2019 Betfred World Matchplay – Glen Durrant vs James Wade Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Glen Durrant vs James Wade taking place? Thursday 25th July, 2019
Where is Glen Durrant vs James Wade taking place? Winter Gardens, Blackpool
What channel is Glen Durrant vs James Wade on? Sky Sports Action
Where can I stream Glen Durrant vs James Wade? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via Sky Go
Where can I get tickets for Glen Durrant vs James Wade? Check https://www.pdc.tv/betfred-world-matchplay-tickets for ticket information
THE STATISTICS
All-time meetings: No previous meetings
Last meeting: N/A
THE PLAYERS
GLEN DURRANT
- Glen Durrant came out on top in the battle of the world champions when he defeated Michael van Gerwen 13-11 in a thrilling second-round encounter on Tuesday night to reach the quarter-finals at the World Matchplay on his debut at the tournament.
- Duzza took control of the match against Van Gerwen early on, and further capitalised on some inconsistent play from the Dutchman to claim an 8-5 lead. The number one seed came back strongly and led 10-9 only for Duzza to impressively hold his nerve and win four of the next five legs to snatch victory in ‘extra-time’.
- His tournament stats show the consistently high level he has performed at during his opening two matches; he has a tournament average of 99.95 and a checkout percentage of 46.94%.
JAMES WADE
- James Wade was forced to dig deep and win in ‘extra-time’ for the second consecutive match as he edged out the 2018 World Matchplay runner-up Mensur Suljovic 13-11 in an epic second round tussle on Tuesday evening.
- As was the case against De Zwaan in round one, Wade trailed for the majority of the match before recovering and working his way back into contention. Suljovic again looked set for victory when he broke the Wade throw to lead 11-10 but couldn’t take advantage and Wade held his nerve to win three legs in a row to claim the victory.
- This is Wade’s first time through to the last eight at the World Matchplay since 2015. He has previously played in ten quarter-finals at Blackpool and won eight of them.
THE PREDICTION
Glen Durrant has enjoyed a dream World Matchplay debut so far with wins against Adrian Lewis and most notably Michael van Gerwen, and now the only former winner of the Matchplay left in the draw stands in his way as he bids to make it one step further. The key question around Duzza is if he can come back down to earth after such a dramatic landmark victory against Van Gerwen and put in another consistently excellent performance to see off the tough challenge that James Wade poses.
Wade has certainly had a difficult progression to this stage of the tournament. The fact he is in the quarter-finals does owe as much to his opponents not finishing him off as much as it does Wade producing the goods under pressure, but Wade punishing opposition lapses is of course something he has done well throughout his career.
It should be an enthralling game to watch with twists and turns along the way. Durrant is not likely to get too carried away with his previous success so expect another strong performance. The three-time BDO world champion has the confidence to back up his talent, and he showed how much bottle and character he possesses when closing out the game against Van Gerwen. He is tipped to see off the challenge from Wade to reach the semi-finals.
