There are three weeks left until the elimination takes place in the Premier League Darts competition so Thursday night’s round of matches will take on extra significance. It will be an especially big night in Glasgow for the defending champion and current world champion Gary Anderson as he will feature twice.
Gary Anderson vs Adrian Lewis
This match is a repeat of the World Championship final which Gary Anderson won on that famous night back in January to launch himself into the elite of the game, a group Adrian Lewis is firmly ensconced in too.
Generally when these two meet they are tight matches although not so in the Premier League it has to be said. Anderson has generally enjoyed some pretty easy nights against Jackpot but a lot of that has been down to Lewis and his particularly strange form and results in this competition down the years.
Lewis is showing good signs this year though and if the crowd let it be this could be a great match but there in comes the caveat; will the crowd let this be a great match? We’ve seen before when these two have met in Scotland that Anderson’s supporters can go too far, to the extent that they’ve even put their man off.
In fairness the prices for this one is about right but throw in the crowd unknown and it is easy to sit this one out.
James Wade vs Robert Thornton
I’m prepared to take the crowd on here though albeit only tentatively I have to admit. Here we have a man in excellent form in James Wade against a man in woeful form in Robert Thornton who really needs the crowd to inspire him if he is to get anything from this one you would think.
Thornton suffered a second whitewash of the tournament last week at the hands of Phil Taylor in a match where he threw his fourth average of less than 90 in five outings this season. Averages below 90 aren’t getting the job done in this competition so even though the crowd is likely to be against him I have to back Wade.
Wade might be drawn into missing the odd double or two but he’s been in Scotland enough now to know what to expect and I think he’ll be professional enough and more importantly good enough to pull away from Thornton early doors and keep the crowd out of it and allow him to complete a fairly routine victory.
Michael van Gerwen vs Phil Taylor
This is the match everyone will be waiting to see and what a potential classic it could be. The two men on 10pts from their six matches collide knowing the winner will pull clear and be over half way to a semi-final place but it is more than that. It is the chance to lay a marker down for the majors to come over the summer and into the winter.
Can anyone beat Michael van Gerwen is the question people have been asking over recent times. Well yes is the answer. Both Adrian Lewis and Stephen Bunting did it over the weekend but beating the Green Machine on the floor in front of nobody and doing it on the stage which brings out the best in him is a whole different ball game.
Phil Taylor is back, or so they say. We’ll find out of that is the case this evening. Personally I’m not sure he’s ever been away. He just has rivals now capable of matching or bettering him which he never used to have. Taylor has looked assured, calm and confident in the Premier League so far but let’s not kid ourselves into thinking van Gerwen isn’t in Taylor’s head. He is.
You only have to look back to the semi-final of The Masters in January when Taylor had MVG on toast and proceeded to miss a raft of doubles to beat him to know that there is a mental thing going on. That was pretty much the only time in the nine defeats Taylor has suffered in their last 10 meetings that The Power has got close to MVG.
Taylor will go down as statistically the greatest ever in this game but van Gerwen is playing darts that have never been played so consistently for so long before. In front of a crowd who won’t be pro-Taylor I only see an MVG win here.
Raymond Barneveld vs Dave Chisnall
Two men struggling for form and momentum in this tournament collide in the penultimate match of the night. Raymond Barneveld’s body language has been baffling throughout the event while Chisnall keeps running into monster performances. This is a big match though because whoever loses this really is in danger of being eliminated.
Given how important the game is I don’t really want to be on the outcome of it but I do fancy a close game. There hasn’t been much between the two average wise this season and that suggests it will be tight. Both men are good protectors of their own throw and that should also see it tight.
In fact all four of their Premier League meetings have gone to a final leg and this one has the potential to do the same I would suggest. We’ve seen both men struggle to close matches out this season and both suffer draws or defeats from the jaws of victory. This one just has that feel of going the distance and maybe resulting in a draw which probably suits neither.
Gary Anderson vs Peter Wright
The world champion returns at the end of the night for an all-Scottish showdown with Peter Wright. If Anderson has lost to Lewis earlier in the night then he’ll need something from this match to avoid being cut adrift.
Wright is going pretty well in the Premier League but tends to come up short in the big matches against Gary Anderson. I mentioned Wright’s head to head record against Lewis last week and Lewis’ domination continued there and all things being equal it might do the same for Anderson.
That said I never like betting on a player who comes back after playing for two reasons. Firstly the first game is likely to have such an impression on the second especially at this stage of the season and secondly because once the adrenalin goes it is so hard to get it back and a player can be a bit flat.
Too many variables for me to consider so I’ll sit the finale out.
Bets
WON – Back J.Wade (-2.5 legs) to beat R.Thornton for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with William Hill
Back him here:
Back M.van Gerwen (-2.5 legs) to beat P.Taylor for a 4/10 stake at 1.95 with Boylesports
Back him here:
Back R.Barneveld vs D.Chisnall – Over 11.5 legs for a 4/10 stake at 2.25 with Skybet
Back it here:
