James Wade v Jonny Clayton EVS Bet Builder Tips & Predictions

Friday 25 July, 20251 min read

Grant Heaney

Grant is a Glasgow-based sports betting analyst and keeps a close eye on all the goings-on in the fascinating world of Scottish football. While he has a strong passion for the SPFL, Grant is equally adept at crafting content on all of Europe’s major leagues, whether it be the Premier League or further afield. When not crunching the numbers and analysing the stats, Grant can often be found following his beloved Falkirk up and down the country.

I've put together my two best bets for this semi-final on Saturday night. 'The Ferret' dismantled Stephen Bunting 16-7 on Thursday night and is in great form heading into this match, I'm backing him to have enough in his locker to come out on top, he should have a big checkout or two up his sleeve as well.

James Wade v Jonny Clayton Bet Builder

James Wade v Jonny Clayton
PDC World Matchplay Semi-Finals
20:15

2 Selections @ 2.40

Johnny Clayton to Win

I think Jonny Clayton will reach the Matchplay final for the second time in the space of two years. ‘The Ferret’ has produced a trio of top-class tungsten performances to secure a semi-final spot. The Welshman was impressive in his wins over both Martin Schindler and Mike De Decker, but he really caught the eye by brilliantly dismantling Stephen Bunting 16-7 at the quarter-final stage on Thursday night.

Clayton has been showing signs throughout this year that he is rediscovering his best form and his demolition of Bunting has solidified that notion. While I don’t think the manner of victory will be quite so convincing this time around against seasoned campaigner James Wade, I suspect Clayton will have enough in his locker to come out on top.

There is no denying that ‘The Machine’ has also performed admirably at the Winter Gardens this year, but there were some flaws on show against Gian van Veen last time out. The young Dutchman made a fast start on Thursday night and he also missed some crucial doubles late in the game that could have swung the balance in his favour. In current form, Clayton is likely to exploit any of those openings.

Jonny Clayton to have the Highest Checkout

As well as backing Clayton to win the match, I’m also siding with him to hit the highest checkout during this showdown. ‘The Ferret’ is very adept at taking out three-figure finishes. If he lands the first treble of any given three-dart checkout, I’m always confident in his ability to complete the final two pieces of the combination.

It’s something that the Welshman has demonstrated across the opening three rounds at this year's World Matchplay. Clayton hit the highest checkout of the game with a 108 finish in his round one success over Martin Schindler and he has since had the Winter Gardens crowd on their feet with a roof-raising 160 checkout in his quarter-final thrashing of Stephen Bunting.

Wade, on the other hand, is much more methodical in his approach, tending to live up to his ‘Machine’ moniker by leaving himself with ‘pop pop‘ finishes, as Wayne Mardle would say. That was the case during Wade's wins over both Joe Cullen and Gian van Veen, with 65 and 96 being his highest checkouts in each of those respective victories. While Wade is also capable of producing three-dart finishes, I think the value lies with Clayton for the highest checkout.