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Premier League Darts 2014 Week Three Premium Picks.
It’s time to hit Belfast in this year’s Premier League, and it’s we’re heading there off the back of a big night last Thursday, as well as the Dutch Masters. Last week, Wes Newton got past Raymond van Barneveld 7-5, averaging 91.36 and Barney averaging 89.69. Dave Chisnall and Peter Wright played out the season’s first draw, Wright averaging a shocking 83.83 and Chisnall a slightly more respectable 92.40. Then the one-sided matches came… Gary Anderson beat Simon Whitlock 7-2, averaging just above 98 while Whitlock averaged a shade over 90. Adrian Lewis then smashed Phil Taylor 7-3 with a 100.57 average to Taylor’s 98.27. Finally, Michael van Gerwen beat Robert Thornton 7-5, with the Scotsman putting up a brave fight until the business end of the match, with his average slipping down to 90.23, not far behind Van Gerwen’s 95.83.
Tonight, not the marquee matches we’ve come to expect, but we have an interesting all-Scotland match between Thornton and Anderson. Then it’s the turn of Dave Chisnall and Dutch Masters Champion Michael van Gerwen. Phil Taylor takes on the third Scotsman in the field, Peter Wright, followed by Adrian Lewis and Wes Newton. The night is rounded off with a Whitlock vs Barney match. So, while not filled with potential classics, we should still see some close encounters.
Again, we’re going to have a look at the Player To Score Most 180s market for tonight’s action, and I like the look of Barney again. He’s a huge price at Betfred, compared to the rest of the bookies, and he should get a fair few legs under his belt against Simon Whitlock. We’ve got to have a dabble at such a big price.
Raymond van Barneveld to score most 180s tonight Best price 9/1 (Boylesports)
Recommend: 1 unit.
Robert Thornton vs Gary Anderson.
Battle of Scotland in Belfast tonight, and one man’s in a bit of form, while the other could do with a bit of a lift. This time last year, the roles were reversed, and it was Gary Anderson struggling for Premier League form. However, Anderson’s played well in his first two matches, without hammering the 180s. He’s showing a consistency that started at the tail-end of last year, and I think he’s going to have too much for Thornton, who needs to up his game a little. Anderson is the value here.
Gary Anderson to beat Robert Thornton Best price 11/10 (Stan James)
Recommend: 2 units.
Dave Chisnall vs Michael van Gerwen.
I can only see one winner here, and that’s the Dutchman, as he’s coming into this in great form, winning the Dutch Masters, while Chisnall is showing distinctly average form. Chisnall started off slowly against Peter wright, missing a handful of doubles to win the first leg – he won’t get that opportunity tonight. However, Chisnall’s got the 180s in his bag of tricks, and although Van Gerwen showed he can still fire them in, he’s still more likely to hit a 177 if one of the first two darts goes slightly off-line. Chisnall’s power scoring is the only thing that can keep him in this, and I fancy him to rattle in a few more than his opponent.
Dave Chisnall to score most 180s vs Michael van Gerwen Best price 6/5 (Various)
Recommend: 2 units.
Peter Wright vs Phil Taylor
It’s already a big game for Phil Taylor, as he’s yet to get on the scoreboard after two weeks and he’s only managed to chalk up 3 legs. However, he’s got a chance against Peter Wright, who’s played well without impressing too much in his first two Premier League matches. The Scotsman should have closed out his match against Dave Chisnall last week, but ended up blowing it and had to settle for a draw. Taylor is still scoring well, he’s got the bottle and I can see Wright copping the fat end of a hammering, with Taylor out to prove something to the naysayers.
Phil Taylor to beat Peter Wright Best price 4/6 (Stan James)
Recommend: 3 units.
Wes Newton vs Adrian Lewis.
Much like the Chisnall/Van Gerwen match earlier, I can only see one winner here, and it’s not Wes Newton. Newton played well to beat Barney last week, with his 149 checkout coming at just the right time to take the wind out of Barney’s sails. However, Adrian Lewis has been playing fantastic darts and it’s hard to see him dropping to Newton’s level, especially after his 7-3 destruction of Phil Taylor last week. Newton will need to find another 8 points or so to keep up with Lewis, which I don’t think is going to happen, as Lewis will be wanting to prove he can hang with Van Gerwen. However, the big checkout is on in this match, and I can see it being beaten comfortably.
Highest checkout in Newton vs Lewis match over 120.5 Best price 5/6 (Various)
Recommend: 2.5 units.
Simon Whitlock vs Raymond van Barneveld.
Last match of the night, and it’s not exactly the most exciting one, especially given the form of Simon Whitlock. I can excuse Barney’s form last week, as he had played a qualifier for the Dutch Open on the Tuesday. I think, with a week off, he’ll be back, nice and refreshed and ready to get back to the form he had shown in Week Two. Whitlock is just out of sorts for whatever reason, and I can’t see him picking it up just yet. Until Whitlock shows his form has turned a corner, he’s unbackable. Barney’s a big price and if he gets far enough ahead of Whitlock, he could just streak away, hopefully with a lot of 180s.
Raymond van Barneveld to beat Simon Whitlock Best price 4/5 (Various)
Recommend: 2.5 units.
That’s it for the second week of the 2014 Premier League Darts season. We’ll be back next week with more Premium Picks.
