Darts: PDC Premier League Finals Night Odds and Betting Preview

After fifteen weeks of fantastic darting action, we are now down to the final four players who have qualified for the Semi-Finals of the PDC Premier League Darts tournament.

Two Englishmen in the form of Rob Cross and James Wade are joined by Dutchman, Michael van Gerwen and Daryl Gurney of Northern Ireland, and this quartet will battle it out at the O2 Arena in London for the top prize of £250,000 – and the honour of becoming the PDC Premier League champion of 2019.

Week 15 Results and Outright Market Updates

Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen

Despite hitting a three-dart average of 98.58, five 180’s and the highest checkout on the night of 142, it was just not enough for Welshman, Gerwyn Price to qualify for Finals Night. Price defeated Peter Wright 8-3, in a one-sided affair, but other results went awry for Price, who ended the league table in fifth spot.

Wright had already been eliminated from the tournament earlier, and so the quest begins for both players to impress the PDC hierarchy over the next few months to return for the Premier League in 2020.

Daryl Gurney booked his spot at the O2 on Thursday night, with an impressive 8-3 win over the already eliminated Michael Smith. It was a big achievement considering the pressure the Northern Irishman was under following the earlier win of Gerwyn Price.

Gurney hit a three-dart average of 101.80 in Leeds, and now will face Michael van Gerwen at the Semi-finals stage. ‘Superchin’ is a best-priced 11/1 chance with Ladbrokes and William Hill to lift the trophy, but he is by no means a rank outsider to do so.

Normal service was resumed at the First Direct Arena in Leeds last Thursday, as Michael van Gerwen returned to the top of the Premier League standings, following an 8-5 victory over Mensur Suljovic. This defeat for the Austrian extinguished his hopes of qualification.

As already stated, ‘MVG’ will face Daryl Gurney on Thursday evening, and is a very short price to retain his Premier League title for the fourth consecutive time – and fifth overall. Coral and Betfred offer the best industry odds of just 8/15 on van Gerwen to stay as champion, which does seem very short.

The final game of the evening pitted James Wade and Rob Cross together, with both players desperate for victory for contrasting reasons. Wade needed the win to qualify for the Final Four, while Cross could claim top spot in the league standings – and a significant financial reward for doing so. Wade prevailed 8-5 in a tense battle, and both players will renew rivalries in the second Semi-final on Thursday night.

Unibet and SportingBet go 4/1 on Cross to win his first Premier League title, while Wade can be backed at the standout price of 15/2 with Betway.

So, who will come out on top on Finals Night? Here below we will look at both Semi-finals and offer our advice on what may transpire.

Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney

The Match Betting for this contest sees van Gerwen as the prohibitively short 1/5 favourite, while Gurney can be backed at a generally available price of 7/2.

Gurney has won the last two meetings between the pair at Premier League level, which highlights the value in backing the Northern Irishman. Just three weeks ago, Gurney beat ‘Mighty Mike’ 8-5, so Gurney will have the belief he can get the job done.

The Semi-final format is slightly different to the regular season, with a best-of-19-legs contest. The longer game will definitely play into the hands of van Gerwen though as his higher consistency level is likely to tell.

With that in mind, in the Handicap betting market, ‘MVG’ to cover a –4.5 leg deficit at 5/4 with Betway looks to be a solid option at a shade off odds-against. Gurney could prove to be a very difficult opponent for the World number one player, but I’d rather have him onside than not.

Rob Cross v James Wade

Rob Cross
Rob Cross

A repeat of the Week 15 battle in Leeds. Despite his loss last week, Rob Cross is the bookmakers’ favourite to prevail to the Final on Thursday night at the best price of 4/6 with Ladbrokes and SportingBet, while Wade is a 13/10 chance with William Hill and SportingBet.

This game is a tough one to call, and it could literally go either way. Cross has the three-dart average power that Wade could find tough to compete with; however, Wade is a deadly finisher at the double which could tip the balance in his favour.

SportingBet are offering several options of how many legs will be played in this game, and the preference here is to go Over 17.5 legs at 17/10. The same firm offer 11/13 on Over 16.5, while it is a 15/4 shot for the contest to go to a final leg decider. All three options are definitely worth considering.

The Final

If I had to pick a winner from the second Semi-Final, it would have to be Rob Cross – but only just. This would mean a battle for the title between the top two in the Premier League standings after the regular season.

It would certainly not be a hugely profitable betting proposition, but Michael van Gerwen is the very likely winner. He will go off a very short-priced favourite in the final (likely around a 1/3 chance) but the ‘mean green machine’ should have too much in the locker for his rivals.

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