2020 Betfred World Matchplay – Gary Anderson vs Dimitri Van den Bergh Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Gary Anderson vs Dimitri Van den Bergh taking place? Sunday 26th July, 2020 (session starts at 20:30 (UK))
Where is Gary Anderson vs Dimitri Van den Bergh taking place? Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes
What channel is Gary Anderson vs Dimitri Van den Bergh on? Sky Sports
Where can I stream Gary Anderson vs Dimitri Van den Bergh? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via Sky Go
Where can I get tickets for Gary Anderson vs Dimitri Van den Bergh? The 2020 Betfred World Matchplay will take place behind closed doors
What was the outcome in the last meeting? Gary Anderson beat Dimitri Van den Bergh 5-1
THE LOWDOWN
GARY ANDERSON
- Gary Anderson defeated Michael Smith 18-16 in a thrilling semi-final encounter which went into extra legs and he is now one game away from winning the World Matchplay title for the second time in his career.
- The Flying Scotsman had twice established a five-leg lead, only for his opponent to get back on level terms, and it was then Smith who looked set to prevail when he led for the first time in the match at 15-14, but Anderson responded excellently and showed all of his experience and talent to come through.
- He crucially produced his best performance of the week on the doubles against Smith with his checkout of 43.9% surpassing his total from the three previous matches. Most impressive though were his three ton-plus finishes which all came against the throw at key moments.
DIMITRI VAN DEN BERGH
- Dimitri Van den Bergh came through an epic semi-final battle against Glen Durrant to make it through to his first major ranking tournament final and become first debutant to reach the World Matchplay final since 2006.
- The young Belgian showed superb consistency to establish a 12-8 lead with an average of 101, and when Duzza fought back and edged ahead at 15-14 Van den Bergh then rose to the challenge and won three successive legs to claim the biggest win of his career.
- This will be his third meeting with Anderson, and although the Scotsman won their most recent encounter this was in the PDC Home Tour which was played remotely, their other meeting came on the big stage in front of 20,000 fans at the German Darts Masters in 2018 when the Belgian edged a thrilling semi-final 8-7.
THE PREDICTION
Gary Anderson certainly has the edge in terms of experience in this final, with the 2018 World Matchplay champion having claimed so many titles during his trophy-laden career, and the Scotsman will have to use every bit of his knowhow if he is to overcome the challenge of Dimitri van den Bergh. In reaching the final, the young Belgian has made the breakthrough that he had been threatening for a while and he is unlikely to be happy just to settle for second place. The fact Van den Bergh has averaged over 98 in three of his four matches shows that he has played to a very consistent level all week. He leads Anderson in many of the tournament statistics such as average, checkout percentage, ton-plus checkouts and 180s. I really think it’s a tough game to call and I’m just leaning towards Anderson to win, he has steadily improved as the tournament has progressed and I do think his experience at getting over the line in the majors might just be the deciding factor in the final outcome.