World Matchplay 2019 Preview 9.00 pm – Sunday, July 21st at 10.30 pm
This is going to be a great scrap in the first round of the World Matchplay at the Winter Gardens. After his jump from the BDO this year, Glen Durrant gets to take on the challenge in Blackpool for the first time. He is going to be hitting the oche as the favourite for this match win as well as he takes on former World Champion Adrian Lewis.
Adrian Lewis v Glen Durrant Winner Odds*
Glen Durrant 8/13
Adrian Lewis 13/10
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on July 16th, 2019 at 9:35 pm)
Can Duzza rock Blackpool?
This is going to be fascinating then. Glen Durrant, is the reigning BDO World Champion after winning it three times in a row.He will be looking to increase his stock on the PDC Tour. He is still earning his way up the rankings in his new organisation. Duzza hasn’t done a bad job of things so far. He has taken a couple of PDC titles in Players Championship events and is slowly acclimating himself to life on the new tour. The bookmakers recognise him as a pretty big threat here.
Can Adrian Lewis find his feet?
Former World Champion Adrian Lewis has been having his struggles with form. He has banked a couple of quarter-finals in the last few months. Those were at the German Open and the Austrian Darts Open, but he hasn’t looked like really getting his hands on a prize. It has been a long time since we have seen him contention for major prizes. His best effort in the last few years was a semi-final at the 2017 Masters.
That having been said, his record at the World Matchplay isn’t bad at all. He has two semi-final finishes in his last three tournaments three. He has only made the quarter-finals at least in all but two of his last eight appearances at the World Matchplay. Still the title has eluded him and given his current form and lower-ranking, it’s going to be a tough ask for him to go all the way. Will he even make it past the first round?
Predictions
Duzza is worth backing to come through this challenge. He has been settling in well on the PDC in the lesser tournaments and there’s no reason why he can’t step it up at a higher level. The form of Lewis just isn’t there to suggest that he’s going to have an easy time of things in this fixture.
