World Matchplay darts: Semi-final predictions, odds, betting tips, accas, order of play & TV times

• World Matchplay draw, schedule & TV guide
• Player-by-player World Matchplay guide
• Follow on Twitter

Already we know there will be a new name on the prestigious Phil Taylor Trophy but which two players will be competing for it?

Here, I'll run through both semi-finals as well as provide my predictions and best bets.

World Matchplay: Saturday July 27

Click on the odds for more match markets

• TV Coverage: Sky Sports (1900 BST)
• Semi-Finals: Best of 33 legs

Rob Cross () v Daryl Gurney ()

Head-to-head: 6-4
2019 Meetings: 3-1
PDC Titles this season: 0-1
Career PDC Titles: 7-4

"Surprise, surprise," uttered Daryl Gurney when told he was the outsider of the remaining four players to lift the Phil Taylor Trophy this weekend.

But silencing the 'two-faced' pundits - as he put it - and upsetting the odds are two things he's been pretty good at doing on the big stage over the past couple of seasons.

He may not be prolific and winning the floor tournaments away from the TV cameras but the 2017 World Grand Prix and 2018 Players Championship Finals champion is just two wins away from a third major title in as many years, and his gutsy performance against Peter Wright on Friday night proves he's not afraid of any challenge.

The Northern Irishman's victory was similar to how he defeated MVG for his second major prize last year, defying Snakebite's superior average of 104 and his barrage of maximums with ice cool finishing to hang in there at 13-13 before sprinting to the finishing line with three legs on the trot.

It takes a lot of mental strength to pull off such a result in a long format against a player in such red hot form as Wright, who headed into the fixture off the back of 20 straight wins and three titles.

Gurney, who I backed at 25/1 each-way before the tournament began, will need to call on the same reserves against title favourite Rob Cross although he has little time to recharge the batteries ahead of Saturday night's opening fixture.

Fortunately for Gurney, Voltage was also put through the mill, perhaps unexpectedly, by a brilliant effort from Stephen Bunting and the 2018 world champion had to win the last two legs for a dramatic 16-14 triumph.

It is hard to argue why Cross is favourite given how consistent his scoring and finishing have been for large parts of the season even though he hasn't won a title of any kind since August 2018 while he's won three of their four meetings this year, including a double in the Premier League.

And it could so easily have been a case of after the Lord's Mayor's Show (sorry for that awful cliche) when facing James Wade, who had survived so many scares and was due a big performance, but after a day of relaxing and watching Homes Under the Hammer, he destroyed a lacklustre Machine.

The Blackpool fans have taken him to their hearts and the atmosphere they're creating, according to the man himself, are carrying him to the title that he's now "daring to dream" about.

It's interesting that Durrant has leapfrogged ahead of Smith in the outright betting but I am still keen on Bully Boy's chances to book his place in his fourth major televised final in not too much over a year.

Having been runner-up at the 2018 Premier League, 2018 World Series of Darts Finals and 2019 World Championship, the St Helens man has come so close to a maiden big title and while there's certainly plenty of time on his side at the age of 28, it'd be great if he start opening the flood gates sooner than later. It's what he deserves.