The legend that is Phil Taylor remains unbeaten in this year’s Betway Premier League, a feat he maintained last week when he saw off his long-time rival Raymond van Barneveld with form he hopes to take into this Thursday’s Matchday 4 at The Brighton Centre.
The Power takes his place at the top of the table in what he insists will be his final Premier League campaign. he is joined at the top by Michael van Gerwen and James Wade, who face off against each other this week.
The 28th Premier League meeting between Barney and The Power started off tight, with the opening six legs split evenly before Taylor threw himself 6-3 clear on the way to sealing a 7-4 victory.
Mighty Mike van Gerwen also remains unbeaten after taking down countryman Jelle Klaasen by the same scoreline. Despite a spirted performance from the underdog, the result sees Klaasen rooted to the bottom of the table without a point to his name.
Elsewhere, the Lewis/Wade tie was yet another to end 7-4, this time with Wade the victor. Dave Chisnall picked up his first victory of the season enjoying a (you guessed it!), 7-4 win in the defeat of the Belgian Kim Huybrechts, a result that Chizzy desperately needed.
Finally, the best result of the night was the return to televised form of Peter Wright, who saw off Gary Anderson in a 7-5 game that saw Snakebite land four 100-plus finishes in the opening six legs and move above Anderson in the table’s standing.
Premier League Darts matches
The evening begins with an intriguing opener between Dave Chisnall and Jelle Klaasen, with the latter looking to fight his way up from the bottom of the table. Given that his first three opponents have been Peter Wright, Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen, one wonders just how false this position is!
His opponent has now banked a score following a win against Huybrechts and if he can follow up that result with another against his fellow relegation fodder, safety would look a much more realistic outcome for Chizzy.
Putting to one side that we have the Englishman down as an outside bet for relegation, I’m calling this one for Dave as he seeks to put together back to back wins.
Only the bravest among you would back Adrian Lewis in the night’s second game, where Jackpot meets world number one Michael van Gerwen. These two have both been crowned World Champion twice, but MVG has moved on to another level while Jackpot has been off the boil for some time now.
Despite losing an exhibition match on Friday to Peter Wright, the Dutchman hasn’t lost on live TV in 41 matches, something that won’t change here.
Premier League Darts betting tips
One interesting darts bet is Gary Anderson and James Wade, which has the potential to be a draw, although Anderson has won, lost and drawn so far during this season’s run. I would expect a strong performance as the Scotsman looks to put down a marker.
This could the tightest match of the night, given Wade’s form has carried him into joint first place. Unbeaten as yet, Wade has won five of the last seven matches between the two and could easily add a sixth victory this week.
That’s said, I’ll go with The Flying Scotsman for the win. Side note, the stuttering start made to the League made by Anderson has seen him drift out to 5/1 at Bet365 to be the tournament’s overall winner, which might be worth considering.
Even though the man himself protests that performing each week is too demanding a task for his waning powers, The Power still shows up each week to belie this.
With Huybrechts yet to register a point, any virgin score is unlikely to occur here unless Taylor really does turn out to be too exhausted to compete at full power. Even then, he has far too much for the Belgian making this one of the night’s easier fixtures to call.
Another interesting one closes the night’s action as Raymond van Barneveld and Peter Wright square off. I’m going to go right ahead and call this one for Wright, fully aware that I’ll likely regret it.
Some of Barney’s recent darts have recalled his heyday and, having lost last week, he is due a win. Wright though, should he keep his head when he inevitably misses a crucial double, is starting to look the player we all know he should be. While this could very easily go either way, I’m sticking with Snakebite to be the final winner of the night.
Best Premier League darts odds
If Wright is to get the better of Barney, then he will need to play at his best just as he did last week. With that in mind, SkyBet’s Player Performance option is intriguing where 6/1 is available on Wright to win the match, score over 3.5 180s and checkout over 103.5.
SkyBet have also pushed the price boosted treble of Chisnall, Taylor & Anderson to win out from 7/2 to 9/2, which is definitely worth taking.
The fivefold accumulator I’m going with is Chisnall, MVG, Anderson, Taylor and Wright, which is worth the most at Betway, where you’ll get 11.08 to the pound.
Finally, given the talent on show in the final match of the night, I will be taking Bet365’s generous offer of 3/1 on Van Barneveld/Wright being the evening’s game that includes the most 180’s.
TV Coverage: Sky Sports 1 (19:00 GMT)
- Dave Chisnall v Jelle Klaasen
- Michael van Gerwen v Adrian Lewis
- Gary Anderson v James Wade
- Phil Taylor v Kim Huybrechts
- Raymond van Barneveld v Peter Wright