Will van Gerwen make short work of Barstow?
Will the “Green Machine” strike back at the Ally Pally? For years the great dominator of the darts scene, Michael van Gerwen, has had to relinquish his supremacy in recent years. As world number three he is now chasing the last two champions Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price. The Dutchman will start the tournament on Saturday evening in the last match of the day against Chas Barstow
The opponent from England is positioned outside the top 100 of the world ranking and plays for the first time in the big highlight of the year in London. The 42-year-old has already survived Round 1 and now, of course, he goes into the match against the three-time world champion as a glaring underdog.
The bookmakers have a completely clear starting position and Mighty Mike is the favourite. Between Michael van Gerwen and Chas Barstow, the odds for the Dutchman to win are below 1.10, so look out for handicap bets. The two players will take to the oche late on Saturday night in the Evening Session at around 23:00 German time.
Michael van Gerwen – Statistics & current form
For the first time in many, many years, Michael van Gerwen goes into a World Championship without a Major title. He failed to reclaim the throne in 2021 and has again suffered many bitter defeats. At the moment he is a long way away from his best performances from 2015-2017 and above all the father of two lacks the necessary consistency.
Is the empire from the Netherlands striking back?
The dress rehearsal for the World Championship was the best example when he played good performances in the Playlist Championship Finals and defeated among others his compatriot Raymond van Barneveld and Gary Anderson. But afterwards he was eliminated by snakebite Peter Wright despite an average of over 100 points. The Dutchman just wasn’t there in the decisive moments. Exactly this was the great strength of the 32-year-old in former times, which he wants to pick up again in the Ally Pally.
With a success at the World Cup, an actually disappointing 2021 could be completely forgotten and the big mission should start on Saturday evening. Against Barstow, there is no need to discuss the fact that the towering favourites can only trip themselves up.
Is Mighty Mike sending a message to the competition?
The condition of the last few weeks has been very good and if the Dutchman puts in a concentrated performance, nothing will stand in the way of an unchallenged victory. Mighty Mike will try to start with full power from the first moment to take the air out of his opponent early. Should that succeed, an outright 3-0 win is the most likely outcome, and a tip between Michael van Gerwen and Chas Barstow can be made on that result.
Chas Barstow – Statistics & current form
Chas Barstow is a darts player from the island who made his first mark on the PDC Tour since 2018. In 2020 he reached the Challenge Tour final for the first time and just missed the Tour Card via Q-School. He progressed to a few Pro Tour events and had by far his best year so far in 2021.
Barstow caps off his best year yet in 2021
Among other things he qualified for the Players Championship Finals where he could only win two legs against Brandon Dolan. Via the Pro Tour Barstow then also made it into the field of the World Championship where he fought in round 1 on Thursday against John Norman Junior for a place in round 2. With a very solid and playful performance he defeated the Canadian 3:1 and the statistics after the match were very satisfying.
An average of over 93 points and a check quota of 35% are extremely respectable for a first appearance on the biggest darts stage in the world and the reward is now by far the biggest match of his career so far. Against MVG, the 42-year-old can play with complete freedom and has nothing to lose
Can we go one better than the first round?
If he enters the oche with this approach and keeps his nerves under control, something might be possible in one or the other round. The bottom line, though, is that it would take a mid-size miracle for him to actually bring the world number three to the brink of defeat. Between Michael von Gerwen and Chas Barstow it’s a pretty safe bet that the underdog will have to pack his bags after Saturday’s clash
Michael van Gerwen – Chas Barstow Direct comparison / H2H balance
The direct comparison does not help with the pairing Michael van Gerwen vs. Chas Barstow for a tip on the upcoming match, as the two players have never met before. The big premiere now takes place directly in the Alexandra Palace in the British capital and one can be curious how the number 101 of the world presents himself in this new environment for him.
Michael van Gerwen – Chas Tip
The favourite position in the odds is more than clear and basically the only question is how much Michael von Gerwen will win. As the odds for the match outcome would be far too low, a real value bet can also only be found in the handicap or special over/under bets. If the Dutchman can keep up the form of the last weeks and months, Chas Barstow will have no job on Saturday.
While he will certainly enjoy the match and the atmosphere. In purely sporting terms, however, he will clearly lose out and anything other than an unchallenged 3:0 victory for Mighty Mike would be a surprise.
The best recommendation between Michael van Gerwen and Chas Barstow is to bet on the handicap (-2.5 sets), which means that the favourite will not concede a single round. Seven units are selected as the betting level for this.
