Betfred World Matchplay: Darts tournament preview, free tip & TV details

Free darts tips, best bets and analysis for the Betfred World Matchplay on Saturday.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Action, 6pm Saturday

Best bets

Peter Wright to win the tournament
2pts each-way 13-2 Betfair
Gary Anderson to win the tournament
1pt 16-1 Betfair

Tournament preview

Big-time darts is back with the Betfred World Matchplay and Peter Wright looks ready to take centre stage.

There’s no crowd this year and the venue has switched from the fabulous Winter Gardens in Blackpool to the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, but Snakebite could still light up the tournament.

Wright claimed his first world title at the beginning of the year and the Scot has continued in a rich vein of form since landing the biggest prize in darts. The first-round draw could have been better for Snakebite but Jose de Sousa may be the toughest test Wright will face until the semi-finals.

De Sousa has been producing some astonishing numbers on the Pro Tour this season and looked in great shape in the recent Summer Series. The Special One has yet to produce those stunning averages in a major event but he has had limited opportunities to show what he can do.

That said, Wright is the top performer on the PDC Tour this season in terms of three-dart averages and that brought him to victory in Summer Series Players Championship 13 event last week

Glen Durrant would be a threat to Snakebite if the pair were to clash in round two but Duzza faces a tricky tie against Jeffrey de Zwaan in his opening contest.

Daryl Gurney, Ricky Evans, Dave Chisnall and Vincent van der Voort complete the quarter and Snakebite has little to fear from any of those arrowsmiths.

Wright is housed away from tournament favourite Michael van Gerwen in the bottom half of the draw, and that makes the world champion look well worthy of each-way support.

Van Gerwen is rated 7-4 to claim the Matchplay crown but at the prices his section rival Gary Anderson makes far more appeal.

Anderson kicks off against Justin Pipe, and while the Scot hasn’t always enjoyed the Force’s measured approach, he should remain patient enough to progress.

James Wade or Keegan Brown await and the Scot should be confident of progressing to set up a potential quarter-final showdown against MVG.

Anderson will need to be near his best if he is to beat the Green Machine but his averages on the Pro Tour compare well enough to suggest he is overpriced.

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