Taylor at The Double in Premier League Darts

Judgement night last week saw the elimination of Dave Chisnall and Michael Smith from the Premier League, and night ten on Thursday sees the remaining players compete in the second half of the season with the aim a place in the top four and the end of season play off.

Leading up to last week’s action it was two from three as Robert Thornton, Dave Chisnall and Michael Smith were all fighting for the lives, but it was the former who pulled off the great escape. Thornton had only earned one point from his first six Premier League matches, but a win and a draw against Smith and Michael van Gerwen in the previous week’s games proved to be enough to save him. Smith came out the 7-5 loser in a close encounter with Phil Taylor, while Chisnall was beaten by the same score by Peter Wright. Those results meant that Thornton took to the stage with no pressure when he faced Adrian Lewis, and it was just as well because Lewis ran out the 7-4 victor.

Michael van Gerwen drew his third game in as many weeks with a stalemate against countryman Raymond van Barneveld, while Gary Anderson also had to settle for a point after his tussle with James Wade. The upshot of those results meant that our tip for Premier league glory, Phil Taylor, finds himself at the top of the pile going into the second stage of the season. He has the perfect opportunity this week to stretch his lead with a double-header of games against Anderson and Wade, but now that he’s getting back to his best it could pay to side with the Power on Night Ten in the Premier League.

Gary Anderson v Phil Taylor

Phil Taylor is a very tempting price at 2.38Bet €100 to win €23869/50Bet £100 to win £238+138Bet $100 to win $2381.38Bet HK$100 to win HK$2381.38Bet Rp100 to win Rp238-0.7246Bet RM100 to win RM238  with Ladbrokes and William Hill to beat Gary Anderson, who by his own admission hasn’t been playing quite to the level he’d like in this year’s Premier League.

With 14 points, Taylor is now a point ahead of Anderson and van Gerwen and he will face a second game against James Wade later in the evening after this one. It was a year in the doldrums by his own very high standards last year, and Taylor failed to make the play offs for the first time in Premier League history. Events away from the stage were well-documented but Taylor appears to have put those distractions behind him to rise to the top of the game once again. There has been no better player in the game over such a long period of time and he is underestimated at your peril.

Anderson started the season slowly but quickly climbed the table with a run of six successive victories. Last week’s draw with Wade could be seen as a decent result after he fought back from 4-1 down, but Anderson admitted that his doubles were “atrocious” on the night. He actually went 6-5 ahead at one point and missed a dart for the match before Wade levelled for the draw, but Wade stated that it felt like a point dropped overall.

Taylor saw off a spirited fight from former World Youth Champion Michael Smith to win 7-5, and he will be fired up for this week’s two matches which could send him three or more points clear at the top of the table.

Phil Taylor v James Wade

Regardless of the result against World Champion Anderson, Phil Taylor is still worth backing at 1.67Bet €100 to win €16767/100Bet £100 to win £167-149Bet $100 to win $1670.67Bet HK$100 to win HK$167-1.49Bet Rp100 to win Rp1670.6700Bet RM100 to win RM167  with Paddy Power and BoyleSports to get the better of James Wade.

It’s been a very good season so far for Wade with five wins and a draw giving him 11 points and a handy 5th position in the table. He didn’t play on night Eight having already doubled up earlier in the season, but the 6-6 draw on Judgement Night with Anderson was a good result as already stated. He pulled off that excellent win over Michael van Gerwen earlier in the season too, but it was 7-1 to the Power when these two players met back in February.

Taylor has also beaten Anderson this season and a repeat of those two results would be an excellent start to the second half of the season for the Stoke ace.

James Wade v Raymond van Barneveld

James Wade also has two games on the night and he’s fancied to win his other fixture against Raymond van Barneveld at 2.38Bet €100 to win €23869/50Bet £100 to win £238+138Bet $100 to win $2381.38Bet HK$100 to win HK$2381.38Bet Rp100 to win Rp238-0.7246Bet RM100 to win RM238  with Paddy Power and Coral

By the time Wade and Taylor line up against one another they will have both played the previous matches, and for Wade in particular, this represents his best chance of points. He beat van Barneveld 7-5 as recently as the 10th of March when they met in the Premier League, and is worth chancing to follow up at an attractive price.

Raymond van Barneveld’s season is shaping up in a similar manner to his campaign last year, where he narrowly avoided elimination to unexpectedly surge into the play offs. This time around he has six points after three wins and five defeats, but a repeat of last year’s heroics seems unlikely. It was a good point last week against van Gerwen in which he had a shot at the match before having to settle for the draw, but Wade should be focused on what will be a big night for him in the Sheffield Arena.

Tips Summary

Phil Taylor to beat Gary Anderson
Thursday 7th April, 19:00 GMT Start
Odds: 2.38Bet €100 to win €23869/50Bet £100 to win £238+138Bet $100 to win $2381.38Bet HK$100 to win HK$2381.38Bet Rp100 to win Rp238-0.7246Bet RM100 to win RM238

Phil Taylor to beat James Wade
Thursday 7th April, 19:00 GMT Start
Odds: 1.67Bet €100 to win €16767/100Bet £100 to win £167-149Bet $100 to win $1670.67Bet HK$100 to win HK$167-1.49Bet Rp100 to win Rp1670.6700Bet RM100 to win RM167

James Wade to beat Raymond van Barneveld
Thursday 7th April, 19:00 GMT Start
Odds: 2.38Bet €100 to win €23869/50Bet £100 to win £238+138Bet $100 to win $2381.38Bet HK$100 to win HK$2381.38Bet Rp100 to win Rp238-0.7246Bet RM100 to win RM238