Impressive champion must be focused in more serious test

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Reigning champion Gary Anderson hasn’t put a dart wrong in the first two rounds of the William Hill World Championship and is seeking perfection again in round three.

The Scot and double world champ has dropped just six legs in whitewashes of Mark Frost and Andrew Gilding, but now comes his first serious test against 15th seed Benito van de Pas.

The bookies clearly like what they have seen of the bespectacled Anderson, who is a 1-7 shot to beat the Belgian.

Van de Pas’s compatriot Kim Huybrechts kicks off the day’s entertainment against Max Hopp in the first of four second-round ties which act as curtain-raisers to Anderson’s third-round duel.

K Huybrechts v Hopp
Head-to-head: Huybrechts leads 2-0
Expect the maximum count to go through the roof when European rivals Kim Huybrechts and Max Hopp take to the stage.

These two heavy hitters are likely to give the board a real pounding and once they get their range on the treble-20 bed they won’t let up.

Huybrechts hit five 180s in a 3-0 romp against James Wilson in round one while Hopp pinged six against an ailing Vincent van der Voort, a match he won 3-1.

This tussle could easily go to six sets – and maybe longer – which ought to mean the pair sail past the 12.5 180s barrier.

Recommendation
Over 12.5 180s
1pt 6-5 Hills

Wade v Beaton
Wade leads 17-3
James Wade should win well and complete a hat-trick of world championship second-round triumphs over the Adonis.

That said, the left-hander is plenty short enough, and one price that does jump out is the 15-8 about Beaton hitting more maximums.

Wade is a consistently low hitter of 180s whereas Beaton is far more mercurial around the treble-20 bed. If he’s firing he could pile up half a dozen or so in next to no time.

Recommendation
S Beaton to hit more 180s
1pt 15-8 Coral, Sky Bet

Klaasen v Dolan
Dolan leads 4-3
Brendan Dolan calls himself The History Maker and it would be another memorable first if he can beat Jelle Klaasen.

In eight previous attempts at the worlds the Northern Irishman has never gone beyond the second round – and he is 3-1 to end that sequence this time.

He played well against another Dutchman, Christian Kist, in his opener, averaging 95 with a 56 percent checkout return – not bad for a player who admits he has been poor for two years.

But last year’s semi-finalist Klaasen is a good deal better than Kist and, having seen off slowcoach Jeffrey de Zwaan in round one, he’ll be well prepared for another pedestrian opponent.

Wright v J Lewis
Wright leads 3-0
Peter Wright looked as though he meant business in his opening demolition job on Jerry Hendriks and Jamie Lewis may well lack the consistency to halt the Scot’s march into round three.

A routine Wright romp should mean not too many maximums and 180s could be pitched too high at 11.5.

Recommendation
Under 11.5 180s
1pt 10-11 Hills, Ladbrokes

Anderson v Van de Pas
No previous meetings
Anderson, yet to drop a set in two rounds, should find third-round opponent Van de Pas a far sterner challenge than either Mark Frost or Andrew Gilding.

Van de Pas will live with Anderson’s scoring and put the champion’s finishing under pressure. What is more, as he proved in a scintillating 4-3 triumph over Terry Jenkins in round two, he loves a scrap.

The Dutchman definitely has the game to take a couple of sets off Anderson.

Recommendation
B van de Pas +2.5 sets
1pt 11-10 bet365, Betway