The Premier League Darts season resumes after a five-month break on Tuesday evening with the remainder of the league phase set to take place behind closed doors inside the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes over the next couple of weeks, ahead of the play-offs hopefully taking place at the o2 in October in front of a crowd.
To jog your memory we have nine star players and one contender competing on the night. There have been six previous league nights which means that the third night of the resumption will be Judgement Night. That should guarantee some competitive action. Just to recap, all matches in the league phase are the best of 12 legs.
Michael Smith vs Gary Anderson
We begin with the two friends and former stablemates battling it out as Michael Smith takes on the World Matchplay finalist Gary Anderson for two very valuable points in what is quite a congested top end of the table.
Those who watched the Matchplay will remember that these two went at it in an epic semi-final which Anderson won 18-16 although for a lot of that encounter it was Smith who was on top. Smith sits above Anderson in the table going into this match and you sense he will have done more practice while the sport has been on hold than Anderson would have done. Whether that serves him well or not remains to be seen but I’d rather be on Smith than against him. Instead of backing him to win though, I think the pick of the bets lie in the most 180s market where Smith is odds against. He won the 180s 14-7 in their semi-final last month and has now won the last four meetings between the two in the 180 scoring. At odds against he’s decent value in that market here.
Michael van Gerwen vs Rob Cross
The match which will have the most attention on it is the one between the world number one Michael van Gerwen and the former world champion Rob Cross, as the Dutchman looks to return to the dominant force which has controlled the sport of darts for the last few years.
There were one or two signs of that before the pause in this tournament, as emphasised by the fact that he has already lost two of his six outings and doesn’t resume the competition on top of the league. He then underperformed in the World Matchplay so MVG has a bit to prove here. Cross sits second from bottom going into the return of the tournament so he really needs a win here to get back in the mix and ease any relegation fears. I’d expect MVG to come out on top here but I’ll take a night to see how he’s playing before committing to him financially.
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Nathan Aspinall vs Gerwyn Price
One of the more competitive matches of the night would appear to be the third one on the card as Nathan Aspinall takes on Gerwyn Price in a battle between two players who need a win to assert their chances of going all the way this season.
Aspinall has already won the PDC Home Tour in lockdown but he was beaten in the first round of the World Matchplay by the eventual winner Dimitri Van den Bergh but all in all you sense he isn’t too discomforted by the lack of crowds. Gerwyn Price never really performed in two Home Tour groups and was equally as bad in the World Matchplay when he lost out disappointingly to Danny Noppert. Not having the crowds to feed of looks to be hurting the Welshman more than we might have expected so I think the value here lies on Aspinall in the draw no bet market.
Chris Dobey vs Daryl Gurney
The matches that contain the contender always seem to get plenty of the limelight and it is Chris Dobey who has the honour of being in that position here. He faces a bottom of the table Daryl Gurney who is in desperate need of a win to give him a better chance of avoiding relegation on Thursday night.
Gurney has been made the favourite for this match and I think that is right but he has probably drawn the short straw in terms of the contenders as Dobey is one of the better rising stars in the game. The Northern Irishman might have an advantage in that he has tasted this environment at the World Matchplay which Dobey didn’t qualify for, but Dobey didn’t have a bad Summer Series so that advantage might be minimal. No result would surprise here but nothing in the odds stand out so I’ll leave this one alone.
Peter Wright vs Glen Durrant
The final match of the night is undoubtedly the best one on paper as the world champion Peter Wright will look to get his campaign back on track when he takes on the current table topper Glen Durrant, who was last seen dumping Wright out of the World Matchplay at this very venue last month.
Wright’s record in the Premier League leaves a lot to be desired and if he is going to be involved deeply in the business end towards the latter end of this week and when the players come back next month he will need to put a run of wins together. He won’t be easy for him to beat Durrant though because the former BDO world champion is tough, durable and extremely good. My gut feeling is that Durrant will win this but I’d like him to have been throwing first to merit a bet. I’m happy enough to sit back and enjoy what should be a cracker here.
Tips
WON – Back M.Smith Most 180s vs G.Anderson for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Betfair
Back him here:
WON – Back N.Aspinall to beat G.Price (DNB) for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Boylesports
Back him here:
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