World Matchplay Darts 2019 Preview – Sunday, July 21st at 7.40 pm
England’s James Wade is just one of three players in this year’s World Matchplay to have won the tournament before. The other two are Michael van Gerwen and reigning champion Gary Anderson. Wade has a wonderful record at the tournament, but his performances in Blackpool in the last couple of seasons have fallen short. Can he survive a tricky opener against De Zwaan who pulled of a shock in last year’s first-round?
James Wade v Jeffrey de Zwaan Winner Odds*
James Wade 8/15
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6/4
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on July 16th, 2019 at 9:35 pm)
Can The Machine rise to the occasion?
You look back over the career of Wade at the World Matchplay and it’s quite impressive, despite him only having won one title there before. That success happened in 2007. It is one of six appearances in the Final of the World Matchplay that Wade has secured. He has had two semi-final finishes besides that as well.
So The Machine has an affinity with the event. However, in the last three editions, he hasn’t made it past the second round. So can he step it up on a return to the Winter Gardens? He will have seen what De Zwaan pulled off in last year’s edition and will be wary of the challenge that could come. Wade will arrive in a bit of form. He won the Players Championship Wigan 18 in June and just reached the semis of the German Masters.
Can The Black Cobra strike down Wade?
Dutch star Jeffrey De Zwaan was the talk of the North West town twelve months ago. That is because he knocked World Number One Michael van Gerwen out of the competition in the first round. De Zwaan ran to the semifinals twelve months ago where he was stopped by eventual winner Gary Anderson. So De Zwaan will have fond memories of Blackpool. Incidentally, the win over MVG at the World Matchplay was one of two wins that he took over his compatriot in 2018. De Zwaan has reached two Players Championship event finals since the start of April, winning one of them. What can the Black Cobra do here?
Predictions
This is a really interesting matchup. Wade has lost his way in Blackpool in the last couple of years, while 23-year-old De Zwaan is one of the developing stars of the tour. The Dutchman did just reach the fourth round of the UK Open back in March. There’s every chance he will push Wade hard. De Zwaan + 2.5 handicap is at 4/6 odds* (betting odds taken from bet365 on July 16th, 2019 at 9:35 pm)
