2020 Betfred World Matchplay – Simon Whitlock vs Gary Anderson Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Simon Whitlock vs Gary Anderson taking place? Thursday 23rd July, 2020 (session starts at 19:00 (UK))
Where is Simon Whitlock vs Gary Anderson taking place? Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes
What channel is Simon Whitlock vs Gary Anderson on? Sky Sports
Where can I stream Simon Whitlock vs Gary Anderson? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via Sky Go
Where can I get tickets for Simon Whitlock vs Gary Anderson? The 2020 Betfred World Matchplay will take place behind closed doors
What was the outcome in the last meeting? Gary Anderson beat Simon Whitlock 6-1
THE LOWDOWN
SIMON WHITLOCK
- Simon Whitlock enjoyed a stunning 11-4 victory against Michael van Gerwen on Tuesday night to end a 15-match losing streak against the world number one and reach the quarter-finals at the Matchplay for only the second time in the last six years.
- The Wizard was always in control after racing into a 5-0 lead whilst averaging 104 as he took full advantage of an out-of-sorts performance from Van Gerwen who went on to miss a total of 20 darts at doubles.
- This is his first appearance in a PDC ranking quarter-final in over a year and comes as a huge boost with his place in the top 16 being very much under threat at the start of the tournament.
GARY ANDERSON
- The 2018 World Matchplay winner Gary Anderson defeated another former champion James Wade to reach the last eight and with Van Gerwen also exiting in round two he is now the only player left in the field to have previously won the tournament.
- It was a patchy performance from Anderson and he really only managed to find consistency in a winning run of five legs in a row which saw him pull away from Wade when the game was level at four apiece.
- The Flying Scotsman started consecutive legs with back-to-back maximums in that aforementioned winning sequence but the fact he finished the match with an average of just under 93 shows that his overall display was below-par.
THE PREDICTION
Simon Whitlock rolled back the years to defeat the tournament favourite Michael van Gerwen in the last 16 and he now faces the only former Matchplay winner left in the field as he bids to reach the semi-finals for the third time in his career. Whitlock took full advantage of Van Gerwen being below-par but take nothing away from the Australian’s own performance as he was consistent and composed throughout. Gary Anderson has also been out-of-sorts in the opening two rounds as he has admitted to struggling with the unusual conditions. The 2018 champion will certainly see this as a good opportunity though and I think he can overcome that factor due to the motivation of winning another Matchplay title. I’m not writing off Whitlock’s chances easily but I just think that Anderson’s ability to string together a succession of winning legs with world class darts might just be the deciding factor in him pulling away to victory. Both players have had good spells of 180 hitting in their opening two games and over 16.5 180s in the game could be worth looking at if you are considering a bet on the 180 markets.
