Where to watch Day Five of the Grand Slam of Darts
Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports+, from 7pm Tuesday
Best bets
James Wade
3pts 10-11 Hills
Ritchie Edhouse
1pt 6-5 Coral, Ladbrokes
Grand Slam of Darts Day Five predictions
James Wade is an arrowsmith renowned for his efficiency on doubles, but it’s the scoring power of the Machine that has really caught the eye over the last couple of months.
Wade averaged 103.12 and threw 21 ton-plus scores in a 5-3 loss to Mickey Mansell in his opening group contest at the Grand Slam of Darts, despite a checkout success rate of 23 per cent, and then recorded another 19 scores of a hundred or higher against world champion Luke Humphries next time out.
The Machine’s overall average dipped slightly in his crucial 5-3 victory over Humphries but it was an excellent performance nonetheless from Wade, who was playing under maximum pressure as he knew that defeat would see him eliminated from the tournament.
A 5-1 rout of Rowby-John Rodriguez followed in his final pool clash, setting up a last-16 tie against Cameron Menzies on Wednesday.
Menzies is a talented performer who claimed his maiden PDC success when winning the Players Championship 29 event a couple of weeks ago. However, the 35-year-old fell apart on the big stage when averaging just 81.06 in defeat to Dave Chisnall in the opening round of the World Grand Prix last month and the Scot has to prove he has the temperament and consistency to deliver in long-format matches at a major televised events.
Those are traits Wade has certainly shown down the years and the Machine receives a confident vote in what is a pick ’em affair with some bookmakers.
Recently crowned European champion Ritchie Edhouse cruised through the Grand Slam group phase and Madhouse can continue his Wolverhampton journey with a win over Rob Cross.
The Essex arrowsmith was the clear pick in a group also featuring Dave Chisnall, Ross Smith and Connor Scutt. He lost only five legs in completing a perfect group record, compiling averages of 103.99 in his opener against Smith and 105.00 against Chisnall on Monday.
It was much more of a struggle for 2018 world champion Cross, who was beaten by Martin Lukeman but recorded victories over below-par duo Peter Wright and Leonard Gates to progress.
At 6-5, Edhouse can be backed to turn on the power against Voltage.
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