This game should be full of 180s, these are two of the best scorers in this field and it’s quite an even matchup too - so this is a match that could go the distance.

These two faced off in the quarter finals of a Euro Tour not long ago in a game that produced five 180s across just eight legs of darts. I’d expect at least 16/17 legs in this game, which should give both players a really good chance of registering a healthy 180 count.

Both players are averaging 0.34 180s per leg over the last 12 months. For comparison, Luke Littler is at 0.43 180s per leg, which is the extreme end of the scale - so these two are very consistent on the maximum count.

Ryan Joyce is quite lucky to be at the World Matchplay and has generally struggled for form since the turn of the year.

Joyce is one of those players who clearly is very talented, but you could argue that his lack of professionalism at times has limited his abilities, and he looks quite uninterested at the moment. This is reflected in his recent form; he’s only managed an average in excess of 95.0 in four of his last 20 matches - often bowing out in the early stages of Euro Tour and Pro Tour events.

Gary Anderson is very relaxed about his game now and that mentality definitely helps him in major tournaments.

He doesn’t play with the pressure of defending any prize money or looking to topple the best players in the world, and this laissez-faire attitude tends to bring out his best darts.

Jonny Clayton should fancy his chances in this section of the draw, which looks quite open with Gary Anderson and Michael Van Gerwen being his main competitors.

Clayton reached the semi-finals of the World Matchplay last year and usually performs in these big tournaments.

We’ve seen him deal with the pressure of playing against the top players in the Premier League earlier this year - he reached finals night despite being one of the favourites to finish bottom of the pile at the start of the competition.

In Damon Heta, he faces a player who never quite manages to pull it together in the major tournaments. Aside from a run to the semi-finals of the UK Open a few years ago, Heta has never got past the quarter-final stage of a major tournament.

In this sort of format, the best chance most of these players have of beating James Wade is to outscore the machine, who has never been the best scorer in the game.

Wattimena is another of those players who seems to fall short around the quarter-final mark of major tournaments. His run to the final of the most recent Euro Tour showed his resilience, but the way he came apart in the final also showed where he can fold under pressure.

Wattimena faced Wade in the same format in the quarter finals of the Player Championship last year, coming away a 10-8 winner and also winning the 180 count 4-3. He’s actually beaten Wade the last four times these two have faced, so he may have a bit of a psychological edge on the Machine.

There is a split in the 180 numbers of these two over the last year too. Wattimena is averaging 0.26 180s per leg while Wade is a touch behind at 0.22 180s per leg.

Interestingly, Wessel Nijman is the third favourite to win the World Matchplay only sitting behind Luke Humphries and Luke Littler.

That may surprise you if you aren’t familiar with Nijman, but this pricing is due to his imperious form in the Euro Tour and Pro Tour, winning eight of these events already this year.

Nijman is yet to find a way to maintain this level in major tournaments; he’s never been past the last 16 in any event, so the pricing as third favourite may be a little too soon.

That being said, this is a kind draw for the in-form man. Dave Chisnall has been on the decline for some time, and I can’t see him keeping pace with Nijman over this format.

Chisnall has bowed out at the quarter-final stage or earlier in every Euro Tour event this year, and Nijman beat Chisnall 6-4 in the only meeting between the two this year.