The standout first round tie at this year’s Players Championship Finals sees Luke Littler come up against Rob Cross. Teenage sensation Littler became the youngest-ever winner of the Grand Slam of Darts last weekend and he will have his sights set on more silverware in Minehead. As for Cross, his Grand Slam journey came to an end at the quarter-final stage against eventual runner-up Martin Lukeman.

Littler is the firm favourite heading into this heavyweight clash but the smarter play could be to back him to hit the most 180s. ‘The Nuke’ was hitting 180s for fun en-route to Grand Slam glory last weekend. In fact, Littler broke the 180 record in the Grand Slam of Darts, crashing in a combined total of 60 maximums across his seven outings in the tournament last week.

That remarkable 180 haul has also seen Littler pull away at the top of the PDC leaderboard for 180s scored this year, with his overall return now sitting at a whopping 768. He won the 180 battle in six of his seven victories in Wolverhampton last week, whereas Cross only managed to do so in one of his five matches before bowing out.

Having recently triumphed at the World Grand Prix, De Decker is enjoying this year so far, but while Veenstra may not be a household name, he should not be underestimated. That being said, De Decker is playing at the peak of his powers right now and his superior class should tell against the Dutchman.

Not only did De Decker win his first major title last month, but he has since carried that form into the Grand Slam of Darts. ‘The Real Deal’ ran riot when whitewashing Michael Smith 5-0 in a do-or-die Group E decider last week. He then came agonisingly close to stopping Luke Littler in the round of 16, losing a thrilling contest 10-9.

Thus, the Belgian ace looks well placed to make a deep run in Minehead and he should avoid an early upset by overcoming Veenstra. The 43-year-old is not a regular on main stages at TV events and he faces a tall order against De Decker given his current form. What’s more, De Decker has won the previous two meetings between the pair this year.

Luke Humphries gets his Players Championship Finals title defence up and running against Gabriel Clemens on Friday night.  ‘Cool Hand Luke’ suffered a shock early exit at the Grand Slam of Darts so he will be eager to bounce back in style in Minehead this weekend. While Clemens could prove to be an awkward opponent, Humphries should have enough about him to hit the ground running.

With Humphries too short to support to win the match, instead look to him to win alongside hitting the most 180s. The world number one is well-renowned for being one of the most lethal 180 hitters across the entire PDC. In fact, only Luke Littler (768) and Wessel Nijman (687) have hit more maximums than Humphries (644) across 2024 to date.

Despite losing his opening two group games at the Grand Slam, Humphries won the 180 battle in each of those respective contests. He also hit more maximums than that of his opponent in three of his final four outings at last month’s World Grand Prix.

While Clemens isn’t too shabby on the 180 front, he doesn’t fill up the treble 20 bed with anywhere near the same regularity of serial maximum hitter Humphries. The World No.1 has also won five of the last eight matches between the pair.

Smith has struggled for form and consistency this year so he will be desperate to finish 2024 on a high note. However, Taylor is among the lowest ranked players in the competition, so it would be a huge shock if he were to send Smith packing early on night one.

As such, ‘Bully Boy’ looks worth backing to ease himself into the tournament with a win on Friday night. Admittedly, Smith’s Jekyll and Hyde performances make him difficult to trust, but he did perform well under pressure to make this year’s play-offs in the Premier League. Furthermore, he also put in a string of impressive displays to reach the semi-final stage of the World Matchplay earlier this year, not to mention he made it to the final of the World Series of Darts Finals as recently as September.

While the St Helens star can’t afford to take Taylor lightly, the 26-year-old underdog has lost five of his seven matches in the lead up to this showpiece. That seven-game sample includes losses to the likes of John Henderson, William Borland and Mensur Suljovic.