Darts / Jaymes Monte / 15 January 2012 /

Drama enveloped Lakeside on Saturday but we're not done just yet as Jaymes Monte picks out his best bet for the BDO World Championship final...

30 have fallen by the wayside, two remain. And few would argue that Tony O'Shea and Christian Kist are not the two players most deserving of their place in a Lakeside final. If there were to be a Brit Awards-style ceremony at the end of this week then Kist would most certainly win the breakthrough act gong, while O'Shea would be strutting up to the stage to collect a lifetime achievement award.

I expect most of those present at Frimley Green this Sunday evening will be cheering on Silverback. But I doubt that any will begrudge the young Dutchman his shot at the title.

Kist consistently hit the big averages in the early part of this week, then showed the other side of his game - one that is imperative in a top-level darts player - to battle back and beat Ted Hankey in Saturday's semi. O'Shea, on the other hand, has been the consummate pro, picking off legs when it really matters, upping his average when required and holding his nerve to closeout victory.

So onto the betting; Betfair punters have Silverback as the slight outsider here at odds of [2.1], and if I had to pick a bet in the Match Odds market then it would be to back the Englishman, but only because the odds-against price represents slight value. This match looks too tough to call and there are better bets to be had in the peripheral markets.

Each of these players came through a final-set decider to book their place in today's final. In a best-of-13-sets final between two obviously evenly matched players it wouldn't be a great surprise to see this one go the same way. 12 sets should be a minimum and so the [1.9] on more than 46.5 legs looks a solid bet.

A long match usually translates into plenty of maximums. But I have a hunch that this one may go the opposite way. Both players' 180s hitting froze slightly under the pressure of the semis - each hit fewer than they did in their respective shorter-format quarter-final matches - and that pressure will be magnified here. The threshold is set at 18.5 in the Over/Under market and so the [1.85] available on going low looks appealing.

It has been a fascinating week at Lakeside and Saturday's drama will certainly live long in the darting memory. Will Silverback win the title that he has craved for so long? Or will a new Dutch superstar be born?

Recommended Bets:
Back Under 18.5 180s @ [1.85]
Back Over 46.5 legs @ [1.9]

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