PDC Premier League – Finals Night Preview

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After 15 weeks of league matches we have now reached the finals night of the 2016 Betway Premier League. Michael van Gerwen, Phil Taylor, Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis all currently ranked in the top four in the PDC rankings will do battle to see who will be crowned the 2016 Premier League champion.

I will start my preview with some stats for the four players on their performances in the 2016 Premier League.

Firstly here are the stats from matches between all four players in this year’s league.

Here’s a breakdown of their match averages over the 16 matches played.

The scoring stats

A look at the 10 highest checkouts between the four players in this year’s Premier League.

The next chart shows the amount of darts each player has won in 12 darts or less and also 15 darts or less – MVG’s makes impressive reading that’s for sure!

Now onto my match previews for the semi-finals.

Michael van Gerwen v Adrian Lewis

2016 League Performance

• van Gerwen finished at the top of the league for the 4^th successive year meaning he has done so in every year that he has participated in the Premier League. He only lost one match in the entire league phase, that defeat came against Wade in week one. The fact 11 of his 16 match averages were above 105 shows the standard he produced this year.
• Lewis confirmed his place in the play-offs on the final night of the league phase; he needed just 2 legs against Anderson but ended up winning the match 7-2. Overall Lewis lost 6 matches in the league and 5 of those were against players who finished in the top 4. Lewis is competing in the play-offs for only the 3^rd time from 9 participations in the league, on all 3 occasions he finished 4^th in the table.

Premier League Play-off Record

• van Gerwen has won all 3 of his semi-final matches in the play-offs having defeated Wade, Anderson and van Barneveld in those matches. He has only gone on to win the title on 1 occasion though, having lost in the final in each of the last 2 years.
• Having now finished 4^th in all 3 times he has qualified for the play-offs, this will be the 3^rd time Lewis has faced the number 1 seed on finals night. He has won one and lost one of his two appearances in the semi-finals, having lost 11-1 to Taylor in 2008 and then gained his revenge by beating Taylor 8-3 in 2011. When he reached the final in 2011 he lost 10-4 to Gary Anderson.

Head to Head (van Gerwen leads 27-12, they have also drawn twice)

Michael van Gerwen has a healthy win record against Lewis over their previous meetings and has won 6 of their last 7 encounters; this includes 2 wins in this season’s Premier League (MVG won 7-4 and 7-5). The last time Lewis defeated van Gerwen in a televised knockout match was back in November 2013 in the Last 16 at the Grand Slam.

Verdict

It is no surprise to see van Gerwen as a big favourite to win this match, his performances week in week out in the league have been significantly higher than what Lewis has been producing. There is no doubt Lewis has the ability to beat anyone but I haven’t seen enough signs that he is in the type of form where he will oust van Gerwen here. MVG did lose to Wade in the semi-finals of the European Darts Matchplay last weekend which will give Lewis some extra hope but I think if Lewis does raise his game then van Gerwen will step it up to another level.

My selected bet on this match is van Gerwen to win whilst hitting the most 180’s and highest checkout (7/4 Skybet).

 

Phil Taylor v Gary Anderson

2016 League Performance

• Taylor finished 2^nd in the league which is actually his highest league position since he last won the league in 2012. Last year he missed out on the play-offs for the first time ever. This year he was in with a chance of finishing at the top of the table but lost 2 of his last 3 matches having lost only 1 in the previous 13 league matches. 2 of his 3 league defeats came against players who finished outside the top 4 (van Barneveld and Wright).
• Anderson finished in 3^rd place in the league table; his only defeats came against players who finished in the top 4. He only managed 2 wins from his final 8 league fixtures. Anderson has now made the play-offs 4 times since he first participated in the Premier League in 2011.

Premier League Play-off Record

• Taylor has competed on the finals night in 10 of the previous 11 editions of the Premier League and has won 7 of his 10 semi-final appearances, going on to win 6 times in the final. Taylor has won the Premier League only 2 times in the last 7 years after having won it during each of the first 4 years it was held.
• Anderson has won the Premier League twice (2011 and 2015) both times he won the tournament after finishing in 3^rd place – the same position he finished in this year. His sole defeat at the semi-final stage came in 2014 when he lost 8-7 to van Gerwen.

Head to Head (Taylor leads 35-13, they have also drawn twice)

Taylor has won 7 of their last 9 meetings (including two wins during the league phase of this year’s Premier League). Anderson has had some success against Taylor in high profile matches such as the 2015 World Championship final, he also won their last TV knockout match which was at the 2015 Players Championship finals (6-5 in the first round).

Verdict

Taylor starts as the favourite in this match and defeated Anderson both times they met during the league phase, Anderson only averaged around 93 in both of those matches though, and I wouldn’t expect him to turn up and perform like that on finals night. Despite losing 2 of his final 3 matches Taylor had an excellent league campaign most notable was his improved success on his finishing, no player had a better success rate when having the first dart at a double.

I think this is a very tricky game to predict as I could really see it going either way. I would see Anderson as more value from a betting point of view but it’s not a game I can call with any real confidence.

So who will win the title?

I predicted van Gerwen before the tournament and it is still hard to back against him going on to win the tournament. As he showed at the weekend when losing to Wade at the European Darts Matchplay he is beatable and he has of course been beaten in the final of the Premier League in each of the last two years. All four semi-finalists have won multiple TV tournaments and know how to get the job done but it can’t really be argued that van Gerwen’s best is currently superior to that of the other three players and I think he will be the man lifting the trophy on Thursday evening.

 

I hope we have a great finals night and that you have enjoyed my previews throughout the Premier League season.

 

PDC Premier League – Week Fifteen Preview

Robert Thornton v James Wade

 Thornton

• Thornton has lost each of his last 4 Premier League matches and in total has won just 2 of his 15 matches in this year’s competition.
• He has failed to hit more than 2x 180’s in any of his last 5 Premier League matches.
• He has had a checkout of over 76 in only 2 of his last 5 matches.

Wade

• Wade has lost 7-1 in each of his last 2 Premier League matches and has failed to win any of his last 5.
• Wade has scored more than 2x 180’s in only 2 of his last 8 matches in the Premier League. His opponents have hit more than 2x 180’s in 11 of his last 12 matches.
• He failed to have a ton plus checkout in only 3 of his opening 12 matches, since then he has failed to have a ton plus checkout in any of his last 3 matches.
• Wade’s opponents have averaged 99+ in 10 of his last 13 Premier League matches.

Head to Head (Wade leads 13-7)

Wade has the superior record from their previous meetings having won 13 of their 20 encounters including 5 of their last 6. In the Premier League Wade has won on each of the 4 occasions they have met (Wade has won 28 legs to 11 over these 4 matches).

Verdict

Only pride is at stake in this match with Thornton bottom of the table and with Wade having no chance of qualifying for the final four following his comprehensive defeat against Wright last week. Wade has a good record against Thornton and has generally performed to a higher level throughout this year’s Premier League. I do think Wade is the player more likely to win but I won’t be recommending a bet on what could be an unpredictable match.

 

Peter Wright v Raymond van Barneveld

Wright

• Two wins and a draw in his last three matches have given Wright a chance of making the play-offs, he is currently one point behind Lewis and a win here would really put the pressure on Lewis who plays against Anderson in the next match on stage.
• Overall Wright is unbeaten in 6 of his last 8 Premier League matches (funnily enough one of those defeats came against top of the table MVG whilst the other was against bottom of the table Thornton).
• Wright is 2^nd in the top 180 hitters in this year’s Premier League having hit a total of 50. He has scored a combined total of 10x 180’s in his last two matches.

van Barneveld

• Barney is certain to finish in 7^th place regardless of the result in this match.
• He has failed to win in 9 of his last 12 matches.
• Last week he hit 5x 180’s which was his highest 180 total in a match during this year’s Premier League.

Head to Head (van Barneveld leads 7-4, they have also drawn twice)

Raymond van Barneveld has the edge in their overall head to head record but this lead is built on a 5 match winning run over their first 5 meetings. Wright has won each of the last 3 times they have played and is unbeaten in his last 4 matches against Barney (the last win for Barney came back in October 2014).

Verdict

It’s a huge match for Wright who realistically may have to win to have a chance of making the play-offs, he could still go through with a draw but that would mean Lewis would have to lose by a hefty score against Anderson. Even a win wouldn’t be enough if Lewis were to win himself. Normally facing someone who has nothing to play for in terms of league placing might be a positive for Wright but he is facing van Barneveld in the Netherlands so Barney will be highly motivated to perform in front of his own fans and put on a good display.

It really is difficult to tell how this will pan out, if van Barneveld turns up focused he will be a very tough nut to crack, Wright has looked a lot more at ease having stuck with the same darts in the last couple of weeks and I do think whatever the result we are in for an entertaining match. I think at the end of it we might see a draw. Backing over 11.5 legs looks a decent bet.

 

Adrian Lewis v Gary Anderson

 Lewis

• Lewis is in 4^th place prior to the evening’s matches starting, but he could be in 5^th place by the time he takes to the stage should Wright win against van Barneveld. Lewis could also be guaranteed his place in the play-offs without throwing a dart should Wright suffer defeat.
• Lewis has lost all 5 matches against fellow players currently in the top 4 places in the 2016 Premier League (those players are van Gerwen, Taylor and Anderson).
• He failed to hit a 180 in his match against Taylor last week. That was the 3^rd time he has done so in the 2016 Premier League and he has only hit a total of 2x 180’s across his last 4 matches.
• Lewis has averaged over 97 in only 1 of his last 9 matches in the Premier League.

Anderson

• Anderson has confirmed his place in the play-offs and is certain to finish in 3^rd place regardless of the result in this match.
• Last weeks win over Thornton was only Anderson’s 2^nd win from his last 7 matches though he has only lost 1 of his last 13 Premier League fixtures.
• He has averaged over 99 in 10 of his last 11 matches in the Premier League.
• There have been only 3 checkouts of 100 or more in Anderson’s last 7 matches (this includes checkouts for both Anderson and his opponents).

Head to Head (Anderson leads 23-18, they have also drawn 3 times)

Anderson leads their head to head win record and has in fact won 15 of their last 20 meetings, including 4 of their last 5 encounters. When they met earlier in this year’s Premier League, Anderson won 7-4 and in doing so extended his winning run in the Premier League against Lewis to 4 consecutive wins.

Verdict

The intensity in this match will be decided by the result in the Wright vs van Barneveld match and without knowing how that match will finish it is difficult to assess this game with any conviction. If Wright does win and manages to put pressure on Lewis it will be very interesting to see how Lewis responds, despite his league position he has had some very inconsistent performances and as mentioned, his record against the other players in the top four leaves a lot to be desired. Anderson can just go out with no pressure and play comfortably in the knowledge whatever happens won’t affect his league position though this may mean Anderson’s lesser focus and motivation could lead to a below par performance.

Overall I would recommend some caution if betting on this match before knowing the outcome of the earlier match between Wright and RVB. If I were predicting the result by their form in Premier League match performances I would have to tip Anderson.

 

Phil Taylor v Michael van Gerwen

 Taylor

• Taylor bounced back from his defeat against Wright with a comfortable 7-2 win over Lewis last week. That result sees Taylor in 2^nd place and behind van Gerwen on leg difference going into this week.
• Taylor is unbeaten in 13 of his last 14 Premier League fixtures.
• His opponent’s in his last 7 Premier League matches have all averaged under 100.
• None of his last 4 opponents have managed to hit more than 2x 180’s against Taylor.

van Gerwen

• van Gerwen sits at the top of the table ahead of Taylor on legs difference and needs only a draw to cement his place at the top of the table after this, the final week of the league phase. MVG has finished top of the table in each of the 3 previous years in which he has participated in the league.
• His win against van Barneveld last week took his run of wins to 4 in a row, if he wins this game it will equal the run of 5 wins in a row he had earlier in the season. He is also unbeaten since losing in week one to James Wade.
• His match average of 107.93 against Barney means he has now averaged over 105 in 11 of his 15 league matches so far this season.

Head to Head (Taylor leads 27-20, they have also drawn twice)

Taylor may have a lead in their head to head win record but it is van Gerwen who has dominated their recent meetings, van Gerwen is unbeaten in 10 of their last 11 encounters (This run stretches back to August 2014). In the Premier League Taylor has just 1 win against MVG in 8 matches (league and knock-out included). When they met earlier in this year’s tournament they shared a 6-6 draw.

Verdict

The perfect match to round off the league phase of this year’s tournament with a battle to see who will finish top of the table, MVG holds the advantage as he can afford to draw and will still finish top whereas Taylor needs a win. Added to the occasion is the fact the game is played in Rotterdam which should see MVG enjoying a massive home support. There is a whole lot of pride at stake and both players would desperately love to finish top of the table and finish ahead of their rival. MVG has played to a consistently higher level than any other player in the league this season and would be a deserved winner without doubt. Taylor missed out on the play-offs last year and hasn’t finished top of the table since 2012.

I think van Gerwen will rise to the occasion of playing a Premier League match in his home nation and will produce another impressive performance to defeat Taylor and take 1^st place in the table.

PDC Premier League – Week Fourteen Preview

James Wade vs Peter Wright

Wade

• Wade is in 5^th place three points behind Adrian Lewis who sits 4^th in the table.
• He suffered a 7-1 defeat against a rampant Michael van Gerwen last week; Wade’s average of 102.4 in that match was his highest in this year’s Premier League.
• His failure to win last week means he has only won 1 of his last 6 Premier League fixtures.
• Wade’s opponents have averaged over 100 against him in 6 of his last 8 PL matches.

Wright

• Wright is in 6^th place level on points with Wade in 5^th and three points behind 4^th placed Adrian Lewis.
• Last week he picked up a vital 3 points from his two matches. First up he defeated Phil Taylor 7-4 inflicting Taylor’s first defeat since week one, and then in his second match he earned a draw against World Champion Gary Anderson.
• Wright’s average of 103.45 against Anderson was the 5^th time in this year’s tournament that he has averaged over 103.
• Wright’s opponents have averaged over 100 against him in 8 of his last 10 matches.

Head to Head (Wade leads 13-6)

Wade leads their head to head win record but Wright has had the upper hand in recent matches having won each of the last 2 times they have played and 4 of their last 6 meetings. When they met earlier in this year’s tournament Wright won 7-4 having trailed 3-1 at one stage.

Verdict

There is no doubting this is a must win game for both players if they are to keep alive their hopes of making the play-offs. They have both been on the end of some very good performances by opponents in this year’s league and perhaps are unfortunate not to have picked up more points. I don’t see either player running away with this match and it could come down to the vital twelfth and final leg. I’m going for a 7-5 win for Wright, I just feel he seems to be benefitting from having decided to stick with the same darts instead of tinkering and he will be confident after two good performances last week.

I have a few potential betting preferences on this match.  They are: Over 11.5 legs in the match, Wright most 180’s and Wade over 98.5 checkout.

 

Gary Anderson vs Robert Thornton

 Anderson

• Anderson is 3^rd in the table four points clear of 5^th place and with a 15 leg advantage on leg difference is almost certain to be in the play-offs, if Wade and Wright draw their match prior to Anderson playing he will be confirmed as through.
• Although Anderson has only lost 1 match in his last 12 Premier League fixtures he has only won 1 of his last 6 matches, with 4 draws in his last 6 games.
• Anderson has averaged over 100 in 7 of his last 10 matches, and has in fact averaged over 99 in 9 of his last 10 matches.

Thornton

• Thornton is well adrift at the foot or the table and is guaranteed to finish there at the end of the season.
• Last week he lost 7-2 to Adrian Lewis, that was his second 7-2 defeat in a row; he has been beaten in 5 of his last 6 Premier League fixtures.
• His opponents have averaged over 100 in only 1 of his last 8 Premier League matches.

Head to Head (Anderson leads 14-11 they have also drawn once).

Their meeting earlier in this year’s Premier League was actually their first encounter since June 2014. Anderson won that match 7-4 (with Thornton having led 3-0), they both averaged under 90 at the end of the match. That was also Anderson’s first ever win in the Premier League against Thornton having twice lost 7-2 and drawn 6-6 in their previous meeting in the PL back in 2014.

Verdict

Anderson is almost mathematically guaranteed to be in the play-offs and in fact could already be certain of his place by the time he takes to the stage. His hopes of finishing higher than 3^rd aren’t realistic so his motivation might not be as high as it could be, though he will want to enter the play-offs on the back of some wins so I expect him to be switched on. Thornton has proved he can perform to a high level but after recording averages of 104 and 105 in consecutive matches he has been way below that standard in his last 3 matches.

I expect Anderson to win this match but have no strong preference on a particular score.

 

Michael van Gerwen vs Raymond van Barneveld

 van Gerwen

• van Gerwen has reclaimed top spot in the league table for the first time since he led after week 8. He is level on points with Taylor but ahead on legs difference.
• Last week he produced a very impressive performance to defeat Wade 7-1 and win his 3^rd consecutive match.
• MVG is unbeaten in the Premier League since he lost to Wade in Week 1, this is a run of 13 matches.
• He heads the most tournament 180’s count over the rest of the 8 players left in the league. His total of 56 is 12 more than his nearest challenger Peter Wright who has 44.

van Barneveld

• van Barneveld’s play-off chances have ended following his 7-5 defeat to Anderson last week. He is now in 7^th place a total of 6 points behind 4^th place with only 4 points available.
• His 7-5 defeat against Anderson was his 6^th 7-5 defeat of the season.
• The average of Barney’s opponents throughout the league is 95.99, this is the lowest average against any of the 8 players left in the league.

Head to Head (van Gerwen leads 23-16 they have also drawn once)

When they met earlier in this year’s competition they drew 6-6 in a very entertaining match, Barney will have felt unfortunate not to have won the match having led 5-2, he had a dart to win the match 7-4 but MVG finished strongly and managed to salvage a point. Barney is unbeaten in his last 2 matches against MVG having beaten him at the World Championships.

Verdict

There is always an extra edge when these two meet with plenty of pride at stake, Barney has shown how he can raise his game when facing van Gerwen and even though he has no big motivation in terms of league points as he is not in contention for a play-off place he will still have plenty of motivation because of who he is playing. MVG is determined to finish at the top of the table and he again proved last week what a force he is when he brushed aside James Wade so convincingly. I think van Barneveld will give van Gerwen a good game but I expect van Gerwen to emerge as the winner by a 7-4 scoreline.

 

Adrian Lewis vs Phil Taylor

 Lewis

• Lewis is 4^th in the table with a 3 point lead over both Wade and Wright who are 5^th and 6^th He will be hoping they draw their match earlier in the evening which would mean he would need just a point from his last 2 matches, although his superior leg difference could be a factor too. He does face Anderson next week and won’t want to go into that match needing to win.
• He bounced back well from back to back defeats by beating Thornton 7-2 last week. Punishing missed doubles by Thornton to break throw twice.
• Lewis averaged 96.55 last week; he has only averaged over 100 in 2 of his last 13 Premier League matches.
• He only managed to hit 1x 180 last week, in 4 of his last 6 matches he has had a total of 1 or less 180’s in a match.

Taylor

• Taylor is now in 2^nd place in the league, level on points with van Gerwen but he trails by 3 legs on the legs difference count.
• Last week he lost 7-4 to Peter Wright and in doing so suffered his first defeat since week one. It wasn’t a bad performance from Taylor as he averaged over 106 but he came up against some red hot finishing from Wright who only missed one attempt at a double.
• His average of 106.48 was his highest average since week four and his 3^rd best in this year’s Premier League.

Head to Head (Taylor leads 51-15, they have also drawn twice)

Taylor has a big lead over Lewis in their head to head win record but much of this domination came in the early years of their meetings. In more recent times Lewis has enjoyed a more even share of the spoils. Taylor has won their last two encounters prior to that Lewis had won four in a row. When they met earlier in this year’s Premier League Taylor won comfortably 7-1. Since the Premier League switch to the current format in 2013 Taylor has won 5, drawn 1 and lost 1 against Lewis, five of those seven matches have been settled in under 11 legs.

Verdict

Taylor went down to his first Premier League defeat since week one when he lost to Peter Wright last week he didn’t play poorly however and in fact he performed better than he had done in some of his recent wins. Lewis has given himself an excellent opportunity to qualify for the play-offs and he would only have himself to blame if he failed now, he hasn’t performed well in the matches against MVG, Taylor and Anderson in this year’s tournament and would have to show an improvement if he is to get the better of Taylor here. I think Taylor will win 7-4 or 7-5.

My main tips for the evening are.

Taylor to win with Lewis winning 4 or more legs (3.25).

Wade/Wright over 11.5 legs (2.25).

PDC Premier League – Week 13 Match Stats

Here are the stats from all five matches played in week 13 of the Premier League.

PDC Premier League Week Thirteen Preview

Peter Wright v Phil Taylor

 Wright

• Wright is 4 points outside the play-off places following his 7-2 defeat against van Gerwen last week.
• The defeat against van Gerwen was his second 7-2 defeat in a row and he has now won just 1 of his last 9 Premier League fixtures.
• In 6 of his last 8 Premier League matches his opponents have averaged over 100.
• Of the 8 players currently left in the Premier League only van Gerwen has scored more 180’s than Wright in this year’s tournament.

Taylor

• Taylor is still top of the league after his 7-2 win over Robert Thornton last week, van Gerwen closed the gap to just 2 points having won both of his matches last Thursday.
• He is unbeaten in his last 12 Premier League matches and has won each of his last 5 games.
• If Taylor were to win this match it would be his best run of consecutive Premier League wins since 2012.
• Against Thornton last week he averaged only 89.61 which was his lowest Premier League average of the season.
• He has failed to average over 100 in 4 of his last 5 matches, prior to that he had averaged over 100 in 7 consecutive games.

Head to Head (Taylor leads 16-5, they have also drawn 3 times)

Wright has only won 2 of their last 9 encounters. They have drawn each of their last 3 Premier League matches and overall in their 4 Premier League meetings Taylor has failed to defeat Wright. When they met earlier in this year’s tournament Taylor missed 4 darts at double to beat Wright 7-4 and had to settle for a draw.

Verdict

Wright has been struggling for form in recent weeks and is losing touch with the play-off places as a result. Earlier in the season he was playing well without reward but his game has been below those levels over the last few weeks. Taylor didn’t play well last week against Thornton but still had a comfortable win and he sits handily at the top of the table. His performance levels in recent matches certainly haven’t been as good as they were earlier in the season but he has still been picking up the wins and hasn’t been punished.

Although both players’ performance levels have dipped in recent weeks the fact Taylor has kept on winning means he definitely has a big edge in confidence levels. I do think Wright’s good record against Taylor in the Premier League might stand him in good stead though and I am tipping this to end in another 6-6 draw.

 

Raymond van Barneveld v Gary Anderson

 van Barneveld

• van Barneveld is 4 points outside the play-off places and moved up a place from 7^th to 6^th following his win over Lewis last week.
• The victory over Lewis gave him consecutive wins in the Premier League for the first time this season.
• His finishing stats last week were his worst so far this season, he had a checkout percentage of 28% having taken 28 attempts at a double.
• His match averages in his last 2 matches were his 2^nd and 3^rd lowest averages in this year’s tournament.

Anderson

• Anderson is in 3^rd place level on points with Lewis who is 4^th and just a point ahead of Wade who sits in 5^th Anderson has a game in hand on both players.
• Last week he drew 6-6 with James Wade meaning he is without a win in his last 4 Premier League matches (he has drawn 3 of those games).
• The run of 4 matches without a win is the longest he has gone without winning a match since the 2013 Premier League season.
• He has averaged over 100 in 5 of his last 6 Premier League matches.
• During his last 6 matches he has averaged 3.8 180s per match. During the first 6 matches of the tournament he averaged 2.5 180s per match.
• Only 1 checkout of over 100 has been hit against Anderson during his last 6 matches.

Head to Head (van Barneveld leads 14-11)

Barney leads their head to head win record but has lost each of his last 4 matches against Anderson and has won only twice in their last nine meetings. When they met earlier in this year’s Premier League Anderson won 7-3 with a 103.34 average.

Verdict

It’s a must win game for Barney if he is to keep alive any slim hope he has of making the play-offs, a win here would take him within 2 points of Anderson, it’s a big night for Anderson as he plays twice and a good night with 2 wins would ease any pressure but 2 poor results would leave him with a lot to do in the final two matches of the league phase. Although Anderson has been dropping points recently he hasn’t performed badly (though he did miss too many doubles at key times in both matches against Wade). It’s hard to know what to expect from Barney, if he shows up on form he is a match for anyone.

I am just edging towards an Anderson 7-5 win in this match.

 

Adrian Lewis v Robert Thornton

Lewis

• Lewis suffered back to back defeats last Thursday but is still in 4^th place in the table level on points with Anderson in 3^rd place and just a point ahead of Wade who sits in 5^th
• The defeat against van Gerwen in his second match last week meant he suffered consecutive defeats for the first time this season and indeed the first time since he lost twice when he also played twice in the same night at the end of last season.
• He has only averaged more than 100 in 2 of his last 12 Premier League matches.
• Lewis only hit a total of 1x 180 over the two matches he played last week. Overall in his last 5 Premier League matches he has scored 8x 180s’s, he managed 8 in his first two matches of the tournament.

Thornton

• Thornton is 5 points adrift at the foot of the table after his 7-2 defeat against Phil Taylor last week.
• Last week Taylor averaged 89.61 in defeating Thornton; this was the second time Thornton has lost to somebody who averaged under 90 in this years tournament.
• He has now lost 4 of his last 5 league matches and has only won 4 of his last 32 matches in the Premier League.

Head to Head (Lewis leads 19-4 they have also drawn once)

Lewis is unbeaten in his last 9 matches against Thornton stretching back to 2013 and he has won each of the last 5 times they have faced each other. When they met earlier in this year’s Premier League Lewis won 7-4.

Verdict

Lewis had a bad week last week suffering two defeats meaning his place in the top four is fragile. Thornton failed to build on his excellent performance against Wright when he averaged 105.61 and he has now lost his last two matches and hasn’t performed well enough in either match. Lewis has an excellent record against Thornton and I think this will continue with Lewis winning 7-4 against Thornton for the second time this season.

 

James Wade v Michael van Gerwen

 Wade

• Wade is in 5^th place in the league table just a point behind both Lewis and Anderson who occupy the two places above him.
• He rescued a point from his match against Anderson last week having trailed 6-3 before winning the last 3 legs with Anderson missing 6 darts to win the match.
• He has won just 1 of his last 5 Premier League matches.
• In 5 of his last 7 league matches his opponents have averaged over 100.
• Having averaged over 2.8 180s in his first 7 matches he has now averaged 1.67 180s over his last 6 matches.

van Gerwen

• van Gerwen won back to back matches last Thursday evening to maintain his position in 2^nd place and move within 2 points of the leader Phil Taylor.
• He is now unbeaten in his last 12 Premier League matches, this is his longest ever unbeaten run in a Premier League season.
• His average of 96.82 in his win against Lewis last week was his lowest in this Premier League season.
• He is averaging 4.1x 180’s per game over his 13 league matches so far.

Head to Head (van Gerwen leads 17-12)

Wade ended a 9 match losing streak against MVG when he beat him in the Perth Masters last August; he followed this up by winning their most recent match which was on the opening night of this year’s Premier League. Wade won that encounter 7-4 and in doing so ended a run of 4 consecutive Premier League defeats against van Gerwen.

Verdict

Wade had an excellent win over MVG in week one, it has to be said MVG was very wasteful on the doubles that evening, though take nothing away from a fine display of finishing from Wade. I think Wade will again have to rely on van Gerwen missing doubles if he is to gain something from this match, van Gerwen will create more chances on the Wade throw than Wade will on the MVG throw and I don’t think van Gerwen will slip up this time.

My prediction is van Gerwen to win 7-4.

 

Peter Wright v Gary Anderson

Head to Head (Anderson leads 16-11)

Anderson has won 5 of his last 6 matches against Wright, which includes each of the last 3 times they have met in the Premier League. When they met earlier this season Anderson won 7-5 in a good quality match where both players averaged over 100, Wright missed 3 darts at a double to earn a draw.

Verdict

Both players will have played earlier in the evening so obviously those matches may have an effect on how this pans out. Wright has been underwhelming in recent matches and by the time he takes to the stage his play-off chances may be even slimmer. Anderson’s position in the top 4 could be more comfortable or he could even be outside the top 4 depending on results throughout the evening.

I think Anderson will take the two points in another close game but I have no betting preference on this match.

PDC Premier League Week Twelve Preview

Week 12 – April 21 – Bournemouth International Centre

Michael van Gerwen v Peter Wright

van Gerwen

• van Gerwen drew 6-6 with Gary Anderson last week to remain in 2^nd place in the table, he is 4 points behind Phil Taylor with a game in hand which will be played against Adrian Lewis in the last match of the evening.
• The draw against Anderson was MVG’s fourth draw in his last five matches. He is still unbeaten since losing to Wade in week one which is a run of 10 games without defeat, equalling his previous best unbeaten run at the start of the 2015 season,
• His average of 110.55 last week was the 6^th time he has averaged over 110 in this year’s competition, overall he has averaged over 105 in 9 of his 11 fixtures so far.
• He hit 6x 180’s last week, which was the second week in a row and the third time this season that he has done so. Last year he had 2 weeks in the whole tournament where he hit 6x 180’s or more.

Wright

• Wright is 3 points outside the top 4 following his 7-2 defeat against Thornton last week. It was a below par performance from Wright who switched his darts and never looked settled though Thornton did play well and averaged 105.61
• Wright’s defeat against Thornton means he has now won just 1 of his last 8 Premier League matches; he picked up 7 points in his first 4 matches of the season and has now earned just 4 points from his last 7 matches.
• After averaging over 101 in 4 consecutive matches from weeks 5 to 8 he has now averaged under 98 in each of the last 3 weeks and indeed has averaged under 94 in his last 2 matches.

Head to Head

van Gerwen has a very healthy win record over Wright in their head to head meetings having won 33 matches with Wright winning 8 times (they have also drawn once). MVG has won each of their last 7 meetings and has only suffered 1 defeat in his last 17 matches against Wright. When they met earlier on in this year’s Premier League it was van Gerwen who came out on top 7-2 averaging 116.67 in the process.

Verdict

Wright’s play-off chances suffered a knock last week when he went down to a convincing defeat against Thornton, tinkering with his darts didn’t help, though his opponent did put in a strong performance it has to be said. Michael van Gerwen may have dropped points by drawing again last week but there was nothing wrong with his performance against Anderson in what was a top quality match, van Gerwen will be determined to win to try and close the gap on Taylor at the top of the table.

As mentioned in the head to head section van Gerwen has an excellent record against Wright and I think this will continue, I don’t think Wright will be as poor as he was last week but I feel the better he plays it will just inspire MVG to raise his level

 

Raymond van Barneveld v Adrian Lewis

 van Barneveld

• Raymond van Barneveld is 5 points off the play-off places with just 4 games to play so looks unlikely to be featuring in the play-offs.
• Last week he played twice, firstly losing 7-5 to Phil Taylor when he produced a good fightback from 5-1 down to take the match into the final leg. In his second match he defeated bottom of the table Robert Thornton 7-4 in a low key match.
• Barney’s win against Thornton was only his second win in his last nine Premier League matches with what was actually his second lowest average of the league season.

Lewis

• Lewis is sitting nicely in third place in the table a point ahead of fourth placed Gary Anderson and just a point behind van Gerwen who is in second place.
• Last week he defeated James Wade 7-5 to earn his third win from his last four fixtures and he is unbeaten in those last four matches. Lewis led 4-1 but saw his lead overturned when Wade won 4 legs in a row, he responded in the perfect fashion with a magnificent 9 dart finish and won the final 3 legs to take a vital win.
• Lewis has now won a total of 7 matches in this Premier League season, this is the highest amount of games he has ever won in the league phase of the Premier League.
• The 144 checkout which he hit to complete his 9 dart finish was his highest checkout in this year’s tournament and last week was only the fourth match from his eleven played where he managed a three figure checkout.

Head to Head

Barney leads their overall win record 27-20 (they have drawn twice also). Recent games have gone very much in favour of Lewis though; he has won each of their last 5 encounters and has won 7 of the last 8 matches they have played. When they faced each other earlier in this seasons competition Lewis edged a tight match 7-5.

Verdict

It looks as though Lewis has the bigger incentive to get the win in this match; he is in a strong position to make the play-offs for the first time since 2011. It is difficult to assess the motivation of Barney with a play-off spot seemingly out of reach, will he ease off or will he just go out to finish as strongly as possible. I don’t expect him to allow his opponents an easy ride. There hasn’t really been much to separate these two in overall performance in this year’s PL, Barney has lost too many of the close games whilst Lewis has manged to get over the line in the tight matches. When they played earlier in the campaign it went the full 12 legs and this has the potential to do so again.

I am tipping Lewis to just get over the line and win 7-5.

 

Gary Anderson v James Wade

 Anderson

• Anderson is in 4^th place, a point ahead of Wade who is 5^th though he does have a game in hand.
• Last week he was involved in a very high quality 6-6 draw against van Gerwen where he averaged 108.24 (his highest match average in this year’s Premier League), van Gerwen averaged over 110 in a match where every leg went with throw.
• His draw last week means he is without a win in his last 3 matches (he has drawn 2 of these). He hasn’t gone 4 matches without a win in a single Premier League season since 2012.
• Against MVG he produced his best finishing of the season so far, missing only 1 attempt at a double in winning his 6 legs.

Wade

• Wade is in 5^th place, one point outside the top four but he has also played a game more than the three players directly above him in the table.
• Last week he suffered his second defeat in a row when he went down to a narrow 7-5 loss against Lewis. Wade had recovered from falling 4-1 behind to lead 5-4 only for Lewis to hit a 9 dart finish. In the final leg of the match Wade missed a dart at bull to take out a 161 checkout and earn a 6-6 draw.
• During the last 4 weeks he has only averaged over 97 in one of his matches. During his first 8 matches he only averaged under 97 once.
• Yet again last week he had a checkout of over 100 in a match, meaning he has managed this in 9 of his 12 matches this PL season. He has also had a three figure checkout against him in 9 of his 12 matches.

Head to Head

Anderson has a good win record against Wade, he leads 26-11 on overall wins (they have also drawn 2 times). Wade has failed to beat Anderson in their last 11 matches, his last win coming in October 2014. They have drawn 6-6 in their last two Premier League meetings, including earlier this season.

Verdict

With only one place separating these two players in the table there is no doubting this is a key match, especially for Wade as he is 2 points behind Anderson and has played a game more. Should Anderson win here he would be 4 points ahead of Wade with only 3 games left for Wade. The head to head stats suggest Wade has a big task on his hands having failed to beat Anderson in their last 11 meetings and I think that run will be extended to 12 matches.

I predict Anderson to win with Wade winning at least 4 legs. I also think Wade to have the highest checkout looks good value.

 

Phil Taylor v Robert Thornton

 Taylor

• Taylor is sitting at the top of the table with a 4 point lead over Michael van Gerwen; Taylor has played one game more than the three players directly behind him.
• His 7-5 win over van Barneveld took his unbeaten Premier League run to 11 matches, he has won 9 of those 11 matches and has now won each of this last 4 games.
• Taylor has had a checkout of 100 or more against him in 5 of his last 6 matches; he didn’t have a checkout of 100 or more against him at all during his opening 6 fixtures.
• He currently has 20 points after 12 matches, his highest points total since the league format changed to 16 matches in 2013 is 20.

Thornton

• Thornton is bottom of the table and 3 points behind van Barneveld who is a place above him in 7^th.
• Last week he played twice in the same evening with mixed results. He opened with a very impressive 105.61 average in a 7-2 win against Peter Wright but rounded off averaging 88.16 in a 7-4 defeat against van Barneveld.
• Thornton has had 4 or more 180s against him in each of his last 3 matches and in total 4 or more 180s in 7 of his 12 matches this season.

Head to Head

Taylor leads their overall head to head record with 20 wins to 6, and has won each of their last 4 meetings going back to April 2014. Thornton has beaten Taylor on the TV stage 3 times, including once in the Premier League but was beaten heavily 7-0 by Taylor earlier in the season.

Verdict

It’s top versus bottom in the Premier League. Taylor is riding high on an unbeaten 11 match run and on course for his best points total since 2012, not all of his recent performances have been dominant but his confidence and belief are showing through and he will be determined to finish top of the table. Thornton had proved in some of his recent games that he will still be very competitive in the league despite having nothing to play for, his last match against van Barneveld was his worst performance since he lost 7-0 to Taylor in week 6, I do think part of that was down to the lack of intensity around the match and also they had both played earlier in the evening, I wouldn’t expect Thornton not to be highly motivated against Taylor.

Thornton might be more competitive against Taylor than he was in the 7-0 defeat but I don’t think he will have enough to get the better of the league leader. I expect Taylor to make it 5 wins in a row winning 7-3 or 7-4.

 

Adrian Lewis v Michael van Gerwen

 Head to Head

Michael van Gerwen leads their head to head win record 26-12 (they have also drawn twice). Lewis ended a 5 match losing streak against van Gerwen when he won 6-4 in a Players Championship quarter-final encounter last month. MVG has won their last 4 meetings on the TV stage, the most recent of these came in the Premier League back in February when he won 7-4. The last TV win for Lewis over van Gerwen was in last year’s Premier League.

Verdict

Both players will have played a match earlier in the evening and as a result their league positions may be different than at the time of me typing this. Going into week 12 there is just a point between them with van Gerwen on 16 and Lewis on 15. Regardless of their earlier results this a very intriguing match with plenty at stake. MVG has definitely performed to a higher level through the Premier League season and has to be favourite, it would be folly to right Lewis off easily such is his talent but I think van Gerwen will come out on top and take the two points.

My betting selection is van Gerwen to win with Lewis winning 4 or more legs.

 

My main tip of the evening is a double – Taylor to average over 100.50 and Anderson to have a higher average than Wade.

Adrian Lewis – Premier League Improvement

Adrian Lewis is a two time World Champion, having also won the UK Open and European Championship there is no doubting he is one of the most talented players in this era of darts.

He is a Premier League regular having competed in the tournament 9 times (including this year), yet he has only ever reached the play-offs twice, the last time being 5 years ago in 2011, and he has never finished higher than 4^th in the league table. For a player of his ability that is a serious underachievement which he is the first to admit.

This season however, Lewis is on course to have his best ever league campaign.

Last night he hit a 9 dart finish in a vital 7-5 win over James Wade; the win was his 7^th win of the league season from 11 games played and moved him into 3^rd place in the table.

Already in 2016 Lewis has won more games than he has in any previous Premier League season, he has a win percentage of 63.6% which is on course to top his previous season ending best of 42.9% in 2011 when he won 6 of his 14 matches to finish in 4^th place.

The chart below shows how the win percentage of Lewis in this year’s tournament compares to previous years.

*The amount of fixtures in the league rose to 16 in 2013 so I have used win percentage to compare the amount of matches he has won in each Premier League season and obviously this season is still in progress.

The chart below shows the average points per game collected by Lewis in each Premier League season compared to the average points per game of the league leader. As you can see Lewis has an average of 1.36 points per game this season so far which is considerably higher than his previous yearly averages and he is closer than ever to that of the league leader.

Lewis has only lost 3 games in the 2016 Premier League, those defeats came against van Gerwen, Taylor and Anderson who are the other players currently in the play-off places. He has claimed wins against every other player in the league table.

Lewis isn’t a certainty to qualify for the play-offs but he has given himself a great opportunity to do so and the stats show he is enjoying his best ever league phase of the Premier League.

He still has to play Taylor, van Gerwen and Anderson again in the league so these average points per game and win percentage numbers may drop and if Lewis is to make an impression in the play-offs (if he does qualify) I feel he will have to make a statement by winning at least one of those games but credit must be given to Lewis for his season so far and who knows how it will end.

PDC Premier League – Week Eleven Preview

Premier League Week 11 – The SSE Arena, Belfast

Robert Thornton v Peter Wright

 Thornton

• Thornton is 3 points adrift at the foot of the table following his 7-5 defeat against Michael van Gerwen last week.
• It was a very spirited performance from Thornton having recovered from 5-1 down to take the match into the final leg.
• He recorded his highest average in this year’s Premier League in that match against van Gerwen, the average of 104.23 was the 5^th time overall that he has managed an average of over 104 in the Premier League.
• His total of 5x 180’s was the most he has managed in a 2016 PL match taking his total to 17 in his last 5 matches, he managed just 6 in his opening 5 matches.

Wright

• Wright sits in 6^th place in the league but is only 2 points behind Lewis who is in 3^rd
• His 6-6 draw against Lewis last week was his third draw this season; only van Gerwen has drawn as many games (MVG has also drawn 3 times).
• Against Lewis he led 6-5 and missed 5 darts at a double to win the match. The draw stretched his unbeaten run to 3 matches but he has only won 1 of his last 7 PL fixtures.
• His average of 93.43 against Lewis was his 2^nd lowest average in this year’s competition.

Head to Head

Wright has a 9-4 advantage in their past head to head meetings (they have also drawn twice, including their meeting earlier in this years PL).  Overall Wright is unbeaten in his last 8 matches against Thornton and hasn’t lost to him since 2013. In the draw they played out earlier this season Thornton had missed a dart at a double to win the match 7-4.

Verdict

Thornton is just playing for pride and as was shown last week against van Gerwen he won’t end the league with a whimper. Wright has plenty to play for in terms of trying to make the top 4 and he ideally needs to win this match to keep in touch with the players ahead of him. If you were to judge the players on their last performances you would say Thornton would be the favourite but we all know Wright has quality and is likely to perform a lot better this week.

I think this match can go the full 12 legs and another 6-6 draw is my prediction.

 

Raymond van Barneveld v Phil Taylor

 van Barneveld

• Barney is 6 points off the play-off places following his 7-4 defeat against James Wade last week.
• The match against Wade went with throw for the opening 9 legs before van Barneveld missed 3 darts at double to draw level at 5-5, Wade stepped in to break throw with a 13 dart leg and sealed the match in the very next leg.
• That defeat meant van Barneveld has only won 1 of his last 7 Premier League matches.

Taylor

• Taylor remains top of the Premier League table having recorded back to back wins last week against Anderson and Wade when he played twice in the same evening. He is 3 points ahead of van Gerwen who has a game in hand.
• He has averaged under 100 in his last 3 matches, it’s the first time he has averaged under 100 in 3 consecutive Premier League matches in the same season since 2010.
• Taylor is now unbeaten in his last 10 Premier League fixtures, his last defeat came in week one against van Barneveld.
• He averaged 3.5 180’s per match during his opening 6 matches; over his last 5 matches he has only averaged 2 180’s per match.

Head to Head

Taylor has a big lead in their overall head to head record but perhaps more significant is their recent Premier League record with van Barneveld winning their last 4 meetings and is unbeaten in his last 6 PL matches against Taylor (league and knockout matches). When they met earlier in the season it was a comprehensive 7-2 win for Barney. Taylor did win their most recent match though which was a 9-3 win in the Last 32 of the UK Open.

Verdict

Taylor has certainly been in the better form of the two players, unbeaten since he played van Barneveld in week one and top of the table. The performance from Taylor against Barney in that match was his worst of the campaign and Barney’s finishing was almost perfect. I have to make Taylor the favourite for the match but I don’t think Barney can be written off, his recent PL record against Taylor shows how he can raise his level and don’t rule out him putting in a strong display here but Taylor will also be determined to end Barney’s good run against him. I am tipping a Taylor 7-5 win.

 

James Wade v Adrian Lewis

Wade

• Wade is in 5^th place in the table, level on points with Anderson and Lewis who are above him on leg difference only.
• Last week he played twice in the same evening beating Barney 7-4 in the opening game before his 5 match unbeaten run was ended in a 7-4 defeat against Taylor.
• He recorded ton plus finishes in both of his matches last week meaning he has only failed to do so in 3 of his 11 matches this season.

Lewis

• Lewis sits third in the table following his 6-6 draw against Peter Wright last week, he is just 2 points behind MVG who is in 2^nd, but is level on points with 5^th placed James Wade.
• His average of 88.68 last week was his lowest Premier League average since 2013.
• Overall he has only averaged above 100 in 1 of his last 9 Premier League matches.
• No player in the tournament has had fewer ton plus checkouts than Lewis, he has only managed a 3 figure checkout in 3 of his 10 matches so far.

Head to Head

Wade leads Lewis 26-17 on their head to head wins (they have shared 3 draws also). It Is Lewis though who has had the upper hand in recent games; winning 4 out of their last 5 matches (the other match was drawn). When they played earlier in the campaign Lewis overturned a 5-3 deficit to win 7-5, they both missed 8 darts to win the 12^th and final leg before Lewis hit the double at the ninth attempt.

Verdict

Both players are level on points in the table (though Wade has played one more match) so there is plenty at stake. I don’t think there is too much to separate them but I think Wade has played slightly more consistently well during the PL season, especially on his finishing. It would surprise me if either player ran away with this match, and I expect it to be competitive right until the end. I think it will go to the 12^th leg but I have a feeling one of the players might just nick the two points. Who wins? I just can’t decide but I think backing over 11.5 legs is a reasonable bet.

 

Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson

van Gerwen

• Michael van Gerwen is 2^nd in the table, 3 points behind the leader Phil Taylor with a game in hand.
• Last week he ended a run of 3 successive draws with a 7-5 win over Thornton. van Gerwen had led 5-1 at one stage and missed darts to win the match 7-3 and 7-4.
• His average of 117.95 against Thornton was his 2^nd highest ever average in the Premier League, only bettered by his TV record average of 123.4 against Smith earlier in the tournament.
• He has now hit a checkout of 100 or more in 8 of his 10 matches in this year’s Premier League.
• His 180 count of 6 last week equalled his previous best this year of 6 which he hit against Anderson in week 2. Overall he has had 4 or more 180’s in 8 of his 10 matches so far.

Anderson

• Anderson is in 4^th place level on points with both Lewis and Wade on 13 points which is just 2 points behind van Gerwen who is in 2^nd
• Last week he suffered a 7-3 defeat to Phil Taylor, Anderson was leading 3-2 until Taylor reeled off five consecutive legs without reply to end Anderson’s unbeaten run which had stretched to 7 matches.
• His average of 92.83 against Taylor was his second lowest average of this year’s Premier League campaign.

Head to Head

Michael van Gerwen leads their head to head record by 20 wins to 11 and he has won each of their last 3 meetings (including a 7-3 win in week 2 of this year’s PL). Most recently they met last weekend in a Players Championship semi-final with van Gerwen coming out on top 6-4.

Verdict

The top 2 ranked players in the world face off in what is always a very intriguing encounter with plenty of pride at stake for both players. Anderson holds the World and Premier League titles and MVG is determined to show he is the number one. When they met earlier in the season MVG dominated winning 7-3 with a 111.88 average, Anderson himself averaged 106 but was allowed only 4 darts at a double all match.

I’m anticipating a high quality encounter with high averages, I just think van Gerwen will have the extra edge and come out on top. I’m going with a 7-5 win to MVG.

 

Raymond van Barneveld v Robert Thornton

Head to Head

Raymond van Barneveld has a 10-3 win record against Thornton (they have also drawn twice). Two of Thornton’s 3 wins have come in their last 4 meetings so their encounters have been a lot more even recently. Barney does have an advantage in their Premier League head to head, he hasn’t lost against Thornton in their 5 meetings and came out on top 7-5 earlier in the season. In that match Thornton had a dart to snatch a draw which would have been harsh on Barney who averaged 102.6 compared to the 89.89 of Thornton.

Verdict

It looks likely that all that is left for van Barneveld and Thornton is to play for pride, they will have both have already played earlier in the evening so the outcome of those earlier games might have some bearing on how this game pans out. I think this is a very hard match to predict anyhow and would be reluctant to get too involved in the game from a betting perspective. I would have a small fancy for them to hit a decent number of 180’s so the 180 markets might be worth exploring.

PDC Premier League – Week Ten Preview

Following last week’s ‘Judgement Night’ which saw Dave Chisnall and Michael Smith eliminated from the rest of the tournament. The focus in the Premier League is now all on the top of the table and the race for place in the top four which means a spot in the play-offs.

As there are still five matches to be played  each night in weeks ten to thirteen and only eight players remaining, two players will be in action twice in the same evening, this week it’s the turn of James Wade and Phil Taylor to play twice.

Here is the league table as it stands.

And now onto the previews…

James Wade v Raymond van Barneveld

Wade

• Wade sits a point outside the top 4 following his week 9 draw with Gary Anderson.
• Wade had led Anderson 3-0 and 4-1 but in the end was grateful for Anderson missing a dart to win the match before Wade stepped in and hit the double which got him the point.
• He is on a 4 match unbeaten run in this year’s Premier League; it’s his best run without defeat since 2013. If he wins or draws this match it will be his best sequence of Premier League results since 2009.

van Barneveld

• van Barneveld is in 7^th place in the table 5 points behind the play-offs places.
• Barney looked to be on his way to victory against van Gerwen last week; he was a in a strong position leading 4-1, 5-2 and 6-3,
• MVG did come back at him strongly but Barney still had a dart to win the match 7-4. MVG punished the miss and managed to salvage a draw.
• He has only won 1 of his last 6 matches in the Premier League but is still in a better position than he was at this stage of last season when he made the play-offs winning 6 of his remaining 7 matches.

Head to Head

There isn’t a lot between Wade and van Barneveld in their overall head to head record. Barney has the slight edge 23-20 (they have also drawn 4 matches). They have already met 3 times in 2016 with Wade winning twice, including in the Premier League when Wade won 7-5 having led 5-1 at one stage.

Verdict

You have to think that this is a must win for van Barneveld if he is to keep alive a realistic chance of making the play-offs. Wade won’t want to go into his match against Taylor later in the evening on the back of a defeat that’s for sure. As mentioned above there hasn’t really been a lot to choose between them both in previous meetings and I would anticipate another tight game.

I can see this match ending in a 6-6 draw. Both have a good record of hitting ton plus checkouts so this is another thing to look out for if betting on the game.

 

Gary Anderson v Phil Taylor

 Anderson

• Anderson is in 3^rd place in the table, level on points with MVG and just a point behind Phil Taylor.
• Anderson’s winning run ended with his draw against Wade last week but he is still on a 7 match unbeaten streak, which equals his previous best run without defeat which came in 2014.
• Anderson had trailed Wade 3-0 and 4-1 having missed a raft of doubles. He came back strongly and even had a dart to win the match before Wade swooped and claimed a point.
• Last week was the 5^th match in a row where he has had an average of over 99. Overall in his last 10 matches he has had a total of 8 averages of 99 and over.
• His 180 count of last week was 5 which was his highest 180 total of the 2016 Premier League season so far.

Taylor

• Taylor sits on top of the table after 9 matches, a point clear of both van Gerwen and Anderson.
• He got back to winning ways against Michael Smith with a 7-5 win last week following 2 successive draws. Smith missing doubles in both of the last two legs before Taylor stepped in.
• That win takes his unbeaten run to 8 matches, having not lost since defeat by van Barneveld in week one.
• His match average dipped just below a 100 last week (99.92); overall he has only had 2 averages lower than that in his last 15 Premier League matches.

Head to Head

Taylor has a big lead over Anderson in their overall H2H record (34-2-13) mainly due to a big advantage he built up prior to 2013; although the meetings have been a lot more even since then Taylor has won 6 of the last 8 encounters, including a 7-4 win in this year’s Premier League.

Verdict

This is a really intriguing game; both players have been on form and are on good unbeaten runs (Anderson 7 matches, Taylor 8 matches). When they met earlier in the Premier League season Taylor ran out a deserved winner but Anderson has been playing to a higher standard in many of his matches since then.

I am finding it very hard to pick a winner in this match and see no favourite. I think this may be another match that will go the full 12 legs and we may have a 6-6 draw at the end of it

 

Robert Thornton v Michael van Gerwen

Thornton

• Thornton successfully avoided elimination despite defeat last week, but he is at the bottom of the revised table with 4 points.
• His 7-5 defeat again Lewis means he has won only 3 of his last 28 Premier League matches.
• He has hit a total of 12x 180’s over his last four matches in the Premier League; this is double the amount he scored in his opening five matches.

van Gerwen

• MVG drew for the third match in a row last week; he is currently in 2^nd place in the table a point behind Phil Taylor.
• He had to recover from 4-1, 5-2 and 6-3 behind against van Barneveld and was grateful for Barney missing a dart which would have sealed a 7-4 win.
• His run of 3 matches without a win is the first time in a single Premier League season that he has gone 3 matches without winning a game.
• van Gerwen hit 4x 180’s against van Barneveld, he has now hit 4 or more 180’s in 6 of his last 8 matches in the Premier League.

Head to Head

When they met in the Premier League only 2 weeks ago they shared the points in a 6-6 draw. Overall Thornton has won just 1 of their last 10 meetings (that win was notably in the World Grand Prix final). In their 5 Premier League meetings van Gerwen has won 3 and they have drawn 2 times, 4 of those 5 matches have gone to a 12^th and deciding leg.

Verdict

van Gerwen will be desperate to get back to winning ways following his 3 draws, although he hasn’t performed to the exceptionally high standards he did around the time he hit the 123.4 record average his level is still highest than the vast majority of players. Thornton avoided elimination but is realistically only playing for pride as the play-offs are surely out of reach. He can play clear of any pressure and his confidence won’t be low despite his low league position.

I expect a stronger van Gerwen display than he showed against Thornton in their recent Premier League match and I am tipping him to win 7-4.

 

Adrian Lewis v Peter Wright

Lewis

• Lewis is currently in 4^th place in the table following his 7-4 win over Thornton in week nine.
• The win over Thornton ended a sequence of W-L-W-L-W-L-W and gave Lewis consecutive wins for the first time since he won both of his opening matches this season.
• Lewis registered a match average of under 100 for the 7^th time in his 9 matches so far this season. Overall he has only had an average of over 100 in 4 of his last 18 Premier League matches.

Wright

• Wright is 2 points outside the play-off places after his 7-5 win over Dave Chisnall last week,
• His win against Chisnall was his first win since week three when he defeated van Barneveld.
• He averaged 97.14 last week that average was ironically lower than he registered in any of the previous 5 matches which he failed to win.

Head to Head

Lewis has a lead over Wright on their head to head win record having 15 wins to 8 (they have also drawn once). Wright ended a 4 match losing run against Lewis with a 6-5 win in a Players Championship event last month. In their meeting earlier in this year’s Premier League it was Lewis who came out on top 7-3 in a high quality match (Lewis averaged 107.93 and Wright averaged 106.79).

Verdict

Although Lewis comes into the match in the higher position it could be said that Wright has actually been performing to a slightly higher level overall during this Premier League season, hitting higher averages and having a better checkout %. When they met a few weeks ago though, Lewis really turned it on and gave his best performance in this year’s PL to defeat Wright 7-3 and you can’t rule out the same happening here.

This is another match in this week’s schedule which is very well matched and hard to predict with any real confidence. I am just edging towards Lewis to win 7-5.

 

Phil Taylor v James Wade

 Head to Head

Taylor has a 47-10 lead over Wade in head to head wins (they have also drawn 5 matches). In their last 9 meetings Taylor has won 5 and Wade has won 4. In their match earlier in this year’s Premier League it was Taylor who dominated winning 7-1 with an average of over 111, Wade only had 2 attempts at a double in the whole match. Wade hasn’t beaten Taylor in the Premier League since 2009.

Verdict

They will have both played earlier in the evening so bear that in mind when analysing this match, a good win or heavy defeat could impact their mind-set coming into the match. Wade has come out on top against Taylor in some of their recent TV meetings but he has a big task on his hands to do so in this match and was well beaten by Taylor earlier in the competition. Taylor has looked in good shape in the Premier League (barring his opening match) and enters this week at the top of the table. I just feel Taylor has the ability to cause more problems for Wade on the Wade throw than Wade can on the Taylor throw and this will be the difference. I predict a 7-4 win for Taylor.

Are Raymond van Barneveld’s Play-Off Hopes Still Alive?

The Premier League field is down to 8 players following the elimination of Chisnall and Smith last Thursday and now all of the focus turns to the top of the table and the fight for a place in the top 4 and a place in the play-offs.

Last year Raymond van Barneveld came on strong in the final 7 matches with 6 wins and a draw to earn a place in the semi-finals, he will need another strong finish to this year’s campaign if he is to make the play-offs again. He trails Lewis (who is currently in 4^th) by 5 points, Wade (5^th place) by 4 points and Wright (6^th place) by 3 points.

Can Barney do it again?

Here are some stats on van Barneveld’s performance over the last 3 seasons, since the league format changed in 2013 to elimination after 9 weeks and the final 7 matches just involving the 8 players left in the league

Overall in the final 7 games in the Premier League each season since 2013:

(Using data only for the players who are currently left in the 2016 Premier League).

• No player has won more matches than van Barneveld.
• No player has a higher win % than van Barneveld.
• No player has won more points than van Barneveld.
• No player has a higher points won per game average.
• No player has won more legs than van Barneveld.
• In the last 3 seasons he has averaged 11 (from a possible 14) points over his last 7 matches in the Premier League season.

This chart shows the number of points each player currently left in this year’s tournament has earned in their final 7 games in each of the last 3 years, with van Barneveld highlighted.

This next table shows the combined totals of each player’s record in matches 10 to 16 during the last 3 seasons. As you can see not every player has competed at this stage of the Premier League in every season so I have used the average points per game and the average points per season (for matches 10 to 16 only) as well as adding the match win percentage also.

As you can see from the table no other player can match the performance of van Barneveld over the past 3 years going down the final stretch in the league phase of the Premier League. Even van Gerwen who has finished top of the table on all 3 occasions hasn’t amassed as many wins as van Barneveld in the final 7 games of the last 3 PL seasons.

In total Barney has only lost 3 of a possible 21 matches, for those interested the defeats were against van Gerwen (twice) and Anderson.

The final chart shows how many points each player currently has in this year’s league and how many points on average they have won over the last 7 matches during the last 3 seasons of the Premier League. I have added the totals together to give a possible outcome if the players matched their average tally for the final 7 games during the rest of this campaign.

The numbers reveal that if these projections were to occur that van Barneveld would sneak into 4^th place in the table and take a play-off spot and that we would have Taylor, van Gerwen and Anderson all tied on 23 points at the top of the league.

This isn’t an article saying that I expect all of this to happen but I think it shows you can’t write off another charge for the play-offs by van Barneveld.

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