World Darts Championship Day 7 predictions, tips & free bets
PDC World Championship Day Seven predictions
Upsets at the 2024 World Darts Championship have been hard to come by so far and we seem set to see three straightforward wins for the bookmakers' favourites on Thursday night.
James Wade has been the only big seed to fall so far, losing as he did to Canada’s Matt Campbell on Tuesday. Two days on and we’re still looking for more scalps but it’s likely that the big boys will have no trouble progressing through to the third round.
The big match of the night is seventh seed Danny Noppert taking on England’s Scott Williams, over whom he has a 3-1 career record and is 2/5 on darts betting sites to progress.
Elsewhere, Damon Heta takes on Martin Lukeman, while Belgium’s 22nd seed Gabriel Clemens faces one of the rare surprise winners from the first round in Man Lok Leung. It’s this fixture that could, possibly, produce an against-the-odds result. But in reality, Thursday evening should go according to seeding.
Below are our three picks from betting sites for Thursday’s evening session with our selections paying out at 18/1 when combined into a treble at BetVictor.
Danny Noppert vs Scott Williams predictions
(8.15pm)
Noppert has a 75 per cent winning record over Williams but hasn’t always had it his own way. This year the pair have met three times, with Williams snagging a 6-5 win at the Hungarian Darts Trophy.
All four previous meetings have been close encounters, with the duo separated by no more than two legs. Noppert won their last meeting in November 6-4 in a contest that could have gone either way.
The seed should win here. However, Noppert may be pushed the distance and Unibet go 9/5 at over 4/5 sets. Given how evenly matched the pair are historically, we’re backing this five set affair to go to the wire.
Gabriel Clemens vs Man Lok Leung predictions
(9.15pm)
Clemens was one of the stories of the 2023 World Darts Championship as he careered to the semi-finals before losing to Michael Smith.
The German has followed that up with semi-final appearances at the Players Championship Finals and the World Cup. He hasn’t fared too well on the European Tour but comes into this tournament in reasonable form.
He’ll need to be sharp against Leung, the Hong Konger who bamboozled Dutch prodigy Gian van Veen on Tuesday. A remarkable 11 maximums formed the backbone of Leung’s 3-2 win in the first round and he could pose a threat again at the Ally Pally.
Clemens, though, is a different beast. His average at the Players Championship Finals only once fell below 95 and he has plenty of experience playing in front of raucous crowds.
Clemens might not have it all his own way and is 13/5 to win 3-1 with BetGoodwin.
Damon Heta vs Martin Lukeman predictions
(10:15pm)
Heta has not had the best of years. He hasn’t won a big trophy in 2023 and his average has dropped back below 95 after a peak of 97.55 in 2022. His win percentage remains stubbornly set at 69 per cent and recent bursts of form have been abruptly ended.
Heta is the favourite on betting apps to beat Lukeman on Thursday, with the Englishman having edged Haupai Puha 3-1 in his first-round match. Lukeman was by no means dominant in that Ally Pally win and has struggled for form heading into the Worlds.
He also has a 4-2 losing record against Heta. The Aussie claimed a convincing 6-2 victory when they last met in September.
This could be a low-quality game of darts and Heta is too short at 11/25 to win outright, but the 9/10 on him covering the -1.5 handicap has the potential to be a strong option.
It may be a routine victory for the Aussie or a complete nightmare. It just depends which Heta turns up.
PDC World Championship Tip 3: Heta -1.5 – 9/10 at BetMGM
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Joe Short is a freelance journalist and former editor at the Daily Express, covering politics, football, tennis and darts, among other things. He contributes sports betting tips for The Independent.
