Consistent Dennis Nilsson can get everybody talking

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Swedish strongman Dennis Nilsson should be able to outmuscle debutant Jeffrey Sparidaans in a preliminary-round dust-up on day two of the BDO Lakeside World Championships.

Nilsson, known as Iron Man, is a consistently strong performer on the Nordic Tour though his two visits to the worlds – once at the PDC, the other at the Lakeside – ended in first-hurdle falls.

But he produced the run of his life at the International Open in September, beating Steve Beaton, Daryl Gurney and Dave Chisnall to reach the quarter-finals.

Sparidaans is yet another product off the Dutch conveyor belt of young darters and he enjoyed a decent 2017 with victories in the England Classic and the Hungarian Classic. It has to be said, though, the standard of those events wasn’t high.

Nilsson is a more sedate thrower and his pace of play probably won’t delight the Dutch darter, who is keen to get on with it.

There’s a decent duel in the ladies’ first round between former finalists Corinne Hammond and Fallon Sherrock, and the Australian number one is fancied to cause a minor upset.

Hammond emerged last year to reach the final where she was no match for an imperious Lisa Ashton.

Since then, Hammond has had a fine year with a trio of titles, the pick of which being the English Open where she turned the tables on Ashton, and she also reached the World Masters final.

Recommendations
D Nilsson
2pts 10-11 Coral, Ladbrokes
C Hammond
2pts 11-10 Betfair, Paddy Power

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