Tough task for Aspinall
There are not many unseeded players in the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace. Englishman Callan Rydz is one of them, though as number 36 in the Order of Merit he only missed the seedings by a whisker. So he should be a dangerous opponent for his compatriot Nathan Aspinall on Wednesday.
The Asp is currently number ten in the PDC Rankings. In the run-up to the World Championship the 30 year old from Stockport already belonged to the extended circle of favourites. After all he already reached the semi-finals twice in 2019 and 2020. Therefore, in the duel between Nathan Aspinall and Callan Rydz, one probably has to predict a victory for the favourite.
Callan Rydz is visiting Alexandra Palace for the third time and has won a match in each of the previous years. This year things are going better and if he continues to perform like this, the third round does not have to be the end of the line. Perhaps the 23-year-old will be able to achieve the biggest success in his young career on Wednesday.
The odds on a win by the two-time semi-finalist are not significantly lower than on the underdog. One or two might try a tip on a win for The Riot on Wednesday between Nathan Aspinall and Callan Rydz.
Nathan Aspinall – stats & recent form
Current Position Order of Merit: 10
Seeded position: 10
At 30 years old, Nathan Aspinall is already an old hand on the tour. Since 2012, The Asp has been playing in the concert of the greats. His biggest success came in 2019 when he won the UK Open. That, at the latest, was his breakthrough into the extended world elite. Since then, he has lacked major titles but is always a contender for the late rounds.
Between Heaven and Hell
However, the Englishman is also an aspirant who has dropped out early here and there. He recently reached the semi-finals of the Masters but was eliminated in the first round of the World Series of Darts finals. So there are two defeats in the last four matches. That means that in the match between Nathan Aspinall and Callan Rydz you should at least check the odds on a win for the young challenger.
In the Ally Pally Nathan Aspinall had to go to the oche only once this year. After a walk-through in the first round he had to play his fellow countryman Joe Murman in his opening match. He is only ranked 94th in the Order of Merit, but The Asp had big problems and was trailing 1:2 sets.
But in the decisive phase of the match The Asp was fully there and threw eight times the 180. The average of 93,15 was ok, but there is still room for improvement. The checkout rate of 34.29 percent also leaves room for improvement. An improvement should be expected on Wednesday in the third round
Last games of Nathan Aspinall:
World Darts Championship
12/22 2021 – Nathan Aspinall 3 – 2 Joe Murnan
Players Championship Finals
11/27 2021 – Rob Cross 6 – 4 Nathan Aspinall
11/26 2021 – Nathan Aspinall 6 – 2 Jeff Smith
Players Championship 30
11/04 2021 – Nathan Aspinall 2 – 6 Krzysztof Ratajski
11/04 2021 – Nathan Aspinall 6 – 4 Luke Woodhouse
Callan Rydz – Statistics & current form
Current Position Order of Merit: 36
Seeded position: unseeded
Callan Rydz still has a large part of his career ahead of him. He is not yet one of the world’s top players, but if his development continues like this, then he can certainly collect titles in the future. After all he already celebrated his biggest success at the PDC Darts World Championship this year. So in the meantime he feels very comfortable at the Ally Pally.
Strong performances at the Ally Pally
The Riot’s career highlight so far came at the World Matchplay in the summer, when he progressed to the final in Blackpool. There is still a chance that the current World Matchplay will be the best tournament of his career so far. But we think that in the third round between Nathan Aspinall and Callan Rydz the forecast goes rather to a defeat of the 23-year-old outsider.
Yet he has performed very well at the World Championships so far. In his two matches so far he didn’t have to drop a set and won both of them 3:0. In total Callan Rydz dropped only five legs in six sets in the matches against Japan’s Yuki Yamada and Brendan Dolan from England. That shows what good form The Riot is in.
His average in the second round was already close to world class with 102.73. Should he be able to score as strongly on Wednesday, it should be a very close match. We think it is conceivable that in the best-of-seven-sets mode, more than 5.5 sets will have to be played to determine the winner.
Last matches of Callan Rydz:
World Darts Championship
12/23 2021 – Brendan Dolan 0 – 3 Callan Rydz
12/18 2021 – Callan Rydz 3 – 0 Yuki Yamada
Players Championship Finals
11/27 2021 – Callan Rydz 5 – 6 James Wade
11/26 2021 – Callan Rydz 6 – 1 Mensur Suljovic
Players Championship 30
11/04 2021 – Joe Cullen 6 – 4 Callan Rydz
Nathan Aspinall – Callan Rydz Direct comparison / H2H record
The PDC calendar has only brought Nathan Aspinall and Callan Rydz together once before. That match was on this year’s schedule. In February both were guests in the Players Championship 2 in Bolton. In the semi-finals they met. Callan Rydz dominated this match and won in the end with a commanding 7:2 legs.
Nathan Aspinall – Callan Rydz Tip
Nathan Aspinall twice reached the semi-finals of the PDC World Darts Championship. He is also ranked number ten in the world and yet the bookmakers tested don’t see him as clearly ahead as he should be against an unseeded player. This could be because The Asp’s recent form has not been as strong as might be expected of him.
On the other hand, Callan Rydz is doing very well. At the World Championship he already played two matches in Alexandra Palace and only lost five legs in six sets. With rank 36 in the Order of Merit he just missed the seedings. We therefore tip the match between Nathan Aspinall and Callan Rydz to be a close one.
But we think that the pressure will now be greater on the underdog in the third round. The media attention increases during the tournament and you have to be able to deal with that as a 23-year-old. We think that the favourite will manage that better, which is why we play the betting odds on a win for The Asp in the duel between Nathan Aspinall and Callan Rydz.
