2019 Betfred World Matchplay – Gary Anderson vs Mervyn King Preview & Prediction

THE FACTS

When is Gary Anderson vs Mervyn King taking place? Tuesday 23^rd July, 2019

Where is Gary Anderson vs Mervyn King taking place? Winter Gardens, Blackpool

What channel is Gary Anderson vs Mervyn King on? Sky Sports Action

Where can I stream Gary Anderson vs Mervyn King? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via Sky Go

Where can I get tickets for Gary Anderson vs Mervyn King? Check https://www.pdc.tv/betfred-world-matchplay-tickets for ticket information

THE STATISTICS

All-time meetings: Gary Anderson 21-7 Mervyn King
Last meeting: Mervyn King 6-4 Gary Anderson

THE PLAYERS

GARY ANDERSON

• 2018 World Matchplay champion Gary Anderson began the defence of his title with a 10-6 victory against debutant Danny Noppert in round one. Anderson took advantage of a sloppy start from Noppert to lead 6-1 and although Noppie closed to within one leg at 7-6, Anderson stepped up a gear to pull clear again.
  
• The Flying Scotsman’s finishing in round one was patchy at times but he did land three ton-plus checkouts against his Dutch opponent which included impressive 160 and 135 finishes to break throw.
  
• Although Anderson has featured in the semi-finals in three of the last five years at the World Matchplay, he has failed to make it further than the second round on seven of his previous ten appearances overall.

MERVYN KING

• Mervyn King rolled back the years to impressively defeat 2019 UK Open champion Nathan Aspinall 10-5 in round one. King led 4-1 and then withstood a comeback from Aspinall by winning six consecutive legs to take his place in round two.
  
• The match against Aspinall was a high-quality affair with both players averaging over 100 and it was King’s superior finishing that proved to be the difference with the veteran hitting 62.5% of his attempts while his younger opponent missed a total of 11 attempts at doubles over the final four legs of the encounter.
• Although King trails Anderson on their head-to-head record, he has won three of their last four meetings which includes victories at the UK Open and Grand Slam of Darts. However, this is their first encounter in over three years.

THE PREDICTION

Mervyn King upset the odds to defeat Nathan Aspinall in the first round and he will bid to repeat the feat against the defending World Matchplay champion Gary Anderson in round two. King produced a tremendous performance against Aspinall, but even so he did have to ride his luck with Aspinall missing a number of chances in the closing stages. Anderson’s performance in his opening match against Noppert was patchy but when he needed to produce the goods, he did, which suggests that when pushed he will rise to the challenge and Anderson will have benefitted from getting a match under his belt.

King certainly still has the game to compete with the top players as he proved in round one and also at the UK Open where he defeated Van Gerwen, but the hard part for him is backing it up which is something he has struggled to do in TV tournaments as only two quarter-final appearance in the last four years testifies. Anderson might not quite be at his best just yet but he is well motivated to retain his title and he is capable of producing a burst of brilliance at just the right time to pull away from his opponent which will see him into the quarter-finals.