Premier League Darts 2018 Betting: Week 14

From an original cast of ten, only five throwers remain in contention for the 2018 PDC Premier League Trophy as we head to Birmingham for this week’s round of action. Eight players still compete but Simon Whitlock, Raymond Van Barneveld and Peter Wright will depart ahead of the play offs.

There are four matches to play in week 14 but we’ll firstly take a look at the outright market ahead of those games.

Outright Update

Michael Van Gerwen is the first player to officially qualify for the next phase and the Dutchman has led the outright betting for some time. MVG can now be found at best odds of 8/15 to lift the trophy with most bookies including William Hill and BetBright.

Gary Anderson is now the second favourite at a top price of 9/2 but the Flying Scotsman has mixed form and suffered a surprise 7-5 defeat to Simon Whitlock last time out. It was a week of tight finishes with Rob Cross drawing with Barney and the PDC World Champion is now at a best of 5/1 with Coral and Betway to add the Premier League to his trophy cabinet.

Michael Smith looks safe despite experiencing a mixed night in Manchester: Bully Boy demolished Peter Wright by seven legs to one before losing to Van Gerwen by the same scoreline and Smith is now available at best odds of 14/1 with Unibet in the outright betting.

The only man still in with a chance of breaking into the Top Four is Daryl Gurney but with a three point gap to make up over Anderson, the bookmakers don’t fancy his chances. Gurney carries a top price of 100/1 with William Hill and Ladbrokes to round up the outright betting ahead of this week’s matches.

First Up

Our first game of the night in Birmingham is effectively a dead rubber as Peter Wright takes on Simon Whitlock. Neither man will proceed to the next phase and these games can be tough to predict but they can also hold some value for those that call correctly.

Wright starts as favourite here at best odds of 4/6 with Coral and 10Bet but there will be some interest in Whitlock after he defeated Gary Anderson last time out. The Wizard is available at a top price of 7/2 with Betway while the draw completes this market at a best of 4/1 with MarathonBet.

Following On

The second match of the evening is a must win for Daryl Gurney who really needs both points if he is to stay in touch with the Top Four. Gurney takes on Michael Smith in a tight market where many bookies have the same win odds for both players. For others, Smith is a very narrow favourite at a top price of 16/11 with 10Bet and Sport Pesa while Gurney is just behind at 6/4 with Sun Bets.

A draw may not be enough for Gurney to stay in contention but it will certainly attract attention at a best of 7/2 with MarathonBet.

Next up we have the biggest clash of the evening as World Champion Rob Cross takes on the tournament favourite Michael Van Gerwen. We know that MVG can be beaten and on those occasions his opponent will deliver at a superb price and there will definitely be some interest in Cross who defeated the Dutchman at the semi final stage of the PDC Worlds.

Van Gerwen starts as favourite at a short best of 8/15 with SportingBet while the draw is the second option on the list at 21/5 with MarathonBet. Victory for ‘Voltage’ Cross rounds things off here at 23/5 with 188Bet.

Finishing Off

If Daryl Gurney can win earlier in the evening then the man under pressure is fourth placed Gary Anderson who will be through to the next phase if he can beat Raymond Van Barneveld. It’s been a disappointing tournament for Barney who started 2018 in decent form but he’s a danger to any player and there will be interest in the Dutchman for the final game of the night.

As the stronger darter, Anderson is a short best priced option at 7/10 with MarathonBet while Van Barneveld is available at a top price of 7/2 with Sun Bets and Betway. The draw completes our result options for the night at 15/4 with BetBright.

Verdict

We’ve slimmed down to four games for the first time this season and none of them seem to be really clear cut. Admittedly we have two short-priced odds on favourites but both Michael Van Gerwen and Gary Anderson are up against tough opponents and their matches could be much tighter than the markets suggest.

Elsewhere, while it’s always dangerous to bet on a dead rubber it can also be profitable at times so we’re going to start our tips with the first game of the night. Simon Whitlock started this competition in top form before a mid-way slump but that victory over Gary Anderson last week suggests he’s in good touch and happy with his game.

In contrast, Peter Wright has looked demoralised for much of this season’s Premier League and slumped to another 7-1 defeat in Manchester, this time at the hands of Michael Smith. Whitlock to beat Wright is therefore the first confirmed tip.

We’re also looking for Smith to beat Gurney in a tight market. Gurney is still fighting to be involved in the latter stages of this competition but Smith has been impressive since week one and 16/11 is a decent price for the form thrower.

That leaves room for a final tip and we’ll head back to Anderson v Van Barneveld. We mentioned that Barney can be a threat but he’s already eliminated and should go down in what could still be a tight finish. Anderson to win 7-5 therefore looks good at a generous top price of 8/1 with Sky Bet.

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