Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright both booked their places in the finals of the Darts Premier League with wins in Birmingham last Thursday.
Betway Darts Premier League: week 13 reports
Michael van Gerwen vs Adrian Lewis and Dave Chisnall
The world number one brutally dismissed Adrian Lewis with a 110.75 average, hit without a reply in a classy whitewash – the first in the League this year. This was Mighty Mike’s second match of the evening, having earlier tied with Dave Chisnall in a match where he found himself trailing 6-3.
This was the third 7-0 win in MVG’s Premier League career and sent him three points clear at the top of the table – ahead of Peter “Snakebite” Wright, himself guaranteed a place at the London finale on May 18.
Adrian Lewis vs James Wade
Lewis’s London participation now hangs in the balance having played two, lost two last week when his MVG embarrassment was preceded by a 7-4 defeat to James Wade.
This was a match in which Jackpot failed to land 12 of his 16 double shots and has now lost three on the bounce following his nine-darter in Liverpool.
Peter Wright vs Phil Taylor
Snakebite’s qualification came courtesy of a 7-3 win against Phil “The Power” Taylor, a six-time League winner who now stands fourth in the table. He clings onto hope of a playoff appearance in the face of this week’s upcoming clash with Mighty Mike.
The match was all square after four legs before Wright took over and saw it out to a 6-2 victory, landing checkouts of 116, 104, 96 and 78.
Gary Anderson vs Raymond van Barneveld
That defeat means Taylor switches League positions with Gary Anderson, who moves up to third following his 7-4 victory over Raymond van Barneveld. The world number two averaged 105.47 and closed with a 161 checkout.
Premier League week 14 darts betting tips
Just the four matches this week!
Peter Wright vs Adrian Lewis
The first of these matches pairs Peter Wright and Adrian Lewis in a fight for survival for the latter. Lewis has been on terrible run of form since hitting a nine-dart finish a fortnight ago. The smart money must surely go on Peter Wright here.
Raymond van Barneveld vs Dave Chisnall
Fifth-placed Barney still has hopes of making it to the O2 (likely in place of Taylor) but needs to overcome an improving Dave Chisnall to do so which is far from guaranteed. Given the defeat he suffered last week in Birmingham, a win for the Dutchman looks sound enough.
James Wade vs Gary Anderson
James “The Machine” Wade steps out with Gary “The Flying Scotsman” Anderson in the night’s fourth game. Third-place Anderson will be looking to cement his playoff position with a win, a result he is likely to get. SkyBet are offering a great treble on Anderson to win the match, hit the outright highest checkout and score more 180s than Wade which, at 13/8, looks a steal.
Phil Taylor vs Michael van Gerwen
Phil Taylor has the unenviable task of getting a result against Michael van Gerwen, fresh off the back of dishing out a whitewash to Adrian Lewis.
In the likelihood of an MVG win, the final place – assuming Anderson wraps up third place this week – should boil down to Taylor who meets Lewis and RVB who meets Wright next week.
The best price on Anderson to win the League championship is a very decent 11/2 across the board with Bet365, Betway and SkyBet. Taylor, on the other hand, can be picked up at 20/1 in the same rooms.
Premier League accumulator
The week’s four-fold accumulator is Wright, RVB, Anderson and MVG which pays out 8.12 but might be worth insuring slightly with a Lucky 15.