Tag: darts premier league

If Darts Premier League Players Were English Premier League Teams

With the Darts Premier League on hold, there’s precious little to keep us all going here at BettingDarts Towers. That’s why, for those missing their weekly or more dose of tungsten we’ve coupled each Premier League darter to an English Premier League team – also on hold – equivalent. And why not? For two such differing sports, it’s pretty weird just how many similarities there are between the biggest names in both games.

Michael van Gerwen – Manchester City

Why? Because both just keep on winning regardless

Despite both coming under increasing pressure from rising rivals, both Michael van Gerwen and Manchester City continue to robotically win trophies and tournaments without playing anywhere like their best. Like City, Mighty Mike has the talent to blow opponents clean out of the water when playing at the top of his game but can be got at from time to time.

I mean, City is lagging by 25 points in their domestic campaign. I guess, after winning as many tourneys as he has, MVG must be the richest player in darts, while the same statement is most definitely true of the Citizens, owned as they are by Abu Dhabi sheiks but it’s the routine winning of trophies that makes these two undeniable bed buddies.

Gerwyn Price – Liverpool

Why? Because both keep upsetting the favourites

Over the past year, Gerwyn Price has stepped up to be Michael van Gerwen’s closest challenger and create the best rivalry in darts right now. And, despite the long wait, he will surely claim more titles before long than just his two back-to-back performances in the Grand Slam Darts. Likewise, Liverpool is a shoo-in to end its incredibly long wait for Premier League victory.

At the time of shutdown, they are/were 25 points clear at the top, which is pretty conclusive. Of course, this win would add to the success they have enjoyed in the European Champions league where they too have taken part in back-to-back finals, winning the second of these last summer in Madrid.

There were times over the past 12 months that The Iceman was playing like the world’s best, surpassing the darts chucked by MVG — Liverpool has definitely outplayed City over the same time period. This rivalry between the two players and the two clubs has become something epic, all the more given that MVG and Man City both collect trophies for fun, but is their time nearly up?

Peter Wright – Arsenal

Why? Because both are erratic but brilliant

Erratic but brilliant on his day, it’s hard not to draw a comparison with Peter Wright and Arsenal. Snakebite has been a constant among the elite for years now but for all that participation doesn’t have enough to show for it. Of course, he is the reigning world champion so there’s that, but at 50, he would surely like there to be more, much more. The Gunners and Snakebite are also both more than familiar with change.

Arsenal are now on the second manager in as many seasons while Snakey took an age to settle on his Red Dragon darts of choice, ones that bought repeated success literally from the first day of the year. He is of course famously popular among his fellow darters — as well as with the fans — whereas The Gunners, well, not so much. There remains an unexpected air of silliness and brilliance about both team and player that we can’t ignore. Not for this piece anyway.

Gary Anderson – Manchester United

Why? Because both have their glory days firmly behind them

Shadow of his former self, The Flying Scotsman’s obvious comparison has to be Manchester United, the second most successful team in English football. United these days have the feel of a busted flush about them, wasting millions to stay relevant and hoping for an unlikely place in the top four. Gary Anderson might not be finished just yet, as indeed Manchester isn’t, but his glory days when he was twice-world champion look a long way off now.

Similarly, United’s Premier League dominance feels like a lifetime ago. Both Anderson and United have a huge fanbase and remain a glamour draw for an opponent, but they were also at the peak of their powers some time ago now. While both will still hope to roll back the years and add to their trophy cabinet, these days they are entering competitions in hope rather than expectation.

Rob Cross – Leicester City

Why? Because both were surprise winners no one saw coming

When Rob Cross became world champion in 2018, he had only turned pro 12 months earlier. Similarly, Leicester City, who is not one of the glamour teams, was crowned Premier League champions in 2016 despite barely avoiding relegation from the competition on the last day of the previous season. The Foxes were 5,000/1 at the start of the season, something one silly punter put money on only to cash out on the first day season.

No one had put money on Voltage to win the big one, indeed not many had even heard of him, but win he did. Leicester are actually going well again this year, not well enough to win, but European qualification looks well within their grasp. On the dart’s front Voltage took last year’s World Darts Matchplay in Blackpool proving his win was no flash in the pan either.

Michael Smith – Tottenham Hotspur

Why? Because both never quite manage to nail down a trophy win

Routine runner-up Michael Smith’s career has that always the bridesmaid feel to it and Spurs, well they did run Leicester close that one time. To be fair, Tottenham did make the final of the Champions League last season but alas, their biggest night in 60 years lost all hope in less than a minute when they fell behind to Liverpool never to recover.

Just like Spurs, Smith has been on the losing side far too many times and is yet to capture anything worthwhile. But, both are packed with natural ability and skill that surely their talent will win out and a reward will be forthcoming before long. You could even say that Bully Boy at his sharpest when facing a treble twenty might be considered to be as sure a thing as Harry Kane from six yards out.

Nathan Aspinall – Sheffield United

Why? Because both are the surprise package, new to this and handling it like one of the regulars

The Asp is playing his first Darts Premier League this year and has already beaten the likes of MVG on his way to a higher spot. Sheffield, on the other hand, only came up into the top flight this year. Despite the lowly status, they are only a matter of points away from a miraculous top-four finish.

Under Chris Wilder’s leadership, The Blades have gone from strength to strength, which comes as no surprise to anyone paying attention while Nathan Aspinall has made two semi-final runs at the PDC Darts World Championships in the past two seasons. He also been promising big things for a while now. Both look increasingly close to delivering.

Glen Durrant – Wolverhampton Wanderers

Why? Because both dominated in the previous divisions and are now holding their own in new esteemed company

Both Wolves and Duzza are enjoying their second season in new company. Duzza joined the PDC last season after beating all before him in the BDO, while Wolves trounced the opposition in the EFL Championship before gaining promotion to the Premier League at the start of last season.

How are both dong now, a year into their new surroundings? Well, surprisingly well actually. The Wolves are only five points away from Champions League positioning and you wouldn’t bet against them capping a brilliant season by nicking a spot in with the elite of European football next season. Mirroring, this Glen Durrant is top of the Darts Premier League at the point of shutdown and was performing better than anyone else.

Daryl Gurney – West Ham United

Why? Because both seemed resigned to relegation

Both team and darter are currently occupying a place in the drop zone and neither are showing any signs of revival nor do they look like doing so anytime soon. At least not in time to avoid relegation, or in the case of Superchin to avoid Judgement Night, whenever that will now be. The Hammers, of course, still harbour lofty ideas of finishing in the money spots in the table but look further away than Gurney. who although he has suffered a hideous Premier League campaign so far and is still winless, has at least won a title – Players Championship in 2017 – in recent memory.

Plus, they both have distinctive walkout tunes, Sweet Caroline for Superchin and Forever Blowing Bubbles for East London’s Hammers who now call the 2012 Olympic stadium home. At this point in time, not forgoing the COVID-19 shutdown, both seem destined for failure.

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Michael van Gerwen Beats Gerwyn Price To Win UK Open

World number one Michael van Gerwen fought back from 5-1 down to win his third UK Open title on a memorable night at the Butlin’s Minehead Resort. The 30-year-old Dutchman took the trophy with a 11-9 victory over Welshman Gerwyn Price. Earlier in the day, Mighty Mike hit a magnificent nine dart finish, the third on TV in a week after Michael Smith and Jonny Clayton, which came during his 11-3 semi-final win over Daryl Gurney.

In the final itself, things looked very different early on after MVG opened the final with a 180 and took the first leg, only to see Price completely take over, checking out 105 and 97 to surge ahead before missing bullseye for a 127 checkout that would have put him 6-1 up. Michael van Gerwen didn’t need a second invitation to start his fight back and duly took his chance to reduce the deficit over the next few legs.

Price restored some of his lead by taking the ninth leg but before long there was just one leg between the pair as MVG closed the gap to 6-5. The Iceman did manage to edge ahead 7-5 after which he hit a streak of costly misses, spurning 12 double attempts in each of the next four legs, which Mighty Mike happily gobbled up. Price kept himself alive in the next, before agonisingly missing a chance to force a decider on the bull. Van Gerwen robotically took out his score on his next visit and claimed the crown for a third time.

Over the weekend, The Iceman recorded four 100+ averages during the five wins that led him to the final, including his matchup with fellow Welshman Jonny Clayton who he dismissed with a 11-4 win, while MVG ousted reigning champ Nathan Aspinall before beating James Wade.

Darts Premier League Night Five Recap

Daryl Gurney shared the points with Rob Cross in a 6-6 draw that kicked off Thursday’s Darts Premier League action in Exeter. Gurney had raced into a 3-0 lead but as soon as Cross got level he was in complete control despite the fact that Superchin once again edged ahead when he took the score to 5-4. Voltage responded by hitting his second and third maximums of the match to make it 5-5. Gurney on the other hand only hit his first maximum in the following leg only to see his rival hold throw and guarantee a point. A point was all he would get as Gurney took out the final leg to share the spoils.

Match two saw Glen Durrant register a 7-3 defeat of Gerwyn Price. Duzza broke in the first leg after Price missed his chance at tops leaving the Middlesbrough man clear to take out 54. Duzza followed that up with a pair of 140s to hold his throw in following leg. Before long, Durrant was holding on to a surprising 5-0 lead over the world number three who finally got off the mark in the next before Duzza restored the deficit. A 12-dart leg helped Price keep the game alive but it was only to be a brief moment of hope as Durrant made Price pay for a costly missed double to go 6-2 ahead before closing out the match.

Peter Wright returned to winning ways with a  decent 7-3 victory over Nathan Aspinall in match three. Snakebite has won just once in four so far and soundly thrashed by Gerwyn Price a week earlier so really needed to get some points on the board and stop the rot. It was Aspinall though who took the first leg before dropping a bull in the second letting Wright in to level. Snakey then took out 76 to steal the lead and followed that up by nicking the next one too. The Asp replied instantly and things continued this way until Wright opened up some daylight between the two at 5-3 after which things went pretty smoothly for the world champion.

Luke Humphries became the first Challenger to win a Premier League match when he beat Gary Anderson 7-5 in match four. Weirdly, the idea of challengers only came about because of Anderson’s withdrawal last year so it’s fitting that he should become the first victim. Cool Hand lived up to his nickname as he landed a 180 on his first visit to the oche, breaking the throw of The Flying Scotsman. After holding his throw in the next, Humphries was soon holding on to a 2-0 lead too. He should have had the third leg too but messed up when shooting for 36 to take a 3-0 lead to let Anderson onto the scoreboard and back into the match and before long draw level. There was nothing to split the pair all the way to 5-5 before Anderson are dropped three shops to let Humphries move within a leg of the match where a sloppy Anderson let Cool Hand Luke land a shock win.

Michael Smith is enjoying this season’s Premier League after throwing a nine darter two weeks ago, he followed that up by beating Michael van Gerwen 7-4 in the closing match of the night. At one point holding on to a  6-1 lead, Bully Boy was averaging over 110, before Mighty Mike began the fight back. But with Smith in this kind of form it proved to be too little too late. Smith was the better player on the day and had enough about him to waste seven throws at double before finally finding one to complete a pleasing victory.

Premier League Darts Night Six Betting Tips

• (11/10) Michael Smith (10/3) Peter Wright (15/8)
• (11/10) Daryl Gurney (10/3) Glen Durrant (15/8)
• (2/1) Gerwyn Price (7/2) Michael van Gerwen (1/1)
• (5/6) Rob Cross (7/2) Stephen Bunting (5/2)
• (6/4) Gary Anderson (7/2) Nathan Aspinall (13/10)

Thursday’s action starts with a humdinger of a tie as a bang in form Michael Smith takes on the world champion Peter Wright. Snakebite won last week when he beat Nathan Aspinall to bounce back from the trouncing dished out a week earlier by Gerwyn Price. As such, his form has been too erratic to call with any real confidence. He is however the world champ and looks levels above himself this time last year. Plus, you have to go back almost two years to find the last time Michael Smith beat Peter Wright on telly. That said, Bully Boy hasn’t lost to Snakebite in the Premier League since 2016 and their two encounters in the tournament last year both ended in draws and this could well throw up the same outcome. Wright though has jointly scored the most 180s in the Premier League this season with 17, while Smith has landed 13 so a worthwhile special bet might be to back there to be over 6.5 180s in the match, 5/6 at bet365.

Top plays bottom in match two as rock bottom Daryl Gurney take on Premier League leader Glen Durrant. However, while Durrant busted in the first round of the UK Open, Gurney made it all the way to the semi-final which should give him some hope. Gurney is the 4/9 favourite with bet365 to finish bottom of the table so needs points desperately. Thing is, this might not be the night given the form Duzza is showing, save for the stat that no one has scored less 180s than him. The pair have met in the DPL before, as it was Superchin who was Duzza’s opponent during his one off appearance as a contender last season when he was soundly beaten by Superchin. For those not looking to back a probably more sensible draw, I’d go with Duzza to take the points in Liverpool.

Match three in Liverpool sees a replay of the UK Open final we all enjoyed Sunday night as Gerwyn Price takes on Michael van Gerwen. Mighty Mike posted an 11-9 victory in Minehead, clawing his way back from 5-1 down, as The Iceman missed the critical chances to claim another title. It was tight, but MVG has won 17 of their 20 encounters so has the mental edge, even if the gap in ability gets closer all the time. This increasingly looks like being the rivalry that will dominate the season – while it’s still running at least – and Price now looks more and more as if he is Michael van Gerwen’s main protagonist. The Iceman is sure to be fired up for this rematch and if he can get off to a similar start, there wont be a lot of wriggle room for MVG to get off the Welshman’s hook. Last week proved that the Dutchman can be beaten but does tend to mentally step up when there is a point to be made meaning he may just take the points here.

Luke Humphries became the first challenger to win a Premier League match last week when he beat Gary Anderson and tonight passes the torch on to Stephen Bunting, a Merseysider throwing in his nearest home city of Liverpool. In fairness, its hard to see The Bullet following suit and beating former world champion Rob Cross but then nobody thought that two time world champion Gary Anderson would lose to Humphries and he did so nothing can be ruled out. These two are another pair who met at the recent UK Open, with Voltage winning 10-8 in the last 16. In fact, Cross has won all four of his matches against Bunting, which might be five from five by the end of the night.

Both Anderson and Aspinall lost last week and are only separated by a point making this matchup a tough one to call. With 17 180s, Anderson has the joint most in the Premier League with fellow Scot Peter Wright. Anderson lost in their most recent televised match at the World Championship and The Asp might well feel confident of repeating the trick. However, The Flying Scotsman was not operating at his best at the time but does look better and better each week, not counting last week’s defeat to a local hero which he followed up with a UK Open defeat to Jelle Klaasen. For that reason, I’ve gone with Aspinall to win this battle but am expecting to see my money tested.

Darts Premier League 2020 Outright Winner Odds

Player	bet365	betway
Michael van Gerwen	11/10	11/10
Peter Wright	9/2	9/2
Gerwyn Price	15/2	7/1
Michael Smith	9	10
Nathan Aspinall	10	10
Gary Anderson	12	12
Glen Durrant	14	16
Rob Cross	25/1	22/1
Daryl Gurney	80/1	100/1

QUICK GLANCE AT DARTS PREMIER LEAGUE NIGHT

Venue: M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool

Dates: 12.03.2020

Format: Max of 12, best of 19, 21

Current Champion: Michael van Gerwen

Where To Watch: Sky Sports

When To Watch: (1900 GMT)

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