Pete’s Darts Betting Tips
- Get enhanced odds of 6/5 on Gerwyn Price to beat Peter Wright and hit the most 180s, up from 11/10 at bet365.
- In his match against Nathan Aspinall, Jonny Clayton can be backed to win and hit the most maximums at the boosted odds of 7/2 which was originally 10/3 at bet365.
- Michael Smith to win and hit the most 180s in his match against Dimitri van den Bergh is available at the boosted odds of 11/8, up from, 5/4 at bet365.
- bet365 have boosted the odds on Michael van Gerwen winning his match against Chris Dobey and landing the most 180s from 15/8 to 2/1.
Michael Smith made it three nightly wins on the spin on the Premier League of Darts Night 15 in Sheffield by beating Gerwyn Price in the final. The world number one followed up wins in Leeds and Manchester to join Price on a total of four wins and also Michael van Gerwen in banking three night wins in a row in this year’s tournament.
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The Bully Boy won 6-3 against The Iceman to keep his chances of finishing first alive going into this week’s final night of the league phase in Aberdeen. There was nothing to split the pair until the eighth leg when Price blinked first and missed seven darts to take out eight points allowing Smith to steal in to nick it against the throw before claiming victory with a clinical 12-dart leg.
Smith’s late surge means that he will finish top of the table if he wins the night and Price does not make it to the final. The Bully Boy made it to the final by beating Michael van Gerwen in the quarter-final before taking on Jonny Clayton in the last four.
Price had beaten Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dobey in the previous rounds and is favourite to finish top which means he would take on fourth place in the play offs at the O2 Arena one week from now. Price’s Welsh compatriot Clayton is in pole position to take the play off spot after his run to the semi-final in Sheffield and Aspinall’s first-round exit at the hands of The Iceman.
In his first-round match against Dimitri van den Bergh, Jonny Clayton reeled in the big fish as he took out a brilliant 170 during his win. In the other first-round match of the evening, Chris Dobey saw off Peter Wright 6-4.
London Calling
This week is the last week before the play offs in London and there are a few things left to be decided. What we do know about Night 16 in Aberdeen is that all of the fixtures are dictated by positions according to league positions.
This means that top plays bottom giving us a Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright matchup. Second plays seventh meaning Michael Smith steps out against Dimitri van den Bergh, while third takes on sixth leaving us with a Michael van Gerwen versus Chris Dobey fixture.
Most importantly, it also leaves us with fourth versus fifth which means that Jonny Clayton will shoot it out in a winner takes all fight for the final play off spot. A win for The Ferret will ensure the Welshman another appearance at the O2 whereas even a win for The Asp means that he still has to win the semi-final.
Gerwyn Price v Peter Wright
Despite their massively contrasting seasons Peter Wright actually leads Gerwyn Price 3-1 in head-to-head meetings in 2023. And coming into this match, his final fixture of this year’s Premier League campaign, we shouldn’t be too surprised if Snakebite extends his superiority over the Welshman given that he has finally picked up his first ranking title of the season in the Czech Darts Open over the weekend.
However, Gerwyn Price is well rested having dropped out of the weekend’s tournament in Prague, and has the most to play for as he chases the top spot of the regular season table. In order to guarantee the table-topping win, The Iceman must at least make the final or match Michael Smith’s performance in Aberdeen but even losing to Snakebite could be enough if Smith bombs out during the first round too.
In terms of what’s at stake, it’s not quite a dead rubber for Snakebite as he will be looking to avoid ending the league phase with the wooden spoon and won’t want to suffer the ignominy of failing to pick up a single nightly success.
On two occasions at the weekend, Wright averaged over 100 which equals the amount he’s managed in his previous 12 matches and his overall standard was a lot more consistent than what we have seen from him this year.
Price might have lost last week’s final to The Bully Boy with an average of 92 but he has posted 105 and 111 in his previous two matches meaning he has now produced 23-ton plus averages in his last 28 matches and incredibly he has only fallen below 100 four times in his last 19 matches. I will be siding with The Iceman on this one but this could very well be much tighter than expected.
Jonny Clayton v Nathan Aspinall
With only one thing left to be decided, this match is the only quarter-final that truly matters as Jonny Clayton steps out against Nathan Aspinall with the final playoff spot up for grabs.
As we stand, The Ferret is two points ahead of Aspinall in fourth place in the table and so currently occupies the one remaining playoff space so a win here will secure his place in next week’s finale at the O2. Aspinall, on the other hand, must reach the night’s final in order to leapfrog Clayton, who will head to East London courtesy of nights won if the two players finish level on points.
Twice these two have met this year and on both occasions, things have gone the way of The Ferret thanks to a 6-4 score line but their form in this tournament is quite similar. In the last four weeks, they have both picked up four wins and seven points although The Asp has lost his last two-quarter finals which has allowed Clayton to climb above him in the table.
Indeed the pair both made it to the quarter-final of the weekend’s European Tour event but Aspinall put in the better performances, averaging 104, 106 and 99 in his three matches which included a 6-5 defeat to Dave Chisnall. In a match that could go either way, I just about fancy The Ferret to win this contest and I’ll also throw in the Welshman to pin the most 180s.
Michael Smith v Dimitri van den Bergh
Everything points to Michael Smith coming out on top in this clash and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him reach a fourth successive final either. Should The Bully Boy make it that far, he will be hoping that he won’t be facing Gerwyn Price for the third final in four weeks as that would mean he cannot overhaul The Iceman at the top of the table given that he goes into the final night three points behind the Welshman.
That being said, should the St Helens chucker pick up all five points for the fourth week in a row against any other player in the competition then he would finish top based on nights won. In all four of their meetings in all competitions this season, The Bully Boy has beaten Dimitri van den Bergh, a run that includes three matches in the Premier League of Darts. The closest the Dream Maker has got to him was a 6-4 scoreline back in February.
Smith is ahead of the Belgian in all meaningful statistics and has also averaged over 100 in six of his last 14 matches in all competitions and has not hit lower than 93 in any of them. He’s also been far more consistent at winning and producing high-level performances than van den Bergh who has posted three figures three times over the same number of games and last reached a Premier League night final in week three. Although the short format can help the underdog, I feel Dimi will probably need to rely on The Bully Boy having an off night if he is to pick up any more points.
Michael van Gerwen v Chris Dobey
Michael van Gerwen has been overshadowed by Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith in the Premier League of Darts in recent weeks and amazingly hasn’t so much as reached a final since Night Eight and the last of his three successes came on Night Six.
Mighty Mike could still top the regular season table if he picks up all five points here and, as unlikely as it is, both Price and Smith lose in the quarter-finals. Even then, the Dutchman will need to close what is a sizeable legs difference too.
The Green Machine is one of three players to have already secured their place in next week’s showpiece so is unlikely to be worrying too much about the above permutations. MVG will more likely be focused on winning his fourth night of the season and sending out an ominous warning ahead of the O2 Arena, where he will fancy his chances of retaining his title despite his recent Premier League form.
After all, he won a European Tour event in Austria fairly recently and is still regularly generating averages around the high 90s and early 100s mark. Chris Dobey is only playing for pride and won’t be worried about taking on a player that he’s beaten twice out of four Darts Premier League meetings this year, including that incredible 6-0 hammering back in March.
Although I’m expecting MVG to win, Dobey’s recent performance levels suggests Hollywood can run Mighty Mike extremely close having averaged over 100 in five of his last nine matches across all competitions. The pair are also two of the most prolific maximum hitters in the tournament so if we see a minimum of 10 legs, then this could be the quarter final that produces most maximums.
Bet365 Darts Premier League Match Betting Odds Night Sixteen:
- Gerwyn Price (4/11) v (11/5) Peter Wright
- Jonny Clayton (8/11) v (11/10) Nathan Aspinall
- Michael Smith (4/11) v (11/5) Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Michael van Gerwen (2/5) v (2/1) Chris Dobey
2023 bet365 Premier League Darts Night Sixteen Outright Night Winner Odds
- Gerwyn Price @ 9/4 with bet365
- Michael van Gerwen @11/4 with bet365
- Michael Smith @ 3/1 with bet365
- Jonny Clayton @ 9/1 with bet365
- Nathan Aspinall@ 12/1 with bet365
- Peter Wright @ 12/1 with bet365
- Chris Dobey @ 20/1 with bet365
- Dimitri van den Bergh @ 20/1 with bet365
2023 bet365 Premier League Darts Outright Winner Odds
- Gerwyn Price @ 15/8 with bet365
- Michael van Gerwen @ 11/5 with bet365
- Michael Smith @ 12/5 with bet365
- Jonny Clayton @ 11/2 with bet365
- Nathan Aspinall @ 25/1 with bet365
2023 Premier League Darts Table (after fifteen nights)
| Player | Nights Won | Games Won | Leg Difference | Points |
| Gerwyn Price (Q) | 4 | 22 | +41 | 36 |
| Michael Smith (Q) | 4 | 20 | +19 | 33 |
| Michael van Gerwen (Q) | 3 | 18 | +30 | 31 |
| Jonny Clayton | 2 | 14 | -10 | 24 |
| Nathan Aspinall | 1 | 12 | -18 | 22 |
| Chris Dobey | 1 | 8 | -20 | 14 |
| Dimitri van den Bergh | 0 | 6 | -17 | 11 |
| Peter Wright | 0 | 5 | -25 | 9 |
2023 Premier League Darts Schedule
- Night 1 – The SSE Arena, Belfast – Thursday February 2 (Winner: Chris Dobey)
- Night 2 – Cardiff International Arena – Thursday February 9 (Winner: Gerwyn Price)
- Night 3 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow – Thursday February 16 (Winner: Michael Smith)
- Night 4 – 3 Arena, Dublin – Thursday February 23 (Winner: Michael van Gerwen)
- Night 5 – Westpoint Arena, Exeter – Thursday March 2 (Winner: Michael van Gerwen)
- Night 6 – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool – Thursday March 9 (Winner: Michael van Gerwen)
- Night 7 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham – Thursday March 16 (Winner: Gerwyn Price)
- Night 8 – Utilita Arena, Newcastle – Thursday March 23 (Winner: Gerwyn Price)
- Night 9 – Mercedes Benz Arena, Berlin – Thursday March 30 (Winner: Jonny Clayton)
- Night 10 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham – Thursday April 6 (Winner: Jonny Clayton)
- Night 11 – The Brighton Centre, Brighton – Thursday April 13 (Winner: Gerwyn Price)
- Night 12 – Rotterdam Ahoy – Thursday April 20 (Winner: Nathan Aspinall)
- Night 13 – First Direct Arena, Leeds – Thursday April 27 (Winner: Michael Smith)
- Night 14 – AO Arena, Manchester – Thursday May 4 (Winner: Michael Smith)
- Night 15 – Utilita Arena, Sheffield – Thursday May 11 (Winner: Michael Smith)
- Night 16 – P&J Live, Aberdeen – Thursday May 18
- Play Offs – The O2 Arena, London – Thursday May 25
QUICK GLANCE AT THE 2023 PREMIER LEAGUE OF DARTS NIGHT SIXTEEN
Venue: P&J Live, Aberdeen
Dates: Thursday February 2nd – Thursday May 25
Format: Best of 11 legs (First to six)
Current Champion: Michael van Gerwen
Where To Watch: Sky Sports Main Event HD & Sky Sports Arena HD
When To Watch: 19:00 UK