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Dave Chisnall and Martin Adams go head to head in an intriguing looking BDO World Darts Final. William Hill‘s Tim Sheppard previews.
Dave Chisnall‘s run began with a surprise victory over fourth seed Darryl Fitton in the first round. His opening win meant that he had already progressed further than he did the previous year at the Lakeside Country Club when he was beaten by Daryl Gurney in the first round.
After beating Fitton the 29-year-old then defeated Tony West before causing another huge shock in dumping defending champion Ted Hankey out of the tournament at the quarter-final stage. This came after ‘The Count’ had raced into a 4-1 lead but Chisnall responded in style by taking the next four sets.
As a result of his comeback against Hankey, he then found himself as the favourite for yesterday’s semi-final against ante-post favourite and top seed Tony O’Shea. Yet again Chisnall fell behind, 2-0 on this occasion, before prevailing 6-3 to reach the final.
Martin Adams on the other hand has had pretty much a stroll through to the final. He opened up against the abysmal Anthony Fleet, then sailed past Chisnall’s conqueror last year – Gurney and then came an easy passage against Garry Thompson which sealed Wolfie’s sixth consecutive semi-final at the World Championships.
In the semis Adams defeated fellow veteran Martin Phillips. The 2007 world champion was cruising at 4-0 but the Welshman hit back before the third seed eventually came out on top 6-4. Adams threw his best darts of the tournament against Phillips as he averaged a tournament-high 97.38.
Chisnall, in his semi, threw the tournament’s second best of 97.32. Therefore with so little between their semi-final averages it is easy to understand why the pair cannot be split in the betting, as both are priced up at 10/11.
It may be Chisnall’s first final and Adams’ third appearance in the Lakeside showpiece, but the latter, despite his consistent run to the semi-finals, has often wobbled in the latter stages and with Chisnall in the form of his life the St Helens man looks the bet.
Adams wobbled against Phillips and many will remember when the England captain virtually crumbled in the 2007 final against Phill Nixon. Wolfie stormed into a 6-0 lead, but incredibly Nixon then won the next six sets, before Adams claimed the final set.
It is this vulnerability and lack of consistency in the big games that makes Adams hard to back and when you combine this with Chisnall’s great performance against O’Shea, including a 164 checkout, the pre-tournament outsider is the one to get on.
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