Darts Betting Tips: Back the high finishes on Tuesday

Gian Van Veen highest checkout over 120.5 vs Charlie Manby @ 4/9

It was another solid performance by Van Veen as he cruised his way to a 4-1 win over Madars Razma in the last 32, with Gian never really having to get into top gear and was always in control of the match. He had a big drop off in performance in the fourth set which he lost, but without that, his winning set averages were 99, 101, 102 and 102, showing he’s more than capable of producing those numbers over a longer format.

He lived up to his reputation of being one of the best players in the world on the outer-ring, as he hit 57% of his doubles. As long as GVV is producing those sort of numbers with his finishing then he’ll be extremely tough to beat.

Speaking of doubles, Manby was the complete opposite on them in his win over Ricky Evans - Champagne Charlie missed a staggering 41 darts at double in the end, despite running out a 4-2 winner. The scoring was pretty good, hence why he still averaged just short of 90, but his doubles will have to be a hell of a lot better than 24% to stand any chance of competing against a player of Gian’s quality. He was let off the hook by Ricky on multiple occasions, who essentially gave up trying in the last set or so, so was given a comfortable finish in the end.

Van Veen waited until the final leg of the match against Razma to produce a 121+ checkout for us but really wasn’t pushed, far too often he was so far ahead in legs that he wasn’t being forced to go the bull route on bigger checkouts and had the option to lay up. My hope here is that Manby will be able to match him in the scoring phase of a lot of legs, thus forcing The Giant to try and pin a couple of big checkouts, which he’s usually so reliable for anyway.

1/2 looks a fair price for him to do just that, as he’s managed to hit a 125+ checkout in his last two matches. Again, Manby winning a set or two would be much welcomed to prolong the opportunities coming Gian’s way.

Krzysztof Ratajski highest checkout over 110.5 vs Luke Woodhouse @ 4/11

Ratajski doesn’t usually give much away in the press room after a match, but he had a really interesting interview after his win over Wesley Plaisier where he shared that he had suffered some health scares with his brain the past year or two and had to undergo surgeries for it, which resulted in a bit of a drop-off in form. Those health issues are now resolved and it seems to be working as a bit of extra motivation for the Pole, who’s enjoying his deepest run at a World Championship since 2021.

It was another strong showing from the Polish Eagle as he won 4-3 in a thriller against Plaisier, he’s averaged around 94-98 in all of his three matches so far, the sort of consistent form that seen him in the world’s top 10 in the past.

Woodhouse too is enjoying one of his best runs at Ally Pally as he makes the last 16 for a second consecutive year. Woody lost heavily in straight sets in this round to Stephen Bunting last year, but surely has to feel he’s in with a stronger chance of reaching his first World quarter-final this time round and comes in as a more complete player himself this year. He beat a below-par Andrew Gilding 4-1 in the third round, a match in which Luke was narrowly priced up as the second favourite.

I’d be very surprised if this isn’t a close-run thing as there’s very little to separate the two statistically (less than two points between their yearly averages). The head-to-head leans in the favour of Ratajski, with him winning four of their previous five matches, although four of these were 2022 or earlier, long before Woodhouse was at his best.

I do think Ratajski should be favourite as I’ve been impressed with him to this point, but I’d rather save the risk and go for a more reliable bet on him - over 110.5 checkout landed for us when he played Plaisier and I see no reason why that won’t happen again. Krzysztof has took out a 135+ checkout in all of his opening three matches, with this one likely going six or more sets, you have to imagine an 111+ checkout is going to go for him once again.