showed a welcome return to form on Saturday when reaching the final of a Players Championship event, where he was beaten by Mensur Suljovic but I'm going to side with Wright here.
Prediction: 2-0
All sets are the best of five legs. There will be no tie-break in any set. All legs must begin and end with a double, meaning that a player must hit a double before he can begin scoring in each leg.
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