With three rounds of matches left to go in the Premier League Darts campaign of 2017, it is a case of now or never for most left in the competition.
As things stand all eight remaining players can mathematically qualify for the play-offs at the O2 Arena, so there is plenty to be played for in week 13 at Birmingham’s Barclaycard Arena.
Here’s the pick of the betting tips:
James Wade vs Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis was unable to recreate the magic of his nine-dart finish in Liverpool, and instead succumbed to a disappointing 3-7 defeat to Dave Chisnall on a night to forget in Belfast for Jackpot.
Now, with three points separating Phil Taylor in third and Chisnall in seventh, Lewis – in sixth – needs two points here to keep his face in the play-off picture.
He faces James Wade, who still has an outside chance of gatecrashing the top four of the table but must win each of his last three matches.
The Machine has lost four of his last five matches, and averaged a paltry 92 in defeat to Peter Wright in Northern Ireland.
Lewis has won six of their last eight head to head meetings, so we’re happy to side with Jackpot at a healthy price of 4/5.
Dave Chisnall vs Michael van Gerwen
What a match this could be. Chizzy has found his feet in this Premier League campaign rather late in the piece, but he is just a win away from the top four. Unbeaten in four, the man from St Helens recorded an aggregate scoreline of 14-5 over Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis in Belfast, and you don’t do that unless you’re in great form.
Michael van Gerwen hasn’t averaged below 103 in his last four Premier League outings, so the message is clear for Chisnall: play your best here or you simply won’t win.
The key differentiator is the head to head record; MVG has won their last nine meetings. But Chizzy is in good nick so we’ll back Over 10.5 legs at 10/11.
Phil Taylor vs Peter Wright
This could yet be a decisive game in the outcome of the top four with Peter Wright, on 17 points, looking well placed but with Taylor on 15 he could well be usurped by the Power here.
Snakebite is unbeaten in three Premier League outings and won the German Open at the weekend so must be respected, but is his price of 8/15 too short here?
Taylor was beaten 2-7 by Chizzy in Belfast but that was his second match of the night – not easy for a 56-year-old in not exactly athletic shape to play two high intensity games in one night. His first outing – beating Gary Anderson 7-4 after being 0-4 down – is more indicative of his form at the moment.
The Power has a habit of pulling big performances out of the bag when required – victories over Anderson, Van Barneveld and Wright himself recently prove that, and we’re still happy enough to back the Stoke man in a race to seven. The Taylor/Draw Double Chance at 5/6 is unmissable.
Gary Anderson vs Raymond van Barneveld
Having started his Premier League campaign in blistering fashion, Raymond van Barneveld has just taken his foot off the gas of late and suffered back-to-back defeats in Liverpool and Belfast.
He will need to up his game against Gary Anderson, who sits in fourth place above RVB albeit on legs difference alone. Mind you, the Flying Scotsman is without a win in three, so here we have a must win game being played by two out-of-sorts players.
As such, it could be an edgy encounter, but one market we do like in an otherwise difficult match to call is Raymond van Barneveld to make the Highest Checkout at 11/10. The Dutchman has been in sensational form with those two and three dart combinations of 100+.