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March1March 1, 2018

Flying Scotsman Gary Anderson Dents Peter Snakebite Wright’s League Hopes

Last Thursday’s Darts Premier League action in Berlin drew to a close with an epic all-Scottish affair in which Gary ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson needed to win his last three legs against Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright to claim a share of the points.

There was no splitting the pair, even after Anderson shot into an early 2-0 lead and chucking just 29 darts. This included a stunning 150 checkout in the second leg after Wright himself had thrown brilliantly in everything except the required doubles and also after failing to secure the legs he had looked a certainty to close out.

Wright did manage to regain his composure, however, as he landed the next two legs following finishes of 80 and 76. His upturn in form continued as he averaged over 100, stringing together three successive legs in 13, 12 and 15 darts, the last one courtesy of a 120 checkout. Anderson wasn’t to be beaten though and sure enough, back came a two-time world champion, scoring a 12-darter followed by an 11.

Anderson kicked off the final leg with his fifth maximum of the night, but Wright hit back in equally good measure but, with 87 to finish. As is his Achilles’ heel, he left 38 on the board to give Anderson a lifeline which he duly gobbled up, hitting two single 18s and a bull for the required 86 and taking the game to tie.

Other action from last week

In the night’s opener, the two league leaders — Michael Smith and Simon Whitlock — staked their claims for the top spot with Bully Boy Smith coming out the victor. Smith maintained his perfect start to his Premier League campaign with a 7-3 win as both players recorded averages well under 90 and threw a number of wayward shots throughout. That said, Smith managed to hit five 180s and scoring a checkout of 106, making him the worthy winner and new league leader.

Another player moving up the table is Mensur Suljovic, who is finally off the mark after banking his maiden victory in this year’s competition. The Big Gentle’s first points were bagged after he took down a 7-3 victory over Gerwyn Price in which the Austrian averaged over 106. His upturn in form came after he landed three 180s including a checkout of 118 for which Price had no answer.

Michael van Gerwen delivered another darting masterclass, this time in a 7-2 victory over Daryl ‘Superchin’ Gurney. Despite both players hitting three 180s, it was a typically one-sided match in which Mighty Mike was 6-1 ahead before his counterpart from Northern Ireland had even scored his second leg of the match. MVG averaged over 103 and recorded the night’s highest checkout of 106 as he eased his way to another win and two more points. Betway’s 8/13 price for the overall tournament victory at is unlikely to close in any time soon.

6/1 second favourite at Betway, Rob Cross continued his march up the Premier League Darts table with an impressive 7-3 victory over Raymond van Barneveld. After suffering back-to-back defeats to both MVG and Simon Whitlock in his opening two games, Voltage has again found the rhythm and throwing style worthy of a World Champion, winning last week against Peter Wright and now sending Barney packing too. Cross hit four 180s and averaged 96.46, converting seven of his 10 attempts at doubles, as he takes his points tally to a more respectable four in as many weeks.

Michael Smith 7-3 Simon Whitlock
Gerwyn Price 3-7 Mensur Suljovic
Michael van Gerwen 7-2 Daryl Gurney
Rob Cross 7-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Peter Wright 6-6 Gary Anderson

Premier League Darts betting tips

Editors Note: Thursday’s Premier League darts action will not take place in Exeter due to adverse weather conditions.

Matchday 5 takes place at the Westpoint Arena in Exeter on Thursday March 1st, and once again those watching at home can find overage of all the action on Sky Sports Main Event HD and Sky Sports Action HD from 19:00 GMT.

Things get started with a tasty looking clash between Gary Anderson and the improving Rob Cross. Gary Anderson has been playing well but he’s taken on the world numbers one and two in the last two weeks and now finds himself up against the World Champ. After securing a point against Snakebite last Thursday in Germany, his mood – and hopefully his back – are improving making this a great game to open with. Anderson’s record against Rob Cross is also very good, going three for three in tour events making it hard to back against the Scotsman.

I’d expect the other Scotsman in the running, Peter Wright, to bank another win and continue his climb up the table in his match against Daryl Gurney. That said, Gurney has won the last four matches against Peter, so all might not be as clear as it would appear. With Wright in such hot form — excusing his dropping of a point last week against Anderson — he is our second pick this week.

Next up is Mensur Suljovic and Michael van Gerwen with the Austrian finally getting some points on the board last week. It’s a shame that just as his form picks up he comes face-to-face with an all-powerful MVG. Suljovic actually won the last contest between the two, but that seems more and more like a one-time only deal. I just can’t see Mighty Mike dropping points here as he looks to hunt down the league leader Michael Smith.

And it’s Smith who plays next as he faces off against Raymond van Barneveld with Bully Boy looking to score five wins in five. I think he will too, as he seems to love this format when he gets the chance. In contrast, Barney is faltering a little bit at the moment. With Rob Cross, Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen to play in his next three matches, Smith is bound to drop points soon, but I doubt it will be this week against RVB.

The night’s closing match is between Simon Whitlock and Gerwyn Price, both losers last time out. For Whitlock, last week represented his first defeat but being in the better position he should be mentally better off to rebound. This is unlike Price who lingers in the drop zone right now. Of course, that one defeat could launch a string of poor results for The Wizard as we have seen in others before. This last pick is purely based on league position alone, I’ll admit. I’m calling a draw – just.

So, a line on Anderson, Wright, MVG, Smith and a Whitlock-Price tie, comes to 51/1, or why not try Betway’s own boosted price of 8/1, up from 7/1, on a treble of Anderson, Wright and Whitlock?

(13/10) Gary Anderson v Rob Cross (6/4)
(100/30) Daryl Gurney v Peter Wright (4/6)
(8/1) Mensur Suljovic v Michael van Gerwen (2/9)
(7/5) Raymond van Barneveld v Michael Smith (7/5)
(11/10) Simon Whitlock v Gerwyn Price (7/4)

A look ahead to the UK Darts Open

In a busy week of darts, let’s have a quick word on The UK Darts Open, which takes place at the weekend in Minefield. There’s no seeding element for the top players to gain any advantage, and it’s worth noting that it was this event two years ago where Rob Cross, who qualified through a £7 buy-in Rileys Amateur Qualifier in Norwich, first caught the eye in a memorable performance against that year’s eventual winner Michael van Gerwen.

Last year, Voltage was beaten by Peter Wright, who also went on to win and now Cross is among the favourites to win The Open himself. Cross, Wright and van Gerwen, along with others ranked high enough in the order of merit all go in Friday’s round three.

Round one matches consist of players ranked 65-96 plus the 32 Rileys amateur qualifiers who won in knockouts held in Rileys Sports Bars across the UK. Players ranked 33-64 come in at the second-round stage, which also gets underway on Friday. TV Coverage can be found throughout the day on ITV 4.

The pre-tournament favourite is a certain Dutchman who can be backed at Betway for 5/6, followed by Gary Anderson at 8/1 — the same price as Rob Cross and one point in from the 9s available on Peter Wright, who was champion here last year. For others, check out the UK Darts Open sportsbook at Betway now.

February21February 21, 2018

Peter Wright Clashes With Rob Cross On Matchday Four Of The Darts Premier League

By Peter FryersIn

Darts Betting Tips

An angry Peter Wright refused to shake hands with Rob Cross after losing an ill-tempered match in Newcastle last week. Cross registered his first ever Premier League victory over world number two Wright, who was woefully out of form in the game’s closing legs. Snakebite has defeated Michael van Gerwen in the previous match.

Cross guaranteed himself at least a draw after he moved ahead 6-3. Cross then looked to have fluffed his lines when he squandered two match darts in the 10th leg where Wright banked a 101 to keep himself in the game. His mini-revival was not to last long however, as he went on to miss a crucial three darts. This left Cross to capitalise on the opportunity and land a double 16 and with it his first ever Premier League win. The match’s main talking point came shortly after its climax as Wright refused to shake Voltage’s hands, causing an unexplained row for which the Scot has since apologised.

More week 3 action

In the night’s opening match, Mensur Suljovic took on Michael Smith with Bully Boy making it three wins from three in this year’s Premier League. Smith recorded two brilliant finishes of 72 and 68 to establish an early 2-0 lead before The Big Gentle responded brilliantly to level things out at 2-2. Smith wasn’t done there as he reeled off five straight legs, including finishes of 116 and 91, as he marched on to victory. This left the Austrian Suljovic cut adrift at the bottom of the table, without a solitary point so far this campaign.

The second match of the night saw Gerwyn Price fight back from 5-1 down against Daryl Gurney to secure a point against his fellow Premier League debutant. Superchin Gurney initially raced 5-2 ahead but saw his lead chopped back after Price took down 148 which brought the score back to 5-3 before landing the following leg. A superb 136 finish in the penultimate leg was equaled by Gurney, who secured his point following a 15-dart hold in the decider leaving both players inseparable.

In the night’s fourth match, Michael van Gerwen resumed normal service as he brilliantly beat Gary Anderson 7-3. MVG was back to his imperious best, averaging 110.62 and booking seven maximums to secure an awesome 7-3 victory and eradicate the memory of last week’s blip against Peter Wright.

Anderson himself averaged a decent 110.79, which included four 180s along with two 177s. Despite the strong start, Anderson found himself trailing 2-0 after the first two sets, a gap he closed in two legs before edging briefly ahead in the fifth courtesy of a 170 checkout. Mighty Mike equalised in the follow-up set taking the lead soon after. It was an advantage he never threatened to squander, ably assisted by Anderson missing seven darts at the double over the final three legs.

The action came to close after league leader Simon Whitlock maintained his 100% undefeated record by beating Raymond van Barneveld 7-4 in the final match of the night. Five-time world champion Barney had an off night, landing just 4 from 14 shots at the double. In contrast, his rival from Down Under, Simon ‘The Wizard’ Whitlock boasted an medicore 58% checkout success rate that might. On another night that have cost him dear but on this night was enough to secure yet another triumph, making it three wins from three on his Premier League return.

Here’s a complete look at the results from week 3 of the Darts Premier League:

Mensur Suljovic 2-7 Michael Smith
Daryl Gurney 6-6 Gerwyn Price
Peter Wright 4-7 Rob Cross
Gary Anderson 3-7 Michael van Gerwen
Simon Whitlock 7-4 Raymond van Barneveld

Premier League Darts heads to Berlin

The 2018 Premier League this week heads to the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin on Thursday with coverage underway from 7 pm on Sky Sports Action HD and Sky Sports Main Event HD.

Thursday’s action gets underway with Michael Smith up against Simon Whitlock, the unbeaten League leader with Smith himself sitting second in the table. I keep thinking that Whitlock’s time at the top is up; however, while I’m convinced the bubble will burst soon, I don’t think that will happen this week, even with Smith’s impressive form. Both men were relegated in their last Premier League campaign, but it shouldn’t go unnoticed that The Wizard’s only major title – the European Championship – was collected in Germany, making this happy hunting ground for the Australian.

Next out are Gerwyn Price and Mensur Suljovic, with both men looking to pick up their first win in the event. Despite the Austrian being able to bank on the German crowd’s support — much like Price himself did last week in Cardiff — he has been woefully short of form and the only man to have lost all three games. This performance finds himself at bottom of the table and a favourite for the chop when the cut comes on judgement day five weeks from now. For this reason, I’m siding with the Welshman here to further strengthen his growing reputation in the game.

The night’s third match brings Michael van Gerwen and Daryl Gurney to the oche in a match I just can’t see Mighty Mike losing — and we all know why.

This match is followed by Rob Cross and Raymond van Barneveld, with Voltage finally looking like he is moving in the right direction following his dismantling of Peter Wright a week ago. Barney usually enjoys his time back on the European continent and the German crowd could be too much for Cross, just as the Irish were in Dublin on Matchday One when he crumbled in front of MVG. To be fair to Cross, he has a decent continental record in European Tour events and intriguingly is undefeated against Barney, winning three times. That said, I’m sticking with Barney to come on top in a close tie.

The most anticipated match of the night is the all-Scottish affair between Peter Wright and Gary Anderson which brings the curtain down on the night’s action. The last time these two played was in the Grand Slam of Darts semi-finals when Anderson fell apart and Snakebite was able to come back from 14-8 down to win 16-15.

For this alone, Anderson, evens at Betway, will be smarting and determined to set the record straight. Up one week and down the next, it is never easy to call Peter’s results, but he does usually do well in Germany, winning six tournaments there last year. And while Anderson has the upper hand, he also suffers from an ongoing back issue so I’m going to pick Snakebite in this battle of the Celts. Oddly, in the first three matches, the Scot has a draw, a defeat and just one Premier League win. But what a win it was, inflicting a rare defeat on world number one Van Gerwen two weeks ago, showing just what he can be capable of when he is on form.

You can back Betway’s boosted treble: Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross & Gary Anderson (5/1)

But I’ll be picking this following fivefold, again with Betway: Simon Whitlock, Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen, Raymond van Barneveld and Peter Wright at 92/1.

(6/5) Michael Smith v Simon Whitlock (13/8)
(7/4) Gerwyn Price v Mensur Suljovic (11/10)
(1/4) Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney (15/2)
(5/6) Rob Cross v Raymond van Barneveld (12/5)
(2/1) Peter Wright v Gary Anderson (1/1)

February14February 10, 2022

Peter Wright Beats Michael van Gerwen In Cardiff

By Peter FryersIn

Darts Betting Tips

In another week of unpredictable upsets in the Darts Premier League, Peter Wright had one of those nights we all know he is capable of but seldom produces as he went on to shock Michael van Gerwen 7-5. Elsewhere, Rob Cross lost again, this time in a 7-1 thrashing by Simon Whitlock who, following back-to-back wins and a 100% record, now sits atop of the League after two weeks.

Snakebite could only manage an unconvincing draw with Gerwyn Price last week, but his outlook quickly improved early in the fourth leg as the pre-match 6/1 underdog maneuvered himself into a 3-1 lead before MVG raised his game enough to level the match. Wright though soon quashed his opponent’s rebellion, punishing the Dutchman for three missed darts at the double and taking out a 116 to move back into the lead. Before long he found himself within one leg of guaranteeing at least a point and victory within reach. Soon after, Wright landed his third maximum of the match on his way to a 12-darter, followed swiftly by a 13-darter.

Things are currently far less smooth for Rob Cross, however, as he suffered a second successive heavy defeat. This time his loss was at the hands of current League leader Simon Whitlock who battered the World champion 7-1 at the Motopoint Arena. Whitlock, by the way, this week fired out a warning on Twitter that the Instagram account swhitlock180 is fraudulent and in no way affiliated to the Aussie professional. So there.

Back to the oche where 27-year-old Cross has now lost his last six matches, with his only win since January 1st coming at the Masters first round against Ian White. Despite his current downswing, Voltage was the odds-on favourite pre-match but instead it was the Wizard who conjured up another win.

There were no such issues for Gary Anderson who comfortably won his grudge match against the Welsh crowd’s favourite Gerwyn Price, whose scoring simply let him down while Anderson produced his best performance of the season so far to win 7-3. Price did manage to bank an average of 92.71 but only chucked off eight shots at double whereas Anderson posted an average of 99.22.

Raymond van Barneveld scored his first win of the season with a 7-5 victory over Mensur Suljovic in a much tighter affair where both players averaged over 100. The game hinged on Suljovic missing three attempts at the double in the fourth leg leaving the door ajar for Barney to sneak in and land a 167 checkout to move 3-1 up, a lead that widened a leg later. From there, the remaining legs were shared equally leaving the Barney to take all three points.

The League’s only other 100% record was held on to after Michael Smith recorded a 7-4 victory over Daryl Gurney in the night’s opening match. Bully Boy stormed into a 3-0 lead, with the help of a 124 checkout. Numerous 13-darters and 14-darters were to follow before a fourth 180 of the match put Smith ahead 5-4. Smith capitalised on his rival’s four missed double attempts to go 6-4 up before nailing the final leg too.

Results from last week

Michael Smith 7-4 Daryl Gurney
Rob Cross 1-7 Simon Whitlock
Michael van Gerwen 5-7 Peter Wright
Gerwyn Price 3-7 Gary Anderson
Raymond van Barneveld 7-5 Mensur Suljovic

Darts Premier League Betting Tips: Matchday Three

This week’s action sees our heroes head to the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle – catch the action live on Sky Sports Main Event HD and/or Sky Sports Action HD from 19:00 (GMT) – for week three.

The first game of the night features Mensur Suljovic and Michael Smith with the former currently on a great roll sharing the top of the table with a 100% win rate. In contrast, Suljovic is in the opposite situation, although it was Mensur that beat Smith in the Masters only a matter of weeks ago, making this something of a cloudy bet. That said, we’re putting our money on the Englishman at 11/8.

This match is followed by the Daryl Gurney and Gerwyn Price contest in which we’re siding with Gurney despite both players slightly under-performing at the moment. The reckoning here is that Gurney is showing the better form of the two right now. Again, Price should be more than comfortable against Superchin and actually beat him at the Masters, but I’m backing the Northern Irishman to emerge victorious this time around.

Hands up, Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright caught me off guard last week. I was not alone in expecting World number one Michael van Gerwen to do what he so often does and wipe the floor with his opponent. Yet, it was the Scotsman who won on the day. He now meets up with another player to have beaten MVG at the oche, Rob Cross, who has barely won since. On that note, we could back a draw now, but given that I simply don’t have faith in Rob Cross on the Premier League stage right now, I’m selecting Snakebite to march on in the Premier League with another win.

Thursday’s match number four is a whopper as the world’s number one and two collide when Gary Anderson meets Michael van Gerwen. Mighty Mike was defeated last time out but won’t lose twice in a row so he can be safely expected to bounce back and win this week. This is even more likely given the grief Anderson keeps getting from his bad back which might continue to plague him again. Yes, Peter Wright managed the task last week but whether or not Gary is up to it yet is another matter.

Finally, league leader Simon Whitlock meets the legend that is Raymond van Barneveld. Barney is looking good on three points so far, and he’ll be aiming to leapfrog his opponent at the top of the table with a win. This is providing that Michael Smith loses the night’s opener against Mensur Suljovic. That, for me is more than enough encouragement to pick Barney on Thursday night.

Try this 6/1 Betway boosted treble of Peter Wright, Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld all to win.

Or if you are a bit more daring, try Michael Smith, Daryl Gurney, Peter Wright, Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld, which is worth over 28 to the pound, again at Betway.

Matchups for Week 3

(11/8) Mensur Suljovic v Michael Smith (11/8)
(5/6) Daryl Gurney v Gerwyn Price (12/5)
(13/10) Peter Wright v Rob Cross (6/4)
(7/2) Gary Anderson v Michael van Gerwen (4/7)
(5/2) Simon Whitlock v Raymond van Barneveld (4/5)