Friday's William Hill PDC World Darts Championship betting preview, free tips

Darts tips, best bets and predictions for Friday's matches in the William Hill World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Darts & Main Event, 12.30pm & 7pm Friday

Best bets

Nico Kurz to beat Joe Cullen
1pt 8-5 Coral, Ladbrokes

Benito van de Pas to beat Max Hopp
1pt 5-4 Betfred

Peter Wright most 180s v Noel Malicdem
1pt 11-10 Betfair, Coral, Ladbrokes

Yuki Yamada most 180s v Darren Webster
1pt 7-2 Sky Bet

Ciaran Teehan +1.5 sets v Mervyn King
1pt 5-6 general

J Clayton -1.5 on most 180s handicap v J Dekker
1pt 11-10 Betfred

Mark McGeeney to beat Ricky Evans
1pt 6-5 bet365

Evening session match previews

Nathan Aspinall v Danny Baggish
H2H: no previous meetings

Nathan Aspinall has had a stunning year since reaching the last four here last year.

Three months later The Asp became UK Open champ and later won the US Masters, a tournament in which Danny Baggish perished in round one.

Aspinall’s American opponent averaged under 85 beating Andy Boulton in his opener and ought not possess the tools to trouble the 12th seed.

Joe Cullen v Nico Kurz
H2H: No previous meetings

Surely one of the sorriest sights of last year’s event was watching Joe Cullen have an absolute nightmare against Brendan Dolan.

Cullen missed 16 of 17 attempts at a double and left the Palace early once more. In nine visits the Bradford chucker has won just two matches.

To that end, Nico Kurz looks absolutely the bet to make it Germany 2 Yorkshire 0 on his Ally Pally debut.

Kurz averaged 95.67 against Huddersfield’s James Wilson on Wednesday night and looks born to play on the stage.

Max Hopp v Benito van de Pas
H2H: Tied at 4-4

Benito van de Pas somehow managed to make it past Gabriel Clemens on Wednesday and somehow manages to retain an impressive Alexandra Palace record.

The Dutchman has reached the last 16 in four of the last five years and if he makes it this year it will be in spite of wretched form.

He has found something recently – he averaged well into the 90s in three successful qualifiers including 99 against Robert Owen – whereas Max Hopp is on the slide.

Since reaching a Pro Tour final in May Hopp has done nothing and Van de Pas should be confident of toppling a second German in three days.

Peter Wright v Noel Malicdem
H2H: No previous meetings

All logic says Peter Wright wins this and wins it well.

Noel Malicdem, however, defied the odds last year to see off Jeffrey de Graaf and the Asian ace has done it again by crushing Rowby-John Rodriguez.

So Snakebite, yes, but Malicdem can win legs, maybe a set.

He can also hit 180s – he tops the Asian Tour for maximums per visit at 7.4. Wright, though, tops the Pro Tour at 7.5.

It means we can expect some big hitting with the Scot taken at 11-10 to out-max his opponent.

Afternoon session match previews

Darren Webster v Yuki Yamada
Head-to-head: No previous meetings

Demolition Man Darren Webster will be looking to bring the house down at Alexandra Palace this afternoon, but Japanese ace Yuki Yamada could make life tricky for the number 20 seed.

Yamada, one of two Japanese stars into round two of the William Hill World Championship, looked solid if unspectacular beating Ryan Meikle 3-1 in his opener.

That was a surprise – at least to bookmakers – and this would represent an even bigger one, even though Webster has had a terrible year, largely down to an arm injury.

He did at least make the last 16 at the Grand Slam but Webster is far too short to fancy.

One bet well worth considering is Yamada to hit most 180s at a huge 7-2. Webster ranks 123rd in 180-hitting on the Pro Tour, scoring a max in just 2.9 visits per hundred. Yamada nailed two in 19 legs and may not need many more - if any) - for this bet to cop.

Mervyn King v Ciaran Teehan
H2H: No previous meetings

Fenland veteran Mervyn King is a clear favourite to see off Irish youngster Ciaran Teehan and it’s easy to understand why.

The beetroot-faced 19th seed is so reliable on stage. This year, for example, has been pretty average on the floor yet King has made the last eight of the Matchplay and Players Championship Finals.

He’s a former BDO world finalist and PDC semi-finalist and boasts a pedigree beyond dispute.

But he’s also 53 with any number of ailments and young Teehan could add to his discomfort, especially if he can reproduce the form which saw him batter Ross Smith 3-0 with a 90-plus average in round one.

Jonny Clayton v Jan Dekker
H2H: Clayton leads 2-0

Anyone who watched Jan Dekker struggle to see off Ryan Joyce might not be convinced he can take out Jonny Clayton.

Except, of course, that Clayton has been badly out of form which has to give the limited Dutchman a chance.

His problem is that a mid-80s average wins nothing, even against the Welshman, who will be better than that. And the mid-80s is probably Dekker’s level.

So Clayton ought to win and ought to hit many, many more maximums than Dekker.

Ricky Evans v Mark McGeeney
H2H: Evans leads 1-0

Ricky Evans has fallen at the first on his last two trips to the Palace and may have to endure completing the hat-trick.

There doesn’t look much between Rapid Ricky, who has crept into the top 32, and Mark McGeeney, who averaged 93 and change and hit ten of 17 doubles seeing off Matt Campbell.

McGeeney is super-steady, certainly won’t be rushed by his lightning-quick adversary, and is worth an interest.

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