The Premier League Darts tournament heads to a fourth country in as many weeks on Thursday night when Dublin hosts the eight players who will all line up looking to take home the £10,000 that is up for grabs on the evening.
As well as the dosh there is some points towards the league table on the line and everyone will go in search of those to attempt to better their position on the overall standings as the first quarter of the campaign comes to a close.
Michael Smith vs Peter Wright
The opening quarter final of night four of the competition sees the last two world champions battling it out for a place in the semi-final on the evening when Michael Smith goes up against Peter Wright.
The latter is winless through the opening three weeks of the Premier League and will be desperate to get off the mark for the campaign. Smith didn’t cover himself in glory in the opening two weeks but he won in Glasgow last week and will be looking to carry the positive vibes into this week, a venue where he has good memories having hit his first televised nine dart leg here three years ago. Smith looks in good touch at the minute but Wright can spark into life at any stage which makes me swerve the world champion at a short price. I’m in no rush to back Wright until he comes alive again though.
Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Gerwyn Price
The second quarter final of the evening sees a Dimitri Van den Bergh who is playing better than his results have suggested, taking on Gerwyn Price who is probably flattered in the event so far given that his only points have come in front of a raucous home crowd in Cardiff.
Long-term, Price probably has the more upside of these two players but in the here and now based on what we’ve seen in the tournament to date I’m not so sure that is the case. Price hasn’t gone beyond 97.5 in terms of averages at any stage in the event and should have lost the semi-final in the night he won but the crowd got to Michael van Gerwen when he threw for the match. The Welshman has a dismal record in the Premier League, largely because the crowds rarely give him a chance to be successful. Van den Bergh has performed well in the competition so far but keeps running into van Gerwen or Smith, the two best players on the planet at present. He doesn’t run into either in this match and as such I think he is decent value to pull off what would be a betting upset but maybe not so much of a standard one.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THIS TOURNAMENT! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Jonny Clayton vs Nathan Aspinall
The third of the quarter finals at the 3Arena in Dublin on Thursday evening sees two men who have made completely opposite starts to their tournament meeting when Jonny Clayton goes up against Nathan Aspinall.
Clayton has stuttered out of the starting gate this year after dominating this phase of the competition a year ago while Aspinall has flown out of the blocks and sits tied with Smith at the top of the table, behind him by virtue of the fact that the world champion has won a weekly tournament which ‘The Asp’ hasn’t yet. I expect Clayton to click into gear soon though and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is here, especially if Aspinall has one of those nights where he can’t find a double for love nor money. That makes it hard to back Aspinall but Clayton isn’t a huge amount more reliable at the minute. I do like Clayton though but if his doubling is bang on it he might be better value to go all the way rather than risk at a tight price here.
Chris Dobey vs Michael van Gerwen
The last of the quarter finals on the evening is a repeat of the first final of the season when Chris Dobey, the winner of that opening week in Belfast, takes on Michael van Gerwen who has done everything but win a week so far.
Not having won a week will have annoyed van Gerwen because he has been in a final and a semi-final and not converted the opportunities he has created for himself. With him against two of three men who are lower down the rankings from this involved in this tournament in the run through to the final, this already looks a good chance to go deep once again. Dobey finally got the better of MVG in the final in Belfast and you would imagine that will ensure he doesn’t fear the Dutch ace here. Whether he is good enough to beat him remains to be seen. All the numbers suggest that MVG will win this but after he lost in the quarter final to Aspinall last week, at a short price I’ll let the Dutch star win if he is back on form.
Night 4 Preview
If you have followed the Premier League season so far you could be forgiven for thinking that the final here will be Peter Wright against Jonny Clayton as the other six men have all made it through to one of the first three weekly finals. Sport isn’t like that though and actually those two men have one win in six matches between them so far this season. I do think that the latter will come good at some point though and there might be some value on that happening here.
He is odds on to beat Aspinall in the first round, an Aspinall whose doubling is either brilliant or shocking, and while he could run into MVG in the semi-final, there is enough to suggest that the top edge has just come off of his game. If Clayton beats Aspinall I suspect it will be because he is finishing well and if he does that throughout the evening then there is no reason why the man who took the first phase by storm last season can’t get off the mark this time around.
Tips
Back D.Van den Bergh to beat G.Price for a 3/10 stake at 2.50 with Bet365
Back J.Clayton to win Night 4 for a 1/10 stake at 10.00 with Coral
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2023
