Tag: darts premier league

Darts Premier League 2021 Final Stage

The fourth and final phase of this year’s Darts Premier League returns this Monday for the last five nights of action. While not culminating in a spectacular playoff weekend in London, the event will at least have some fans in attendance.

Fans, more than in many other sports, are the lifeblood of darts. In part, because the game is at heart just a bit of pub-based silliness or what has been described in some quarters as “fat blokes throwing things at the wall”, but also because of the atmosphere that a crowd can help generate.

Darts might not be one of the nation’s most glamourous sports, or one of its more monied, but there is a reason darts is Sky Sports’ second most popular sport. It’s entertaining and fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously, a mood that is perfectly captured by the fans.

Fans who are back this week at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, albeit in reduced numbers. And they will get to witness the final five consecutive nights right up until the playoffs on Friday the 28^th of May.

Night 13 matchups set

Night 13 pits the top two – Michael van Gerwen and Nathan Aspinall – against each other in a match that could prove decisive on how the final table looks and consequently how the playoffs shape up. 

We always expected both of these players to qualify for the last four, even before the last-minute withdrawal of the world champion Gerwyn Price, who finishes above the other will make all the difference come Friday’s finals.

Bottom placed Peter Wright must beat James Wade, the guy directly above him in the table. Should the Snakebite lose and unless his shoulder has recovered over the break as he surely will, then I think that will signal curtains for his campaign.

While Dimitri Van den Bergh and Jose De Sousa are currently in the top four, keep an eye on the Ferret that is Jonny Clayton, who looks to be closing fast. The Welshman takes on both of these players either side of playing a potential lemon in Peter Wright, and I could easily see him joining Mighty Mike and The Asp in Friday’s foursomes.

The momentum for the final place could swing Van den Bergh’s way on Tuesday when he himself takes on Peter Wright. A win there, plus a defeat for De Sousa at the hands of Clayton, and we could have found a final four as early as then. 

That final order could take shape on the last night of the regular campaign when Jonny Clayton takes on Dimitri Van den Bergh to see he finishes where. 

Premier League Darts prediction final four: Michael van Gerwen, Nathan Aspinall, Jonny Clayton and Dimitri Vanden Bergh.

Darts Premier League 2021 betting odds (bet365)

Here are the current odds as set by the bet365 online sportsbook.

• Michael van Gerwen – 13/8
• Dimitri van Den Bergh – 10/3
• Nathan Aspinall – 6/1
• Jose De Sousa – 6/1
• Jonny Clayton -13/2
• Gary Anderson – 14/1
• James Wade – 22/1
• Peter Wright – 100/1

Premier League of Darts table 

1. Michael van Gerwen (+21) 17 Pts
2. Nathan Aspinall (+15) 15 Pts
3. Dimitri Van den Bergh (+7) 15 Pts
4. Jose de Sousa (+12) 14 Pts
5. Jonny Clayton (+4) 14 Pts
6. Gary Anderson (0) 13 Pts
7. James Wade (-1) 11 Pts
8. Peter Wright (-16) 9 Pts

Premier League of Darts 2021 Schedule

Night 13, 24^th of May 

• Jonny Clayton v Gary Anderson
• Jose de Sousa v Dimitri Van den Bergh
• Nathan Aspinall v Michael van Gerwen
• James Wade v Peter Wright

Night 14, 25^th of May 

• James Wade v Nathan Aspinall
• Jonny Clayton v Jose de Sousa
• Gary Anderson v Michael van Gerwen
• Peter Wright v Dimitri Van den Bergh

Night 15, 26^th of May 

• Jonny Clayton v Peter Wright
• James Wade v Dimitri Van den Bergh
• Gary Anderson v Nathan Aspinall
• Jose de Sousa v Michael van Gerwen

Night 16, 27^th of May 

• Gary Anderson v James Wade
• Nathan Aspinall v Jose de Sousa
• Peter Wright v Michael van Gerwen
• Dimitri Van den Bergh v Jonny Clayton

Play-Offs Night, 28^th of May 

• Semi-Finals (Best of 19 legs)
• Finals (Best of 21 legs)

QUICK GLANCE AT DARTS PREMIER LEAGUE 2021

Venue: Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes

Dates: 24^th – 28^th of May 2021

Format: Best of 12, 19, 21 legs

Current Champion: Glen Durrant

Where To Watch: Sky Sports Main Event

When To Watch: (1900 GMT)

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Darts Premier League Half Way Stage Roundup

We have seen our first eliminations for the 2021 Darts Premier League as reigning champion Glen Durrant and Rob Cross finished in the bottom two league places before we had even reached Thursday night’s Judgment Night.

Players will now down darts until May the 5th when play resumes, again at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes. A final two batches of games will take place before we reach the playoff stage by May the 28th. 

Play finished last Thursday with new League leader Nathan Aspinall thrashing Gary Anderson 7-2 as he stretched his unbeaten run to six games. The Asp averaged 102.45 as he put a below par Flying Scotsman to bed.

Aspinall just pipped debutant Dimitri Van den Bergh to top spot after the Belgian had squandered a three set lead over James Wade, a last minute replacement for the sick Gerwyn Price, to draw 6-6. 

Wade now sits in fourth place one behind Michael van Gerwen who lost out to Jonny Clayton. Gary Anderson now props up the table, while Jose de Sousa and Peter Wright make up the numbers in sixth and seventh, respectively. 

Despite being third, Michael van Gerwen is the 15/8 favourite ahead of the Dream Maker Dimitri van den Bergh. In the absence of Gerwyn Price — after the world number one withdrew on the opening day following the return of a positive virus test — the tourney is surely MVG’s to lose. To be fair, this year’s condensed schedule always favoured the Dutchman, who is still the short-priced favourite to win the Premier League for the sixth time. 

But it’s underrated Nathan Aspinall who deservedly leads the way at this sort of halfway stage. We always thought 20/1 – The Asp’s price a month at the start of April – was generous and his odds have now been cut to 11/2, which is still pretty decent given he hasn’t lost a game in six games. 

For a while, The Ferret Jonny Clayton looked like a Premier League natural but that has eased off slightly of late. That was before he put away Mighty Mike. The Welshman remains in the hunt and could make the playoffs after which anything can happen. 

2021 Premier League Darts Odds at bet365

• Michael van Gerwen – 15/8
• Dimitri Van den Bergh – 7/2
• Nathan Aspinall – 11/2
• Jonny Clayton – 17/2
• Peter Wright – 8/1
• Jose de Sousa – 10/1
• James Wade – 10/1
• Gary Anderson – 22/1

2021 Darts Premier League Schedule

Night 10, May 5th

• Jonny Clayton v James Wade
• Jose de Sousa v Gary Anderson
• Dimitri Van den Bergh v Michael van Gerwen
• Peter Wright v Nathan Aspinall

Night 11, May 6th

• Nathan Aspinall v Dimitri Van den Bergh
• James Wade v Jose de Sousa
• Gary Anderson v Peter Wright
• Michael van Gerwen v Jonny Clayton

Night 12, May 7th

• Peter Wright v Jose de Sousa
• Michael van Gerwen v James Wade
• Jonny Clayton v Nathan Aspinall
• Dimitri Van den Bergh v Gary Anderson

Night 13, May 24th

• Jonny Clayton v Gary Anderson
• Jose de Sousa v Dimitri Van den Bergh
• Nathan Aspinall v Michael van Gerwen
• James Wade v Peter Wright

Night 14, May 25th

• James Wade v Nathan Aspinall
• Jonny Clayton v Jose de Sousa
• Gary Anderson v Michael van Gerwen
• Peter Wright v Dimitri Van den Bergh

Night 15, May 26th

• Jonny Clayton v Peter Wright
• James Wade v Dimitri Van den Bergh
• Gary Anderson v Nathan Aspinall
• Jose de Sousa v Michael van Gerwen

Night 16, May 27th

• Gary Anderson v James Wade
• Nathan Aspinall v Jose de Sousa
• Peter Wright v Michael van Gerwen
• Dimitri Van den Bergh v Jonny Clayton

Play-Offs Night, May 28th

Semi-Finals (Best of 19 legs)

Final (Best of 21 legs)

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MVG Out As Duzza Tops Darts Premier League

On a dramatic last night of a rushed Darts Premier League group stage, Michael van Gerwen, six-time winner of this event, crashed out of the tournament. MVG was joined in the also-rans by two-time Grand Slam of Darts winner Gerwyn Price and bridesmaid of the chuckies, Michael Smith.

Glen Durrant, of course, had already qualified nights in advance and beats Peter Wright into second place. The pair will be joined in next month’s playoff stage at the O2 Arena in East London by Nathan Aspinall, who finished third, plus two times DPL winner Gary Anderson.

Duzza, like Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen before him, becomes a DPL table topper, only the third in Darts Premier League history.

Recapping Night 10

Mighty Mike had a horrific last few days of play and is now unable to defend the crown he had been aiming to win for a fifth straight time this coming October. The world number one had finished in first place in all of his seven league appearances since debuting in 2013.

MVG had also never lost more than four games in a regular season before; earlier in the week suffered an 8-1 trouncing to Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright, his sixth defeat of the campaign.

That game also marked the first time in 139 Premier League matches that Michael van Gerwen had failed to get three legs on the board in a match and now it’s happened twice in three days. His recent poor form culminated in an 8-2 defeat at the hands of Daryl ‘Superchin’ Gurney, who had only his pride to play for.

Gary Anderson opened the night, also with a heavy loss, his coming at the hands of an 8-3 defeat to Gerwyn Price. Price’s victory left him with a little hope of qualification to cling on to, but he could only watch and wait while other results went against him on the night.

Sadly for the Iceman, he missed out on the play-offs for the second season in a row despite completing a DPL season double over The Flying Scotsman, a win that proved to be the result that cemented Duzza’s place at the top.

Duzza himself enjoyed a great campaign, but with qualification assured, effectively took the night off against Nathan Aspinall who ran out 8-2 winner. In the night’s other match, an increasingly confident Peter Wright ended any hopes Michael ‘Bully Boy’ Smith might have had of qualification when Snakebite won 8-5.

With six weeks and the World Series of Darts Finals to go before the O2’s playoffs, bet365 have been quick to install Peter Wright as the 13/8 outright favourite for the Darts Premier League ahead of Gary Anderson’s 11/4.

After such a dominant debut performance from Glen Durrant, particularly after lockdown, why the same bookmakers have deemed Duzza’s claim’s to be worth as much as 7/2 is anyone guess. Likewise, Nathan Aspinall’s 10/3 is also puzzling, but either way, neither price can be expected to last long.

Play-Offs – Thursday October 22

The O2, London

Semi-Finals (Best of 19 legs)

• Glen Durrant v Gary Anderson
• Peter Wright v Nathan Aspinall

Finals (Best of 21 legs)

• Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2

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