First Round – Friday, December 13th
Best of Five Sets
This match comes from right at the top of the PDC Darts World Championship draw. Jelle Klaasen made it through to the tournament as a Pro Tour Qualifier. It sucks a little bit that the prize for the winner in this first-round match is to face outright favourite Michael van Gerwen in the second round. Kevin Burness is making just his second appearance at the tournament.
Jelle Klaasen v Kevin Burness Odds*
Klaasen 1/3
Burness 12/5
* (betting odds taken from Bet365 on December 12th, 2019 at 6:05 pm)
Klaasen to outclass opponent
Not the greatest of draws for Dutchman Jelle Klaasen who could face his compatriot MVG in the second round. The Cobra is a former BDO World Champion having won that crown back in 2006 on his debut remarkably enough. Two years later he was taking on the PDC. He has had a couple of successful outings in the PDC World Championship.
He made a big splash in 2009 in reaching the quarter-finals and then back in 2016 he was one of the final four, which remains his best effort to date. In eight of his other nine appearances at the PDC Darts World Championship, he failed to get past the second round.
Northern Ireland’s Kevin Burness spent around a decade on the BDO before making the switch in 2018 to the PDC. In his PDC World Championship debut at the last edition, he did get past the first round before losing to Gary Anderson. He beat Paul Nicholson in that opening match.
There just isn’t anything in his form currently, not on the European tour or the Players Championship to suggest that he is going to upset Klaasen in this one. He may even struggle to get himself on the board.
Prediction
Jelle Klaasen 3-0 Correct Score as a 9/4 option looks a good fit* (betting odds taken from Bet365 on December 12th, 2019 at 6:05 pm). The Cobra is never the most reliable of players but he is up against a player who has exited at the first stage in each of his last six tournaments, most of them Players Championship events.
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