Say what you want about darts. How it isn’t a real sport. How you have to weigh over 14 stone to be any good at it. How it has some of the most ridiculous nicknames of all time at the top level (The Flying Scotsman, the Muffin Man and Bully Boy dear oh dear). But it’s still a night out for the lads and has the equivalent of a penalty shootout at the end of every leg. They’re in Belfast this week as Barney and the Thorn play twice.
Robert Thornton vs Peter Wright – bet here
A battle between two contrasting Scots start the night in the SSE Arena. Peter Wright badly needs the victory to stay in contention of making the playoffs for the first time in his Premier League career and plays twice in Birmingham at the end of the month.
The problem for him is that this will be his easiest fixture of the run-in. Robert Thornton is playing for pride at this stage but he was unlucky in his 7-5 loss to MVG last week. His highest average of the season (104) wasn’t enough. This will be close. Back Wright draw no bet at odds of
Raymond van Barneveld vs Phil Taylor – bet here
In the words of that god awful rugby anthem – come the Power and the glory. And Phil Taylor is looking odds on for more glory, sitting proudly on top of the Premier League table. He played twice last week and despite not being at his best (he didn’t top 100 in his average) still got four points from four against the World Champion and James Wade.
It’s nearly twenty years since Barney and Taylor first met competitively. 74 meetings and the Great Dutchman has only managed to win 16. But he has won four of the last seven meetings, including twice in the league last year. Back Taylor to take revenge and win at odds of
James Wade vs Adrian Lewis – bet here
When these two met in week 4 it was Jackpot that came out on top in an admittedly less than thrilling game. A 142 checkout from Lewis was the highlight in a match where neither player threatened at the top. Now though they bot sit on 13 points after six wins apiece. Their tournament average is almost identical (97.82 for Wade just topping the 97.32 from Lewis) but against tradition, Wade has been the heavier scorer of the two. I think he has the quality to avoid defeat again. Draw at
Michael van Gerwen vs Gary Anderson – bet here
Gary Anderson has one of the rarest things in darts – a winning record in majors against Michael Van Gerwen. They’ve only met three times in majors because tournaments such as the Premier League, Grand Slam and Champions League don’t count.
He beat him in the Premier League final last year but has lost the last three meetings. Anderson currently has a grip on that fourth and final playoff spot so probably needs the points more than MVG. Mighty Mike is now three points off Taylor with a game in hand and goes twice next week in Bournemouth. But he’s just unstoppable at the moment. MVG win at odds of
Raymond van Barneveld vs Robert Thornton
Barney has a better record in this meeting and based on that plus possible form from earlier, I’m tipping him at odds of