PHIL TAYLOR begins his bid for a 16th World Matchplay title today and his first opponent is giant Highlander John Henderson.
Taylor is 1-12 at Boylesports for victory and evens at the likes of Skybet and BetVictor for most 180s against the underdog who's chalked up at 12-1 for a shock win with bet365.
Henderson's fellow Scot Robert Thornton is 4-6 at Ladbrokes to win his tough opener against Keegan Brown (11-8, Boylesports) while Dave Chisnall and Raymond van Barneveld hope to avoid an upset against Jamie Caven and Andy Hamilton respectively.
The Aussies smashed England in the second Ashes Test yesterday to make it one victory each so far and are now in to 1-2 at Paddy Power to win the series.
Chris Froome retained his stanglehold on the Tour de France lead and today it's stage 16 where Alejandro Valverde is the 14-1 favourite with bet365.
There's also tennis and baseball on the go today so let's hear your tips and thoughts and good luck with your bets.
In December 2020 we sadly 
Morning guys,
Cycling: Tour de France stage 16
Very difficult to predict this stage. I think the break-away will make it to the end, so I have one match-up and a couple of break-away candidates.
Match-up:
BAKELANDTS v Pantano
BOASSON HAGEN v Degenkolb
Double @ 2.16 with 888
Fuglsang each-way @ 29.00 with BV
Bakelandts each-way @ 36.00 with BV
Boasson Hagen each-way @ 81.00 with PP
Weening each-way @ 101.00 with 365
Having watched the first two test matches in the ashes ..and judging by how England got an absolute trouncing in the second test it’s really difficult to see how they are gonna pick up from this..With Steve Smith in awesome form and the formidable bowling line up they have I think the aussies are a fantastic bet at 1/2 to go on and clinch the series
***Posted Yesterday***
MLB Bet for Tonight
Treble @ 4.28/1 (£10) LOST
Seattle Mariners ML (Lost 2-1)
Chicago White Sox ML (Lost 4-1)
LA Angels ML (Postponed)
Dodgers
Pirates
Mets @ Nationals u6.5 runs
@ 7.09
Not having a great run, while on holiday with 2 losers. Managed to do a bit of research today and come up with this longer odds treble.
Test
darts treble
wright 1/3
thornton 8/13
van Barneveld 1/5
£10 treble returns £25.84 @b365
Evening Guys Matchplay Darts
With 6 out of 8 favourites losing yesterday, I was happy with 2 out of 4 winners. It should really have been 3 but VDV fell one maximum shy. My Ante post bet of at least one 9 darter almost came in as VDV wired double 12 to land it. In fact 3 players hit 6 perfect dart yesterday, so still think the bet could land. On to tonight then.
Thornton v Brown
When the draw was made I fancied Brown, as Thornton form as been poor but he turned that around winning on the tour in the last tournament before the Matchplay, Brown missed that tournament due to illness. One reason I was going to oppose Thornton is his form at the Matchplay is aweful. He as never won a match on this stage, losing to Ian White and Paul Nicholson, whilst Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis have hammered the Thorn 10-0!
We seen our important the first session can be, yesterday we saw players racing into 5-0 and 4-1 leads and it takes a big effort to come back from that. If Keegan is in contention after the first break and second he could well nick this at good odds. For me the bet I like is for Keegan to cover his maximum line set at O3.5 at 8/11 Paddy Power as this could be a long match and I like him to checkout O109.5 at 5/6 Paddy Power.
BROWN O3.5 TOTAL 180s 8/11
BROWN O109.5 CHECKOUT 5/6
Chisnall v Caven
Chizzy was superb in the premier league, he led the way for the majority before losing out to Gary Anderson 10-9 in the semi final. He finished the league with 68 maximums two behind Anderson who played one more match that Chizzy. Jamie Caven will push him and I can see him taking the match past 15 legs, which means taking O5.5 Chizzy maximums is probably the best bet on this match. It pays evens at Titanbet.
CHISNALL 05.5 TOTAL 180s 1/1
Barneveld v Hamilton
Two players who need a decent run here, but with Taylor waiting potentially in the second round they will want to put in a good performance. Barney didn’t look right at the World cup and apparently he was under the weather and as taken some time off. Hamilton as had a poor year and is slipping down the rankings so I am expecting a tight nervous game. Hamilton as only won 3 out of 24 meetings with RVB and while he may not win this one I can see a long match. O16.5 legs is a bet I like at 11/10 Ladbrokes.
O16.5 TOTAL LEGS 11/10
Good luck if your having a bet
MLB Bets for Tonight
Double @ 2.11/1 (£10)
Tampa Bay Rays ML
Arizona Diamondbacks ML
Handicap 5 Fold @ 7.75/1 (£5)
San Diego Padres +1.5
Texas Rangers +1.5
Chicago Cubs +1.5
Atlanta Braves +1.5
Detroit Tigers +1.5
Top tipping tonight chief, cheers
Ilhan d Gulbis @ 13/5.
Anyone who follows tennis know Gulbis can be a profitable man to bet against when he’s odds on, especially when his forms so poor. Obviously he’s a strong favourite to win this if he brings his best tennis, but he’s just as likely to bring his worst.