Surprise package Chizzy could double up on victories in South Yorkshire
And then there were eight. An octet of men remain in the Betway Premier League after Judgement Night last week; which means two must double up on matches every Thursday.
James Wade and Dave Chisnall are the first to do so in Sheffield this week. Wade kicks off the evening against his old rival Adrian Lewis in the Steel City after Jackpot narrowly avoided relegation last week. Lewis does tend to struggle in this competition which is bizarre given his prodigious talent; Wade is a much more reliable performer in this event and it is no surprise he is favourite here. The spanner in the works, however, is that the pair met in the German Darts Masters quarter-finals on Monday and Lewis romped to a 6-0 win. Jackpot played well and the Machine was woeful which brought a swift end to the contest. Usually Wade would be the pick, but after that hammering then Lewis looks a much better choice at 7/5, especially after his crucial victory over Peter Wright last week.
Chisnall is on stage next against Gary Anderson and, once again, Chizzy looks too good to turn down given his recent performances. The St Helens man has been the surprise package of the tournament thus far, sitting second in the table with wins over Phil Taylor, Lewis and Anderson to his name already. When these two met in Week Five Chisnall was in sublime form, firing in a 110 average to down the World Champ 7-2. It is hard to see him repeating that performance but he will certainly take confidence from it. Anderson is playing well also, but given Chisnall’s form and previous display against the Scot he is just too good to miss at a whopping 11/4.
Next up is the old classic between Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld; no longer the best two players on the planet but still very capable of producng a cracking game, as they showed few weeks ago. Taylor averaged a ridiculous 115 in losing to Barney in Glasgow and the Yorkshire crowd will be hoping for similar levels of excitement. The Power used to be a banker against Barney in this competition but no more, he hasn’t beaten the Dutchman in their last four Betway Premier League meetings (two defeats and two draws). Taylor will be desperate to put in a big display this week but is struggling and Barney is playing pretty well. With three draws in their last six Betway Premier League meetings, the stalemate looks very tempting indeed at 4/1.
The easiest call of the night tends to be backing Michael van Gerwen to win and this week is no different as he takes on Stephen Bunting. The World Number One is in sensational form, illustrated once again this weekend by winning the German Darts Masters; his third successive victory on the European Tour. MVG is a cut above everyone else at the moment and very clearly superior to Bunting who is picking up results but without really impressing. His tournament average of 94.5 is very uninspiring and Mighty Mike will have no trouble this week at 2/5.
Finally Wade and Chisnall return to the stage and it is difficult to pick a winner without knowing their earlier results, but the same logic applies to an extent. Despite being the second best player in the tournament so far, Chizzy remains under-rated and he goes into this clash as underdog which is a bit of a surprise. Whilst it is advisable to wait until the first matches have been played, Chisnall looks the better pick early on at 13/8. Seen as he has won six from nine to date, it is unlikely he will fail to win either match on Thursday night.
Adrian Lewis to beat James Wade @ 7/5
Dave Chisnall to beat Gary Anderson @ 11/4
Phil Taylor v Raymond van Barneveld – Draw @ 4/1
Michael van Gerwen to beat Stephen Bunting @ 2/5
Dave Chisnall to beat James Wade @ 13/8
