An all-Welsh encounter between
Gerwyn Price and
Jonny Clayton is one of four second round ties at the
World Matchplay on Tuesday.
Progression for Nathan Aspinall, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson on Monday night means that 13 of the 16 World Matchplay seeds have made it through the World Matchplay first round, which is remarkable given the depth of talent in the field. Two of the three unseeded players feature in the opening two games on Tuesday,
It's fair to say that
Rob Cross will pose a tougher test for
Callan Rydz than Glen Durrant was able to this time around. It wasn't a pretty win for Rydz, but the key word there is 'win'. Rob Cross survived a fightback from Ross Smith to make it here, and performed pretty well throughout. He'll feel like a big favourite for this one.
The second tie features the two players who posted the highest averages of the first round. It was a very good start indeed for
Krzysztof Ratajski and
Luke Humphries. The Polish Eagle is bidding for yet another quarter-final, while the impressive Humphries is out to build momentum after a clinical dispatch of James Wade. This one has all the ingredients of a game set to go the distance.
Gather ye in Swansea, Newport and Cardiff; Aberystwyth and Abergavenny, prepare; let it ring around the valleys; we finally have a first ever all-Welsh World Matchplay tie. It's a shame for Welsh fans, really, because Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton both have the pedigree to go all the way in Blackpool. Only one can prevail, however. The first round performances don't point one way over the other, particularly, and the World Cup partners will each have their reasons for feeling confident. A full house at the Winter Gardens will likely get behind the Ferret with Price still persona non grata, which may only make both players a little uncomfortable.
Let's just say that it wasn't vintage
Dimitri van den Bergh against Devon Petersen in round one. Some of the darts at double 16 in particular looked like they'd need a SatNav to find their way to the green bit. In contrast,
Dave Chisnall set a high bar for finishing against Vincent van der Voort, with 71 per cent of his attempts finding the outer ring. Both generally score well, so if the trend continues, it would likely be Chizzy dumping out the defending champion - there's much work to do for Dimitri.
Schedule 2021 World Matchplay
Tuesday July 20 (1900 BST)
4x Second Round
19:10 Rob Cross v Callan Rydz
20:10 Luke Humphries v Krzysztof Ratajski
21:10 Gerwyn Price v Jonny Clayton
22:10 Dimitri Van den Bergh v Dave Chisnall