Grand Slam of Darts Quarter-Final Tips: Price will upset Anderson again

Dan Fitch
15 November 2019

Will Gerwyn Price be celebrating after his match with Gary Anderson?

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It's the second night of quarter-finals at the Grand Slam of Darts and Dan Fitch is expecting Gerwyn Price to handle the pressure when he takes on Gary Anderson...

"Anderson has hit 14 ton 80s in the tournament, to Price's total of six."

Back Anderson to hit the most 180s and lose to Price at 2.8815/8

Repeat of fiery 2018 final

Gerwyn Price 1.738/11 v Gary Anderson 2.3211/8
Saturday 16 November, 19:15
Live on Sky Sports Action

Gerwyn Price will clash with Gary Anderson on Saturday in a repeat of the final of last year's Grand Slam of Darts.

The quarter-final tie promises to be a fiery affair. In the 2018 Grand Slam of Darts final, Anderson and Price produced a bad-tempered encounter in which they conducted a running battle on the oche. Anderson complained about Price's slow play and the exuberance of his celebrations. Ultimately it was Price that was left celebrating as he pulled off a 16-13 victory and the match finished without the traditional handshake between the players.

There's no doubt that Sky will enjoy billing this as a Saturday night grudge match in the absence of any boxing in their schedules. This will create a certain pressure and Price seems to be one most likely able to handle it on the evidence of their second round matches.

Price eased to a 10-1 over Darren Webster in the last-16 on Thursday night. Though his three dart average was unspectacular at 98.75, that was more than compensated for by his clinical finishing, as he recorded a checkout percentage of 66.67%.

In contrast, Anderson struggled to a 10-8 win over Robert Thornton, which could have been much more comfortable had his own checkout percentage been higher than 30.3%. The two-time World Champion achieved an average of 90.97 which was brought down by some very inconsistent scoring. Anderson has the ability to outscore Price in this match but it will be for nothing if his finishing does not improve.

The odds of 1.738/11 for Price look fair, given Anderson's form and the frustrations the Scot felt during the final last year. With Anderson having hit 14 ton 80s in the tournament, to Price's total of six, odds of 2.8815/8 for Anderson to hit the most 180s and lose the match, may appeal as a more risky alternative.

'Jackpot' returns to big stage

Michael van Gerwen 1.132/15 v Adrian Lewis 8.07/1
Saturday 16 November, 20:45
Live on Sky Sports Action

Adrian Lewis came through his tough match against James Wade in the second round, to set up a match with Michael van Gerwen that is bound to entertain.

At his best, Lewis is one of the few players on the circuit with a natural talent can come close to Van Gerwen's, but it's been seen far too rarely in recent years. This quarter-final appearance is the first time that Lewis has made the last-eight of a major ranking tournament since he reached the semi-finals of the World Matchplay in 2017.

Hopefully this successful run will help to boost the confidence of Lewis and against a player as good as Van Gerwen, even a defeat can be viewed as a positive as long as it's a close one. The two players have already met in the group stage, with MVG winning 5-2. In that game, Lewis was more accurate with his finishing, but could not live with Van Gerwen's scoring.

Van Gerwen was not at his best on Thursday as he beat Ian White 10-7, with both his scoring and accuracy of finishes below the standard we expect from him. That should give some encouragement to Lewis, but realistically it's a huge task, reflected in the odds of 1.132/15 for a Van Gerwen win.

The Dutch master has won his last nine matches against Lewis. In total he has 40 wins, compared to 14 for Lewis and three draws. In which case it's perhaps better to ignore the match result markets and concentrate on the rate of scoring, which has the potential to be high.

We tipped Lewis to score more 180s than Wade in the last round and he duly delivered with nine. With this being a longer match played over 31 legs, the odds of 2.01/1 for over 15.5 total 180s in the match, could prove generous with Van Gerwen sure to hit plenty himself.