Daryl Gurney Beats Michael van Gerwen As Judgement Awaits In Rotterdam

Daryl Gurney Beats Michael van Gerwen As Judgement Awaits In Rotterdam

MVG Daryl Gurney Darts Premier League

There was a shock result in Berlin last week when Michael van Gerwen lost in a surprise 7-5 defeat to Daryl Gurney on night seven of Premier League Darts. It is the second time in a row that the Northern Irishman has enjoyed victory over van Gerwen, having also triumphed in the memorable Players Championship Finals match back in November.

Things started off by Mighty Mike taking the opening two legs before Superchin pulled back the next two to draw level. MVG raised again in leg five but still couldn’t escape Gurney, who won the next two to move into the lead for the first time. Soon after, he doubled his lead before MVG closed the gap to one leg at 4-5. An 86 checkout guaranteed Gurney a point before van Gerwen landed a 93 to send the match into a 12th leg where Gurney hit double top on throw to beat the Dutchman. Gurney closed with an average of 98.71 compared to MVG’s 98.54 but hit two fewer 180s with four.

Recap of other Night 7 action

League leader Rob Cross kicked off the night with a 7-4 victory over Gerwyn Price. It was the second defeat in a row for Price, who up until last week, was unbeaten in the League this season before losing to MVG in Berlin. Voltage, who averaged over 100 for the sixth time this season, finished on Thursday with a mark of 104, opened with a 13-darter to break The Iceman’s throw and take an early advantage before holding his own in leg two. The Welsh Grand Slam of Darts champion then got on the board himself as he chucked an 86 checkout before another 13-dart finish from Cross saw the 2018 World Champion restore his lead. Cross followed this up with a finish on double nine to go 4-1 ahead, before Price broke back, only to lose the next as Cross moved into a 5-2 lead. Price took the next two legs before Voltage came back to take the final two legs for himself, and with it, the top spot in the table.

The next pair out were James Wade and Peter Wright> In true Snakebite fashion, Wright once again conspired against himself to snatch a draw from the jaws of victory. In a match that should have been done and dusted much sooner, Snakebite found himself 5-2 up before long. By the eighth leg, Wright missed three darts at double allowing Wade to get back into the match. Despite missing numerous opportunities to do so, Wade would get more chances as Wright continuously refused to close out the leg. Finally, at the third time of asking, The Machine took his chance and kept his hopes alive. With momentum building, a 65 finish got Wade to within one of his opponent, courtesy of another two more misses from Wright, before the Scotsman would miss yet again leaving Wade to level the match with a shot at double 10. Wade then made it four legs on the spin to move into an unlikely lead before Wright finally rediscovered his aim to salvage a point from a game that should never have been in doubt. In the end, Wright averaged 98.93 compared to Wade’s 98.42.

Mensur Suljovic produced a dominant display in match four as he saw off the challenge from Michael Smith to bank a 7-2 win. It was Bully Boy who took the opening leg with a 75 finish, but that was before the Austrian replied by reeling off five in succession to leave Smith well and truly stunned. Smith did manage to respond in leg seven with an 86 checkout, but a 77 finish from The Gentle took him to within one of victory, which he sealed one leg later.

Raymond van Barneveld finally got off and running in his final Premier League campaign after he beat the latest contender German Max Hopp 7-3 in Berlin. After finding himself a leg down, Barney moved clear in the match before Hopp won back-to-back legs to close the gap to 4-3. From there, Barney seized momentum and produced a moment of genuine magic to take out 170 to inspire a closing finish that went unchallenged. Although the former World Champion remains bottom of the table, his upturn in form, coupled with this week’s doubleheader in his native Holland is well-timed and might even inspire the mother of all survival fights with Judgment Night looming on Thursday after Wednesday’s fixtures, both of which will take place in Rotterdam.

The latest odds to finish bottom on Judgment Night with Betway – before the first of this week’s two nights of action – are as follows.

Raymond van Barneveld is favourite for the drop at an odds-on price of 2/9 and with Daryl Gurney and Michael van Gerwen standing in his way you can see why. Last year’s runner up, Michael Smith is next in line at 7/1, one point lower than Daryl Gurney’s 8/1. From there, the prices drift with Gerwyn Price rated as 50/1, James Wade 100/1, Mensur Suljovic and Peter Wright also available at 100/1.

Darts Premier League Night 8 Betting Tips

Gerwyn Price’s impressive start to the campaign is officially over now that he has suffered back-to-back defeats to both Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross. Smith, on the other hand, is in the midst of a relegation battle after losing dramatically to Mensur Suljovic 7-2 in Germany. There is now only point separating Bully Boy from bottom-placed van Barneveld, who won his match last week. It is a closer relegation scrap than expected and especially surprising given Smith’s second place finish last year. It is still mathematically possible for The Iceman to exit the competition himself this week but extremely unlikely given he hadn’t lost until a fortnight ago, albeit his campaign has been littered with draws. In his latest battle, he can be backed to overcome so we’re going with Price to win in the opener.

The second match of the evening brings us our latest contender in the form of Dimitri van den Bergh, who faces off against James Wade. The Machine has enjoyed a patchy return to Premier League action and was lucky to snatch a point last week against Peter Wright. On form, he is still a formidable opponent and should have more than enough to see off the challenge from Van Den Bergh.

Match three pits Rob Cross against Mensur Suljovic with Voltage now showing himself to be one of the top two players in the world right now. Sitting top of the league by two points and with confidence riding high, Cross should have too much in his locker for The Gentle, who has quietly installed himself as an outside chance for glory. Following three wins in his last four, Mensur now sits in fourth place but any progress is likely to be stalled on Wednesday.

An out of form Michael van Gerwen is out next against Peter Wright with neither player managing to secure a win last week. Van Gerwen failed to take control of a match he led 2-0 as he lost 7-5 to Daryl Gurney while Snakebite blew a lead when throwing for the match against James Wade. However, the Dutchman’s confidence received a boost on Sunday when he beat Rob Cross 8-6 to win the European Tour title, while also hitting a nine-dart finish in his semi-final success over Suljovic. Draw specialist Wright has tied four of his seven matches so far and would love a similar score in the first of this week’s doubleheader events but a return to his homeland for MVG means he is unlikely to get it.

Raymond van Barneveld gave his survival bid a much needed shot in the arm last week in Berlin and now has two nights back home in Holland to pull off a miraculous great escape. The first of these is against Daryl Gurney who last week beat Mighty Mike van Gerwen. All logic says this should be a fairly straightforward win Superchin but romance, not to mention the home crowd, might dictate a win for the departing Dutchman.

One line on Wednesday’s action consisting of Gerwyn Price, James Wade, Rob Cross, Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld pays 46/1 at Betway.

  • (6/4) Gerwyn Price v Michael Smith (11/8)
  • (11/10) James Wade v Dimitri van den Bergh (15/8)
  • (10/11) Rob Cross v Mensur Suljovic (11/5)
  • (4/1) Peter Wright v Michael van Gerwen (8/15)
  • (2/1) Raymond van Barneveld v Daryl Gurney (1/1)

QUICK GLANCE AT THE DARTS PREMIER LEAGUE – WEEK 8

Venue: Rotterdam Ahoy

Dates: Wednesday 27.03.2019
Format: Best of 12 legs
Current Champion: Michael van Gerwen
Where To Watch: Sky Sports
When To Watch: (1900 GMT)

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Daryl Gurney Wins Players Championships Finals; A Look At The PDC Darts World Championship

Daryl Gurney Wins Players Championships Finals; A Look At The PDC Darts World Championship

Daryl Gurney Players Championship

Daryl Gurney claimed the second televised title of his career on Sunday after he overcame Michael van Gerwen 11-9 in the Players Championship Finals final. Superchin averaged 96 compared to MVG’s 100 in a tight match that could have gone either way at almost any point, but Gurney held his nerve to see out the win and pick up his second win since the 2017 World Grand Prix.

Van Gerwen, who has won this event on the last three occasions, went into the match and the tournament as the favourite, which only intensified after he beat Gary Anderson 11-9 in an epic semi-final earlier in the evening.

Northern Irishman Gurney, who beat Danny Noppert 11-3 in the semis, proved himself to be stubborn opponent however and managed to keep the score level at 6-6 as the opening 12 legs all went with throw. MVG was the first player to make a break, beating Gurney’s throw in the 13th, only for his rival to break back immediately and then maintain his own throw to move 8-7 ahead.

Mighty Mike then hit back hard with back-to-back leg wins and looked to be the likely winner only to uncharacteristically miss the double 16 allowing Gurney back in with a chance. It was a chance he took nicely thanks to an 88 checkout. He then chucked a 13-darter to move one leg away from victory, which he he soon claimed after landeding a brilliant bullseye finish to take out 85 and win the tournament at the Butlin’s Minehead Resort.

A preview of the PDC Darts World Championship

The next event on the calender, of course, is the 2019 PDC Darts World Championship, the biggest event of the year. The draw and schedule for the event, which will take place at the Alexandra Palace from December 13 to January 1, has been set, so players can begin planning their route to darting immortality.

This year’s event will see the largest field in history with 96 players entering the tournament rather than the usual 72. The extra 24 qualifiers include, for the first time ever, two female contenders in Anastasia Dobromyslova and Lisa Ashton. The 32 seeded players from the PDC Order of Merit will all enter the event in the second-round and have been drawn to play a winner from the 32 first-round matches.

Reigning World Champion Rob Cross and Lakeside Women’s Champion Lisa Ashton will headline the opening night of the £2.5 million event, kicking off 16 days of top darts action. Voltage, as Cross is known, will play the winner of the tournament’s opening fixture between Jeffrey de Zwaan and Indian Qualifier Nitin Kumar. Making her Ally Pally debut, Ashton will take on Dutchman Jan Dekker, also on the Thursday.

By day two, twice World Champion Gary Anderson will kic off his campaign looking for his third title and will play one of Paul Nicholson or Kevin Burness. World number one Michael van Gerwen enters the event on Saturday December 15 to play either Alan Tabern or Raymond Smith, while former finalist Peter Wright, gets going on the Sunday, as does Dave Chisnall.

The retiring five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld begins on Monday December 17 against one of Matthew Edgar or Darius Labanauskas, while last week’s winner Daryl Gurney steps up to the oche for the first time on Tuesday December 18. James Wade, Michael Smith and Simon Whitlock all get chucking on the Wednesday and two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis opens his bid for a third Ally Pally title on Thursday December 20. Also on the Thursday, Steve Beaton, Stephen Bunting and Mensur Suljovic kick off their campaigns, one day before Gerwyn Price goes on the Friday, which concludes the second round.

As always, the third round is split on the side of the Christmas break, with the fourth round being played on December 27-28 before the quarter-finals on December 29. The semi-finals will take place on Sunday December 30 and will be followed on Tuesday January 1 by the final ,where the last two standing will battle it out for the Sid Waddell Trophy. Early prices are available now at Betway but our darts betting preview will be here next week.

PDC 2019 World Darts Championship Draw

Thursday December 13

First Round (Best of 5 sets) & Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Jeffrey de Zwaan v Nitin Kumar (R1)
  • Martin Schindler v Cody Harris (R1)
  • Jan Dekker v Lisa Ashton (R1)
  • Rob Cross v De Zwaan/Kumar (R2)

Friday December 14

First Round (Best of 5 sets) & Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Michael Barnard v Jose De Sousa (R1)
  • Alan Tabern v Raymond Smith (R1)
  • Paul Nicholson v Kevin Burness (R1)
  • Jamie Lewis v Schindler/Harris (R2)
  • Danny Noppert v Royden Lam (R1)
  • Simon Stevenson v Ted Evetts (R1)
  • Chris Dobey v Boris Koltsov (R1)
  • Gary Anderson v Nicholson/Burness (R2)

Saturday December 15

First Round (Best of 5 sets) & Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Richard North v Robert Marijanovic (R1)
  • Mickey Mansell v Jim Long (R1)
  • Josh Payne v Jeff Smith (R1)
  • Max Hopp v Noppert/Lam (R2)
  • Toni Alcinas v Craig Ross (R1)
  • Ryan Searle v Stephen Burton (R1)
  • Keegan Brown v Karel Sedlacek (R1)
  • Michael van Gerwen v Tabern/Ray Smith (R2)

Sunday December 16

First Round (Best of 5 sets) & Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Gabriel Clemens v Aden Kirk (R1)
  • William O’Connor v Yordi Meeuwisse (R1)
  • Brendan Dolan v Yuanjun Liu (R1)
  • Dave Chisnall v Payne/J Smith (R2)
  • Luke Humphries v Adam Hunt (R1)
  • Matthew Edgar v Darius Labanauskas (R1)
  • Ross Smith v Paul Lim (R1)
  • Peter Wright v Alcinas/Ross (R2)

Monday December 17

First Round (Best of 5 sets) & Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Vincent van der Voort v Lourence Ilagan (R1)
  • Wayne Jones v Devon Petersen (R1)
  • Ryan Joyce v Anastasia Dobromyslova (R1)
  • Raymond van Barneveld v Edgar/Labanauskas (R2)

Tuesday December 18

First Round (Best of 5 sets) & Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Robert Thornton v Daniel Larsson (R1)
  • Ricky Evans v Rowby-John Rodriguez (R1)
  • Krzysztof Ratajski v Seigo Asada (R1)
  • Darren Webster v Van der Voort/Ilagan (R2)
  • Steve Lennon v James Bailey (R1)
  • Ron Meulenkamp v Diogo Portela (R1)
  • Dimitri Van den Bergh v Chuck Puleo (R1)
  • Daryl Gurney v Ross Smith/Lim (R2)

Wednesday December 19

First Round (Best of 5 sets) & Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Nathan Aspinall v Geert Nentjes (R1)
  • Jeffrey de Graaf v Noel Malicdem (R1)
  • Joe Cullen v Dolan/Liu (R2)
  • Kim Huybrechts v Thornton/Larsson (R2)
  • James Wilson v O’Connor/Meuwisse (R2)
  • Simon Whitlock v Joyce/Dobromyslova (R2)
  • Michael Smith v Meulenkamp/Portela (R2)
  • James Wade v Ratajski/Asada (R2)

Thursday December 20

Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Jermaine Wattimena v Barnard/De Sousa (R2)
  • Alan Norris v Lennon/Bailey (R2)
  • Stephen Bunting v Humphries/Hunt (R2)
  • Steve Beaton v Dobey/Koltsov (R2)
  • Cristo Reyes v Evans/Rodriguez (R2)
  • Mervyn King v Dekker/Ashton (R2)
  • Adrian Lewis v Stevenson/Evetts (R2)
  • Mensur Suljovic v Searle/Burton (R2)

Friday December 21

Second Round (Best of 5 sets)

  • Benito van de Pas v Mansell/Long (R2)
  • John Henderson v Clemens/Kirk (R2)
  • Steve West v North/Marijanovic (R2)
  • Kyle Anderson v De Graaf/Malicdem (R2)
  • Ian White v Jones/Petersen (R2)
  • Jelle Klaasen v Brown/Sedlacek (R2)
  • Gerwyn Price v Aspinall/Nentjes (R2)
  • Jonny Clayton v Van den Bergh/Puleo (R2)

Saturday December 22

Third Round (Best of 7 sets)

  • Whitlock/Joyce/Dobromyslova v Norris/Lennon/Bailey (R3)
  • Chisnall/Payne/J Smith v Huybrechts/Thornton/Larsson (R3)
  • Gurney/Ross Smith/Lim v J Lewis/Schindler/Harris (R3)
  • Suljovic/Searle/Burton v Wilson/O’Connor/Meeuwisse (R3)
  • G Anderson/Nicholson/Burness v Wattimena/Barnard/De Sousa (R3)
  • Van Gerwen/Tabern/Ray Smith v Hopp/Noppert/Lam (R3)

Sunday December 23

Third Round (Best of 7 sets

  • Webster/Van der Voort/Ilagan v Beaton/Dobey/Koltsov (R3)
  • Cullen/Dolan/Liu v King/Dekker/Ashton (R3)
  • Wade/Ratajski/Asada v Klaasen/Brown/Sedlacek (R3)
  • A Lewis/Stevenson/Evetts v Van Barneveld/Edgar/Labanauskas (R3)
  • Price/Aspinall/Nentjes v K Anderson/De Graaf/Malicdem (R3)
  • Cross/De Zwaan/Kumar v Reyes/Evans/Rodriguez (R3)

Thursday December 27

Third Round (Best of 7 sets) & Fourth Round (Best of 7 sets)

  • White/Jones/Petersen v West/North/Marijanovic (R3)
  • Clayton/Van den Bergh/Puleo v Bunting/Humphries/Hunt (R3)
  • M Smith/Meulenkamp/Portela v Henderson/Clemens/Kirk (R3)
  • Wright/Alcinas/Ross v Van de Pas/Mansell/Long (R3)
  • 2x Fourth Round matches

Friday December 28

Fourth Round (Best of 7 sets)

  • 6x Matches

Saturday December 29

  • Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 sets)
  • Quarter-Final 1
  • Quarter-Final 2
  • Quarter-Final 3
  • Quarter-Final 4

Sunday December 30

Semi-Finals (Best of 11 sets)

  • Semi-Final 1
  • Semi-Final 2

Tuesday January 1

  • Final (Best of 13 sets)
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Daryl Gurney Wins The Darts World Grand Prix

Daryl Gurney Wins The Darts World Grand Prix

Daryl Gurney Darts World Grand Prix

Saturday saw a brand-new victor in live televised darts as Daryl Gurney emerged victorious at the World Grand Prix after overcoming Australian Simon Whitlock 5-4 in the final at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin.

The win, his first live TV event and first televised ranking final, was reward for a fine year at the oche for the Northern Irishman who has burst into the world’s elite in 2017 and now moves up to a career-high sixth on the PDC Order of Merit.

A quick start for Gurney

Gurney was on top from the start, taking the first two sets from the vastly more experienced Whitlock who subsequently fought back to take the lead at 4-3 following Gurney’s missed dart at a double.

The final two sets went Gurney’s way though when he won the eighth set 3-1 before landing double ten in the final set to claim the title before breaking down in tears as he celebrated the win.

“I’m lost for words – I can’t believe it, I really can’t. It feels better than anything else I’ve ever felt in my life. Dreams do come true and this is a dream,” said Gurney.

A look ahead

Naturally, the win has affected the current prices for December’s PDC World Championships at The Ally Pally. Act now and Daryl Gurney can be picked up for the winter’s big one as an outright winner for 25/1 the best price around by a wide margin.  Another recent winner, Mensur Suljovic, is also 25/1 before the prices begin to drift out.

In just over a month’s time, the unique Grand Slam of Darts takes place where the best of the PDC compete against the best of the BDO. Before then, however, is the World Series of Darts Finals in November with the invitations for the three-day event confirmed.

Taking place after the conclusion of the worldwide World Series of Darts events, championship marks the end of the darts season. Eight players are taken directly from the World Series of Darts rankings, meaning Scottish pair Gary ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson and Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright plus Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade, Daryl Gurney, Kyle Anderson and Gerwyn Price will all be joining Michael van Gerwen in Glasgow. MVG, by the way, will be challenging to win a third successive title at Glasgow’s Braehead Arena.

Note, there will be no Phil Taylor, who has opted not to participate. Adrian Lewis, Mensur Suljovic, Dave Chisnall and Jelle Klaasen will all be in attendance though as the top four non-qualified players from the PDC Order of Merit.

In addition, there are four international invitations which have been awarded to Australian duo Simon Whitlock and Corey Cadby as well as Michael Smith and Max Hopp, with the remaining eight places going to qualifiers from Monday’s PDC Tour Card Holders’ Qualifier. These are darters are Rob Cross, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Chris Dobey, Justin Pipe, Jonny Clayton, Mark Webster, Jan Dekker and Simon Stevenson.

World Series of Darts Finals Player List

Eight Players from World Series Rankings

  • Gary Anderson (Scotland)
  • Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands)
  • Peter Wright (Scotland)
  • Raymond van Barneveld (Netherlands)
  • James Wade (England)
  • Daryl Gurney (Northern Ireland)
  • Kyle Anderson (Australia)
  • Gerwyn Price (Wales)
  • PDC Order of Merit Qualifiers
  • Adrian Lewis (England)
  • Mensur Suljovic (Austria)
  • Dave Chisnall (England)
  • Jelle Klaasen (Netherlands)

Invited Players

  • Simon Whitlock (Australia)
  • Corey Cadby (Australia)
  • Michael Smith (England)
  • Max Hopp (Germany)

Eight PDC Tour Card Qualifiers

  • Rob Cross
  • Dimitri Van den Bergh
  • Chris Dobey
  • Justin Pipe
  • Jonny Clayton
  • Mark Webster
  • Jan Dekker
  • Simon Stevenson
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