Gerwyn Price will meet good mate and compatriot Jonny Clayton (Match betting – Price 4/5, Clayton 21/20) in the Masters quarter-finals, after beating Ryan Searle in a closely-fought encounter.
The Iceman is looking to get his 2022 off to the perfect start and was able to edge out the ever-improving Searle 10-8 with a 95 average.
He now faces yet another match against Clayton – who beat Dimitri van den Bergh – with the Welsh duo having shared plenty of televised tussles over the past year.
Price beat Clayton in the Matchplay, but the 47-year-old got his revenge in the Grand Prix final, demolishing the world number one 5-1 in sets.
He then won against Price in the World Series Finals, before the 36-year-old overcame Clayton in the Grand Slam quarter-finals on his way to a third title.
PDC Darts Masters Betting Odds
Michael van Gerwen, seeking a sixth Masters title after winning five years in a row between 2015 and 2019, faces Joe Cullen (Match betting – Van Gerwen 4/9, Cullen 17/10) in the quarter-finals.
The Dutchman, who went the whole of 2021 without winning a televised ranking title, edged out Luke Humphries 10-9, coming from 9-7 down.
There was a tetchy ending to the game with Humphries seemingly accusing Van Gerwen of putting him off when throwing, before the visibly pumped up three-time world champion took out 32 to seal the match.
However, he will have to improve against Cullen who displayed some outrageous scoring and finishing in a 10-1 thrashing of Gary Anderson – hitting a 106 average.
A resurgent Simon Whitlock overcame world champion Peter Wright 10-8 to book his place in the quarter-finals and he will face former Grand Slam winner Jose de Sousa (Match betting – Whitlock 7/5, De Sousa 4/7), who beat Rob Cross.
The final quarter-final is an all-English affair between Michael Smith and Dave Chisnall (Match betting – Chisnall 6/4, Smith 8/15).
Smith, hoping to finally conquer his TV tournament demons, was fantastic in his 10-6 win against Krzysztof Ratajski, averaging over 105, though Chisnall was also in impressive form, earning a ton average against James Wade.
The quarter-finals are best of 19 legs and will be played in the afternoon, before the evening session sees the two semi-finals and final contested over 21 legs.
Darts Betting Odds