THE FACTS
When is James Wade vs Mervyn King taking place? Tuesday 8th October, 2019 – evening session
Where is James Wade vs Mervyn King taking place? Citywest Convention Centre, Dublin
What channel is James Wade vs Mervyn King on? Sky Sports Arena
Where can I stream James Wade vs Mervyn King? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via Sky Go
Where can I get tickets for James Wade vs Mervyn King? Tickets are available on Ticketmaster
THE STATISTICS
All-time meetings: James Wade 24-22 Mervyn King (1 draw)
Last meeting: James Wade 2-6 Mervyn King
THE PLAYERS
JAMES WADE
- The number eight seed James Wade made it through to the second round at the World Grand Prix for the first time since 2014 with a 2-1 win against 2017 Grand Prix semi-finalist John Henderson on Sunday evening.
- The Machine was in fine finishing form against Hendo, hitting each of his first five attempts at leg-winning doubles and his match checkout percentage at the end of the contest was a very impressive 61.5%.
- Having progressed past the first hurdle, Wade will be confident of a good run in the tournament. He has never lost in the second round at the World Grand Prix and has reached at least the semi-finals in all but one of the previous six times he has won in round one.
MERVYN KING
- In his opening round game, 2012 World Grand Prix runner-up Mervyn King came from behind in a hard-fought tussle against Dimitri Van den Bergh to reach round two for only the second time since 2014.
- Having lost the opening set from a winning position, King rallied to level the match at one set all and then was forced to dig deep in the deciding set as the young Belgian led 2-0, but a superb 133 checkout from the veteran took the game into the final leg where he held his nerve to seal victory.
- King and Wade have faced off 45 times over the last 12 years with not much between them on the head-to-head record though King has had more success recently with five wins from their last seven encounters.
THE PREDICTION
James Wade and Mervyn King have had many battles on the oche over the years, though this is surprisingly their first encounter at the World Grand Prix. With neither having reached the quarters here since 2014, something has to give. Wade starts as the favourite but King can’t be written off and is capable of producing an upset as he has proven previously this season with victories against Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Nathan Aspinall on the big TV stage.