Phil Taylor has been predicting the results at the World Matchplay this week.
The Power has been hit and miss with his predictions. He got all four results on day one wrong, but, he did pick James Wade to beat Ross Smith in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
There are two more huge quarter-finals coming up on Friday as Michael Smith faces Rob Cross and Michael van Gerwen takes on the man he dubbed ‘the assassin’, Andrew Gilding.
Smith vs Cross will certainly be an interesting match-up. These two met in the World Matchplay final back in 2019 where Cross won, despite having a lower average, while they have history together as former World Cup teammates for England.
Speaking in a video posted on X, Phil Taylor has had a go at predicting how this game will go, and he’s actually picked Smith as his winner for this one.
Phil Taylor predicts Rob Cross vs Michael Smith
Taylor gave his verdict on how this game will pan out.
“Anyway, here are today’s tips. I’m going to say Rob Cross to get beaten by Michael Smith, and I will say for Michael van Gerwen vs Andrew Gilding, fewer than 24 180s,” Taylor said.
Rob Cross is in better form
Taylor thinks that Smith will win this game, but it’s Cross who is in better form.
Voltage has produced two ton-plus averages in his games so far, getting past both Gian van Veen and Ryan Searle.
Cross described Gian van Veen as ‘fantastic’ after his 13-12 victory, and the fact that Cross managed to get over the line in that one is a testament to his quality.
Cross would then average almost 107 against Searle in the second round, while Smith squeaked past Chris Dobey with an average of just 93.
Smith will have to go up a level if he’s going to beat Cross here, and Taylor believes he has what it takes to do just that.