Belfast beckons for the stars of the Premier League

After last week’s sensational round of action, these eight men have a lot to live up to as they do battle again on the oche.  Gary Anderson is setting the early pace, whilst Simon Whitlock is lagging behind, with everyone else tightly bunched in the middle pack.  Will anyone make a statement this week?  Well let’s see what me and Dennis reckon…

The Flying Scotsman v Webby

The two debutants have impressed so far in the Premier League, with Anderson especially catching the eye as he tops the early standings being the only player to possess a 100% record after two weeks.

The Scotsman looked imperious against Whitlock and Jenkins in his first two tests and his scoring was just too good for either man to keep up with.  His finishing has been good, although it only needs to be good and not excellent at times as he is so far ahead on points he can afford the odd miss at doubles.  His 121 to finish off the Bull last week though shows just how good he can be at combinations.  The only possible doubt you could have over Gary Anderson at the minute is that surely his form will have to dip at some point over the tournament.  There is no sign that it will be this week though.

Webster has played very well in both matches so far, it has just been the standard of opponent that has seen him win one and lose one.  Wade was not at his best in week one and lost, Taylor was formidable last week and won.  Webby will continue to play his steady but high quality game which will see him do this over the tournament, beat the out of form players, but probably lose to the in form ones.  This is why I have to go with Anderson for this one as he is without a shadow of a doubt massively in form.  If Webby can keep up his huge finishing skills which he showed against Taylor though, it will not be easy for the Scot.

Prediction: Anderson 8 – 5 Webster

Betting Tips: Highest checkout Webster (170 & a 160 last week) is 11/10
                        Anderson to win 8-6 is 11/2

Priestley’s Pick: Scotland v Wales in Northern Ireland! This could be the best game of the Premier League so far. Gary averaged above 100 last week and Mark was very close to 100 himself. I expect lots of big scores and 100 + finishes but I think Gary will just about edge this encounter.  Anderson to win 8-6

The Wizard v The Machine

The Australian is the only man of the eight on show to have failed to pick up a win, or even a point in the first two rounds of matches, Wade however put in an immense performance against Lewis last week to notch up his first two points.

Whitlock has been on the end of two sensational performances, from Anderson and then Barneveld, so it would be harsh to judge him on them, but it is fair to say he hasn’t been at his excellent best so far.  His 91 average against Barney is well below par for the Wizard, especially as Barney taking out four ton-plus finishes meant that he didn’t have too many missed doubles bringing his average down.  You would think The Wizard will need to start performing pretty soon if he is to mount any kind of challenge, and it might just be this week that he does it.

It has become slightly difficult to predict what you are going to get from The Machine recently, as his first two performances have shown, but last week’s efforts showed he is in good enough form to really compete this year.  His average was healthy at nearly 98, and three ton-plus finishes showed his eye was well and truly in, if he can keep that up then he’ll win more than he loses.

Wade would be the obvious choice following last week, but I fancy Whitlock to bounce back this week and start to challenge, The Machine’s form looks good enough to avoid defeat though, so I’m going with the draw.

Prediction: 7 - 7

Betting Tips: Wade 180s over 3.5 is 6-5
                        Tie 7-2

                        Match to produce most 180s is 11-4

Priestley’s Pick: I called both of these guys matches wrong last week so I hope to make two negatives into a positive. After how James played last week it looks like a return to form and I can see him carrying on this week. I think James will make a quick start and then be too consistent on his own throw. Wade to win 8-5

Jackpot v Barney

Two world champions squaring off in Thursday's third match of the night, and it has the potential to be an absolute cracker.  Two weeks ago you wouldn't have thought that, but with Barney's sensational return to form last time out, and a chink in Lewis' armour being displayed against Wade last week, the two are on a much more level playing field.

Barney really was fantastic in Nottingham, producing the kind of display that has been far too rare over the last couple of years, and this week is a very good test for him to see if he can maintain that kind of form.  Hopefully he has found his rhythm now and is happy with his game, it's hard to imagine he is not with his four ton-plus finishes last week.  If this is the case then his chances of reaching the semi-finals are very much alive, and you couldn't rule him out of winning the tournament.  However, one win, against a relatively out of form player shouldn't get us too excited, so we will wait and see.

The Dutchman will be facing some stern competition from Adrian Lewis, who after the euphoria of hammering Taylor will have been desperately disappointed with his loss to Wade last week.  He certainly didn't perform badly in Nottingham, averaging 99 and taking out a couple of ton-plusses, so he won't have thought his form has deserted him, but it will have been a dent in his confidence.  After the events of the last couple of months though, a mere dent won't have caused too many problems and I fully expect him to continue his exellent performances.

I really hope this is going to be an amazing encounter, and I'd like to think Barney can show us all again what he can do, but I just find it too hard to put any faith in him nowadays, so I'm going to go for a Lewis win.  Prove me wrong Raymond!!

Prediction: Van Barneveld 5 - 8 Lewis

Betting Tip: Highest Checkout for Barney is evens after last week’s finishing exhibition.

Priestley’s Pick: The way that Barney played last week was a welcome return to form for the Dutch master. Adrian didn't get the result that he wanted so I can see him doubling his efforts this week. A close encounter which I cannot call. Draw

The Power v The Bull

A regular fixture in the Premier League, and indeed over many competitions over the last few years, but it has been Taylor that has dominated encounters between the two men, with Jenkins some-what living in the great man's shadow.

The Power looked back to his incredible best last week with his seven 180s helping his average reach nearly 104, which will win the vast majority of game in the competition.  It seems that his performance against Adrian Lewis was a blip, having looked good in winning the Players Championship Finals in Doncaster before the Premier League kicked off, and being on top form in Nottingham.  This is a chance for Taylor to confirm that he is still top dog and rightful favourite for the tournament by beating a player that he has defeated so often in the past.  The Power didn't compete in the weekend's Players Championships in Derby, but you can bet he'll have been on the practice board and be raring to go in Belfast.

The Bull was far from disgraced last time out against Gary Anderson as many wouldn't have managed the four legs he did with the form the Scotsman is in, but his 91 average, certainly wasn't anything spectacular.  Jenkins will scrap away again with Taylor and it won't be an easy ride for the world number one, but if The Power can keep up his average from last week I can't see Jenkins being able to live with it.

I can't look past Taylor for this one I'm afraid.

Prediction: Taylor 8 - 4 Jenkins

Betting Tip: Draw half time Taylor Full time 4-1

Priestley’s Pick: I said last week that Phil doesn't lose two weeks on the bounce but I can definitely see him winning two weeks on the bounce. The way Phil played last week was a return to the norm and I cannot see Terry been able to match The Powers play. Taylor to win 8-4

So there’s the view from Bull Finish, if you go with my picks you can get them at 17/1, whereas Dennis’ picks offer an even healthier 22/1, so consider a pound or two one those perhaps.

Redemption for Barneveld, Wade and Taylor

The Wizard 3 - 8 Barney

I had the Wizard down to cast his spell on the 5-time World Champ and walk away with a relatively comfortable victory, but I was well off the mark with this one as Barney showed some his very best form to pick up his first win of the tournament.

 From the off Whitlock looked out of sorts, averaging in the sixties in the opening leg to immediately lose on his own throw.  His 140 check out in leg three was a moment of brilliance, but Barney’s 11-darts in the fourth put him back in control and the Dutchman went in at the break 4-2 up.  Whitlock looked sloppy in the early exchanges, hitting scores of 25 and 41 and missing three darts at a double in the second leg which is not what we’ve come to expect from him.  Barney on the other hand, looked somewhere near his best, which we haven’t seen for a long time, his 116 checkout just before the interval was made to look as easy as anything, which was a very bad omen for the Australian.  

The second half of the contest was of the absolute highest quality and proved to be an exhibition in finishing from van Barneveld.  Whitlock took his 180 count to four compared to the Dutchman’s one, but finishes of 160, 156 and then 141 to win the game were special to see.  The Wizard hit a 13-darter to win his third and final leg of the game, and prove that he was playing well, but he simply couldn’t compete with Barney in the form he was in. 

This was the Barneveld of the past, and if he is back to his best then everyone better watch out, because he will beat anyone he plays if he carries on taking out huge scores with ease like he did in Nottingham.

For Whitlock, he needs a win, and fast.  He wasn’t terrible against Barney, but he didn’t start well enough and left himself far too much to do after the interval.  He faces Wade next week and you would think he has to win that to keep his semi-final hopes alive.

The Machine 8 - 6 Jackpot

Again I was off the mark with this one as Wade looked a real contender again with a fine display against the World Champion.  He was twice the player of last week against Webster, clocking up a 97.7 average and taking out three ton-plus finishes in a highly polished performance.

The opening six legs were shared and were of an incredible standard with three maximums each and ten 140+ shots between them.  Lewis’ 121 checkout to level it up in the sixth showed just what an excellent  game was taking place.  Both players looked un-rattled by each others brilliant scoring and finishing and it set up the second half of the match to be a real cracker, and it didn’t disappoint.

After the break Wade continued to impress with a 13-darter in the seventh leg, but then seemed resigned to losing Lewis’ throw as he fell a long way behind in the eighth.  The World Champ made the first real mistakes of the match though as he missed six darts at doubles, allowing the Machine to storm back with a 180 then a 102 checkout to move 5-3 up.

Wade then held off a strong challenge from Lewis in the ninth, taking out 38 in unconventional style with 4, D17.  Lewis held his throw and then Wade showed amazing calm under pressure as he took out a sensational 141 to secure himself at least a point, his first of the campaign.

It looked like a comfortable win was on the cards, but Lewis had other ideas, winning the next two legs and taking it to a decider on his own throw.  Jackpot stormed into a lead in the final leg and it looked for anyone’s money like he would snatch the draw, but he missed two darts at double 18 and Wade just needed one go at 136 to pick up a huge win.

Like Barney before him, Wade was proving a point that he is still a big time player and can beat anyone.  If these players keep up this form then records will be broken for 180s, high checkouts and averages.  Wade’s six 180s meant that if anyone backed my betting tip of over 3.5 then you’re in the money.

The Power 8 - 5 Webby

It seemed like it was a night of points being proved in Nottingham and it was Phil Taylor who was next in line to do so.  His heavy defeat last week to Lewis will not have sat well and he was clearly out to make amends against Webster.  Webby though is in top form and wasn’t going to roll over for the world number one.

There was little the Welshman could do though in the opening exchanges to stop a fully charged Power as he surged into a 3-0 lead, looking much more like his usual self.  It took a perfect 170 finish in the fourth leg from Webster just to hold his own throw and keep the score down to 3-1.  If Barney thought he had the high checkout prize for the night in the bag, he was sorely mistaken.

Taylor was unfazed though as he came straight back with a 12-darter to re-establish his three leg lead, but Webby showed his composure to comfortably hold throw in the sixth and go in at the break just 4-2 down and still very much in the game.

But more Taylor brilliance kept him ahead after the interval as an 11-darter taking him up to an 109 average saw the Power at his best.  Yet again though, the Welshman was not to be overlooked as Taylor narrowly missed a 161 finish in the eighth leg, Webby stepped up to take out 160, incredible finishing it was from the former BDO World Champ.

No matter what brilliance on the finishing Webster could conjure he just couldn’t live with the scoring of Taylor, who maintained his lead by winning the ninth.  Webster held throw next, and Taylor did the same on an unlikely double five in the eleventh leg to secure himself at least a point, which he was understandably delighted with.

Webster deserved enormous credit as he held his throw again to win a fifth leg as many would have been totally swept aside by Taylor who was averaging well over 100 for the duration.  Taylor took the thirteenth and last leg on his old favourite double 16 to prove last week was an anomaly.

This match proved the world number one is still in business, but also that Webster, if there were any lingering doubts, is going to compete with everyone.  This bodes well for the rest of the tournament.

The Bull 4 - 8 The Flying Scotsman

The final contest of the night was to see who would top the table after the second round of matches as it was the only contest between two week one winners.  Gary Anderson went into the match as strong favourite after his dominant win over the Wizard in London and he showed he was going to be a force to be reckoned with again as he took out 83 in the first leg, finishing on bullseye and breaking his opponents throw.

Jenkins wasn’t going to be brushed aside easily, and he immediately broke back, but with Anderson averaging around 109 after four legs there was little the Bull could do about him taking the third and fourth legs to go 3 -1 up.  The unerring accuracy of the Scotsman meant that anything less than a 140 was a surprise.

It was the tale of two Shanghai’s for the Bull in the next two legs before the interval as he just missed double top in the fifth leg to let Anderson back in, but then struck in the sixth to take out the 120 and keep him in the game going into the second half at 4-2.

On returning to the stage both men looked a little jittery as first Jenkins then Anderson just barely managed to hold their own throws to move the score to 5-3.  It was the ninth leg that seemed to put an end to Terry’s hopes though as he threw poorly throughout it, struggling to find the treble and let Anderson take out 62 to break and move into a three leg lead. 

The last three went with throw with arguably the highlight of the match coming with the last three darts as Anderson took out 121, again finishing on bullseye to take the match in style 8-4.  It was another extremely good performance from the Premier League debutant averaging 102 and hitting thirteen 140s on the way.  He goes top, and it’s going to take something special to drag him back down, Mark Webster will be next to try.

Possibly the highest quality round of matches ever seen in the Premier League in Nottingham which left Anderson on top of the pile as the dust settled, with everyone else on 2 points except Whitlock who remains pointless.  If anything like this standard can be maintained the next few months will be non-stop entertainment.

The show rolls into Nottingham as Bull Finish welcomes The Menace

This week it is an honour and a privilege to welcome on board PDC hall of famer, 2-time World Champion, hero to many and all round gentleman Dennis Priestley onto the blog.  He has kindly agreed to chip in his predictions in each game, so watch out for Priestley’s Picks.

The Wizard v Barney

The opening game of the second week of action is the only one that features two players still looking for a win in the competition, Simon Whitlock and Raymond van Barneveld.  No doubt both will be looking to come back with a bang following their defeats last week and it should be a good contest.

Whitlock played well last week with easily the highest average of the four that suffered defeats, and if he continues to score 99 every three darts then he won’t lose too many more games.  The odd thing about the Wizard’s performance against Anderson last Thursday was his missed doubles.  Six missed attempts in the final leg of the match was something to remember because I’d be very surprised if he does that again in the tournament.  If Whitlock is going to qualify for the play-offs then he will have to pick up a win here I should think and he will be 100% focussed on doing just that.

Barney, in comparison will not have much to look back on his match with Jenkins last week and smile about.  An average of under 90 is just not good enough at this level and will most likely see him finish bottom of the pile if he maintains it.  I very much doubt that will happen as, despite his prolonged dip in form he is still an exceptional player.  Beating himself will be the issue as always with the Dutchman who may well throw in the towel if Whitlock can get away from him early.

I’m afraid there’s only one way I see this going and that is with the man from Down Under.  He is a very consistent performer on the big stage, which he showed even in defeat last time out, whereas Barney, nowadays isn’t.  If he can find his form then it’ll be a very tight contest, but it’s hard to put any faith in him these days.

Prediction: Whitlock 8 – 4 Van Barneveld

Betting Tip: First Leg Winning Checkout Over 40.5 pays evens

Priestley’s Pick:  I think that we will get the 1st draw of the new Premier League season with tonight’s opener. Both players lost their 1st fixture and will be aiming for a point at least from tonight’s game. My prediction 7-7

The Machine v Jackpot

Two of the most natural talents in the PDC today battle it out in the second match of the night and whereas you would have expected Wade to be favourite for the contest six months ago, the tide has very much turned now.

 Lewis’s demolition of Taylor last week has confirmed to any doubters that his World Championship victory was no fluke and he is very much one of the very biggest obstacles to overcome on the oche now.  He scores heavily, hits all kinds of out-shots and worryingly for everyone else, looks like he might just be able to do it consistently now.  This is still the one question mark over him, and it is something that will be severely tested over the long format of the Premier League, but if he can keep up anything like the form he showed last week with hiss average over 100, then he will probably be too much for James Wade.

The Machine started fairly well last week against Webster, but badly fell away after the interval to crash out 8-3, so the form book would say that there could only possibly be one winner here and it isn’t Wade.  He is an extremely experienced Premier League player now though and still has the ability to pull something out of the bag when it is most needed.  It has long been thought that Wade was next in line for Taylor’s throne and he won’t want to hand that title to Lewis readily.

Prediction: Wade 6 – 8 Lewis

Betting Tip: Wade 180s over 3.5 is 6/4

Priestley’s Pick: If both players played to their potential this could be an absolute classic.But at the moment in time Adrian is riding the crest of a wave since winning the World Championship and I can see this continuing. My prediction: 8-5 to Adrian Lewis.

The Power v Webby

Round three between these two on the big stage sees them come in at one a piece having knocked each other out of the previous two World Championships.  Taylor will be looking to put Webster back in his place, whereas the Welshman will be keen to show The Power that it was no fluke that he dumped him out at the quarter-final stage at the Ally Pally.

Taylor has never been defeated as heavily as he was last week in the Premier League, and he will be the proverbial wounded animal this Thursday, at his most dangerous.  The thrashing he took last week will have hurt him badly and he will be 100% focussed on not letting this happen again.  However, this is a kind of pressure that the great man has very rarely had to deal with over his illustrious career, and it could well end up working against him.

Webster will go out and throw the kind of darts that he so consistently does nowadays with an average in the high nineties.  He was impressive last week against Wade and eventually strolled to a comfortable victory performing in this way.  If Taylor does come back with his best form then Webby’s steady performing might not quite be  enough, but if the world number one is again slightly off colour then the Welshman has every chance of picking up his second win, either way it should be tight.

Prediction: Taylor 7 – 7 Webster                                   

Betting Tip: Draw at interval and draw result is 9/1

Priestley’s Pick: A very tricky fixture to predict. I am going to have to go with my gut feeling in that Phil does not normally lose back to back games. So for this reason I am going to go for a Taylor victory. My prediction: 8-6 Phil Taylor win

The Bull v The Flying Scotsman

One or both of these two men will have lost their 100% record when the dust has settled in Nottingham on Thursday evening, and neither will be giving it up easily.  Anderson is huge favourite for the contest at 4/9 and this is understandable, but also a little unfair on the Bull. 

Anderson has been in blistering form since December, narrowly missing out on both the World crown and the Players Championship title in two very close finals.  He showed no signs of letting up last week as well as he dispatched Whitlock with yet another impressive performance which has confirmed him as second favourite for the Premier League trophy.  If he keeps this up this week as he scored six 180s and averaged 97 then it’s fair to say that he should win this game fairly comfortably.

Jenkins also picked up an impressive win in the opening week, although he wasn’t at the level that Anderson was at.  Anyone who has played the game though will know that you raise your game to the level of your opponent to some extent, and although The Bull only needed a 90.73 average to beat Barney, he is more than capable of raising that to 97 or 98.  Jenkins might not be able to pull off the show stealing performances that have people talking about him as possible champion, but he will not give anyone an easy ride.

Prediction: Jenkins 4 – 8 Anderson

Betting Tip: Interval 3-3 is 13/5

Priestley’s Pick: Another very tricky game to call. Terry doesn't give an inch in any of his matches and Gary will have to hit his doubles first time to take victory. I think the scoring power of Anderson will be strong enough to hold off the Bull’s challenge. My prediction: 8-4 Gary Anderson win

The four results I’ve predicted pays out at 18/1, although if you take the tie out of the equation then it is 100/30 which still looks a pretty good bet.  If you fancy Taylor to come back firing then you can have wins for Anderson, Whitlock, Lewis and Taylor at 13/2.

If you fancy Dennis’s choices then you can get them at 20/1 with Sky Bet, and if there’s anyone who knows his darts then it’s him.

A big thank you to Dennis for giving his thoughts on the week’s contests, and I’m sure everyone reading is looking forward to more of the same over the coming weeks.

Taylor hammered, Anderson & Webster shine on debut.

Well what a start that was to this year's Premier League!  It had already been a cracking night of darts before the main event even kicked off, but what could be a real watershed moment in the sport came in the final contest of the evening and was the highlight of a sensational night in London.

Round-Up

Webby v The Machine

Mark Webster and James Wade were handed the task of kicking off the tournament and they didn’t disappoint as both men hit maximums with their first three darts.  The first few legs didn’t quite remain at that standard though as missed doubles from both players let the other in to break their throw.  An 11-darter in the opening leg and 13 in the fifth from Webster showed he was throwing very well, but he couldn’t get away from the 2009 Premier League Winner who looked to be showing the fight that maybe was in question and the two went in even at the interval.

That was as good as it got for Wade though as Webby came back from the break inspired and Wade lost his spark completely.  Another 13-darter, a second 11-darter then a 101 finish saw him race into a 6-3 lead.  At this stage there seemed no chance that The Machine would get back into it, and Webster polished off the last two legs comfortably for a win on debut in the Premier League.

The win for Webster was what I predicted and I got the draw at half-time going on to that result right, so I hope a few people went for that bet.  I fancied Webster’s added focus to take him through after the break and Wade to fade away, but the levels they reached at both ends of the scale was a bit of a surprise.  Webby came out with an impressive 100.49 average whereas Wade could only manage 86.79 which is well, well below par.

A very encouraging start for the Welshman and I fancy him to keep this form up which will see him winning more than he loses, he wasn’t under heavy pressure scoring-wise though, so we shall see how he deals with that later in the competition.  The Machine though is faltering badly and is going to have to get a lot better if he has any hopes of reaching the final four.  He did make a bad start to last year’s tournament and powered through to make the final so he’ll be clinging to that knowledge I should think.

The Flying Scotsman v The Wizard

I flagged this one up as a potential show-stealer and it would have been had it not been for the shocking nature of the finale of the evening.  Both players made a blistering start as there was barely a mistake in the opening six legs and both men produced 12-darters.  The scoring and finishing was hugely impressive as you would expect from these two that have not taken long to make a huge impact in the PDC and the pair were level at the interval.

After the break though The Wizard started to falter on his finishing which you so rarely see from him, and his two missed double attempts let Anderson off a potential break of throw in the seventh leg.  It cost Whitlock dearly as he himself was broken in the next leg then Anderson threw a stunning 10-darter to open up a three leg lead.  Unlike Wade in the previous game though you would not expect Whitlock to crumble at this stage and he looked like he might be fighting back for a draw as with Anderson leading 7-5 and with the throw the Australian was in control of the leg but threw it away.  The Scot could only hit 60s as Whitlock was comfortably at the double first but so uncharacteristically missed six darts at doubles to give Anderson a chance at 120 which he duly took to claim the match.

The match was of the very highest quality as we expected, and the result just reflected that Anderson is in slightly better form than Whitlock which we knew as well.   The Wizard actually had the higher average of 99 as he banged in twelve 140+ which he picks up with amazing regularity, but it was his doubles that let him down which, as I said, is so out of character.  It is very unlikely that Whitlock will ever be defeated heavily and his opponent will have to be on top form to get the better of him, he won’t be overly concerned with this loss.

Anderson averaged 97, but didn’t drop a leg on his own throw throughout the contest and he will be looking to keep that up for as long as possible.  As long as his form doesn’t suddenly desert him The Flying Scotsman will be soaring into the final four without too much trouble.  It is a long tournament though so let’s not count his chickens yet.

Barney v The Bull

If these two weren’t the least fancied of the tournament previously, they might well be now as Jenkins narrowly edged out Barney 8 – 6 in the lowest scoring encounter of the night.  Jenkins looked strong early on and was 3-1 up in quick time, but the Dutchman hit back to make it 3-3 at the break for the third consecutive game.

It looked like van Barneveld was going to make a dash for the finishing line on their return to the oche as he moved 5-3 and then 6-4 up and then had a great chance to make it 7-4 and guarantee him at least a draw but he wasted two double attempts and lost the leg.  This is when Jenkins showed the dogged spirit I spoke of in the previous post and his next two legs were top quality to put himself 7-6 up and guarantee himself a point.  A tense deciding leg saw it come right down to the wire as Barney had a single dart at his favourite double 18 but he put it wide and the Bull stepped up to polish off double tops for the win.

I was a whisker away from getting this one right as I went for the 7-7 draw and Barney had a chance to get it with his final throw of the evening.  It was the closest encounter of the evening, but unfortunately it was because neither player could shine unlike in the other contests.  I don’t want to be overly harsh here as averages of 89 and 90 aren’t a disgrace and they did pull out eight 180s between them, but form like this is not going to see them challenging for the title. 

This loss for Barney could really cause him to fall at the first hurdle in this Premier League campaign as he seems so fragile that a loss to Jenkins could cause him to lose all belief.  He is of course still a brilliant player but he is suffering on the mental side of things as he has seemingly been for some time.  I’m not saying that this is going to happen as knee-jerk reactions aren’t sensible, but we could be seeing the demise of the great man this tournament.

Jenkins on the other hand will be buoyed by this victory and will hopefully push on and improve his finishing which was disappointing at times.  I still don’t expect him to make finals day, but I certainly won’t rule him out.

Jackpot v The Power

This was the main event of the evening, but to be honest I was expecting a bit of an anti-climax, I’m very pleased I was wrong.

Both World Champ and World Number One started as you would expect with them both hitting 13-darters in the opening four legs which saw the match level at two sets a piece.  At this stage there was nothing out of the ordinary as two great players exchanged blows but the “norm” didn’t last much longer.  Lewis held his throw in the fifth leg and then produced an 11-darter in the sixth, showing that his confidence was flowing choosing the 50, 40 route when he was left on 90.  This put him 4-2 up and made Taylor the only player of the entire evening to go in at the break behind.

Nine out of ten times you would expect The Power to come back on stage firing but Jackpot was just too good for the 15-time World Champ.  He reeled off the next, which turned out to be the last, four legs in no time at all with Taylor looking shell-shocked.  The Power could only manage a 90.54 average, one of the lowest your likely to see from the great man.  In comparison Lewis pulled off 100.79, the highest of the night, and his six 180s was equal highest with Anderson. 

The fact Lewis won may not have been a surprise for everyone (although I tipped Taylor) but the manner of his victory was undoubtedly a massive shock.  It was only the sixth loss of Taylor’s 101 game Premier League career, and his heaviest ever and could well have him reeling.  Lewis was the first to admit that Taylor was under the weather a little, but even so, the gulf in performance between the master and the apprentice was startling.  There was talk of the fear factor other players had regarding Taylor fading away was rife before-hand and certainly that will only have increased because of this performance. 

Potentially now Lewis could go on and win this tournament as his confidence will be at an all time high after winning the worlds and decimating Taylor last night.  I’m not saying he will, but his odds will have shortened a hell of a lot. 

There were eight 180s in the game so if anyone went for my over 7.5 bet then enjoy the cash.

If the Premier League can keep up this entertainment level then we’re in for a treat this year, I’ll be back next Wednesday for another preview.

The Premier League Kicks Off!!

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.

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.

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.

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.