A month of darts draws to a close on Sunday as Scott Waites and Jeff Smith fight out the BDO Final. Wayne Dews (dewsy_21) looks to follow up his successful PDC campaign.
Scott Waites v Jeff Smith | Sunday 18:00 | BBC Two
A week on from Gary Anderson’s scintillating performance at the Alexandra Palace the BDO final takes place on Sunday evening as England’s Scott Waites looks to regain the World Championship trophy he lifted back in 2013. Standing in his path is the unranked Canadian, Jeff Smith – but don’t be deceived by that.
Smith was a semi-finalist last year, but ultimately fell short at that stage by succumbing 6-0 to eventual tournament winner, Scott Mitchell. That performance granted the 40 year-old a complimentary passage into this years’ event – and he has returned to the Lakeside stage in fine form.
BDO legend, Martin Adams was brushed aside in straight sets in Round 1, and comfortable wins over Brian Dawson and Dennis Harbour followed, but Smith found the necessary fight required in a final set shootout to overcome Dutchman Richard Veenstra on Saturday night to reach the final.
Waites has had a more tricky – and battling – path to the final. After a comfortable opening win over Willem Mandigers, the 38 year-old Yorkshireman found himself 3-0 down against Geert De Vos.
Seemingly facing defeat, Waites somehow scrambled home to face number one seed, Glen Durrant in the Quarter finals. Durrant led 4-1 and was almost on the verge of victory, but again, Waites found an extra level of form at the right time to win 5-4.
The former Grand Slam of Darts champion breezed through his Semi-final match against Jamie Hughes 6-1, and is now a strong favourite with the bookmakers to win again.
The betting angle that takes my eye is in the handicap betting market. Marathon Bet are offering 9/10 on Waites to cover a -1.5 set handicap at the tempting odds of 9/10.
Provided that the Englishman maintains his form from previous rounds, he is likely to have more than enough in the locker to keep his rival at bay. Smith has consistently offered an inferior tournament average in comparison to Waites – and the previous experience of major tournament finals is another plus for our bet.
Best Bets
Scott Waites v Jeff Smith – Scott Waites -1.5 Sets (9/10 Marathon Bet)
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