The Unibet Premier League Darts is back. Almost exactly one month on from the day that Championship debutant Rob Cross, the former electrician from Kent, lifted the World Darts Championship 2017. The action kicks off at the 3Arena in Dublin at 7PM on Thursday 1stFebruary.
It will be a strange sight for darts fans around the globe with Phil 'The Power' Taylor, an ever-present and six-time champion of the Premier League, not partaking in this year's competition. Having decided to step away from the oche, with his last professional darts being thrown in the 7-2 loss courtesy of a relentless Rob 'Voltage' Cross.
The Format
Advert
Identical to previous years dating back to 2013, the Premier League is on every Thursday evening. All shown live on Sky Sports with coverage beginning at 7PM. Get the beers at the ready.
During the first nine weeks (phase one), each player plays each other once. After this period the bottom two players are eliminated from the competition. In the next six weeks (phase two), each player plays each of the other seven remaining players once. At the end of phase two, the top four players progress to the semi-finals, and the two winners meet in the final to decipher the Champion. Each match of the beginning two phases are best of 12 legs, matches can end in a draw.
The Players
Advert
Unbelievably this year we have four Premier League debutants in that of Daryl Gurney, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross & Mensur Suljović.
In ranking order:
Michael van Gerwen 8/11 to win outright - Coming off the back of a resurgent victory in The Masters just last week, in form MvG is still the man to beat this Premier League. Now with six appearances in the Premier League, three of which he came out champion. Form, experience and quality all sit on MvG's side - it would certainly take a brave man to bet against him.
Peter Wright 10/1 to win outright - A topsy-turvy year for Snakebite this year, he produced some very good darts at times but he himself was not happy with the year overall, he has taken to the practice board to pile up hours of practice. This competition comes at a good time for him, should be able to edge himself into the top four if he keeps up the hard work.
Advert
Rob Cross 33/10 to win outright - The second favourite and in my eyes, rightfully so; if my money was to go anywhere other than onto MvG it would certainly go onto Cross. Consistently averaging into the 100's, he should have no problem reaching the top four, then all that is required is for him to produce the goods in the following two matches. Some value perhaps here in the E/W market.
Gary Anderson - 15/2 to win outright - Frustrating. The one word to summarise Anderson's previous year, riddled with a back injury that is seemingly causing him a fair few problems - he is still producing effortless looking magical darts, and plenty of maximums, but not always when they most matter. Perhaps unfortunately not the year to put money onto the Scotsman, but he sure is working hard to rectify the problem and give it his all.
Daryl Gurney 33/1 to win outright - His slight arrogance/bravado may potentially assist him in going a long way in his darting career, but I can see it hindering him in the Premier Leagues short format, being his first appearance in the PL; it will be a tough ask for him.
Mensur Suljović 80/1 to win outright - The Austrian ace, a favourite in many darts fans' eyes. He certainly stands a chance of sneaking a top 4 position, he is frustrating to play against, I'll be certainly be looking to back him a few times over the course of the competition against unconfident opponents, his consistency is key. 80/1 is quite kind for the Austrian, who knows?!
Advert
Simon Whitlock 200/1 to win outright - Most people's favourite for an early relegation, the man from down under, Whitlock, has taken some whippings in his previous PL outings, it could potentially be the same this year.
Raymond van Barneveld 33/1 - The Dutchman's hit some form recently having reached the final of The Masters just last week, he also has plenty of Premier League experience having been picked for it thirteen times now, winning it just the solitary time back in 2014.
Michael Smith 55/1 - One of the heaviest 180 hitting prodigies within darts at the moment, but his mindset, timing and finishing seemingly lets him down more often than not. I certainly won't be backing him to win the Premier League this year, but I will be wading into some of his Player 180 lines, rattling off an average of over 0.5 180's per leg in the recent WDC. Incredible maximum rattling from the young Englishman.
Gerwyn Price 100/1 - Again, another debutant in that of Welshman Gerwyn Price. Having hung up his rugby boots in 2014, now a full-time professional arrows-man. The price is about fair, I think he'll take a few wins including the odd scalp or two, but can't see him squeezing into that top four come the end of phase 2.
Night One Fixtures
Advert
Mensur Suljović (6) v Simon Whitlock (8)
Gary Anderson (4) v Michael Smith (11)
Daryl Gurney (5) v Raymond van Barneveld (10)
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Rob Cross (3)
Peter Wright (2) v Gerwyn Price (12)
Some tantalising fixtures on show, the first to take the eye would have to be the three-time champion van Gerwen who is up against the man taking the darts scene by storm, Rob Cross. This affair will definitely throw up some quality darts that is as good as guaranteed.
Some Potential Value
Winning Nationality: Dutch @ 7/10. Covering a quarter of the field here with the two most recent finalists in that of van Gerwen and van Barneveld. It's hard to back against Mighty Mike and Raymond is throwing very consistently, he can always hold his own against the best. Definitely great value here for one of the Dutchman to take the title.
Rob Cross to hit the most 180's in the tournament @ 11/4. MvG, Anderson, Cross & Smith would be my four favourites to top the maximum chart. I can't see Smith getting the full allotment of game time, Anderson's back problems may hold him back, if Cross keeps his standard high including a little less tendency to swap down the board to 19s, this certainly possesses a little smidgen of value.
Peter Wright to win v Gerwyn Price @ 3/5. A nice price for the world number 3, he has been working very hard behind the scenes on his arrows and this game will be very important to him, could be a crowds favourite over Gerwyn too, down in Dublin, so definitely a hint of value in Snakebite to win the match in the opening night of the Premier League.
All odds with Unibet.
Let us all hope for a fantastic season of arrows.