We’re onto Gameweek 3 of the Premier League Darts roadshow already, and remarkably no player in the competition still boasts a 100% record. That is testament to the fact that there are no gimmie matches in this year’s tournament; every point has to be earned.
Five players are tied at the top of the table with three points (a win and a draw), and so there is a chance for a little daylight to emerge in Leeds this week.
There’s a couple of outstanding fixtures to look forward to, including an al—Scottish affair between Gary Anderson and Peter Wright, an all-Dutch contest between Michael van Gerwen and Jelle Klaasen and then the ‘El Clasico of Darts’, so called because the Sky Sports PR team had nothing better to do that day, between Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld.
Let’s take a look at the pick of this week’s Premier League Darts betting tips:
Gary Anderson vs Peter Wright
Peter Wright has been in electrifying form on the UK Open circuit, picking up title after title in recent weeks, but he hasn’t translated that success to the Premier League, where his tournament average so far sits at a meagre 91.88.
Snakebite must surely be confident, so why isn’t he showing it on the big stage? That won’t matter to Gary Anderson, whose Premier League average is some ten points higher than his Scottish counterpart. Most impressive from the two-time world champion is his checkout success rate, which stands at a fantastic 52% after 22 legs of darts.
Anderson looks a more than fair price at 8/13.
Adrian Lewis vs James Wade
You sense that Adrian Lewis isn’t quite the same player he was when he claimed his back-to-back world titles, and that unerring ability to outscore his opponent has seemingly vanished. That puts pressure on his finishing, and while a tournament success rate of 44% is impressive, it will need to be just as high to see off the uber-consistent James Wade in Leeds.
The Machine boasts a tournament average of 97.48, is unbeaten in his two starts so far and reached the final of a UK Open qualifier at the weekend, so everything is rosy in his garden right now. As such, we’re delighted to see Wade Draw No Bet available at Evens.
Phil Taylor vs Raymond van Barneveld
Yes, the ill-conceived El Clasico of Darts is the third match on, and there is very little to choose between The Power and Barney.
Taylor was fortunate, in some respects, to run into an out-of-form Dave Chisnall on night one, before averaging just 92 in his 6-6 draw with Wade in Nottingham. These are not the sort of heights we expect from the Stoke man.
But he will up his game for this clash with his old rival, you can be sure of that. It should be interesting too as Barney is outscoring everybody in the tournament – he’s the only player with a 180 count into the double-figures, and but for a checkout success rate of just 28% he would surely be top of the table.
Assuming RVB has been practising hard on his double for this dust-up, he could have the firepower to see off The Power. We’ll take the Double Chance market in the Dutchman’s favour at 8/11.
Michael van Gerwen vs Jelle Klaasen
Klaasen has been playing some decent darts of late but remains without a win in the Premier League, and that will surely begin to play on his mind. His Achilles heel has always been his doubles, and at 35% – or one dart in three – he simply isn’t going to have the time to take down MVG here.
Van Gerwen blasted a pair of nine-darters in the same match at the weekend, so any lingering doubts about his form can be swept aside. His tournament average of 106 is at least five points higher than anybody else’s, and that confirms his position in world darts as being streets ahead of the rest at present.
There isn’t much betting value to work with such is the Green Machine’s favouritism, and so a speculative correct score punt on 7-2 to MVG at 11/4 will have to suffice.
Dave Chisnall vs Kim Huybrechts
The trouble with betting on/against Dave Chisnall is that he can be excellent or awful, seemingly without warning. He is scoring nicely but his double success at just 25% is massively letting him down. He sits bottom of the table with an average of just 93.
And so Huybrechts should really be winning the match, and the Belgian is well placed to do so. His tournament average of 98 is excellent, and confirms he is enjoying his second tilt at the Premier League.
But there’s always Chizzy’s unpredictability to factor in, so an outright bet is not in the offing here. Instead, Over 6.5 Maximums at 4/6 looks excellent value given the power-scoring of this pair.