PDC Premier League Darts 2019: Week 15 Betting and Odds Preview

After fourteen weeks of fantastic darting action, the PDC Premier League regular season comes to its conclusion on Thursday night, as the First Direct Arena in Leeds hosts Week 15. The first game of the evening is due off at around 19:15 BST.

Week 14 Results and Outright Market Updates

Rob Cross
Rob Cross

Nobody has the benefit of hindsight, but following last week’s events in Manchester, if James Wade had gained victory over Michael Smith, then ‘The Machine’ would have already cemented his place in the Final Four at the O2 in London next Thursday evening. Wade had to settle for a 7-7 draw with ‘Bully Boy’ Smith, and he needs one point to guarantee his participation next week.

Wade blew a 7-5 lead at the MEN Arena against the already eliminated Smith, but he can qualify provided Daryl Gurney and Mensur Suljovic do not win their respective games. Wade also has the benefit of being last on the ‘oche’ against Rob Cross, so he will know exactly what is required. SportingBet obviously believe that Wade will has no issues in qualification for next week, as the layer offer just 1/33 on Wade making the Finals Night.

Rob Cross has no issues regarding qualification for the O2 as he swept aside Mensur Suljovic last week in a comfortable 8-4 win. Cross never looked in any trouble against his Austrian opponent, while sauntering into an early 4-1 lead, and cruised to victory with a three-dart average of 102.66.

Cross leads the league standings going into the final week of the regular season, while Suljovic has the unenviable task of facing Michael van Gerwen in Leeds in his bid for qualification. If results go kindly for the popular Austrian, he may not need any points to qualify, but Sporting Bet has Suljovic as a 3/1 chance to make the semi-final stages. Despite his impressive efforts last week, Cross was unmoved in the Outright market for the Premier League at a generally available 4/1.

For regular readers of these betting previews, the predicted grudge match between Daryl Gurney and Gerwyn Price took centre stage last week in a badly tempered 7-7 draw. Following the end of the match, both players had to be separated by security staff, as emotions ran high on stage.

The stalemate did little for both players’ qualification hopes – in particular for Price – who must beat already eliminated Peter Wright and hope for results to fall his way. A similar fate is facing Gurney, who realistically needs victory over Michael Smith, and hope that Mensur Suljovic suffers defeat.

Week 14’s final game saw Mighty Michael van Gerwen back to his imperious best with an 8-1 mauling of Peter Wright - who in credit averaged over 102, but it wasn’t nearly enough against the world’s number one player. ‘MVG’ stormed back to form last week with a three-dart average of almost 111 in a blistering performance against the suffering Scot.

Van Gerwen faces Mensur Suljovic tomorrow evening and the Dutchman will be out for victory to try and usurp Rob Cross at the top of the table going into the Final Four and a £25,000 bonus for topping the table. Wright will end his 2019 Premier League campaign with a match-up with Gerwyn Price.

With two places already confirmed by Rob Cross and Michael van Gerwen, Week 15 will answer all the remaining questions on who will make the Final Four next Thursday. Here are our views on the last four regular season matches to hopefully point our readers in the right direction for winning selections.

Gerwyn Price v Peter Wright

Gerwyn Price
Gerwyn Price

Despite being eliminated from the tournament, Peter Wright still has plenty of financial gain to play for on Thursday night, and that could spell trouble for Gerwyn Price, who needs nothing short of victory in his hopes for the Semi Final stages.

Price is the strong favourite at the generally available 13/10, while Wright can be backed at 6/4 with Betfred. The Draw is a 4/1 chance with Betway. If Wright wins this game and Michael Smith is defeated later in the evening, the Scot will net an extra £15,000 in prize money, so the incentive is there to perform well in his last appearance. Price also must go for broke in his bid for another chance in the tournament.

This game could well go to the wire, but I couldn’t be certain of which direction. Over 13.5 Legs at 23/17 with SportingBet looks to be a solid play in this contest.

Daryl Gurney v Michael Smith

The outcome of the previous contest could well have a significant bearing on how this game could transpire. A Price victory, will force Gurney to beat Smith to give the Northern Irishman hope of qualifying. While, if Wright suffers defeat against the Welshman in the opening game, this means that Smith has effectively nothing to play for, as he cannot move in any direction in the league standings.

From a betting perspective, it is almost impossible to suggest anything worthy of a punt at this stage. If Wright loses against ‘The Iceman Price’ then Gurney (7/5 with Betfred) is a potential bet to beat Smith (6/4 with Unibet), but if Wright wins, then the whole dynamic of this contest changes. A watching brief if suggested, unless you wish to get involved following the opening match. The Draw is a 4/1 chance – again with Betway – for information purposes.

Michael van Gerwen v Mensur Suljovic

Michael Van Gerwen
Michael Van Gerwen

Yet another game with both players needing victory for contrasting reasons. Van Gerwen must win to place pressure on Rob Cross for the top spot, while Suljovic could well require something from this game to qualify for the Finals Night.

The bookmakers believe this will be an easy night’s work for van Gerwen, with the Dutchman available to back at the prohibitive odds of 3/10 with the likes of Ladbrokes and William Hill amongst others. The Draw and a Suljovic win can both be taken at 6/1 with Betfred and Betway regarding the stalemate, and Unibet and Sport Pesa for a Suljovic victory.

Another van Gerwen masterclass could well be on the cards, but if you consider his far superior leg differential in comparison to Rob Cross, the Dutch master does not necessarily need to beat his opponent by a significant margin. As an alternative, Coral and Ladbrokes offer 5/6 on ‘MVG’ to score more 180’s than Suljovic, and this looks to be a solid option.

James Wade v Rob Cross

As already stated in this betting preview, both players will already know what is required by the time they reach the stage. This is another game that is terribly difficult to predict considering other results can, and most probably will, have mental effects on both players before this contest.

Again, for information purposes, Rob Cross is the even money (1/1) favourite to win this match with Ladbrokes and William Hill, while James Wade can be backed at 2/1 with Betway. The Draw is available at 15/4 with Sport Pesa.

It is very likely that Michael van Gerwen will beat Mensur Suljovic, and that will force the hand of Rob Cross to beat James Wade for top spot in the regular season. It is also conceivable that Wade could have already qualified if results have gone his way earlier in the evening. If this was to be the case, then Cross is worth a bet at even money, but only if Wade has nothing to play for.

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