The opening day of the second Champions League of Darts should see some amazing action over the course of the two sessions of play at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff.
Both groups will have their first two rounds of matches played in the Welsh capital on Saturday with four fixtures in the afternoon before the two winners in each group meeting other in the evening along with the two losers facing off.
As ever with these sort of events time restrictions mean we will be unable to preview the evening session of play but we can get stuck into the start of the action which we will do here.
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Peter Wright vs Dave Chisnall
We begin in Group B where the middle two seeds meet in a tasty looking opener. Peter Wright takes on Dave Chisnall for the 23rd time with their head to head record currently all-square at 11 apiece.
Both men have shown off their talents in big tournaments recently. You would have to say Wright has developed a much better all-round game but Chisnall is capable of beating anyone on his day so although I make the Scot favourite it is not by much I have to say.
As a betting proposition I think it is best to head to the 180s here. Both men plough in the 180s when they get going. In their second Premier League meeting this year they produced 11 in 12 legs and in Dubai when they clashed they accounted for 14 in 15 legs. This should be a tight match so I’m expecting more than 10.5 180s here.
Gary Anderson vs Mensur Suljovic
The second match of the afternoon sees the former world champion Gary Anderson taking on the biggest improver on the PDC circuit over the last 24 months in Mensur Suljovic. These two are locked at two each in their career head to head.
Anderson arrives as a danger for this title but he doesn’t always give these exhibition type events full attention. There are no majors coming up to act as a distraction though so he might be more focused than he often is.
Suljovic will clearly be up for this on his debut in the tournament. He will also be out to claim a major scalp which could well see him considered for other exhibition events in the future. He has two wins over Anderson to his name and his two defeats were both in a deciding leg so I like the 3.5 leg start he receives here in a match he should be considered as a genuine contender in.
Phil Taylor vs Adrian Lewis
Phil Taylor’s last appearance in Cardiff begins with a clash against his former protégé Adrian Lewis in what looks like being another excellent encounter. Taylor has dominated their previous meetings through the years but when Lewis is on it he can beat anyone.
I’m hoping Taylor wins having backed the legend outright but having traipsed through the various markets I consider to be betting options there is not a whole lot that stands out so I’ll sit back and just take this one in.
Michael van Gerwen vs Raymond Barneveld
The afternoon session concludes with a belter of an all-Dutch battle as Michael van Gerwen takes on Raymond Barneveld in a massive Group A clash. Van Gerwen will want to make a big start here while Barneveld has nothing to lose.
MVG has been dominant on the European Tour over the last couple of weeks so his confidence should be sky high. We don’t really know how Barneveld will fare here but then we never truly do know which Barney will turn up until the match begins. He is generally usually up for it against MVG even when he is outclassed.
Van Gerwen usually gets the better of Barneveld these days but the one trend that tends to prevail is that Barney usually always ploughs in the 180s against his Dutch foe. That should continue here and 4.5 180s is quite a low line.
In their 2017 meetings Barney has rattled in 14 180s in a 6-2 World Championship defeat, five in a 7-5 win in the Premier League and four in a 10-5 defeat outdoors in Dubai. I’m expecting to see at least five maximums from the Dutchman here.
Tips
Back P.Wright vs D.Chisnall – Over 10.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 1.90 with Unibet
Back it here:
WON – Back M.Suljovic (+3.5 legs) to beat G.Anderson for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Boylesports
Back him here:
WON – Back R.Barneveld – Over 4.5 180s for a 3/10 stake at 2.20 with Betfred
Back him here:
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