World Matchplay Darts 2023: Clayton on Track to Bag Bumper Payday

There have been shocks galore at the 2023 World Matchplay Darts in the first two rounds, with several top players crashing out of the tournament.

They included reigning champion Michael van Gerwen, who we highlighted as a risky betting proposition before the event started.

Johnny Clayton has reached the quarter-finals, which will please the punters who followed our pre-tournament preview highlighting his enticing 20/1 odds.

Read on as we take a look at the quarter-final matches and our thoughts on who we believe will lift the prestigious trophy on Sunday.

Joe Cullen produced one of the biggest shocks of the tournament in the previous round, securing a hard-fought 13-11 victory over Gerwyn Price.

Cullen’s 59.1% checkout rate proved to be decisive against the Welshman and he will fancy his chances of recording another victory over Gurney.

He boasts a 15-5 career record against his opponent, although it is worth noting that Gurney has looked much improved during the tournament.

Top betting apps are offering odds of 3/1 for Cullen to win 16-12, 16-13 or 16-14 – that looks decent value given his performance against Price.

Chris Dobey’s 11-7 victory over Michael Smith in round two was another seismic Matchplay shock, but the result was undoubtedly no fluke.

Dobey hit 68.8% of his doubles to knock out the world champion and will believe he has the game to follow up against Aspinall.

However, ‘The Asp’ has won three of his last four outings against Dobey and is well suited to the longer format of this event.

Aspinall to hit 11+ 180s and 3+ 100+ checkouts at odds of 11/2 on several new betting sites could be the value bet in what promises to be a tight contest.

Clayton stepped up on an average first round performance to breeze past Dimitri van den Bergh in round two to keep his title bid on track.

The Welshman can still be backed at odds of 5/1 on numerous UK betting sites to win the tournament and he is fancied to get the job done.

Quarter-final opponent Ryan Searle knocked out Peter Wright in the previous round, but his performance was largely unimpressive.

Clayton would play either Damon Heta or Luke Humphries in the last four if he beats Searle, which gives him a glorious opportunity to progress to the final on Sunday.

Here are the latest odds for the 2023 World Matchplay Darts (via BetUK):

• Luke Humphries – 13/5
• Nathan Aspinall – 9/2
• Jonny Clayton – 5/1
• Joe Cullen – 13/2
• Damon Heta – 8/1
• Joe Cullen – 8/1
• Ryan Searle – 8/1
• Chris Dobey - 75/1
• Daryl Gurney - 11/1