Will Wright keep his cool against the Australian heat?
Can Peter Wright stave off an early exit this time? Last year he failed as defending champion in round three of the World Championship against German number one Gabriel Clemens. Snakebite now wants to avoid such a disappointment and enter the last 16 with a win against Damon Heta. The Australian should by no means be underestimated, however, and as world number 31 he has already caused many a surprise.
In the dress rehearsal for the World Cup, the two players recently faced each other in the Players Championship Finals and the Scot won by a razor-thin margin of 10:8. The best bookmakers apparently believe that the world number two will hold his own this time as well and between Peter Wright and Damon Heta the odds for a tip on the favourite are 1.30 at the top.
On the side of the man from Oceania, the stake can be more than tripled with successful bets. This clash will be the second match in the Evening Session on Tuesday evening and will start at around 21:15 German time.
Peter Wright – Statistics & current form
As former champion and world number two Peter Wright is naturally considered one of the top favourites to win the title in London. The year 2021 was not the strongest of his career but he came back in form in time for the World Championship. He already reached the final of the Grand Slam of Darts (8:16 defeat against Gerwyn Price). Afterwards he won the dress rehearsal for the World Championship – the Players Championship Finals.
Backwind from tournament win in Minehead
In the final, Snakebite held his nerve to beat Ryan Searle 11-10. He took the good form with him to the British capital. In round one the Scot had no trouble at all with his opponent Ryan Meikle. Meikle played an average of less than 80, which is why Wright didn’t reach (or had to reach) his maximum performance.
92 points on average, a check out rate of 35 % and only one maximum thrown were enough for a 3:0 victory. He will have ramped up the training frequency over the holidays and now knows that the decisive phase is just around the corner.
Can Snakebite improve from match to match?
The world number two’s true ability will flash for the first time on Tuesday and between Peter Wright and Damon Heta, it’s fair to predict that the favourite will raise his game significantly. If he can do that, the favourite has a good chance of avoiding an early exit in round three this time and success for the 51-year-old is very likely.
Last matches of Peter Wright:
World Darts Championship
12/17 2021 – Peter Wright 3 – 0 Ryan Meikle
Players Championship Finals
11/28 2021 – Ryan Searle 10 – 11 Peter Wright
11/28 2021 – Peter Wright 11 – 6 Jonny Clayton
11/28 2021 – Peter Wright 10 – 6 Michael van Gerwen
11/27 2021 – Peter Wright 10 – 8 Damon Heta
Damon Heta – Statistics & current form
Similar to his upcoming opponent, Damon Heta has also had a very good preparation for the World Championship. The high flyer from Australia only won the Tourcard in 2020 and established himself very fast on the PDC Circuit. Rightly he will start in London as seeded player and had to play after a walk-through in round two against Luke Woodhouse. In a curious match the 34 year old benefited from numerous errors on the doubles of his opponent.
Heta benefits from his opponent’s weaknesses in the opening match
Heta’s own check out rate was a strong 50% and so an average of 94.65 points was enough in the end for a fairly unchallenged 3:1 victory. The good shape was, as already mentioned, recently indicated at the Players Championship Finals. After wins against Steve Lennon and Gabriel Clemens Heta only lost in the last 16 against his current opponent Peter Wright with 8:10. Now he wants revenge on the biggest darts stage in the world.
At the same time he would reach the last 16 of the World Championship for the first time in his career with a win against Snakebite. This would surely be beside a tournament win in the Pro Tour 2020 and the win of the PDC Home Tour in the same year the biggest success in the Australian’s career so far. “The Heat” convinces with a very constant play, which is of course a big plus over the distance of “Best of Seven Sets”.
The Australian has to be on the spot in the decisive moments
However, he also knows himself that he will have to get close to his absolute performance maximum if he wants to survive as an underdog on Tuesday. With a performance like the one in round one, betting on the underdog between Peter Wright and Damon Heta is not very promising.
Last matches of Damon Heta:
World Darts Championship
12/23 2021 – Damon Heta 3 – 1 Luke Woodhouse
Players Championship Finals
11/27 2021 – Peter Wright 10 – 8 Damon Heta
11/27 2021 – Damon Heta 6 – 2 Gabriel Clemens
11/26 2021 – Damon Heta 6 – 2 Steve Lennon
Players Championship 30
11/04 2021 – Michael van Gerwen 6 – 4 Damon Heta
Peter Wright – Damon Heta Direct comparison / H2H record
The direct comparison in the pairing of Peter Wright vs Damon Heta suggests that the bookmakers are relatively correct in their assessment. The 75% win probability included in the odds is reflected in the H2H record.
The world number two has won three of the four meetings so far. Only once was Heta successful in a Players Championship event earlier this year in February. The most recent clash at the Players Championship Finals has already been addressed and in the round of 16 Snakebite narrowly prevailed 10-8.
Peter Wright – Damon Heta Tip
The longer the distance, the more likely the favourites will prevail with their great consistency. This is also true for the duel Peter Wright vs. Damon Heta and a tip on the World Champion of 2020 is the best recommendation.
With the strong form the Scot brought with him to London, he will not show the nerve again and be eliminated in round three like last year. On the other hand, his Australian opponent is too strong for him to go out without winning a set.
The best recommendation is to play the odds on the 4:2 win of the favourite between Peter Wright and Damon Heta. These are the best value bets for this match. Three units are selected as the betting size for this match.
