It is the last round of matches before Judgement Night in the Premier League Darts event on Thursday night and the set of games in Liverpool will determine who will have survived and who will go to Cardiff with their fate yet to be determined. This is the biggest night of the Premier League Darts season yet.
Michael Smith vs Robert Thornton
This is probably the biggest match of the season so far as the bottom two in the table collide first up. If Thornton loses this and Chisnall beats Anderson later in the night then the Scot will be eliminated from the tournament. With Thornton playing twice on the night this is a huge evening for the World Grand Prix champion.
It is just as big for Michael Smith too. He goes into the night level on points with Dave Chisnall and knows he has Phil Taylor next week so he really needs to maximise his outcome in this match to give him the best chance of surviving next week. Defeat could have catastrophic effects on his chances.
Given the magnitude of the match it is a tough one to bet on. At some point Thornton will come good but whether it is when the pressure is cranked up like this I’m not so sure. One thing I do know is that Smith looks a little short given the pressure he is under. I’ll leave this one alone.
Gary Anderson vs Dave Chisnall
As well as Smith and Thornton, Dave Chisnall is heavily involved in the battle to survive. You would think he needs at least one win either from this match or next week against Peter Wright to make it into the second half of the competition.
Gary Anderson had been up and down in this tournament but he ignited his season last week with two wins in Scotland and he’ll be looking to back that up with another win in this match. If he does that then he will go top of the table ahead of the rest of the matches in the evening.
These two met in the UK Open earlier in the month and Chisnall looked to be all over Anderson until the world champion came good in the end. He’ll need to start better in this one but you wouldn’t put that past him.
Chisnall doesn’t look in the greatest form but his need is stronger than Anderson’s which could have an impact. I’m tentative about betting on this match.
Adrian Lewis vs Raymond Barneveld
On paper this looks like being the closest match of the night and potentially the hardest one to call. Lewis has four wins from seven matches so far while Barneveld has three. The thing that makes it so tough to call is the fact both have won when they’ve played well and lost when they haven’t.
There has been a great deal of inconsistency about both in the tournament so far and that is never a good thing but one thing that isn’t mixed is the recent head to head record where Adrian Lewis has won their last four meetings including in the World Championship semi-final the last time they met.
I think that head to head record and the fact Lewis has played better more often than Barneveld has in this tournament means he has the edge here. There is a fair bit of pressure on Barneveld in this match and he hasn’t always coped well with pressure. Lewis throws first and can come out of the blocks firing hard and I’ll take him to come through here.
Phil Taylor vs Peter Wright
This could well be the match of the night. Both are playing some good stuff at the minute and it has been a while since Wright has been scared of Taylor so that should make for a good match.
They have shared their last four meetings and on most of their form in this tournament they look pretty well matched so I wouldn’t be surprised if this one ends a draw but I’ve just a concern that Wright has the potential to either throw a poor leg or miss a couple of crucial doubles and that could be the difference.
There won’t be much to separate them though so Taylor looks a touch short at odds on so I’m going to sit this one out and wait for better opportunities.
Michael van Gerwen vs Robert Thornton
The final match of the night is a huge one for Robert Thornton regardless of what happens earlier in the night. He needs all the points he can get and whilst his record against the Green Machine is pretty good compared to most even his most passionate fan would struggle to see him getting anything here.
Van Gerwen has been in sensational form throughout the year so far and I don’t think it is a case of if he wins this match it is more a case of how many does he win by. Bookmakers would certainly agree with that as they offer a 4.5 leg handicap on the Dutchman which is pretty ridiculous for this format but it is hard to disagree with that line.
All things being equal I would expect MVG to cover that but there is no room for missed doubles or a poor leg so I can’t be recommending that. This is another one to sit out and watch and wait for better chances to come over the rest of the season.
WON – Back A.Lewis to beat R.Barneveld for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Unibet
Back him here:
