WDF

It's been another tumultuous season for the WDF, with the worlds effectively being eleven months too late, numerous cancellations and still a fair bit of lack of data, but it looks like it's on from Saturday. I'm just going to try to predict the bracket - I doubt that there will be too many tips, given the huge number of withdrawals for all number of reasons, there's simply not enough data on many, but I would think that we might get some as we get through to the stages where the seeds start facing each other. As I'll be in full PDC write up mode at that stage, I'll just post a one liner tip at the start of an unrelated post as I see things. Let's go:

Round 1

Marsh/Bialecki - Sebastian we know about, was close to getting to Ally Pally through multiple routes, surely he gets his card this year. Marsh we've got a couple of dozen legs on, probably from the Challenge Tour but might have been from some WDF events, doesn't seem to be quite at Bialecki's level. Sebastian to advance.

Turner/Nauman - Only got a couple of dozen legs again on Aaron, not really putting up impressive numbers, but it's a couple of dozen more than I've got on Ricky, where I have literally nothing. Played one weekend of the SDC and averaged 75. Not convinced. Aaron to advance.

Tata/McDonald - Tata's not been too bad when we've been able to see him, but McDonald might be a tricky opponent, feels like he's been around for a while but I don't have the data on where he is right now. Jonny to advance.

Kovacs/Widmayer - Patrik's been in a few Euro Tours and hasn't played horribly, although maybe not at the level where he might realistically win games there yet. It should be enough to handle Widmayer, who I feel is effectively making up the numbers. Patrik to advance.

Brooks/Nilsson - Jordan I've got a little bit of data on and the data I'm seeing isn't too bad, I've got more info on Dennis but his numbers are a touch lower. Experience might be a factor but I'm taking the Englishman here. Jordan to advance.

Porter/Konterman - Danny's got over 40 legs in my data and is scoring down at 82, which is about the same as I've got Arjan doing, albeit over twice the sample size. Konterman's been around the Challenge Tour for some time now and I think will just nick this. Arjan to advance.

Prins/Colley - Tough one to call, Prins has been around for ages but I'm not sure what he's really done this year, looks as if, like Colley, he's here through a 2022 tournament win rather than anything in 2023. Reece to advance.

Richardson/Goedl - Christian is a name we've seen on the Euro Tour now and then without really making much of an impression, and I'd suggest he should be seriously outclassed by someone of Richardson's calibre, despite his 2023 being a little bit quiet. James to advance.

Blom/Takacs - Hard to call this one. Moreno might have the form with a decent run but it feels like I've seen more of Gabor, although the data I've got on both is very limited. Probably just going with form and that Blom is at least playing the Challenge Tour and the numbers there aren't awful, albeit pretty much exclusively in early rounds. Moreno to advance.

Maendl-Lawrance/Gillet - Liam's showed up in quite a few of the Euro Tour events and has become a touch infamous due to the speed of his play more than anything. Mike is a name I've seen a bit for a while, and I think he's probably a better player, but what's he done in terms of results recently? Could be close. Liam to advance.

Pratnemer/Kirwan - Benjamin has previously qualified for the PDC worlds and we know he's a competent enough player. Davie I actually have more data on from somewhere, probably Scottish WDF events, and the numbers suggest that Pratnemer should be comfortable here. Benjamin to advance.

Junghans/Pallett - This ought to be a fun one, the info I've got on Thomas isn't great, but it's more info than I have on Dave, I'm not really sure what he's been doing in 2023. Think that Junghans is a tier below probably. Dave to advance.

Kadar/Torbjornsson - Laszlo is at least in my database creeping into the low 80's, while Edwin has similar levels of data both in sample size and quality. Edwin playing the SDC would have been nice. Hard to call. Laszlo to advance.

Allen/Olde Kalter - Antony crops up in my database at 23 legs of data with a respectable enough average for this round, actually better than Dennie, whose numbers in a similarly limited sample are not impressive, and the CT stats are worse than I thought they'd be. I'll still take the Dutchman as I think he's been playing at a better level against better opponents for some time now. Dennie to advance.

Lewis/Bottenberg - Good to see Jamie in this event, although whatever he's done to qualify for here isn't showing up in my data. Jarno has about a dozen legs however, and they're not too bad at all. I'm just going to take the game that I know is in Lewis somewhere. Jamie to advance.

Gates/Corbett - I've got nothing on Corbett, while we know Leonard is a legitimate contender at this level so not thinking much about this one. Leonard to advance.

Round 2

Baetens/Bialecki - This is a disgustingly good round two matchup, and it's unfortunate for Sebastian that he's run into someone who will surely be a strong favourite to not only get his tour card in January, but hold it two years later. Andy to advance.

Stone/Turner - Gary's got some information in my data, but it's not inspiring and it looks like it's fairly fortunate that he's seeded. Should still be enough to handle Turner though. Gary to advance.

Copeland/Tata - Barry shows up in about 40 legs this year, and is showing competent mid 80's numbers. Is that going to be enough against someone who's beaten Peter Wright and pushed Rob Cross to a decider on TV this year. Maybe not. Jonny to advance.

Barilli/Kovacs - Mark's been around for quite some time now in both the PDC and WDF circuits, and that experience might be needed, as the actual data I have on him is not convincing. Wouldn't surprise me if the Hungarian has enough to get through this one. Patrik to advance.

Hurrell/Brooks - James has a reputation as one of the most competent players outside the PDC, was a top ten finisher on the Challenge Tour with a win at that level, and has accumulated nearly 200 legs of data that indicates this shouldn't be close. James to advance.

Merkx/Konterman - Alex has looked pretty solid this year, with a competent Challenge Tour average including a final at that level, as well as some good WDF runs, indicating he's a bit ahead of where Konterman is at the moment. Alex to advance.

Plaisier/Colley - Wesley's one of the strongest players outside the PDC and it was a big shock that he didn't get a tour card last year, Reece isn't bad but there's nothing to suggest that he's close to Plaisier's level of play at the moment. Wesley to advance.

Machin/Richardson - Peter is probably mostly known for that one appearance in the Grand Slam several years ago after winning the most irrelevant BDO major at the time, and while it's hard to get a gauge on where his level is today, we do have enough on him to make me think he's not as good as Richardson is right now. James to advance.

Duff/Blom - Neil's defending here, and it's going to be a tough ask, as the stats I have on him are nothing special. It should be more than enough to get through this round though. Neil to advance.

Turner/Maendl-Lawrance - Martyn is a name we've seen in PDC events at least a decade ago, but seems to have been away from that side for a while, and the data in the WDF does not look particularly great and could well be another seed in danger. Liam to advance.

Landman/Pratnemer - Chris is a previous PDC worlds participant and won the first Challenge Tour of the season, allowing him to do enough on the main tour to reach Minehead, so it's fairly trivial to think he's going to be playing better than Pratnemer is at the moment. Chris to advance.

Leung/Pallett - Kai is a former card holder that has been able to play enough events to get a decent line on his game, I think he was a touch better than Pallett when they both dropped off the tour and I've not seen anything to suggest things have changed. Kai to advance.

Klaasen/Kadar - Jelle shows up in lots of events, both PDC and WDF, and while he's nowhere near his best level, he's still got a solid enough floor game with occasional highlights and ought to have zero trouble advancing from this one. Jelle to advance.

Johnson/Olde Kalter - Darren's a long time player with occasional good showing on the PDC circuit, but looking at his numbers it seems as if the best of his game might be well behind him, and could be in trouble in this one. Dennie to advance.

Lauby/Lewis - Danny's one of the stronger players in this event, and one of a group of strong American players who you would not be surprised to see claim a tour card. Jamie's top game is better, but I doubt we see it. Danny to advance

Scott/Gates - I don't have anything on John, who's in as an alternate after Tricole punched his Ally Pally ticket, so against someone like Gates I'm not thinking about this one a great deal. Leonard to advance.

Round 3

Baetens/Stone - No need to think too long about this one, Stone's OK but Baetens is a big favourite for the whole tournament for a good reason. Andy to advance.

Tata/Kovacs - Probably the end of the road for Patrick here, he's not bad but Jonny's shown a higher level of play. Jonny to advance.

Hurrell/Merkx - Another one that might be a bit more competitive than the casual observer thinks, but Hurrell's just that bit better and should get through after a bit of a test. James to advance.

Plaisier/Richardson - Could easily believe this game being at a much later stage, but last sixteen it is, I'm not sure that Plaisier is streets ahead of Richardson but he is the better player. Wesley to advance.

Duff/Maendl-Lawrence - I'm not convinced that Duff is that much better than LML, but he probably has enough having course and distance here to scrape over the line. Neil to advance.

Landman/Leung - Ought to be competitive, would ordinarily find it hard to separate the two players, but I'm just going to give the edge to the player who's been playing more higher level darts this season. Chris to advance.

Klaasen/Olde Kalter - Think Klaasen's body of experience and general levels of play will see him safely over the line in this one. Jelle to advance.

Lauby/Gates - Very tough one to call between the two compatriots, but I'll give it to Gates based on a greater level of big stage experience if nothing else. Leonard to advance.

Quarter finals

Baetens/Tata - Jonny's run almost certainly comes to an end here, would not be surprised if he could grab a set or two but Baetens is just too strong. Andy to advance.

Hurrell/Plaisier - This one rates to be very tight. Probably goes all the way, looks to me like James might be a touch more inconsistent, which might give Plaisier the small edge. Wesley to advance.

Duff/Landman - Think the title defence ends here, Neil's numbers are just not at Landman's levels, and Chris has been playing a lot better level of opponent and it's going to show here. Chris to advance.

Klaasen/Gates - This one seems another one that's incredibly close and if it was ended before a final set, I would be surprised. I'm going to give the edge to the player that's younger and has won one of these before as the matches get longer and more important. Jelle to advance.

Semi finals

Baetens/Plaisier - Wesley's got the peak game to give Andy a real test, but I can't look past the number one seed, just been too consistent all year and that should be enough. Andy to advance.

Landman/Klaasen - Going to look at the respective results on the Challenge Tour, Landman's better in terms of averages (just) and results (not just). Chris to advance.

Final

Baetens/Landman - It's boring, but I'm going with the tournament favourite. It would be fitting for the best player outside the PDC to claim this, and I don't see how Landman will be able to stop him. Andy to claim the title.