Does Price make short work of Huybrechts?

After the Christmas break the action in the “Ally Pally” goes on one after the other. The field of participants in the 2022 World Darts Championship has already shrunk to 32 players and many seeded players have already withdrawn from the prestigious tournament in London. So far at least the defending champion Gerwyn Price was spared from the death of the favourites.

In the round of the last 32 “The Iceman” will meet Kim Huybrechts on Monday evening and is aiming for a place in the last 16. As expected, the Welsh top player is the clear favourite with the best bookmakers. Meanwhile, odds of only 1.20 are offered on Price vs. Huybrechts for a bet on the iceman.

The last time these two players met was at the 2020 European Championships. Back then Gerwyn Price prevailed in the round of the last 32 with 6:1 in the best-of-11. Kim Huybrechts narrowly avoided a “whitewash” by Gerwyn Price

The last time the two players met was during the European Championship 2020. At that time Gerwyn Price prevailed in the round of the last 32 with 6:1 in the best-of-11. Kim Huybrechts narrowly avoided a “whitewash” by Gerwyn Price

Gerwyn Price – Statistics & current form

Gerwyn Price survived the tournament opener at the 2022 World Darts Championship largely unscathed. Though the reigning champion lost the first set 0:3, the Welshman dominated the rest of the match against the world number 80 Ritchie Edhouse, who with an average of 95,67 didn’t play bad.

But against Price, who played with an average of 101,28, Edhouse had no chance. In the last sixteen Gerwyn “The Iceman” Price will play against Kim Huybrechts. Since February 2019 the Welshman hasn’t lost a single match against Huybrechts. Most recently, there were even two wins in a row in which Price dominated the match at will.

If Gerwyn Price continues his average against Edhouse, it is obvious that on Monday evening the next show of power will follow. By the way: till now Gerwyn Price had his highest World Championship average in his match against John Henderson two years ago. At that time the Welsh ice man had an average of 104.20.

Is Price invincible in top form?

In four of his last six matches Gerwyn Price had an average over 100, so it is obvious that the Welshman will break the 100 mark this time as well. If “The Iceman” also throws more 180s than his upcoming opponent, the betting odds on Price vs. Huybrechts are 1.80. A bet on that is definitely recommended, especially since Huybrechts stumbled before the Christmas break.

Gerwyn Price, on the other hand, is brimming with confidence. Just a month ago the Welshman won the Grand Slam this year and added to his trophy collection. The 36-year-old is now aiming to win the World Championship for the second time in his current career and is accordingly favoured by the best betting companies.

Last matches of Gerwyn Price:

World Darts Championship
12/15 2021 – Gerwyn Price 3 – 1 Ritchie Edhouse

Players Championship Finals
11/27 2021 – Gerwyn Price 8 – 10 Brendan Dolan

11/27 2021 – Gerwyn Price 6 – 1 Martin Schindler

11/26 2021 – Gerwyn Price 6 – 3 Jason Lowe

Grand Slam of Darts Final Stage
11/21 2021 – Gerwyn Price 16 – 8 Peter Wright

Kim Huybrechts – statistics & current form

Kim Huybrechts mastered his first match at the 2022 World Championship at Ally Pally before the Christmas break. Although the Belgian produced a largely lacklustre performance, it was ultimately enough to eliminate Sherrock vanquisher Steve Beaton from the competition. However, Huybrechts self-critically stressed that a clear improvement in performance is necessary in the upcoming match.

Among others, “The Hurricane” had justified his weak performance with the lack of match practice. After all – at least according to Huybrechts in a TV interview – the Belgian had not trained properly in the last weeks, so the Christmas break came in handy for the world number 32.

On Monday evening Huybrechts will have to play at his best to stand up to the in-form Gerwyn Price. In his last match against the Welshman almost a year ago Huybrechts had no chance. Before that there was a “white wash” against the Welshman at the World Grand Prix 2020, in which Huybrechts even missed a set win.

Is the third round the end of the line again?

After the performance against Steve Beaton, there are hardly any arguments that would support a prediction of an underdog coup in Price vs Huybrechts. After all, Kim Huybrechts only had an average of 88.71 – and that although the Belgian threw a total of five 180s in the match.

At the last World Championship in 2021 Kim Huybrechts was already eliminated in the third round. At that time the Belgian had to drop out against Ryan Searle and lost 2:4 his match in the third round of the World Championship 2021. Anyway the best result for Huybrechts at a World Championship so far was the quarterfinal in 2012. At that time Huybrechts lost his match 2:5 and missed the semifinal.

Since then the best result in a PDC World Championship was the fourth round which Kim Huybrechts reached in the World Championship 2020.

Last matches of Kim Huybrechts:

World Darts Championship
12/22 2021 – Kim Huybrechts 3 – 1 Steve Beaton

Players Championship Finals
11/26 2021 – Adrian Lewis 6 – 3 Kim Huybrechts

Players Championship 30
11/04 2021 – Joe Cullen 6 – 5 Kim Huybrechts

11/04 2021 – Kim Huybrechts 6 – 5 David Evans

11/04 2021 – Kim Huybrechts 6 – 1 Richard Veenstra

Gerwyn Price – Kim Huybrechts Direct comparison / H2H record

These two players have met seven times so far. Gerwyn Price won four of the seven matches, while Kim Huybrechts prevailed three times. The last time was in February 2019, where the Belgian eliminated the Welsh iceman from the competition with a 6-5 win. Two years earlier, Huybrechts also eliminated the Welshman at European Tour 11 in September 2017.

In the last two matches between the two players, however, Gerwyn Price dominated at will. At the World Grand Prix 2020 Price managed a “white wash” against Huybrechts. Only three weeks later the Welshman also won the European Championship 2020 after a power performance with 6:1.

Gerwyn Price – Kim Huybrechts Tip

Gerwyn Price shouldn’t struggle too much in his match against Kim Huybrechts. After all, the Welshman put in a strong performance in the last round with an average of 101.28, in which “The Iceman” only stumbled in the first set. In contrast Kim Huybrechts showed a weak performance in his tournament opener.

Against a weak Steve Beaton the world number 32 from Belgium prevailed with an average of 88,71 and a checkout rate of 21,74 %. His highest checkout was an “86”. For comparison: Gerwyn Price had a checkout rate of 37,5 % against Edhouse. Highest checkout of the Welshman was a “130”.

Tendentially we expect a safe round of 16 for the Welshman who will probably not drop more than one set in his match against Kim Huybrechts. For Gerwyn Price vs. Kim Huybrechts, our betting odds of 1.91 are on Price to win the handicap by at least two sets. We are betting six units for this one.