BDO final preview

Cool, the table widget thing that I used for the PDC final worked the first time, then I tried to centralise the text, it didn't work, and now on future tries it also didn't work, so a screengrab it is.

We've got the number 1 seed against the number 2 seed, something that hasn't happened in the BDO since 1999 when Raymond van Barneveld beat Ronnie Baxter 6-5. Will this be as close a game? I really can't see it. Durrant's played great throughout the tournament, only really being threatened against Jim Williams in the quarter finals where he had to rally from 4-1 down in sets, but that was an incredible push where he won twelve out of thirteen legs, denying Williams even the slightest chance of winning the match, slamming in four of his eight four visit legs in that spell. McGeeney in contrast has only really looked good in his win over Danny Noppert - Martin Adams really should have seen him off in the very first match of the entire tournament which went the distance, as stated the Noppert game was fine and the only match where he managed to win more than half his legs in fifteen darts, surprise package Wayne Warren had his chances in the quarter final, getting a good lead but not being able to kill 120 in the eighth and then faltering in extra time in the deciding set. Unterbuchner, another surprising player who you've got to think you'd see taking punts at the European Tour next year, also could have taken the semi final to a deciding set, but his scoring deserted him when offered six visits to break in the last leg of the tenth set.

Durrant wins this. He's been playing far, far superior darts to McGeeney across the whole week, and across the whole year really - dating back throughout the entirety of the stats I have in my database, including last year's Lakeside, McGeeney has won 100 legs, of which only six were in four visits, and just 42 in total were in five visits. He's also lost more legs than he's won in that sample, averaging just 85. So while McGeeney's numbers for this Lakeside look poor, they're actually a bit better than his historic numbers. The bookies have Durrant at 2/11, and this could end up being even more one sided than that, the score predictor I use thinking that 7-1 or 7-2 Durrant seems like the most likely set of outcomes. I'll probably watch it, because it ought to be quick. It's a shame that Durrant now looks like he's sticking with the BDO, he could have made a real splash in the PDC, but at the same time he seems that much better than everyone else that he may as well keep printing money and test himself in the Grand Slam, perhaps take a punt at the UK Open as well.

Coming soon will be the FRH year end awards, I might do them after the final.