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March7March 7, 2018

After Cancelled Premier League Event, Gary Anderson Wins UK Open

Thursday night’s Premier League Darts in Exeter was cancelled due to heavy snow and freezing conditions across the UK caused by Storm Emma, aka The Beast From The East, which put an understandable question mark on fan safety.

What this means for Darts is that the missed fixtures will now be played on April 5th at Liverpool’s Echo Arena which will also see Judgement Night moved back a week. The bottom two players in the league table will both be eliminated with the remaining eight going on to compete in May’s Play-Offs.

UK Open held despite weather

Despite the cancellation in Exeter, there was still some action over the weekend for Darts fans. There was the small matter of the UK Open to take care of over the weekend, which did manage to go ahead almost as planned. The event was played behind closed doors without spectators due to the naughty and really rather unseasonable weather, and this time the winner was The Flying Scotsman himself, Gary Anderson.

It was the first UK Open title of the twice world champion’s career, with this victory coming after he beat Australian youngster Corey Cadby 11-7 in Sunday’s final in Minehead.

Earlier on in the weekend and following the shock exits of Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright on opening night, Anderson defeated world champion Rob Cross 10-5 at the quarter-final stage before destroying David Pallett 11-7 in the semi-finals. Cadby gave him plenty of trouble, and Anderson soon found himself 4-1 down against the 22-year-old, before rallying off four legs in a row to give himself the 5-4 lead.

Cadby, who saw off Gerwyn Price and Robert Owen earlier on the day, didn’t give up easily, hitting back a number of times. Anderson struck hard with finishes of 70 and 91 to move within an inch of victory, which was claimed soon after with a follow up 14-dart, double 18 finish.

Premier League Darts betting tips

Matchday six gets underway at the First Direct Arena in Leeds. Again, viewers at home can catch the action on Sky Sports Action HD and Sky Sports Main Event HD from 19:00 GMT.

The action will begin between Michael van Gerwen and Simon Whitlock, with MVG still reeling from his shock exit by Jeffrey De Zwaan at the UK Open. This result should — and most likely will — mean that Mighty Mike is a man on a mission for which The Wizard could well pay a hefty price. Whitlock, by the way, has won only once in the last 20 times that these two have met, so things look ominous for the Aussie. The smart money on this match, as it so often does, should go on MVG. At 1/7, van Gerwen is short value. Instead, consider him to win by over 2.5 legs, hit a 100+ checkout and average over 100, all for 7/4 at Betway.

Next out are Gerwyn Price and Raymond van Barneveld. Welshman Price lost to Corey Cadby in the quarter-finals of the Open at the weekend, but that’s still better than Barney’s third round exit at the hands of Mervyn King. The pair combined to have three draws this season, which leads me to believe that this one is also destined to end in a tie.

The third game of the night brings Peter Wright and Mensur Suljovic to the oche in a match where I’m backing Snakebite to win. Before you jump in and do likewise, you should take note that Mensur has beaten Peter in their last couple of televised matches. He’ll also be confident, especially having rested up and sitting out The Open, unlike Wright who suffered a nightmare in Minehead.

Suljovic finally banked a win a fortnight ago but has not played since. This could have cost him his momentum, which would be very unfortunate for the popular Austrian. Peter, like MVG, will be seeking to bounce back from his poor Open performance — and I think he will. World number two, Snakebite is another odds-on favorite win his encounter, so pump up the value by picking him to win, hit 5 or more 180s and 120+ checkout for 12/1.

The UK Open champion Gary Anderson goes next in his match against Daryl Gurney knowing that the Ulsterman has beaten him the last few times out. While fatigue and backache could play a part in Anderson’s performance, confidence collected from his weekend triumph should counteract this. This is especially relevant here as this is the type of fixture that Anderson cannot afford to lose with Gurney currently occupying one of the bottom spaces. I don’t expect Anderson to disappoint here.

The night draws to a close with World Champion Rob Cross and current league leader Michael Smith clashing. Smith, unbeaten in the Darts Premier League, lost 10-9 to Steve West at the Open over the weekend, but I think he’ll bounce back and could well give Cross a scare. With that said, I’m team Voltage on this one, even at Betway’s 4/5. Alternatively, for 6/1 you can try Cross to win, Smith to hit a 100+ checkout and average under 100.

Remember, that if you stake a minimum of £5 on a player to win and he loses 7-5, Betway will pay out as a winner. That’s perfect for a tight match such as this one. For even more value, try Betway’s boosted treble odds of 5/1 on van Barneveld, Anderson and Cross all to win.

Our line for the week is thus: MVG, a Price/van Barneveld tie, Wright, Anderson & Cross for 24/1.

(1/7) Michael van Gerwen v Simon Whitlock (12/1)
(5/2) Gerwyn Price v Raymond van Barneveld (4/5)
(8/11) Peter Wright v Mensur Suljovic (11/4)
(1/2) Gary Anderson v Daryl Gurney (4/1)
(4/5) Rob Cross v Michael Smith (5/2)

March1March 1, 2018

Flying Scotsman Gary Anderson Dents Peter Snakebite Wright’s League Hopes

By Peter FryersIn

Darts Betting Tips

Last Thursday’s Darts Premier League action in Berlin drew to a close with an epic all-Scottish affair in which Gary ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson needed to win his last three legs against Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright to claim a share of the points.

There was no splitting the pair, even after Anderson shot into an early 2-0 lead and chucking just 29 darts. This included a stunning 150 checkout in the second leg after Wright himself had thrown brilliantly in everything except the required doubles and also after failing to secure the legs he had looked a certainty to close out.

Wright did manage to regain his composure, however, as he landed the next two legs following finishes of 80 and 76. His upturn in form continued as he averaged over 100, stringing together three successive legs in 13, 12 and 15 darts, the last one courtesy of a 120 checkout. Anderson wasn’t to be beaten though and sure enough, back came a two-time world champion, scoring a 12-darter followed by an 11.

Anderson kicked off the final leg with his fifth maximum of the night, but Wright hit back in equally good measure but, with 87 to finish. As is his Achilles’ heel, he left 38 on the board to give Anderson a lifeline which he duly gobbled up, hitting two single 18s and a bull for the required 86 and taking the game to tie.

Other action from last week

In the night’s opener, the two league leaders — Michael Smith and Simon Whitlock — staked their claims for the top spot with Bully Boy Smith coming out the victor. Smith maintained his perfect start to his Premier League campaign with a 7-3 win as both players recorded averages well under 90 and threw a number of wayward shots throughout. That said, Smith managed to hit five 180s and scoring a checkout of 106, making him the worthy winner and new league leader.

Another player moving up the table is Mensur Suljovic, who is finally off the mark after banking his maiden victory in this year’s competition. The Big Gentle’s first points were bagged after he took down a 7-3 victory over Gerwyn Price in which the Austrian averaged over 106. His upturn in form came after he landed three 180s including a checkout of 118 for which Price had no answer.

Michael van Gerwen delivered another darting masterclass, this time in a 7-2 victory over Daryl ‘Superchin’ Gurney. Despite both players hitting three 180s, it was a typically one-sided match in which Mighty Mike was 6-1 ahead before his counterpart from Northern Ireland had even scored his second leg of the match. MVG averaged over 103 and recorded the night’s highest checkout of 106 as he eased his way to another win and two more points. Betway’s 8/13 price for the overall tournament victory at is unlikely to close in any time soon.

6/1 second favourite at Betway, Rob Cross continued his march up the Premier League Darts table with an impressive 7-3 victory over Raymond van Barneveld. After suffering back-to-back defeats to both MVG and Simon Whitlock in his opening two games, Voltage has again found the rhythm and throwing style worthy of a World Champion, winning last week against Peter Wright and now sending Barney packing too. Cross hit four 180s and averaged 96.46, converting seven of his 10 attempts at doubles, as he takes his points tally to a more respectable four in as many weeks.

Michael Smith 7-3 Simon Whitlock
Gerwyn Price 3-7 Mensur Suljovic
Michael van Gerwen 7-2 Daryl Gurney
Rob Cross 7-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Peter Wright 6-6 Gary Anderson

Premier League Darts betting tips

Editors Note: Thursday’s Premier League darts action will not take place in Exeter due to adverse weather conditions.

Matchday 5 takes place at the Westpoint Arena in Exeter on Thursday March 1st, and once again those watching at home can find overage of all the action on Sky Sports Main Event HD and Sky Sports Action HD from 19:00 GMT.

Things get started with a tasty looking clash between Gary Anderson and the improving Rob Cross. Gary Anderson has been playing well but he’s taken on the world numbers one and two in the last two weeks and now finds himself up against the World Champ. After securing a point against Snakebite last Thursday in Germany, his mood – and hopefully his back – are improving making this a great game to open with. Anderson’s record against Rob Cross is also very good, going three for three in tour events making it hard to back against the Scotsman.

I’d expect the other Scotsman in the running, Peter Wright, to bank another win and continue his climb up the table in his match against Daryl Gurney. That said, Gurney has won the last four matches against Peter, so all might not be as clear as it would appear. With Wright in such hot form — excusing his dropping of a point last week against Anderson — he is our second pick this week.

Next up is Mensur Suljovic and Michael van Gerwen with the Austrian finally getting some points on the board last week. It’s a shame that just as his form picks up he comes face-to-face with an all-powerful MVG. Suljovic actually won the last contest between the two, but that seems more and more like a one-time only deal. I just can’t see Mighty Mike dropping points here as he looks to hunt down the league leader Michael Smith.

And it’s Smith who plays next as he faces off against Raymond van Barneveld with Bully Boy looking to score five wins in five. I think he will too, as he seems to love this format when he gets the chance. In contrast, Barney is faltering a little bit at the moment. With Rob Cross, Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen to play in his next three matches, Smith is bound to drop points soon, but I doubt it will be this week against RVB.

The night’s closing match is between Simon Whitlock and Gerwyn Price, both losers last time out. For Whitlock, last week represented his first defeat but being in the better position he should be mentally better off to rebound. This is unlike Price who lingers in the drop zone right now. Of course, that one defeat could launch a string of poor results for The Wizard as we have seen in others before. This last pick is purely based on league position alone, I’ll admit. I’m calling a draw – just.

So, a line on Anderson, Wright, MVG, Smith and a Whitlock-Price tie, comes to 51/1, or why not try Betway’s own boosted price of 8/1, up from 7/1, on a treble of Anderson, Wright and Whitlock?

(13/10) Gary Anderson v Rob Cross (6/4)
(100/30) Daryl Gurney v Peter Wright (4/6)
(8/1) Mensur Suljovic v Michael van Gerwen (2/9)
(7/5) Raymond van Barneveld v Michael Smith (7/5)
(11/10) Simon Whitlock v Gerwyn Price (7/4)

A look ahead to the UK Darts Open

In a busy week of darts, let’s have a quick word on The UK Darts Open, which takes place at the weekend in Minefield. There’s no seeding element for the top players to gain any advantage, and it’s worth noting that it was this event two years ago where Rob Cross, who qualified through a £7 buy-in Rileys Amateur Qualifier in Norwich, first caught the eye in a memorable performance against that year’s eventual winner Michael van Gerwen.

Last year, Voltage was beaten by Peter Wright, who also went on to win and now Cross is among the favourites to win The Open himself. Cross, Wright and van Gerwen, along with others ranked high enough in the order of merit all go in Friday’s round three.

Round one matches consist of players ranked 65-96 plus the 32 Rileys amateur qualifiers who won in knockouts held in Rileys Sports Bars across the UK. Players ranked 33-64 come in at the second-round stage, which also gets underway on Friday. TV Coverage can be found throughout the day on ITV 4.

The pre-tournament favourite is a certain Dutchman who can be backed at Betway for 5/6, followed by Gary Anderson at 8/1 — the same price as Rob Cross and one point in from the 9s available on Peter Wright, who was champion here last year. For others, check out the UK Darts Open sportsbook at Betway now.

February21February 21, 2018

Peter Wright Clashes With Rob Cross On Matchday Four Of The Darts Premier League

By Peter FryersIn

Darts Betting Tips

An angry Peter Wright refused to shake hands with Rob Cross after losing an ill-tempered match in Newcastle last week. Cross registered his first ever Premier League victory over world number two Wright, who was woefully out of form in the game’s closing legs. Snakebite has defeated Michael van Gerwen in the previous match.

Cross guaranteed himself at least a draw after he moved ahead 6-3. Cross then looked to have fluffed his lines when he squandered two match darts in the 10th leg where Wright banked a 101 to keep himself in the game. His mini-revival was not to last long however, as he went on to miss a crucial three darts. This left Cross to capitalise on the opportunity and land a double 16 and with it his first ever Premier League win. The match’s main talking point came shortly after its climax as Wright refused to shake Voltage’s hands, causing an unexplained row for which the Scot has since apologised.

More week 3 action

In the night’s opening match, Mensur Suljovic took on Michael Smith with Bully Boy making it three wins from three in this year’s Premier League. Smith recorded two brilliant finishes of 72 and 68 to establish an early 2-0 lead before The Big Gentle responded brilliantly to level things out at 2-2. Smith wasn’t done there as he reeled off five straight legs, including finishes of 116 and 91, as he marched on to victory. This left the Austrian Suljovic cut adrift at the bottom of the table, without a solitary point so far this campaign.

The second match of the night saw Gerwyn Price fight back from 5-1 down against Daryl Gurney to secure a point against his fellow Premier League debutant. Superchin Gurney initially raced 5-2 ahead but saw his lead chopped back after Price took down 148 which brought the score back to 5-3 before landing the following leg. A superb 136 finish in the penultimate leg was equaled by Gurney, who secured his point following a 15-dart hold in the decider leaving both players inseparable.

In the night’s fourth match, Michael van Gerwen resumed normal service as he brilliantly beat Gary Anderson 7-3. MVG was back to his imperious best, averaging 110.62 and booking seven maximums to secure an awesome 7-3 victory and eradicate the memory of last week’s blip against Peter Wright.

Anderson himself averaged a decent 110.79, which included four 180s along with two 177s. Despite the strong start, Anderson found himself trailing 2-0 after the first two sets, a gap he closed in two legs before edging briefly ahead in the fifth courtesy of a 170 checkout. Mighty Mike equalised in the follow-up set taking the lead soon after. It was an advantage he never threatened to squander, ably assisted by Anderson missing seven darts at the double over the final three legs.

The action came to close after league leader Simon Whitlock maintained his 100% undefeated record by beating Raymond van Barneveld 7-4 in the final match of the night. Five-time world champion Barney had an off night, landing just 4 from 14 shots at the double. In contrast, his rival from Down Under, Simon ‘The Wizard’ Whitlock boasted an medicore 58% checkout success rate that might. On another night that have cost him dear but on this night was enough to secure yet another triumph, making it three wins from three on his Premier League return.

Here’s a complete look at the results from week 3 of the Darts Premier League:

Mensur Suljovic 2-7 Michael Smith
Daryl Gurney 6-6 Gerwyn Price
Peter Wright 4-7 Rob Cross
Gary Anderson 3-7 Michael van Gerwen
Simon Whitlock 7-4 Raymond van Barneveld

Premier League Darts heads to Berlin

The 2018 Premier League this week heads to the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin on Thursday with coverage underway from 7 pm on Sky Sports Action HD and Sky Sports Main Event HD.

Thursday’s action gets underway with Michael Smith up against Simon Whitlock, the unbeaten League leader with Smith himself sitting second in the table. I keep thinking that Whitlock’s time at the top is up; however, while I’m convinced the bubble will burst soon, I don’t think that will happen this week, even with Smith’s impressive form. Both men were relegated in their last Premier League campaign, but it shouldn’t go unnoticed that The Wizard’s only major title – the European Championship – was collected in Germany, making this happy hunting ground for the Australian.

Next out are Gerwyn Price and Mensur Suljovic, with both men looking to pick up their first win in the event. Despite the Austrian being able to bank on the German crowd’s support — much like Price himself did last week in Cardiff — he has been woefully short of form and the only man to have lost all three games. This performance finds himself at bottom of the table and a favourite for the chop when the cut comes on judgement day five weeks from now. For this reason, I’m siding with the Welshman here to further strengthen his growing reputation in the game.

The night’s third match brings Michael van Gerwen and Daryl Gurney to the oche in a match I just can’t see Mighty Mike losing — and we all know why.

This match is followed by Rob Cross and Raymond van Barneveld, with Voltage finally looking like he is moving in the right direction following his dismantling of Peter Wright a week ago. Barney usually enjoys his time back on the European continent and the German crowd could be too much for Cross, just as the Irish were in Dublin on Matchday One when he crumbled in front of MVG. To be fair to Cross, he has a decent continental record in European Tour events and intriguingly is undefeated against Barney, winning three times. That said, I’m sticking with Barney to come on top in a close tie.

The most anticipated match of the night is the all-Scottish affair between Peter Wright and Gary Anderson which brings the curtain down on the night’s action. The last time these two played was in the Grand Slam of Darts semi-finals when Anderson fell apart and Snakebite was able to come back from 14-8 down to win 16-15.

For this alone, Anderson, evens at Betway, will be smarting and determined to set the record straight. Up one week and down the next, it is never easy to call Peter’s results, but he does usually do well in Germany, winning six tournaments there last year. And while Anderson has the upper hand, he also suffers from an ongoing back issue so I’m going to pick Snakebite in this battle of the Celts. Oddly, in the first three matches, the Scot has a draw, a defeat and just one Premier League win. But what a win it was, inflicting a rare defeat on world number one Van Gerwen two weeks ago, showing just what he can be capable of when he is on form.

You can back Betway’s boosted treble: Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross & Gary Anderson (5/1)

But I’ll be picking this following fivefold, again with Betway: Simon Whitlock, Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen, Raymond van Barneveld and Peter Wright at 92/1.

(6/5) Michael Smith v Simon Whitlock (13/8)
(7/4) Gerwyn Price v Mensur Suljovic (11/10)
(1/4) Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney (15/2)
(5/6) Rob Cross v Raymond van Barneveld (12/5)
(2/1) Peter Wright v Gary Anderson (1/1)