So it's that time of year again, the euphoria of the World Championships has died down and just as darting civilians start to think they've seen the end of tungsten on the tele, it's time for the eight best players around to burst back on the scene for the Premier league.
This year's tournament kicks off on Thursday and so it's time to have a look at the competitors and the opening round of matches to see who's going to get the competition off to a flyer.
Mark Webster v James Wade
With the eight best players in the world taking each other on in the Premier League obviously all the matches are going to be fairly tight, but this one is as close to call as they come. Mark Webster is a former BDO World Champion and has thoroughly impressed over the last couple of years since switching sides. Two successive semi-final appearances at the Alexandra Palace has confirmed his place in the upper echelons of the PDC rankings, defeating Phil Taylor four sets to two to reach the second of his semis stamping his mark in particularly. It has been his steady and consistent (without being spectacular) performances that have seen him compete with the very, very best. He has admitted himself that he isn't going to be averaging 110 or 115 over a long match, but he will always be up around the 95-100 mark and that will always see him compete, especially if his finishing continues to be good.
James Wade, on the other hand, cannot really be described as consistent. On his day he will beat anyone, and could absolutely destroy the likes of Webster, but it is his day far too rarely for a man of his talent. An exit in the World Championships at the round of 32 was a shocking performance from Wade who really should have been at least in the semi-finals, but that kind of performance is worryingly typical of him. The Machine does know how to succeed in this event though as he is the only man to dethrone Taylor when he picked up the title in 2009. The only issue is how focussed he is and how much practicing he's been doing since the new year. However much it seems he isn't that bothered when he's at the oche, being knocked out by the un-fancied Mensur Suljovic at the worlds, and being brushed aside so easily by Taylor at last weekend’s Players Championships Finals will have left him reeling and he will be looking to bounce back.
This year's tournament kicks off on Thursday and so it's time to have a look at the competitors and the opening round of matches to see who's going to get the competition off to a flyer.
Mark Webster v James Wade
With the eight best players in the world taking each other on in the Premier League obviously all the matches are going to be fairly tight, but this one is as close to call as they come. Mark Webster is a former BDO World Champion and has thoroughly impressed over the last couple of years since switching sides. Two successive semi-final appearances at the Alexandra Palace has confirmed his place in the upper echelons of the PDC rankings, defeating Phil Taylor four sets to two to reach the second of his semis stamping his mark in particularly. It has been his steady and consistent (without being spectacular) performances that have seen him compete with the very, very best. He has admitted himself that he isn't going to be averaging 110 or 115 over a long match, but he will always be up around the 95-100 mark and that will always see him compete, especially if his finishing continues to be good.
James Wade, on the other hand, cannot really be described as consistent. On his day he will beat anyone, and could absolutely destroy the likes of Webster, but it is his day far too rarely for a man of his talent. An exit in the World Championships at the round of 32 was a shocking performance from Wade who really should have been at least in the semi-finals, but that kind of performance is worryingly typical of him. The Machine does know how to succeed in this event though as he is the only man to dethrone Taylor when he picked up the title in 2009. The only issue is how focussed he is and how much practicing he's been doing since the new year. However much it seems he isn't that bothered when he's at the oche, being knocked out by the un-fancied Mensur Suljovic at the worlds, and being brushed aside so easily by Taylor at last weekend’s Players Championships Finals will have left him reeling and he will be looking to bounce back.
Prediction: Webster 8 – 5 James Wade
Betting Tip: After 6 legs score 3-3 is 9-4 with Skybet
Gary Anderson v Simon Whitlock
These men are second and third favourites respectively for the trophy and it certainly has the potential to steal the show from the headline event later in the evening.
Gary Anderson looked every bit a world champion all the way through December and January as he reached the final at the Alexandra Palace, decimating every opponent throughout the tournament. He was clear favourite for the title but came up against an inspired Adrian Lewis who pipped him to the post. Despite the loss though, Anderson proved himself as a serious contender for major titles, largely through his incredible scoring ability. He consistently averaged easily over 100, and after three games of the worlds was 1st, 2nd and 3rd on the averages league, being described as a Ton-forty machine at times. It looks like the flying Scotsman has re-focussed after the disappointment of coming so close to glory as he reached the Players Championship final on Sunday and only narrowly lost 13-12 to Taylor.
These men are second and third favourites respectively for the trophy and it certainly has the potential to steal the show from the headline event later in the evening.
Gary Anderson looked every bit a world champion all the way through December and January as he reached the final at the Alexandra Palace, decimating every opponent throughout the tournament. He was clear favourite for the title but came up against an inspired Adrian Lewis who pipped him to the post. Despite the loss though, Anderson proved himself as a serious contender for major titles, largely through his incredible scoring ability. He consistently averaged easily over 100, and after three games of the worlds was 1st, 2nd and 3rd on the averages league, being described as a Ton-forty machine at times. It looks like the flying Scotsman has re-focussed after the disappointment of coming so close to glory as he reached the Players Championship final on Sunday and only narrowly lost 13-12 to Taylor.
In comparison, Simon Whitlock had relatively disappointing tournaments at the Alexandra Palace and at the Doncaster Dome. He crashed out in the last 16 against Vincent van der Voort at the worlds and went out at the same stage to Mervyn King last weekend. However, if there is anyone who doesn’t have a problem with re-focussing then it’s the Australian as his intense stare when throwing will demonstrate. Whitlock will have been on the practise board straight after his loss to King and will be raring to go in his second Premier League after debuting last year.
Prediction: Anderson 8 - 4 Whitlock
Betting Tip: Whitlock winning after 6, Anderson to win is 20-1, worth a pound?
Raymond van Barneveld v Terry Jenkins
This is the purest example of an artist against a fighter, natural talent against will power, class against tenacity. I could go on, but the point is that if Barney had the ability to scrap and grind out a victory that The Bull has, then he wouldn’t be down at number five in the world rankings right now, and could arguably be number one. He didn’t even compete in the Players Championships in Doncaster after not finishing in the top 32 of the Order of Merit last year. What level van Barneveld is at is hard to say because we haven’t seen him since his quarter-final loss to Anderson at the Ally Pally and what mind-set he is in will really dictate what kind of game we’re going to see. Everyone will be hoping he has been practicing hard and is somewhere near his top form coming into the tournament so he will really challenge for the title. I’m not entirely sure this will happen though and Barney could well struggle.
Raymond van Barneveld v Terry Jenkins
This is the purest example of an artist against a fighter, natural talent against will power, class against tenacity. I could go on, but the point is that if Barney had the ability to scrap and grind out a victory that The Bull has, then he wouldn’t be down at number five in the world rankings right now, and could arguably be number one. He didn’t even compete in the Players Championships in Doncaster after not finishing in the top 32 of the Order of Merit last year. What level van Barneveld is at is hard to say because we haven’t seen him since his quarter-final loss to Anderson at the Ally Pally and what mind-set he is in will really dictate what kind of game we’re going to see. Everyone will be hoping he has been practicing hard and is somewhere near his top form coming into the tournament so he will really challenge for the title. I’m not entirely sure this will happen though and Barney could well struggle.
On the other hand it is a lot easier to predict what you are going to get from Terry Jenkins. He hasn’t got the talent of a van Barneveld, but he is still an incredibly good player and will never give up a fight. He also seems to be in pretty sharp form currently. His semi-final run was his best ever in the World Championships and he got to the quarters in Doncaster and was only narrowly beaten by an in-form King. The Bull is 25-1 to win the tournament, longer odds than all seven other competitors and it is fair to say you can’t see him picking up the trophy, but he will without doubt give everyone he meets a serious game.
Prediction: Van Barneveld 7 – 7 Jenkins
Betting Tip: The draw is 7-2
Adrian Lewis v Phil Taylor
The headline act of the evening sees the World Champion face off against the World Number One in what should be a real cracker. Despite Adrian’s triumph over Anderson in the final at the Palace he is only fourth favourite for the tournament at 6-1, quite possibly affected by his first round exit in Doncaster at the hands of Steve Beaton. He proved in January that he can harness the huge talent that everyone knew he had as he impressed throughout and his nine-darter in the final was a piece of pure genius. The challenge for him now is to achieve a level of consistency. He obviously won’t be able to be hitting nine-darts every week in the Premier League, but he will be looking to maintain a consistent 98-102 average over the league campaign which should see him make the final four easily.
Phil Taylor is who Lewis, and indeed everyone else who has ever picked up a dart is aspiring to be. He is the model of consistency that Lewis will look to emulate over the rest of his career. Taylor had hit one of his rare dips on form at the back end of last year which continued into the worlds where he went out at the quarter-final stage to Webster. This may have given everyone else a bit of hope but his hugely impressive win in Doncaster on Sunday proved that he is back to somewhere near his best. The Power had a very tough run to that title having to defeat Steve Brown, Wade, Wes Newton, King and then Anderson in the final and he did so with aplomb. Taylor is a long way off hanging up his darts just yet and it looks like he is completely re-focussed after the disappointment at the Ally Pally. That is why he is favourite, yet again, to win the title and is still number one in the world.
Prediction: Lewis 5 – 8 Taylor
Betting Tip: Over 7.5 180s, only evens but I fancy it.
A bet on Webster, Anderson, a tie and Taylor pays 40-1, I’ll be having a flutter on that.
Take the tie out of the equation and it is still a tasty 8-1 which looks good to me.
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