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Premier League 2012 Week 6 Tips
Five weeks into the 2012 Premier League Darts season and the only thing we can say for certain is that Phil Taylor is a robot. And not one of those fun robots that you see in Wall-E or something like that, but a darts robot akin to The Terminator, or Predator. He’s put in 5 fantastic performances and only dropped one point, which was against the World Champion, Adrian Lewis, all the way back in Week 1. Since then, Phil Taylor has been unstoppable, firing in stunning average after stunning average. Can anyone stop him? Andy Hamilton gets to attempt it this week, and he’ll be hoping Taylor loses his throwing arm some time before he takes to the oche.
I have to admit, a shocking week for us last week, which as prompted to to announce that should the Premier League Premium Picks run at a loss for the season, then the UK Open Premium Picks will be free to all Darts Betting Tips Premier League Darts Premium Picks subscribers.
So, the Premier League rolls back into Scotland tonight, with Glasgow the focus of the Sky Sports cameras tonight. As well as Andy Hamilton taking on Phil Taylor, we have James Wade and Adrian Lewis opening up proceedings, then Gary Anderson will come out to a rapturous welcome against Simon Whitlock, and Raymond van Barneveld closes the evening when he takes on Kevin Painter. So, as always, it’s a stacked card and the Scottish crowd will be right behind Gary Anderson, being hopefully as vocal as they usually are; the Scottish crowds never fail to produce a great atmosphere.
James Wade versus Adrian Lewis.
Sixth takes on eight tonight in the first match of the Premier League action. While James Wade is on the up-and-up, Adrian Lewis seems to be heading in the opposite direction. After a solid point in the first week against Phil Taylor, Lewis has picked up another two draws, and lost twice. James Wade, on the other hand, after losing his first 3 matches has picked up two wins on the bounce.
James Wade has been nothing if not consistent in the 2012 Premier League. While he struggled to pick up wins in his first 3 matches, he put in solid performances, even though sometimes the scorelines flattered to deceive. But the numbers do tell their own story, and with an average of 93.75, which is just nice and steady. Wade’s even fired in a cracking 154 checkout, so he is playing reasonably well, and it looks like he’s ready to kick on. The one downside to his performances is his maximum scoring – he’s usually prolific on the treble 20, but he’s only hit 12 in 5 weeks, with Kevin Painter the only player to have scored fewer than The Machine. It was a mixed bag for Wade on the floor last weekend, with a quarter-final on the Sunday following a first round defeat on the Saturday. So, again a clear indication that he’s just playing at an average level for the Premier League.
Adrian Lewis has become the Premier League Enigma. Obviously, as a two-time World Champion, he’s immensely talented, but his head has started wandering all over the place during his matches. His 8-1 defeat to Gary Anderson two weeks ago being followed up by an average performance in defeat to Simon Whitlock sums up that fact. Lewis’s head just seems to be gone at the moment. There were also third round and first round defeats for Jackpot over the weekend, an indication that all is not right in the head of the World Champion. His stats tell another story, though: 94.85 average suggests he’s playing decent enough, a league-leading 24 180s is phenomenal, and a highest checkout of 140 is very solid after 5 weeks of play. But he’s a broken man at the moment. We’ve said this time and time again about Lewis and it’s happening at exactly the same time as it did last year.
This isn’t going to be a pretty match, but I think there’s a bit of value in the winner market. James Wade is looking consistent on the Premier League stage, while Adrian Lewis just looks defeated, his head shaking and him looking like he’s resigned to defeat. While Wade might not be in World Championship form, he’s picked up two wins, and the Scottish crowds do tend to goad Lewis, so that will work in Wade’s favour, too. The bookies have it close, but I have Wade shading it.
James Wade to beat Adrian Lewis: 6/4 @ Betfair..
Recommend: 2 units.
Gary Anderson versus Simon Whitlock.
Oh, this could be a classic! Both high scorers are starting to find their range, and what better place to meet than on the Premier League stage in Glasgow?
After a sluggish start to his Premier League season, Gary Anderson has racked up a few wins, leaving him second in the league, one point ahead of tonight’s opponent. The slow start epitomises the wonder that is Gary Anderson; as we all know, Anderson has the potential to win everything in front of him, but something never seems to go right for him, and he tends to stumble, then fall spectacularly. In fact, you only have to look at this year’s World Cup as an indication of that. However, his averages are going in the right direction, and now, from a starting average of 80.84, following by 84.98, Anderson has it just above 90, and it won’t stop climbing. His 13 maximums isn’t exactly amazing, but I’ve not doubt he’s going to pick that up before the play-offs. You don’t become Premier League champion by fluke, do you? A fourth round after a semi-final in the floor tournaments at the weekend show his form is indeed picking up, so his Aussie opponent better be ready for him!
The great thing about Simon Whitlock is that his floor results over the weekend were the same as Anderson’s, on exactly the same day – a semi-final and a fourth round. He’s also sitting one point behind Gary Anderson on the Premier League table, and managed 8 maximums in his 8-4 over Adrian Lewis last week, which takes him to 18 maximums in the Premier League, five ahead of the Flying Scotsman. So he’s playing well, picking up the scalp of the World Champion in the process, as well as knocking in an average of 105.44 against Phil Taylor a couple of weeks ago. There’s no denying Whitlock is in great form at the moment.
This match relies on one thing – both men being able to smash the treble 20. If they do, it’s going to be a classic. If one of them struggles, it’s going to be over before you know it. If both struggle, it doesn’t bear thinking about. The first market I want to look at is the player to score the highest checkout. While the stats say Whitlock has struggled (and he has) to put the combinations together, there’s no denying that he’s one of the best in the game once his eye is in at taking out the big finishes, while we know Anderson isn’t the strongest doubler in the PDC. So for the bookies to have both equal, it’s a bit strange. So we have to take the Aussie in the market, just because he’s got previous outstanding form. Then there is the predictable total number of 180s bet. Whitlock’s 8 last week would be enough to beat the line on its own, but with both men pushing each other all the way, I think we’re looking at a double-figure 180 count tonight. The line is 8.5 and it’s a touch of value at odds-against.
Highest checkout in the match to be scored by Simon Whitlock: 5/6 @ 888.com.
Recommend: 3 units.
Total 180s in the match to be over 8.5: 11/10 @ Stan James.
Recommend: 2 units.
Phil Taylor versus Andy Hamilton.
This is man versus machine. Do you not believe in the phenom that is Phil Taylor? Apparently he can only be stopped by Dave Chisnall! Taylor continued his scary 2012 form onto the floor at the weekend, taking the Saturday tournament, and making the final on Sunday. Hamilton made a first round exit on Saturday, then a quarter-final on Sunday. Now, do you want me to tell you what you already know about the stats and the disparity, or do you want me to get straight into the tipping? I thought so…
Under 6.5 180s in the Phil Taylor versus Andy Hamilton match: 4/5 @ 888.com.
Recommend: 2.5 units.
Raymond van Barneveld versus Kevin Painter.
Last match of the night and we have the five-time World Champion, Raymond van Barneveld, taking on the resurgent Kevin Painter. If you’d have told me Kevin Painter would be sitting third in the Premier League Darts table this time last year, I’d have had you committed. However, he’s playing good darts, winning some big matches and he’s doing what he should have done ten years ago. Barney is starting to find some form, too, so I think we’re going to have a cracking match on our hands.
If this was all about the averages, Barney would be second in the league and he’d be home and hosed in this match. His average of 99.88 and 21 maximums is quite special for a player many had written off over the last two years or so, myself included. Up until last week, it looked like an older version of Barney was back, and his consistency was clicking into place. In fact, even last week, when on the verge of being humiliated by James Wade, he fought back like the recent incarnations of Barney wouldn’t have, and managed an average of 97.87 in what would have been a phenomenal comeback. But it wasn’t to be, and he went down fighting to Wade 8-6. But all the signs are still there that Barney is a force to be reckoned with in this competition. A fourth round and a quarter-final in the recent floor tournaments (where he was knocked out both times by Kim Huybrechts) shows he’s playing well, too. If it’s a sign of things to come, Barney will be picking up a few tournaments this year, and a few deep runs on TV, too.
Kevin Painter has been the success story of the last six months. A man written off by almost everyone and now sitting third in the Premier League Darts table, who would have thought it? To be fair, he’s not played FANTASTIC darts, but he’s played SOLID darts, scraping wins here and there, while knocking in the big checkouts that have become a key part of his resurgence. His average of 91.16 sums up everything about his game, as he’s scored the fewest maximums in the Premier League so far (10), but his big checkouts (the highest being 134) are keeping his average on the right side of 90. But looking at the recent floor results, Painter made second round exits both days, and it just isn’t what you’d expect of a player looking to qualify for the play-offs in the Premier League. So he’s playing solid enough, but is it good enough? We’ll find out tonight.
For me, this is a one-sided contest. Barney is playing exceptionally well, and he’s hungry again. Yes, he started off slowly against James Wade, but the second half of the match showed the fight and desire Barney still has. It’s something that will stand him in good stead against the gritty Painter. The -2.5 on the handicap looks a nice proposition to me, ass I think Barney scoring and clinical finishing will take care of the ups-and-downs of Painter’s game. It’s a nice bit of value to close the night for us.
Raymond van Barneveld -2.5 legs to beat Kevin Painter: 11/10 @ Stan James.
Recommend: 3.5 units.
And that’s all from Week 6 of the PDC Premier League 2012 Premium Darts Betting Tips from Glasgow. Remember to check back next week for more of the same.
