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.
No comments:
Post a Comment