Pete’s DPL Betting Tips for Night 16
- Jonny Clayton has thrown more 180s than any one else in this year’s Darts Premier League and I expect him to outscore Joe Cullen in the night’s opener at 6/4 with bet365.
- Back James Wade to take his match with Michael van Gerwen all the way and get it over the line with a 10-9 win for 9/1 at bet365.
- With a 10-9 score line, bettors can get 5/6 on there being over 16.5 total legs in the same match, again at bet365.
All of these betting lines were correct at the time the article was posted.
It may well be too little too late but, as we predicted last week, Michael Smith finally won a night in this year’s Premier League of Darts.
Bully Boy had been the last player to win a nightly title and at the very last attempt finally managed to bank a win which came in Newcastle at the at the expense of Jonny Clayton.
BONUS CODE: BET247
Get up to €100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365 Bet365 Review
On the same night, Joe Cullen sealed his play-off spot ahead of Peter Wright meaning that the world’s number one and two won’t be in Berlin for the finals.
Smith entered into the final night of the league phase knowing that he had no chance of making it to Germany.
He had been a runner-up to both Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson earlier on in the campaign but finally got over the line after seeing off the table-topping Ferret 6-3 to break his duck.
Earlier in the night, the World Championship of Darts runner-up saw off Michael van Gerwen 6-4 before dismissing Gerwyn Price by six legs to three.
Bully Boy then produced an average of 98 in the final where he pinned six out of nine on his doubles and produced a match-winning checkout of 112.
Smith ended up in sixth place in the table, leapfrogging Gerwyn Price who endured a miserable campaign, and one place behind Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright, who saw his play-off hopes dashed by tournament debutant Joe Cullen in a winner takes all quarter final clash.
Cullen finished the season in fourth place behind James Wade after losing to table topping Jonny Clayton in the semi-finals and the pair will now meet again in the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin for the play-offs on June 13th.
In the other semi final, Mighty Michael Van Gerwen will meet James Wade in a best of 19 legs match, while the final will be played to the best of 21.
Jonny Clayton V Joe Cullen
Joe Cullen heads into this match looking to emulate what his opponent achieved one year ago when Jonny Clayton lifted the Darts Premier League trophy having qualified for the tournament after winning the Darts Masters.
The Rockstar became the fourth and final qualifier last week in Newcastle when he won in the first round against Peter Wright, ending the world number one’s hopes of getting to Berlin.
Cullen lost in his second match to Clayton a week ago and the Welshman has been the DPL’s outstanding player this term, making it to eight finals and winning four of them
The Ferret has also chucked in an incredible 87 180s, averaging 0.28 per leg over 308 legs.
In short, Cullen has his work cut out for him unless something drastic happens to the form of the Ferret over the next two weeks while the players head out to New York and Copenhagen respectively.
In all fairness, at the very least, Clayton deserves to reach the final and I would expect him to do so.
Michael van Gerwen V James Wade
The league’s other outstanding player this year was Michael van Gerwen and he steps out next against James Wade.
I can never work out why the bookies don’t seem to rate Wade as much as he surely deserves.
I really think the regular Machine has what it takes to see off the Green Machine in Berlin.
Mighty Mike has looked back to his best at times during this year’s campaign but has also had a number of first-round exits and put in some really sub-par performances as well.
The Machine on the other hand has ploughed on regardless, not exactly thrilling any one, but not losing either and I can see MVG struggling to shake him off here.
The Dutchman is of course the favourite to win the match, and the whole competition as well, but Wade wont go away without putting up a real fight and I expect he will make the most of any slip ups van Gerwen makes which could prove to be the difference.
Should the underdog make it to the final where I would expect Jonny Clayton to be waiting, we will have a real match on our hands.
In what will be an extremely tough contest, I would back Jonny Clayton to retain his Premier League of Darts crown.
Pete’s Tips
BET365 DARTS BETTING PRICE
Jonny Clayton (4/9) v (7/4) Joe Cullen
Michael van Gerwen (2/5) v (2/1) James Wade
PREMIER LEAGUE OF DARTS OUTRIGHT WINNER BET365 DARTS BETTING ODDS
Michael van Gerwen – 11/8
Jonny Clayton – 13/8
Joe Cullen – 11/2
James Wade – 11/2
PREMIER LEAGUE OF DARTS FINAL TABLE
| Player | Nights Won | Matches Won | Leg Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonny Clayton (Q) | 4 | 24 | +28 | 40 |
| Michael van Gerwen (Q) | 3 | 19 | +41 | 31 |
| James Wade ** (Q) | 2 | 15 | -2 | 25 |
| Joe Cullen | 2 | 14 | +7 | 24 |
| Peter Wright | 1 | 12 | -15 | 22 |
| Michael Smith (E) | 1 | 12 | -4 | 21 |
| Gerwyn Price* (E) | 2 | 11 | -12 | 20 |
| Gary Anderson (E) | 1 | 5 | -25 | 9 |
*Pulled out of Night Five with injury
**Pulled out of Night 14 with sickness
QUICK GLANCE AT THE PREMIER LEAGUE OF DARTS WEEK 16
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin
Dates: 13/06/2022
Format: Best of 19, 21 legs
Current Champion: Jonny Clayton
Where To Watch: Sky Sports Main Event HD & Sky Sports Action HD
When To Watch: 19:00 UK