Nine-Dart Lewis Gunning For Premier League Play Offs

Adrian Lewis hit a superb nine-dart finish in his win over James Wade last week in the Premier League, and the Jackpot also landed us a nice touch in the process. He’s worth backing again this week when the world’s top tungsten stars visit Bournemouth, on a night when both he and Michael van Gerwen will double up to play their game in hand.

There’s also an opportunity for Phil Taylor to book his place in the top four and the play offs with a full three nights remaining. The Power missed out on the last four altogether last season for the first time in Premier League history, but he’s made no mistake this time around and is unbeaten since the opening night. He now sits clear top of the table by four points and a win on Thursday will guarantee him a to four finish at the very least. It will also maintain that lead, and with £25,000 in prize money up for grabs for the league winner, there is even more incentive than ever to wind up top of the pile.

Both Taylor and Lewis feature in our selections this week, along with current World Champion Gary Anderson, who faces a crunch clash with James Wade which could put daylight between their respective 4th and 5th positions if the Scotsman wins.

Raymond van Barneveld v Adrian Lewis

First up it’s Adrian Lewis who is a fair price of 1.91Bet €100 to win €19191/100Bet £100 to win £191-110Bet $100 to win $1910.91Bet HK$100 to win HK$191-1.10Bet Rp100 to win Rp1910.9100Bet RM100 to win RM191  with Coral and William Hill to continue his great form and beat Raymond van Barneveld in his first match of the evening.

The Jackpot was in superlative form last week but admitted even he was lost for words after producing the first nine-dart finish in the Premier League since 2012. After racing into a 4-1 lead, Lewis had been pegged back to 5-4 down against James Wade when he graced the Belfast stage with his moment of magic. After landing a 180 and a 177 from his first two visits to the board he stepped up to close out a 144 finish with two treble 20’s and a double 12. Inspired by that feat he went on to take the next two legs to win the match 7-5.

This is his first game of the night, and with a clash against Michael van Gerwen pencilled in for later in the evening, Lewis will be looking to this match as his best chance of points on the night so he can go into that epic clash without any pressure.

Van Barneveld has plodded along in this year’s Premier League but has probably left himself far too much to do in the remaining games to make the top four. He sits on 9 points currently, five points adrift of Anderson in 4th, but he’s already played his game in hand and realistically his chance of making the play offs has slipped away. He managed a 7-4 victory over Robert Thornton last week, but having already lost 7-5 to Phil Taylor on the night it will count for little in the end.

Gary Anderson v James Wade

Gary Anderson is also worth backing to beat James Wade at 1.63Bet €100 to win €16363/100Bet £100 to win £163-159Bet $100 to win $1630.63Bet HK$100 to win HK$163-1.59Bet Rp100 to win Rp1630.6300Bet RM100 to win RM163  with Marathonbet

Anderson prevented us hitting three winners from three bets last week when he held on to draw with Michael van Gerwen, and he showed good enough form to make him worth following this week. The two stars went toe-to-toe in a quick-fire match where neither player broke throw. Anderson racked up an impressive 108.24 average to almost match MVG’s 110.55, and a repeat of that sort of form should see him gain the two points on Thursday night.

He’s 4th in the table with 14 points, while Wade is just behind in 5th with 13 points. A win for Anderson here could put a three-point gap between them and go a long way to securing the Scotsman a place in the last four.

Wade’s excellent start to the season has slowly faded away and that 7-5 defeat to Lewis last week was a real sucker punch after the left-hander had led 5-4. He looked a decent bet to make the final four earlier in the campaign but it has slowly slipped from his grasp as the big hitters have overtaken him and pushed their way to the top. It looks like being a good season nonetheless, but it may well end up a case of so near but so far.

Phil Taylor v Robert Thornton

Finally we’ll propose a bet on Phil Taylor to beat the -3.5 handicap at 2.00Bet €100 to win €2001/1Bet £100 to win £200+100Bet $100 to win $2001.00Bet HK$100 to win HK$2001.00Bet Rp100 to win Rp2001.0000Bet RM100 to win RM200  with Bet365 when he takes on Robert Thornton.

Despite a 7-2 win over Peter Wright in the opening match last week, Thornton then lost 7-4 to van Barneveld in his second game and so his faint chances of a play off spot disappeared. He did well to avoid elimination on his return to the Premier league this season after a disastrous start, and has at least regained some pride, but Taylor is getting back to his best and has already stated that he will throw everything at Thornton in an attempt to secure a play off position early doors.

Tips Summary

Adrian Lewis to beat Raymond van Barneveld
Thursday 21st April, 19:00 GMT Start
Odds: 1.91Bet €100 to win €19191/100Bet £100 to win £191-110Bet $100 to win $1910.91Bet HK$100 to win HK$191-1.10Bet Rp100 to win Rp1910.9100Bet RM100 to win RM191

Gary Anderson to beat James Wade
Thursday 21st April, 19:00 GMT Start
Odds: 1.63Bet €100 to win €16363/100Bet £100 to win £163-159Bet $100 to win $1630.63Bet HK$100 to win HK$163-1.59Bet Rp100 to win Rp1630.6300Bet RM100 to win RM163

Phil Taylor -3.5 to beat Robert Thornton
Thursday 21st April, 19:00 GMT Start
Odds: 2.00Bet €100 to win €2001/1Bet £100 to win £200+100Bet $100 to win $2001.00Bet HK$100 to win HK$2001.00Bet Rp100 to win Rp2001.0000Bet RM100 to win RM200