Darts Betting Tips: Rydz to run riot in Quarters

It's quarter final time at Ally Pally, where each man can define where he stands in the darts rankings for the year ahead. 

Check out Sean Rafferty's Darts Betting Tips for New Years' Day with this double boosted from 12/5 to 3/1!

Over 7.5 sets in Dobey vs Price @ 4/5

The bookies have next to nothing separating these two in the odds and I can’t argue with that. Both have been posting similar numbers so far - Price averaging lower 90s every match and Dobey averaging around mid 90s for the tournament. Price does hold a ridiculously strong record against Dobey to my surprise - I thought it’d be pretty level but The Iceman has won his last twelve meetings against the Geordie man.

Dobey is fractionally ahead in the averages over the past twelve months at 97.17, with Price just behind on 96.80 which tells you how little separate these two over the past year. Both have had to use their battling powers already to reach this stage - Price coming through a dramatic sudden death leg in his last 32 tie against Joe Cullen, having led that match 3-0 at one point. The Welshman seems to keep coming out the gates quickly, taking the first couple sets with a high average then can’t seem to see it out, the panic sets in a bit for him when the opponent starts firing back at him which suggests his confidence isn’t fully back yet. He’s won the first two sets in all three of his matches so far so don’t be surprised if Price races into an early lead in this one.

Hollywood has also had to survive a deciding set - coming through against Kevin Doets 4-3 yesterday. He trailed 3-2 thanks to some horrible doubles costing him sets, but managed to hold it together to complete a comeback. He really needs to improve on his doubles though and perhaps spend his Hogmanay practicing them, or else he’ll likely be punished for it here. The same could be said for Gezzy though, who has failed to hit higher than 39% of his doubles in any of his three matches. Expect to see a lot of nerves and missed doubles at the back end of legs from this pair.

We do have Dobey to win this quarter at 11/2 so I see no need to get involved in the match winner market in this one and quite frankly you’d need a crystal ball to tell you anyway. Given how tight their yearly stats are and the fact that neither look like they can see out a match comfortably, you have to fancy this one going deep. Dobey will be hoping it’s third time lucky, having exited the tournament at this stage the past two years. He may well still be scarred from losing against Rob Cross last year, having led the match 4-0. Even if a player takes control early doors I don’t think they’ll have them in in them to see it out. 8+ sets written all over it at 4/5.

Callan Rydz over 9.5 180s @ 10/11

In a tournament where perhaps you could argue a lot of the big hitters have been faltering or underperforming, Callan Rydz has been the shining star. Three years on from his excellent run to the quarter finals, The Riot gets a second chance to reach the final four at the Ally Pally. There’s no doubting he’s been the player of the tournament thus far - averaging 107, 91, 105 and 97 in his matches. The power scoring is most definitely there and even his doubles have been impressive in comparison to his yearly figures on them.

We all know that Callan has an elite game in him but it’s still somewhat of a surprise to see him go this far, when you consider he he’s only made one other televised QF since that run here in 2021. He’s suffered a lot with the mental side of the game, beating himself up after defeats and not being able to keep his emotions in check during matches when things go wrong. He even spoke on social media a few months ago questioning his future in the game and whether he wanted to carry on. Thankfully for him he’s managed to control his emotions so far which has definitely helped him.

For all of his dominance in the earlier rounds, not dropping a single set in victories over Grbavac, Schindler and Van den Bergh, we hadn’t really seen Rydz be challenged or put under any real sort of pressure. However he was last night, he had to get past Robert Owen in a deciding set, so has shown he’s up to the task when the going gets tough too.

There’s no denying Van Gerwen has had a favourable draw so far, but he could have his work cut out here against a player averaging more than him for the tournament. MVG has still been solid though and a positive is that he’s improving each game - averaging 95, 97 and 102 so far. He was well tested against Dolan and De Graaf, he did wilt at times in they matches but ultimately found another gear in the end to get over the line in those matches.

The head to head is fairly tight, MVG leading 3-2 in their previous matches, but the gulf in class between the two has arguably narrowed since most of they matches.

I’m going to concentrate on Rydz hitting 180s - his maximum hitting has been excellent so far. He’s 0.28 180s per leg for the year but his stats for this tournament are more impressive, hitting 26 180s in 67 legs, which is 0.38 180s per leg. If he can continue around that rate then he’ll only need around seven sets to hit the required ten 180s, over 9.5 180s looks a banker at 10/11 if he keeps up this form.