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February23February 23, 2017

Phil Taylor Remains Unbeaten: Raymond Van Barneveld Feels The Power In Premier League

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

February15February 15, 2017

Michael Van Gerwen Remains Unbeaten In Darts Premier League

By Peter FryersIn

Darts Betting Tips

Things are beginning to take their entirely predictable shape in the PDC Darts Premier League as we roll into Matchday 3 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds this Thursday.

Already, we have five unbeaten contenders (Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Phil Taylor, James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld), while on the flip side we have two players (Dave Chisnall and Jelle Klaasen) yet to record a point.

Last week’s villain of the piece was Barney who proved his own theory that he tires over back-to-back weekly games when he failed to dismiss Kim Huybrechts, shooting down our accumulator in the process. We really should listen more.

The 2014 Premier League champion managed a draw and so remains unbeaten, moving onto three points. Huybrechts had taken an early lead in the match, only to bow to Van Barneveld’s timeless class as the Belgian claimed his first point of the season.

After drawing with Van Gerwen on day one, Gary Anderson recorded his first win as he blasted past Jelle Klaasen in a 7-3 victory, while neither Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor or James ‘The Machine’ Wade had enough in the tank to better the other; the game ended honours even.

Last week we opted for Adrian Lewis over Chizzy which proved to be a winning darts bet as Jackpot landed his first win while Chizzy remains without a single point two weeks in. He remains our tip to miss the cut of all the big names.

Finally, Michael Van Gerwen looked to be on his way to a whitewash as he punished a Valentine’s day edition of Peter Wright, almost without reply. In a match that initially looked like it would take less time to complete than Snakebite’s entry dance, Mighty Mike zoomed into a 6-0 lead with what would have been only the eighth Wrightwash in DPL history.

Wright rallied just enough to register the following three sets before MVG crushed his rebellion with a 14-dart finish for a 7-3 win and moves onto three points.

Premier League Week 3: Darts Betting Tips

The Betway Premier League returns for Matchday 3 on Thursday, February 16 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, with another five exciting ties, the pick of which has to be the clash between Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld.

Such a tough one to call! Two old legends face off against each other, both dismissive of their own diminishing powers. Not ones to question their own ability, there is more than a little bit of mind games at play here.

However, the fact remains that these two, with one all but retired and the other playing only a skeleton programme, these are yesterday’s heroes. From what I have seen over recent weeks, I would edge towards the Dutchman who won the last time the titans met, back in the quarter-finals of this year’s World Championship but, unable to split the pair, I’m tipping a draw between these two.

The first match of the evening, starting at 19:20, is the all Scottish affair between Gary Anderson and Peter Wright. In another lifetime, Anderson would be the stand out tip for an event like the DPL but such is Van Gerwen’s domination, he is destined to spend the majority of his career as the Dutchman’s bridesmaid, despite having two world titles to his name. I mention this only as a way of saying that, while I maintain that Wright will win a televised tourney this year, I expect Anderson to have too much class, just as he did in the World Championship semi-final, six weeks ago.

Another tight one is the Lewis-Wade matchup which, this being darts, can come down to form or gut feeling and while I certainly can see a Lewis win here, both form and feeling have me leaning towards Wade. As far as sure things go, I think we can say with some security that Michael van Gerwen will dismiss his countryman Jelle Klaasen with relative ease, especially if the world number one is in the right mood which, given the bad blood between the two, he will be.

The last game of the night pairs Dave Chisnall and Kim Huybrechts. Although capable of great darts, Chizzy looked down on himself last week following a real downturn in throwing form. If he can get his head straight, then he is good value at 5/4 with Bet365 to record a win here but at the moment that looks an unlikely premise.

Huybrechts, on the other hand, ran James Wade all the way a week ago so form would have him the victor on Thursday. I’ll be kind to Chizzy and call this one a draw as he needs to collect a point at the very least if he is to avoid relegation – which has now come in dramatically to 13/8, again with Bet365.

Accumulator-wise, a straight line on Anderson, Wade and MVG, plus draws in the remaining two games, makes for 95.40 at Betway, while at SkyBet it is advisable to back Barney for qualification before he turns odds on.

Odds on, by the way, is all you can get on Van Gerwen for the outright, should you be wondering.

Matchday 3, Thursday 16 February 2017

Gary Anderson v Peter Wright
Adrian Lewis v James Wade
Phil Taylor v Raymond van Barneveld
Michael van Gerwen v Jelle Klaasen
Dave Chisnall v Kim Huybrechts

February7February 10, 2017

Premier League Darts Rolls Into Nottingham

By Peter FryersIn

Darts Betting Tips

Wouldn’t you just know Michael Van Gerwen would pick last week’s match against Gary Anderson to take his clog off the pedal and settle for a draw. With it, he shot my down my accumulator that would have otherwise paid out nicely. Thanks, Mike.

Despite that result, last week’s opening night went largely according to plan. The expected elite, Mighty Mike and Anderson aside, all delivered as intended. Phil Taylor, Peter Wright, James Wade and Raymond Van Barneveld all came away with wins

Barney in particular was made to work hard for his victory, however, as he fought back from 4-1 down to shake off Adrian ‘Jackpot’ Lewis in Newcastle. As mentioned, Van Gerwen failed to get his Premier League title defence off to a winning start but could cheer himself up knowing that he did manage to extend his unbeaten run in PDC competitions to 33 matches.

Six-time Premier League champion Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor began his last ever season as a wildcard pick and took little time to dispatch Dave Chisnall 7-3, while James Wade emerged the 7-5 victor in his opener against Kim Huybrechts. Earlier in the evening, Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright was the night’s other winner having seen off Jelle Klaasen 7-4.

Premier League Darts Betting Tips

While last week’s opening night went (almost) as predicted, night two in Nottingham should also hold few surpirses, so long as you can pick wisely from certain games.

Lewis v ‘Chizzy’ opens the night and is one of the tighter games to call. Going on past results, I think Lewis should reclaim enough form at least to overcome Chisnall. The only other question mark surrounds the waning powers of the legend that is Phil Taylor and his opponent James Wade. True, ‘The Machine’ can throw a spanner in the works of The Power’s leaving party, but assuming he leaves the spanner at home and throws darts instead, I’m going to stay loyal to The Power, not quite ready to say goodbye just yet.

At Betway, an accumulator, from earliest start time onwards, picking the following wins (H, A, A, A, A) pays out 12.69 which is where I will be looking this week. Cue MVG Meltdown!

In terms of the overall tournament, last week’s results have done little to alter the prices on offer for the outrights, save for pushing ‘Jackpot’ Lewis out to 33/1 with SkyBet.

Let’s have a quick look at outright relegation instead then. Given the likelihood that Jelle Klaasen and Kim Huybrechts won’t make the last eight, the race is on to see who can finish bottom of the pile. Bet365 are laying 5/4 on the Belgian Huybrechts and 7/4 on Klaasen of the Netherlands.

If I were to pick a droppee from the big six, then I think the best darts betting tip might just be Dave Chisnall. While the odds are shorter on James Wade, ‘The Machine’, when on form, is an impressive chucker and tough opponent. On that point then, I’ll go with an unlikely outsider for an early prexiteer in Dave ‘Chizzy’ Chisnall, at a best price of 9/1 with Bet365 who are also offering 12s on Adrian Lewis missing the cut, following his defeat in round one, if only to make things interesting.

Matchday Two, Thursday February 9

Capital FM Arena, Nottingham: Sky Sports 1 (1900 GMT)

Adrian Lewis v Dave Chisnall
James Wade v Phil Taylor
Jelle Klaasen v Gary Anderson
Peter Wright v Michael van Gerwen
Kim Huybrechts v Raymond van Barneveld