Today is the finals day at the Grand Slam of Darts and the question on every darts fans lips will no doubt be “Can Lewis, Anderson or perhaps even Walsh stop Taylor?”
In my last blog post I underlined who I feel has the ability to stop Taylor from landing his fourth Grand Slam title in five years. The names I gave then were Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, James Wade and Paul Nicholson. One thing is for certain today it will not be James Wade or Paul Nicholson stopping The Power. Wade left the tournament in the last 16 stage after a crushing 10-3 defeat to “The Flying Scotsman” Gary Anderson. Elsewhere Nicholson had a chance to get his revenge on Taylor in the quarter final stage but Taylor triumphed 16-7 to set up a semi-final clash with former protégé Adrian Lewis. I said previously that I believe Lewis has the skills to take down Taylor and I stand by what I said. He averaged over 100 in a surprisingly one-sided 16-5 win over Mark Webster. If Lewis was to beat Taylor this afternoon he would still have a mammoth task on his hands if he was to win the title. This brings me to the other semi-final. Gary Anderson faces surprise semi-finalist Mark Walsh in the first of this afternoons matches. Walsh has proved to be a fighter in this tournament battling past Dean Winstanley 10-9 in the last 16 before defeating Ted Hankey 16-14 in the quarter final. In these matches Walsh averaged 98.32 and 91.82 respectively and although he deserves respect for his performances so far that kind of average is not enough to beat Anderson. Anderson really has impressed so far this week averaging 100.45 in the 10-3 victory over Wade I mentioned earlier. He then averaged a cool 99.97 in a 16-12 win over an inform Terry “The Bull” Jenkins in the quarters. Betting wise I fancy the Anderson win with a -5.5 handicap at 4/5 with Paddy Power. For those unfamiliar that would mean Anderson winning 16-10 or better. I can’t look past Anderson winning this contest.
In my last blog post I underlined who I feel has the ability to stop Taylor from landing his fourth Grand Slam title in five years. The names I gave then were Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, James Wade and Paul Nicholson. One thing is for certain today it will not be James Wade or Paul Nicholson stopping The Power. Wade left the tournament in the last 16 stage after a crushing 10-3 defeat to “The Flying Scotsman” Gary Anderson. Elsewhere Nicholson had a chance to get his revenge on Taylor in the quarter final stage but Taylor triumphed 16-7 to set up a semi-final clash with former protégé Adrian Lewis. I said previously that I believe Lewis has the skills to take down Taylor and I stand by what I said. He averaged over 100 in a surprisingly one-sided 16-5 win over Mark Webster. If Lewis was to beat Taylor this afternoon he would still have a mammoth task on his hands if he was to win the title. This brings me to the other semi-final. Gary Anderson faces surprise semi-finalist Mark Walsh in the first of this afternoons matches. Walsh has proved to be a fighter in this tournament battling past Dean Winstanley 10-9 in the last 16 before defeating Ted Hankey 16-14 in the quarter final. In these matches Walsh averaged 98.32 and 91.82 respectively and although he deserves respect for his performances so far that kind of average is not enough to beat Anderson. Anderson really has impressed so far this week averaging 100.45 in the 10-3 victory over Wade I mentioned earlier. He then averaged a cool 99.97 in a 16-12 win over an inform Terry “The Bull” Jenkins in the quarters. Betting wise I fancy the Anderson win with a -5.5 handicap at 4/5 with Paddy Power. For those unfamiliar that would mean Anderson winning 16-10 or better. I can’t look past Anderson winning this contest.
The other side of the draw sees Taylor (10-3 winner over Wes Newton and 16-7 winner over Paul Nicholson so far in the knockout rounds) face Adrian Lewis. This is a match between the 15-time World Champion and the reigning World Champion. Add to that the history between this pair and we have a potential classic on our hands. Lewis has been back to near his best in this competition averaging 100.30 in his quarter final win against Mark Webster while he managed to squeeze past a resurgent John Part with a 92.75 average in the last 16 round. Taylor is a massive favourite best priced at 2/7 with Lewis best priced 17/5. With that in mind it is the handicap market that best appeals. Taylor carrying a -5.5 handicap is priced at evens with Skybet and I’d say that is the best option here. As for the tournament overall I am going to tip Gary Anderson to win the tournament best priced 3/1. Although Taylor is the clear bookies favourite Anderson has produced some brilliant darts and after winning the Premier League I feel he has the mature head on his shoulders required to win another major. Elsewhere the 9-dart finish is priced at 9/2 with Skybet and although it may well not happen I wouldn’t put it past these four great sportsmen on a finals day.
The action begins with the afternoon session at 14:30:
Phil Taylor vs Adrian Lewis
Gary Anderson vs Mark Walsh
And then comes the final at 20:00:
Taylor/Lewis vs Anderson/Walsh
Tips:
Gary Anderson to beat Mark Walsh with a -5.5 Handicap @ 4/5 (Paddy Power)
Phil Taylor to beat Adrian Lewis with a -5.5 Handicap @ evens (Skybet)
Gary Anderson to win the tournament @ 3/1 (Bwin)
Gary Anderson to beat Mark Walsh with a -5.5 Handicap @ 4/5 (Paddy Power)
Phil Taylor to beat Adrian Lewis with a -5.5 Handicap @ evens (Skybet)
Gary Anderson to win the tournament @ 3/1 (Bwin)
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