Daryl Gurney vs Chris Dobey 
29th December 1315hrs
Darts – England – PDC World Championships
Pick Gurney to win
Bookmaker Betfair
Odds: 4/5 odds recorded 2221 GMT Monday, 28th December
This is going to be a tricky third round match for 11th seed Daryl Gurney at the World Darts Championship we think.
He lines up against England’s Chris Dobey for a place in the fourth round where Vincent van der Voort awaits.
Gurney goes into this fixture as only a very narrow favourite to pick up the win.
Table of Contents
Daryl Gurney Preview – Can SuperChin survive?
Northern Ireland’s Daryl Gurney is the 4/5 favourite in the match outright for darts betting* (odds recorded 2221 GMT Monday, 28th December).
That’s how tricky of a match that this is expected to be for him.
“SuperChin” has been struggling to make inroads into recent World Championship campaigns, having not been past the third round in any of his last three attempts.
He’s actually only been past that stage once from seven previous attempts. That was when he made a career-best quarter final place in 2017.
There hasn’t been a lot to cheer about for Gurney this season. His best effort though came at the UK Open following the season restart.
He banked a semi final place there.
In ThHe Players Championship Finals, the last big action before this PDC World Championships, Gurney bowed out in his first match.
So there is every reason to expect that he will have a tough battle.
In the correct score market a Gurney 4-2 is the shortest-priced option at 4/1* (odds recorded 2221 GMT Monday, 28th December).
So the bookmakers are expecting Chris Dobey to get well into this match.
Gurney owned this season’s World Championship campaign with a narrow 3-2 win over Ireland’s William O’Connor.
Daryl Gurney had put up a very good three dart average of 99 in that fixture but was never really able to pull himself clear of his opponent.
Chris Dobey Preview – Can Dobey do it?
Chris Dobey has been to the fourth round in his last two attempts at the World Championships.
So the Englishman does have that form behind him to look at.
This is just the fifth appearance for “Hollywood” in the main draw of the PDC World Championship.
Like Gurney, Dobby went well at his year’s UK Open, running deep there.
Although it’s nowhere near the same level, Dobby was starting to hit some very nice form on the PDC Home Tour in November.
He carried that form through to his opening match at the Alexandra Palace for this event where he met Canada’s Jeff Smith.
Dobby secured a 3-2 win in that fixture to move ahead to what should be a tougher match.
In the match outright for darts betting on Tuesday, Dobey is the even money underdog* (odds recorded 2221 GMT Monday, 28th December).
Dobby has faced Gurney six times before in his career, including a meeting this season.
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Chris Dobey lost heavily to Gurney in the Premier League meeting that they played out in August.
That’s back to back defeats that Dobey has suffered against the Northern Ireland thrower.
Overall it is the W2 L4 record that Dobey has against Gurney and three of his last four defeats against Gurney have been by substantial margins.
There is a little interest from a darts betting perspective on the underdog in what could be a fairly even match.
A Dobey -1.5 handicap is at 7/4* (odds recorded 2221 GMT Monday, 28th December).
Daryl Gurney vs Chris Dobey Betting Advice
Do we trust Gurney enough to avoid a slip in this contest? Yes, although he is going to have to be sharper than he was in the first round.
It’s just the longer format of the match that gives us enough to stick with the favourite.
At 4/5 he’s worth a look in the outright market* (odds recorded 2221 GMT Monday, 28th December).
At the end of the day, Gurney does have a nice bit of head to head from going against Dobey.
Key Facts – Daryl Gurney vs Chris Dobey Betting Tip
- Daryl Gurney is W4 L2 against Dobby from previous meetings
- Daryl Gurney has failed to get to the fourth round in his last three World Championship efforts
- Chris Dobey has been to the fourth round in his last two World Championship appearances
Dobey is a scrappy player who has done well to get to the fourth round on his last two World Championship appearances.
He certainly has enough to make his opponent work hard.
But for extended odds, we are looking at the Gurney 4-2 correct score which feels about right for 9/2* (odds recorded 2221 GMT Monday, 28th December).
We expect to see a wobble or two from the Northern Ireland man, but would expect Gurney to find a way to progress.
The best betting odds for Daryl Gurney vs Chris Dobey
Daryl Gurney to win: 4/5 at Bet365
Chris Dobey to win: Even money at Bet365
