A couple of the Day 1 selections ended on the wrong side after beginning too slowly or blowing a healthy lead through missed Doubles, but it could have been a worse day and that keeps things ticking forward.
The First Round is going to be completed in Amsterdam on Friday and there are perhaps not as many good looking matches in this half as there are in the half that was completed on Thursday.
It is reflected by having a couple fewer Picks from the Session to be completed through the evening in the Netherlands, although there is still plenty of quality darts for the fans to enjoy.
Nathan Aspinall to win & most 180s v Raymond Smith: There have been some suggestion that Raymond Smith is playing with a concern about his arm, but you would never have guessed that from the performances produced in the New Zealand and Australian World Series tournaments played in August.
He reached the Semi Final in New Zealand having beaten the likes of Stephen Bunting and Adam Leek, while Raymond Smith gave Gian van Veen a scare in Australia.
This should narrow the focus for Nathan Aspinall who has not been as active as he would have liked in what has been a busy personal year for the former Premier League participant.
When he has arrived at tournaments, Aspinall has shown his qualities and can find a way to complete the Match Double in what could be a good First Round match.
James Wade to win & over 1.5 180s v Damon Heta: James Wade has won nine matches in a row since losing in the New Zealand World Series tournament in the Semi Final.
It is a run that saw him pick up the title in Australia and Wade followed up by winning a European Tour title as well.
He was very disappointed to have missed out on playing in the Premier League this season, but James Wade is putting another strong year in the books and might be much harder to ignore in 2027. Rounding out the season with a Ranking title may make it impossible for him to miss out on a tournament he clearly wants to play in, but this is a tough opening match for James Wade.
Damon Heta has not had the kind of 2026 that he may have hoped, but he remains a very tough player to beat and he reached the Semi Final in the European Tour event played last weekend. That run was ended by James Wade, but it was a very good match and this could be another.
It is James Wade who has won the last three between the players and he may just have enough to edge this one as well- Wade has been hitting the treble 20 mark with some regularity in recent weeks and can add two in any winning effort on Friday.
Luke Littler to win & over 3.5 180s v Danny Noppert: Two weeks ago, Luke Littler won a European Tour title and beat Danny Noppert without dropping a Leg in that success.
Last week Danny Noppert was beaten by eventual Winner James Wade without winning a Leg and the home crowd will be hoping to lift the World Number 10 to a more competitive effort.
It is a big ask against the top player in the world and Luke Littler continues to put so much pressure on opponents thanks to his scoring power.
He can find at least four maximums in another win over Danny Noppert and Luke Littler is capable of reaching that mark even in a blowout win.
MY PICKS: Nathan Aspinall to Win & Most 180s @ 2.10 Bet365 (1 Unit)
James Wade to Win & Over 1.5 180s @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Luke Littler to Win & Over 3.5 180s @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)
World Series Finals: 2-3, - 0.85 Units (5 Units Staked, - 17% Yield)
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