Reverting back to his tried and trusted darts seems to have rejuvenated Dimitri Van Den Bergh and despite not being widely fancied coming into this event he finds himself in the Quarter Finals playing against Jonny Clayton for a place in the Semi-Final. He’s played just 45 legs to reach this stage and won 3-0, 4-1 and 4-0, losing just one set on the way. Having played such few legs he’s only notched up eleven 180’s but I wouldn’t read too much into that as it’s not a vast amount of legs to examine. His ratio of the course of 2022 suggests he hits them at 0.30 per leg or just under one every three legs which I believe is a fairer indicator of his ability on that front. Clayton has hit 19 himself but from 65 legs but he’s much more known for being a big 140 hitter, one of the biggest in that respect on tour. His ratio on the maximum front for 2022 is 0.23 per leg. These two have played each other three times this year and despite Clayton winning two games it is Dimitri who’s hit the most 180’s in each by counts of 6-5, 6-2 and 4-0. With this possibly being the tightest of the Quarter-Finals to call, the 180 market and Van Den Bergh hitting the most seems the play here. Two lads from St. Helens clash in the 2nd Quarter-Final of the afternoon as Michael Smith takes on Stephen Bunting and these two know all about each other. They’ve played each other thirteen times previously and it’s Bunting who leads the head to head 8-5 overall including a win in this event way back in the 2015 running. They’ve only met three times in the last three years however and it’s Smith who leads that more recent head to head 2-1 including the last two and their sole meeting this year. Smith is the higher ranked of the two and won the Grand Slam of Darts in November to lift that Major hoodoo he had hanging over him. He’s won two of his three games impressively and even when not at his best he managed to raise his game when it mattered to fight back and beat Martin Schindler in his second game. Bunting has been superb too. He’s already defeated two fancied men in Dave Chisnall and Luke Humphries, playing to a terrific standard. He came into this event a long shot for the title whereas Michael Smith was third in the betting. Smith is here with a few more gears to go through still. If he finds his 180 prowess, which he hasn’t yet, he’ll have too much for Bunting.