2019-20 PDC World Darts Championship – Michael van Gerwen vs Stephen Bunting Preview & Predictiond

THE FACTS

When is Michael van Gerwen vs Stephen Bunting taking place? Friday 27^th December, 2019 – evening

Where is Michael van Gerwen vs Stephen Bunting taking place? Alexandra Palace, London

What channel is Michael van Gerwen vs Stephen Bunting on? Sky Sports Darts

Where can I stream Michael van Gerwen vs Stephen Bunting? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via Sky Go

Where can I get tickets for Michael van Gerwen vs Stephen Bunting? https://www.pdc.tv/william-hill-world-darts-championship-tickets

What was the outcome in the last meeting? Michael van Gerwen beat Stephen Bunting 6-1

THE PLAYERS

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN

• Defending champion Michael van Gerwen came through his last 32 match against Ricky Evans without dropping a set, though it wasn’t all plain sailing as three of the sets went the distance and Evans missed opportunities to win sets three and four.
• Van Gerwen hit ten 180s against Evans, but overall his scoring was inconsistent and his match average of 96.75 was not much different to the one posted in his opening match against Klaasen. It’s the first time that the Dutchman has recorded an average of under 100 in two consecutive World Championship matches since December 2014.
• The head-to-head record between Van Gerwen and Bunting is very much in Van Gerwen’s favour with 14 of their last 15 meetings going the way of Mighty Mike. Their two previous meetings this year – both in a stage environment on the Euro Tour – resulted in 6-1 wins for Van Gerwen.

STEPHEN BUNTING

• Stephen Bunting is through to the last 16 at the PDC World Championship for the first time since his debut at Alexandra Palace at the 2014-15 tournament when he went on to reach the quarter-finals.
• He earned his passage through round three with an easier than expected 4-0 win against Jonny Clayton. It was a victory which was in stark contrast to his opening match when he battled past Jose Justicia in a deciding set.
• Bunting’s checkout percentage of 35.29% against Clayton was down on the 43.75% he posted against Justicia though he did improve on his average by a couple of points from 93.49 to 95.70.

THE PREDICTION

Michael van Gerwen has yet to hit the heights we know he is capable of at this tournament so far but he has still passed the two tests that were in front of him and he is probably only going to get stronger as the tournament progresses. Stephen Bunting is carrying a lot more belief this year than he has for some while but he is still not at the level he was when he reached the quarter-finals here five years ago. Van Gerwen has dominated their previous meetings, and if Bunting does turn up playing well, he is just likely to push Van Gerwen’s level up a notch too. A 4-1 win for Van Gerwen is the prediction.