Ladbrokes Masters: Predictions for the First Round

st round
Timetable January 28th: Starts at 19:15
Prediction van den Bergh, Cross, and van Duijvenbode to win
Odds 1.44 (Bet €100 and win €144 if van den Bergh wins)
Bookmaker Lunubet Sports
van den Bergh, Cross, and van Duijvenbode to win
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Between the 28th and the 30th of January, 24 of the best darts players in the world will meet at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes to battle it out for the £220,000 prize money that is on offer. and the Ladbrokes Masters title. The defending champion is Jonny Clayton as he defeated Mervyn King 11-8 in the 2021 final. We cannot wait for it to start as there is bound to be plenty of great darts action to enjoy.

First Round Matches

The first round of this prestigious darts event will take place on the Friday the 28th of January and will see the players that were ranked 9-24 in the PDC Order of Merit take to the oche. The players that were ranked 1-8 get a bye into the second round of the tournament.

There are eight matches to enjoy on this opening night, and the matchups can be seen below:

TimeMatch
19:15Krzysztof Ratajski vs Gabriel Clemens
19:45Dave Chisnall vs Stephen Bunting
20:15Ryan Searle vs Mervyn King
20:45Rob Cross vs Brendan Dolan
21:15Dimitri van den Bergh vs Ian White
21:45Joe Cullen vs Daryl Gurney
22:15Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Simon Whitlock
22:45Devon Petersen vs Luke Humphries

Match Prediction for Krzysztof Ratajski vs Gabriel Clemens

When you look at the odds that are being offered for this match, the bookmakers have Krzysztof Ratajski as the favourite to win and progress to Round Two. For example, Betway have him at odds of 4/6 to win while they have Clemens at odds of 6/5 to win. When you look at the history between the two players, you will quickly see why it is that the bookies have the Polish man as the favourite to go through. They have faced each other five times, and Ratajski has won all of them. This will probably end up being a close contest, but our money is on the Pole to progress.

Our match prediction: Krzysztof Ratajski to win

Match Prediction for Dave Chisnall vs Stephen Bunting

The bookmakers have Dave Chisnall as the favourite to win this match and progress to the next round, but this is a match that could really go either way. From his last ten matches, Bunting has lost seven times, while Chisnall has lost six of his last ten games. What about their head-to-head record? Well, it is pretty much even - they have played each other on 11 occasions, and Bunting leads the way with six wins to Chisnall's five. The last two matches though have been won 10-4 and 3-0 by Chisnall, so if we were to bet on this match, we would put our money on him to make it three wins in a row against Bunting.

Our match prediction: Dave Chisnall to win

Match Prediction for Ryan Searle vs Mervyn King

This will be the first time that these two players have ever played against each other, and it is set to be an interesting match indeed. Searle has been in fine form as of late with seven wins from his last ten matches, while King has won five of his previous last ten games. Since this is the first time that they have played each other, there will not be the weight of previous head-to-heads hovering over either of them, which could help make for a great game. Betway has Searle at odds of 8/13 to win and King to win at odds of 13/10, and given the form of the former, we would put our money on him to win too.

Our match prediction: Ryan Searle to win

Match Prediction for Rob Cross vs Brendan Dolan

Rob Cross is the favourite to win this match with odds of 4/7 at Betway, while they have given Dolan odds of 11/8 to be victorious. This is probably due to the fact that Dolan has been a bit hit and miss lately and was shockingly knocked out of the PDC World Championship by Callan Rydz. Cross, on the other hand, has won 6 of his previous 10 matches, and has a 2-0 head-to-head record against Dolan. In 2021, he beat him 10-4 at the European Darts Championship and 6-4 at the Players Championship. So, with this in mind, we are going to put our money on Cross to be victorious and make it to the Second Round.

Our match prediction: Rob Cross to win.

Match Prediction for Dimitri van den Bergh vs Ian White

These two players have met on three occasions and Ian White leads the way with two victories to van den Bergh's one. However, despite this, the bookies have van den Bergh as the clear favourite to make it through to the next round. This is probably due to the fact that White has been severely out of form lately with six defeats from his last ten matches. He really should have beaten Gary Anderson in his last match at the PDC World Championship, but he let his nerves get the better of him and lost 4-3. On the other hand, van den Bergh has won six of his last ten games, which included wins against Jose de Sousa and Krzysztof Ratajski. Given the form of both players, we can see why Betway has given van den Bergh odds of 4/9 to win and 7/4 for Ian White.

Our match prediction: Dimitri van den Bergh to win

Match Prediction for Joe Cullen vs Daryl Gurney

In our opinion, this really is one of those matches that could go either way and that is indicated by the odds that top bookies have given for this match. For example, Betway has given Cullen odds of 1.80 to win and Gurney odds of 2.10 to win. So, how have both players been performing as of late? Well, Gurney has won seven of his last ten matches, which included an impressive 6-3 victory of Michael van Gerwen and James Wade. Cullen, on the other hand, has won five of his last ten games, but he also beat Van Gerwen. What about their head-to-head record? Cullen leads the way with seven wins from the ten matches that they have played against each other. Given their record against each other, our money is on Cullen to win the match.

Our match prediction: Joe Cullen to win.

Match Prediction for Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Simon Whitlock

Simon Whitlock was not meant to be taking part in this tournament because he was not in the top 24 in the PDC Order of Merit, but Danny Noppert withdrew from the competition and the Australian took his place. Whitlock has won just four of his last ten matches, which is one on the main reasons that he dropped out of the Top 24. In van Duijvenbode, he is facing one of the best 180 scorers in the game, so it is no surprise that sports betting sites such as Betway has the Dutchman to come out on top. These two players have played each other three times, and van Duijvenbode is leading the way 2-1 and we think he is going to make it 3-1 at The Masters.

Our match prediction: Dirk van Duijvenbode to win.

Match Prediction for Devon Petersen vs Luke Humphries

This match was originally meant to be Nathan Aspinall against Luke Humphries, but the former has had to pull out from the competition due to an elbow injury. He has been directly replaced by Devon Petersen. The South African has been in really poor form as of late and

has lost his previous ten matches, while Humphries has won seven of his last ten matches. Petersen and Humphries have played each other four times, and the latter has come out on top on all four occasions. We think he will make it five from five in this match.

Our match prediction: Nathan Aspinall to win.

van den Bergh, Cross, and van Duijvenbode to win