We have a double helping of Premier League Darts action this week as the Rotterdam Ahoy stages the nine combatants and a contender in a huge night eight of the competition on Wednesday evening.
Judgement Night arrives on Thursday so for two men who are battling to survive Wednesday is huge. Things are heating up at the other end of the table too so there is plenty at stake out in the Dutch city in the first of successive evenings of action.
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Gerwyn Price vs Michael Smith
Two men who go into the double header outside the top four meet in the first match on Wednesday evening when the Grand Slam champion Gerwyn Price takes on the World Championship finalist Michael Smith in a big game for both.
Smith heads into the evening knowing that he could secure his safety but at the same time he could also end it bottom of the pile so it is a huge evening for the ‘Bully Boy’. Price has slipped down the table in recent weeks and needs to arrest his slide if he is to keep up with the top four and give himself a chance of progressing in the second half of the campaign.
Only the top two in the table have beaten Price in the Premier League this season and I wonder if Smith is playing well enough to do it. The St Helens ace was terrible last week. Matches between these two tend to be tight but I just fancy Price could edge this one. He’s worth a punt on the draw no bet market.
James Wade vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
The second match of the first evening in Rotterdam sees one of the form men of 2019 thus far in James Wade in action. He has proper drawn the short straw though as he gets Dimitri Van den Bergh, arguably the best of the contenders.
Wade made an excellent start to his campaign but he is without a win in his last two matches so needs to get something out of this match if he possibly can. Van den Bergh has nothing to lose and you have to think if he settles into conditions and the surroundings that he could be extremely dangerous. I’m extremely tempted to back the Belgian here but Wade’s going well enough to make me leave it.
Rob Cross vs Mensur Suljovic
The third match of the night sees the table topping Rob Cross taking to the Rotterdam stage when he goes up against Mensur Suljovic in a clash between two men who had good runs in the European Tour event at the weekend.
Both men lost to Michael van Gerwen in that tournament, Suljovic in the semi-final and Cross in the final but the fact they got that far shows how well they are playing. Cross has been magnificent so far this season but Suljovic is beginning to find his groove in the tournament so I can’t say that anything stands out in particular here.
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Peter Wright vs Michael van Gerwen
The penultimate match of the evening sees two top players in action when Peter Wright looks to continue his good Premier League form when he takes on a Michael van Gerwen who is having an indifferent campaign by his standards.
MVG does at least come in here with the knowledge that he won in Germany over the weekend and had a nine-dart leg en route to the title and he’ll have a raucous crowd behind him so you’ve got to make him a huge favourite but I’m not sure if he is betting potential in this match. Wright is proving stubborn to beat this season and I wouldn’t be completely surprised if he gets something from this match. I’ll leave this one alone.
Raymond van Barneveld vs Daryl Gurney
The final match of the night could be where it all ends in the Premier League from a competitive standpoint for Raymond van Barneveld when he goes up against the Players Championship winner Daryl Gurney.
Depending on what Michael Smith does earlier in the night, Barneveld could go into this match having to win it to take his journey into Judgement Night. Gurney isn’t completely safe yet but he can confirm his status in the second half of the campaign with a win here and that is what I expect to happen.
Barneveld hasn’t averaged as high as 96 in the entire tournament and with Gurney slowly finding his groove after a couple of indifferent weeks I think the Northern Irishman has to be the bet here. Barneveld will be backed on by a large crowd but when you’re not playing well that can be as much a hindrance as a help. Gurney is used to having the crowd against him but after beating MVG last week he can complete the Dutch double here.
Tips
Back G.Price to beat M.Smith (DNB) for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Betway
Back him here:
WON – Back D.Gurney to beat R.Barneveld for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with William Hill
Back him here:
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