PDC World Championship Tips: Kellett to KO VDV

Van der Voort's disappointing year looks set to continue.

The first round action concludes this Thursday night and Jayme Monte has picked out another value bet...

Stuart Kellett makes his debut at the PDC World Championships this evening, having only earned his tour card at Qualifying School just under 12 months ago. Kellett, like Dean Winstanley, opted to take his chances in the PDC at the start of this season and is now seeing the fruits of his labour blossom.

Kellett hasn't yet made quite the same impact as Winstanley on this side of the darting divide, but performances and results in the BDO show that he has pedigree on the big stage. In a run to the final of the 2010 Winmau World Masters Kellett beat Tony West, Ted Hankey and Martin Phillips, while he beat Darryl Fitton 3-0 at the Lakeside later that same season.

The Englishman has also beaten Wes Newton, James Hubbard, Ronnie Baxter and Denis Ovens in recent Tour events, while his victory over John Bowles in the final of the PDPA Qualifier secured his place here. And we've already seen this week just what Bowles can do.

The 2012 Vincent van der Voort story doesn't make for quite as pleasant reading. The Dutchman has won just three of his last ten matches in all events and has only gone past the last 32 of a televised event once in the last eight (PDC World Cup of Darts excluded, where he in fact lost three of his four singles matches).

Van der Voort also has the added concern of defending 25,000 in prize money here, meaning he could slip another five or six places down the rankings if he were to suffer a first-round exit. Pressure isn't something that the fast-flinging Dutchman deals well with and so I'm willing to take him on at odds-on prices.

Recommended Bet:
Back Kellett to beat Van der Voort @ 2.447/5