If you've been following along with our PDC Home Tour Darts coverage, you know what our basic strategy is for the early part of this first-of-its-kind event. Given the unfamiliar environment and format for this tournament– the players are at home, games are sometimes interrupted by phone calls and the matches are short — it seems unwise to back big favorites.
After five nights of play, only one favorite — Dave Chisnall (-134) — has advanced to Round 2. Peter Wright (-225), Gerwyn Price (-175), Ross Smith (+150) and Luke Humphries (+115) were all eliminated in the group stage with Jamie Lewis (+600), Luke Woodhouse (+600), Geert Nentjes (+250) and Nick Kenny (+450) joining Chisnall in Round 2.
Will the chaos continue on Night 6?
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PDC Home Tour Darts Tournament Rules and Format
- If you're unfamiliar with the rules of darts, click here.
- The tournament will feature 32 groups of four players who will play a round robin to determine a group winner.
- One group plays per day, for 32 days in a row. Yes, 32 days in a row.
- All group-stage matches are best-of-9 legs and two points will be awarded for a win. If there is a tie at the top of standings, the first tiebreaker will be leg difference.
- After the 32-day group stage, the winners will advance to the second phase of the competition. I'm assuming that means a single-elimination, bracket-style tournament. But, the PDC website didn't go any further than that.
- The action will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. local time) each night and stream on PDC.tv, free of charge.
- The first eight groups have been announced, along with the order of play, though the PDC has yet to confirm the remaining competitors.
PDC Home Tour Night 6 Betting Odds and Picks
Group 6 Fixtures
Wednesday, April 22 at 2:30 p.m. ET
- No. 8 James Wade (+125)
- No. 42 Ryan Searle (+180)
- No. 68 Andy Boulton (+450)
- No. 83 Adrian Gray (+600)
- James Wade (-335) v Adrian Gray (+240)
- Ryan Searle (-190) v Andy Boulton (+140)
- Adrian Gray (+138) v Andy Boulton (-177)
- James Wade (-155) v Ryan Searle (+120)
- Ryan Searle (-240) v Adrian Gray (+180)
- Andy Boulton (+155) v James Wade (-200)
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James "The Machine" Wade is the bookmakers' choice to advance out of Group 6 and for good reason. Wade, the No. 8 player in the world, is easily the most accomplished player in this group and his 94.79 average over the past year leads the way on Wednesday night. He is a household name in the sport thanks to 21 trips to Major Finals, nine of them ending with Wade lifting the trophy.
It wouldn't be surprising to see Wade steamroll his less-talented opposition — his listed odds give him a 44.4% chance of winning Group 6 — but I won't be paying up for the chalk in a tournament with this much variance.
As much as I appreciate Ryan "Heavy Metal" Searle's epochal hair-do, I don't have much betting interest in him on Wednesday. Searle boasts impressive stats, his year-long average sits at 92.37 — relative to the Group 6 also-rans, but none of the prices on his matches warrant a real go. Perhaps you could make an argument to back Searle against Wade, but I'd rather chase the bigger prices down the board.
Instead, I'll be trying to beat Wade and Searle with Adrian Gray, the bottom-feeder in this set. Gray has the group's worst average over the past 365 days and is clearly a couple of classes below Wade and Searle, but a 9-leg match is short enough that he could stay with the group favorites and turn these contests into coin flips. I'm banking on that happening at least once, which would provide good value as we'd need him to beat just one of the favorites to profit.
I was back and forth on whether or not I wanted to play Andy Boulton in his match against Searle, but I didn't think the price was good enough, plus, I'm much more keen on Boulton's matchup against Wade since it's the final showdown on the card.
There's a good chance that neither Boulton nor Wade have anything to play for in the final match, which would just add to the volatility and provide more value on the underdog.
PDC Home Tour Night 6 Betting Picks
- Adrian Gray (+240) over James Wade
- Adrian Gray (+180) over Ryan Searle
- Andy Boulton (+155) over James Wade
[Bet Kenny now at DraftKings. NJ, PA, IN and WV only.]
PDC Home Tour Betting Record: 7-12, -0.75 units
PDC Home Tour Odds and Schedule
Group 7 Fixtures
Thursday, April 23
- No. 38 Gabriel Clemens (+130)
- No. 48 Jelle Klaasen (+200)
- No. 117 Ryan Meikle (+350)
- No. 74 Gavin Carlin (+650)
Gabriel Clemens v Ryan Meikle
Jelle Klaasen v Gavin Carlin
Ryan Meikle v Gavin Carlin
Gabriel Clemens v Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen v Ryan Meikle
Gavin Carlin v Gabriel Clemens
Group 8 Fixtures
Friday, April 24 at 2:30 p.m. ET
- No. 15 Johnny Clayton (+130)
- No. 115 Adam Hunt (+275)
- No. 87 David Pallett (+350)
- No. 55 Richard North (+400)
Jonny Clayton v Adam Hunt
Richard North v David Pallett
Adam Hunt v David Pallett
Jonny Clayton v Richard North
Richard North v Adam Hunt
David Pallett v Jonny Clayton
