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March13March 13, 2019

MVG Drops Points Again As Wade Goes Top Of Darts Premier League

An emotional local contender John ‘Highlander’ Henderson enjoyed one of his most memorable nights on the oche in Aberdeen last Thursday as he claimed an unlikely tie against Michael van Gerwen. The Scottish crowd produced an unbelievable atmosphere for the 45-year-old who was moved to tears during his walk-on to the tune of Flower Of Scotland leading into Rocking All Over The World.

The local thrower from Huntley opened with a decent 180 in the first leg and although it couldn’t stop him from falling 3-0 behind soon after, it still brought the house down. Following a disastrous week which saw him suffer two defeats in as many days, Mighty Mike moved 5-2 clear before faltering enough to allow his opponent to take back-to-back legs and move to within one. Banking himself at least a point, MVG edged into a 6-4 lead before Henderson, boosted by the support of the crowd, reeled off two 14-darters in a row to seal a shock draw.

A review of other Darts Premier League Night 5 action

In the first match of the evening, Rob Cross eased to a 7-3 victory over Michael Smith in a repeat of the UK Open semi-final less than a week earlier. Smith made the stronger start of the two, going up 2-1 only for Voltage to level things prior to hitting a brilliant 164 checkout to break Bully Boy’s throw. From there, Cross reeled off three legs in a row to guarantee himself at least a point with room to spare. Smith replied by finding the bull for a fine checkout from 90, before Voltage closed out the match.

The 10th Premier League Darts whitewash in history was recorded in match two when James Wade thrashed Daryl Gurney 7-0. Fresh from inflicting Mighty Michael van Gerwen’s first defeat of the Premier League season a week ago in Exeter, The Machine produced another dominant performance in which he averaged 109.59 while also hitting two ton-plus checkouts. Wade finished with seven doubles from nine, winning six of his seven legs in 15 darts or less. Superchin, who averaged 95.45, was battered 7-1 by Rob Cross in Night 5 and this latest heavy defeat now leaves his leg difference in tatters.

In match three, Gerwyn Price once again had to play through the boos as he produced another good performance in which he brushed aside Mensur Suljovic. Price earned his pantomime villain tag after his antics against Gary Anderson in the Grand Slam of Darts back in November, and clearly the Aberdeen crowd were not in a forgiving mood. Despite the crowd behind against him, The Iceman coolly carried on as he has all Premier League season to maintain his unbeaten start to the campaign. The Welshman landed a 107 in the opening leg while he hit a 12-darter in the fifth to race into a 4-1 lead. Price then took the sixth before The Gentle responded with an 11 darter to close the gap, albeit only slightly. The pair then shared the following two legs to allow Price to scoop up all the points for that match. Former rugby player Price finished with an average of 93.26 compared to Suljovic’s 95.67.

The last match of the evening produced a win for Peter Wright, who produced arguably his finest performance of the season so far where he beat Raymond van Barneveld 7-3. The win sees Snakebite move up to fifth in the table but does little for Barney’s hopes of going out with a bang. The Dutchman now sits bottom and this latest defeat sees him being cut off from the rest of the chasers. Barney did take the opening leg only for Wright to take the next five in a row. RVB then finished from 81 for an 11-darter only to see Snakebite land his third and final 180 of the night as part of an 10-darter. There was still time for Barney, who averaged 95.36, to pull one back but it was to make no difference as Snakebite, who averaged 106.64, finished the contest soon after.

Darts Premier League Week 6 Betting Tips

We open with a tough one this week in Nottingham, as UK Open winner Nathan Aspinall takes part as the latest contender. We have seen some great performances from local heroes – all playing in place of the injured Gary Anderson – not least, Chris Dobey in Night 1 and John ‘Highlander’ Henderson’s draw with MVG last week. This week, however, could represent the best chance yet to back a contender for the win. One of the fastest rising stars of the PDC, The Asp certainly has the potential to heap more misery on Smith, who is currently struggling badly. Last year’s runner-up is second to the bottom with one win in five and needs desperately to turn things around soon. Arguably, his best chance to do that is against a contender — it’s just a shame that it happens to be this one. Aspinall win.

Out of nowhere, James Wade appears to be playing his best darts ever. Having dispatched world number one Michael van Gerwen seven days earlier, The Machine last week dumped Daryl Gurney in a whitewash performance that took him top on leg difference. With Suljovic struggling for form, Wade should come through this test relatively untroubled. Another player showing the form of old is Rob Cross, who suddenly looks like the player he was at the end of 2018 when he was crowned world champion. Voltage has won two on the spin with victories over Daryl Gurney and Michael Smith, and with bottom-placed Barney looking all kinds of wrong, it is hard to see Cross not taking all the points here.

Match four pits Michael van Gerwen against Gerwyn Price in a battle of the heavyweights. The unbeaten Iceman will fancy his chances against an MVG who is looking increasingly out of sorts. A defeat to James Wade was followed by another the following night, to Mervyn King at the UK Open. Last week he dropped even more points, this time against local hero John Henderson. Even so, it is never advisable to bet against the Dutch world champion, even less so given that Mighty Mike has won all 13 meetings against the Welshman.

Finally, this week we have selected Peter Wright to beat Daryl Gurney. Wright put in his best performance of the season so far in Aberdeen winning easily against Barney while Superchin has lost 13 legs and won just one in the last two weeks of Premier League Darts action. Also, Gurney has not beaten Wright in their last four matches so we’ll stick with a Snakebite win.

This week’s accumulator with Betway looks like this; Aspinall, Wade, Cross, MVG and Wright which pays 23.25/1.

(7/4) Nathan Aspinall v Michael Smith (11/10)
(1/1) James Wade v Mensur Suljovic (15/8)
(8/15) Rob Cross v Raymond van Barneveld (100/30)
(4/1) Gerwyn Price v Michael van Gerwen (4/9)
(10/11) Peter Wright v Daryl Gurney (21/10)

QUICK GLANCE AT THE DARTS PREMIER LEAGUE – Night 6

Venue: Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Dates: Thursday 14.03.2019
Format: Best of 12 legs
Current Champion: Michael van Gerwen
Where To Watch: Sky Sports
When To Watch: (1900 GMT)

March6March 6, 2019

Nathan Aspinall Wins UK Open As Michael van Gerwen Loses Twice In As Many Days

By Peter FryersIn

Darts Betting Tips

Stockport’s Nathan Aspinall claimed his first ever major PDC title on Sunday when he beat Rob Cross in the final of the UK Open at Butlins Minehead Resort. It was a weekend of surprises which saw early eliminations for Peter Wright, Gary Anderson, and most surprisingly of all, Michael van Gerwen, who only one night earlier suffered his first Premier League defeat of the season.

A shock at the UK Open

The Asp, who saw off Gerwyn Price in a tough semi-final, got his hands on his maiden major trophy to cap a remarkable few months in which he also won his first Players Championship title in September before reaching the World Championship semi-finals in December in his debut campaign. He has also tasted success on the Pro Tour this season when he beat Michael van Gerwen 6-1 in the Players Championship Four.

In the final, the first four legs went with throw and from 2-2, Aspinall reeled off three successive legs before letting Voltage back into the contest with some sloppy finishes. The former world champion closed the gap to 6-5, but it wasn’t to be as Aspinall won the next five legs in succession before closing in spectacular fashion with a 170 checkout.

Along the way, Aspinall, who came into the tournament ranked 34th on the Order of Merit, defeated Toni Alcinas, Christian Kist, Madars Razma, Steve Lennon and Ross Smith before meeting Price in the last four. Aspinall, the fastest to reach the top 16 through a Tour Card entry and the first to win a TV major from outside the top 32 since 2012, averaged 88.72 over Cross’ 84.

In a crazy first night for the “FA Cup of Darts,” Michael van Gerwen crashed out at the first hurdle for the second year in a row. Mighty Mike lost to Jeffrey de Zwaan at this stage a year ago, and this year it was Mervyn King who bettered the world number one. The game marked sweet revenge for King after MVG branded him a “disgrace to darts for not even trying to win” when they last met earlier this season at the Players Championship Three. All this on the night when Steve Beaton knocked out Gary Anderson, Raymond van Barneveld said goodbye to the UK Open following a 10-7 defeat to Simon Stevenson and Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright was sent packing by Mensur Suljovic.

Darts Premier League Night 4 Catchup

In a sign of things to come for Michael van Gerwen, a lacklustre performance from the world champion went punished. Just as he did at the UK Open on Friday, MVG played poorly on the Premier League’s fourth night of action and was soundly beaten, this time by James Wade. At 3-2 up, Mighty Mike wasted three darts to take the sixth leg, allowing The Machine to level the scores. Wade, the European and World Series of Darts champion, then began to take over the match, moving two legs clear before landing a 12-dart, 121 checkout on the bull to clinch at least a point. Just 17-darts later, Wade closed out the win, ending with the better average of 95.65 compared to the world champion’s 94.33.

In the second matchup of the evening, Gerwyn Price was held to a draw by this week’s contender, ‘Cool Hand’ Luke Humphries. Despite being a disappointing result for The Iceman, he does at least maintain his unbeaten start to the 2019 Premier League Darts season. In the end, it went down to the wire, with the Welshman taking the final leg to secure his third straight draw. Having raced into a 2-0 lead, it didn’t look like a match that he would struggle. Humphries pulled one back immediately before both players registered 12-darters. First, Price fizzed in a 147 checkout which preceded Cool Hand’s 161 bullseye finish. Price raised his level with a nine-dart finish, thereafter, briefly getting the crowd behind him. Humphries then won the next three legs on the spin, leaving Price needing to win the next leg to level the scores, only for Humphries to guarantee himself at least a draw with a 13-darter in the next. With victory in sight, the contender missed double 14, letting Price back in and saw him take out the required 76.

Cross, Suljovic and Smith with victories

Rob Cross, who reached the UK Open final over the weekend, enjoyed his best week for some time after he beat Daryl Gurney 7-1 in his latest Premier League match. In a one-sided match, Voltage raked up an average of 102.16 and finishing seven doubles from ten attempts to send Superchin packing. With a whitewash looming one leg from home, Gurney — who averaged only 90 — took out an 80 checkout to avoid complete humiliation.

Mensur Suljovic scored his first of two wins over Peter Wright in a week on Thursday when he recorded a 7-4 triumph in Exeter. In what was his first Premier League victory of the season, The Gentle won six legs on the spin after losing in the first to find himself a comfortable 6-1 lead. Snakebite then came into life, hitting dual 180s as part of an 11-darter in the first of three legs to go the Scotsman’s way. That was as good as it got for Wright, despite throwing five maximums to Suljovic’s zero as the Austrian took 14-darts to close out the match.

In the final match of the night, Michael Smith, playing after recovering from emergency surgery, booked a decent 7-4 win over Raymond van Barneveld. Barney initially benefited from Bully Boy’s obvious discomfort, taking an early 3-1 lead, before Smith fought back with the next three to go one ahead. Barney only had one leg left in him from there as Smith went on to bank his first win of the year’s Premier League campaign.

Premier League Darts Week 5 betting tips

In the first match of the night, we’ve plumped for a revived Rob Cross to beat Michael Smith. I firmly believe Smith will finish higher up the table than his rival tonight but his surgery hasn’t fully healed, and Voltage has looked like he is finding his best form of late. That said, Bully Boy did manage to nick a win from 3-1 down against Raymond van Barneveld to claim his first win of the campaign a week ago. But Cross’ thumping of Daryl Gurney 7-1, plus his victory over tonight’s opponent in the UK Open semi-finals over the weekend – his 10th win in 13 meetings overall – makes him the favourite to take the points this week.

This match is followed by Daryl Gurney and James Wade, who conquered Mighty Mike van Gerwen last week and so goes into this week’s battle on a high. In contrast, Superchin is still to record a win in this year’s competition and was played off the oche last week against a rejuvenated Rob Cross. While Gurney will be looking for a response, The Machine should get the job done.

Gerwyn Price is yet to taste defeat in the Premier League this season. This week he faces Mensur Suljovic, who doesn’t seem to enjoy this format. The Gentle did manage to bank a win seven days ago against Peter Wright, a trick he repeated a day later, but has only won four games in 13 against Price. The Welshman almost struck a nine-darter last week against contender Luke Humphries while he also made the last four in Minehead on Sunday and this form should see him right this week.

Providing he doesn’t implode – always a distinct possibility with Snakebite – Peter Wright can be expected to overcome the challenge laid down by the retiring Raymond van Barneveld in match four. Wright suffered his first defeat last time out and now finds himself outside of the top four. Barney still hasn’t had a win in his last ever campaign and is currently propping up the table. The Dutchman’s confidence is low and Wright should be able to take advantage, especially playing back in Scotland. Yet, it is Peter Wright so we can take nothing for granted. Snakebite at a pinch.

A rare Premier League defeat for Michael van Gerwen last week was swiftly followed by another loss a night later in Minehead. While that should enthuse his rivals, it is a shame for them that the world number one now faces this week’s contender John Henderson. MVG will be determined to put things right in Aberdeen against home favourite The Highlander, and anything other than a win is unthinkable.

This accumulator: Rob Cross, James Wade, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright and MVG, pays 25.58/1 at Betway.

(6/4) Michael Smith V Rob Cross (13/10)
(7/5) Daryl Gurney V James Wade (7/5)
(6/4) Mensur Suljovic V Gerwyn Price (13/10)
(11/4) Raymond van Barneveld V Peter Wright (8/11)
(1/6) Michael van Gerwen V John Henderson (10/1)

QUICK GLANCE AT THE DARTS PREMIER LEAGUE – WEEK 5

Venue: BHGE Arena, Aberdeen
Dates: Thursday 07.02.2019
Format: Best of 12 legs
Current Champion: Michael van Gerwen
Where To Watch: Sky Sports
When To Watch: (1900 GMT)

February28March 1, 2019

2019 UK Open Darts Betting Tips

By Peter FryersIn

Darts Betting Tips

Only one day after Thursday’s Premier League action, this year’s UK Open gets underway at Butlins’ Minehead Resort in Somerset.

The big news is that the defending champion Gary Anderson will be taking part. The Flying Scotsman hasn’t competed since losing his World Championship semi-final in December and has since pulled out of both the Masters and the Premier League to undergo treatment for a long-standing back problem. However, he has now been confirmed among the entries for the Open which starts this Friday. As well as Anderson, the likes of Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Peter Wright and Michael Smith will all be confident of glory.

Amateurs and pros alike descend upon UK Open

This event is popular with fans due to the randomness of matches. Likened to football’s FA Cup, the Open allows for no seeding advantage and includes the participation of 32 amateur qualifiers among the 159-player field, which is also made up 128 PDC Tour Card Holders. 16 qualifiers are drawn from the 2018 PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour Order of Merit and 16 others are part of the Riley’s Amateur Qualifiers, which once featured the likes of Rob Cross, 12/1 at Betway to win outright this year. From there, as in the FA Cup, a random draw is made at the conclusion of every round meaning unheralded players can, and often do, go on a deep tournament run.

Last year, play took place behind closed doors after the UK was caught in a freak snowstorm dubbed Storm Emma. No such problems look likely this year as the UK has instead posted record-breaking February weather meaning the venue should be packed. The draws for the first three rounds, which will be played over eight separate stages, have already been made. And it’s in the fourth round that the world’s top 32 take to the stage on Friday evening where things get interesting. As you would expect, the cream always rises to the top in darts and the past five winners are Michael van Gerwen (twice), Gary Anderson, Adrian Lewis and Peter Wright, who has finished runner-up in this competition twice.

All of the above are in the line up again as is Michael Smith, who has recovered in time from the emergency abscess surgery he underwent on Monday and carries Betway’s price of 12/1 on his head for tournament success. One to look out for is the pantomime villain that is Wales’ Gerwyn Price, who has been playing well of late in the ongoing Premier League Darts and has won back to back PDC Players Championship titles this past weekend. He is available at a very tempting 25/1 with Betway Sports. The 25/1 offered on PDC newbie Glen Durrant is definitely another one to consider too. The reigning BDO World Champion is new to the PDC organisation and has already won his first competition.

Naturally, it’s hard to oppose Michael van Gerwen but his odds-on 5/6 makes things less interesting for those looking to turn a profit. Second favourite Gary Anderson should feel suitably refreshed and has won here before meaning Betway’s 8/1 catches the eye. Another former winner, Peter Wright can be backed at 16/1, just short of the 20/1 Betway have placed on Mensur Suljovic and Gerwyn Price’s 22/1.

QUICK GLANCE AT THE UK Open

Venue: Butlin’s Minehead Resort
Dates: Friday 01.03.2019 to Sunday 03.03.2019
Format: First, Second & Third Rounds (Best of 11 legs), Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, QFs (Best of 19 legs), Semi-Finals and Final (Best of 21 legs)
Current Champion: Gary Anderson
Prize Money: £450,000
Where To Watch: ITV 4
When To Watch: (From 11.00 GMT Friday with coverage across the weekend)

Schedule for The 2019 UK Open

Main Stage

Mark McGeeney v David Pallett – First Round
Wes Newton v Cameron Menzies – First Round
Dawson Murschell v Ross Smith – Second Round
Glen Durrant v Day/Kuivenhoven – Second Round
Portela/Bates v Hughes/Rydz – Second Round
Taylor/Labanauskas v Kevin Burness – Second Round
Luke Humphries v Vincent van der Voort – Third Round
Toni Alcinas v Nathan Aspinall – Third Round
Ricky Evans v Justicia/Thoburn/Dennant – Third Round
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Shepherd/Worsley/Brooks – Third Round

Stage Two

Barry Lynn v Michael Rasztovits – First Round
Jamie Hughes v Callan Rydz – First Round
Dennis Nilsson v Madars Razma – First Round
Mike van Duivenbode v Ted Evetts – First Round
Scott Taylor v Darius Labanauskas – First Round
Wayne Jones v Vincent Kamphuis – Second Round
C Harris/Davey v Adam Hunt – Second Round
Temple/Preston v Arron Monk – Second Round
Shepherd/Worsley v Bradley Brooks – Second Round
Mickey Mansell v Danny Noppert – Third Round
James Richardson v Steve Lennon – Third Round
Baker/Harrington v Krzysztof Ratajski – Third Round
Devon Petersen v Portela/Bates/Hughes/Rydz – Third Round

Stage Three

Conan Whitehead v Michael Burgoine – First Round
Shaun Fox v Andy Jenkins – First Round
Joe Murnan v Mark Frost – First Round
Diogo Portela v Barrie Bates – First Round
Mark Wilson v Mark Dudbridge – Second Round
Nilsson/Razma v McGeeney/Pallett – Second Round
Van Duivenbode/Evetts v George Killington – Second Round
Collins/Rodriguez v Andy Boulton – Second Round
Gabriel Clemens v Zoran Lerchbacher – Third Round
Beveridge/Woodhouse v Chris Dobey – Third Round
Stevenson/Gray/McFarlane v Mark Webster – Third Round
Carlin/Bunse/Michael v Durrant/Day/Kuivenhoven – Third Round

Stage Four

Adam Huckvale v Mark Barilli – First Round
Geert Nentjes v David Evans – First Round
Cody Harris v John Davey – First Round
Kirk Shepherd v Jonathan Worsley – First Round
Matthew Edgar v Gary Eastwood – Second Round
Harry Ward v Browning/L Harris – Second Round
Newton/Menzies v Atkins/Bain – Second Round
Derry/Budgen v Van der Meer/Dootson – Second Round
Richard North v Ronny Huybrechts – Third Round
Ryan Joyce v Owen/Kantele/Lacey – Third Round
Newton/Menzies/Atkins/Bain v Josh Payne – Third Round
Cullen/Robinson/De Sousa/Raman v Van Duijvenbode/Clark/Zonneveld – Third Round

Stage Five

Jose de Sousa v Brian Raman – First Round
Nathan Derry v Lee Budgen – First Round
Vincent van der Meer v Eddie Dootson – First Round
Matt Clark v Niels Zonneveld – First Round
Robert Marijanovic v Davy van Baelen – Second Round
Fox/Jenkins v Mario Robbe – Second Round
Simon Stevenson v Gray/McFarlane – Second Round
Gavin Carlin v Bunse/Michael – Second Round
Wilson/Dudbridge v William O’Connor – Third Round
Fox/Jenkins/Robbe v Jeffrey de Zwaan – Third Round
Collins/Rodriguez/Boulton v Christian Kist – Third Round
Jones/Kamphuis v Taylor/Labanauskas/Burness – Third Round

Stage Six

Jarred Cole v Michael Barnard – First Round
Jason Cullen v Reece Robinson – First Round
Christian Bunse v John Michael – First Round
Martin Atkins v Jamie Bain – First Round
Scott Baker v Ryan Harrington – Second Round
Tony Newell v Huckvale/Barilli – Second Round
Tytus Kanik v Wilkinson/Meeuwisse – Second Round
Lynn/Rasztovits v Whitehead/Burgoine – Second Round
Edgar/Eastwood v Ryan Searle – Third Round
Ward/Browning/Harris v Jan Dekker – Third Round
Temple/Preston/Monk v Robert Thornton – Third Round
Van Duivenbode/Evetts/Killington v Nilsson/Razma/McGeeney/Pallett – Third Round

Stage Seven

Marko Kantele v Chris Lacey – First Round
Lloyd Browning v Lee Harris – First Round
Kevin Thoburn v Matthew Dennant – First Round
Adrian Gray v Ian McFarlane – First Round
Peter Hudson v John Goldie – Second Round
Nentjes/Evans v Cole/Barnard – Second Round
Robert Owen v Kantele/Lacey – Second Round
Murnan/Frost v Ryan Meikle – Second Round
Marijanovic/Van Baelen v Martin Schindler – Third Round
Newell/Huckvale/Barilli v Brendan Dolan – Third Round
Derry/Budgen/Van der Meer/Dootson v Keegan Brown – Third Round
Kanik/Wilkinson/Meeuwisse v Murschell/R Smith – Third Round

Stage Eight

Daniel Day v Maik Kuivenhoven – First Round
Carl Wilkinson v Yordi Meeuwisse – First Round
Terry Temple v Simon Preston – First Round
Robbie Collins v Rowby-John Rodriguez – First Round
Darren Beveridge v Luke Woodhouse – Second Round
Cullen/Robinson v De Sousa/Raman – Second Round
Jose Justicia v Thoburn/Dennant – Second Round
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Clark/Zonneveld – Second Round
Ron Meulenkamp v C Harris/Davey/Hunt – Third Round
Nentjes/Evans/Cole/Barnard v Justin Pipe – Third Round
Murnan/Frost/Meikle v Alan Tabern – Third Round
Lynn/Rasztovits/Whitehead/Burgoine v Hudson/Goldie – Third Round
Fourth Round (Best of 19 legs)

Saturday March 2

Fifth Round (Best of 19 legs)
Sixth Round (Best of 19 legs)

Sunday March 3

Quarter-Finals (Best of 19 legs)
Semi-Finals (Best of 21 legs)
Final (Best of 21 legs)