FINALS night at the Premier League is finally here. After 15 weeks of round-robin entertainment, which begun back on February 2, Michael Van Gerwen is looking to be only the second player since the competition's inception to retain their title.
At 4-6 MVG in some eyes will be a good bet and it's 11-8 for the field (Anderson, Taylor or Wright). Since his first Premier League victory in 2013 MVG has made the final every year since and made it third time lucky last year after losing out to Barney in 2014 and Anderson in 2015.
Looking at the key stats:
Checkout %
- MVG – 40.54
- Anderson – 40.17
- Taylor – 39.91
- Wright – 38.89
This shows how the elite have come through this competition and standards are reaching new heights.
In the average scoring league MVG has registered a fine 104.92 with Anderson notching up 102.16 with Wright 3 points back on 98.86 and Taylor a whisker behind on 98.15. Again this shows the 100 barrier is being consistently met and an expectation in today's standard.
Antepost backers on the maximum markets, especially on Chisnall, will have to see this out. Chizzy topped the table on 65 and MVG back on 54, Anderson 53 with Wright 47 and Taylor on a mere 37.
One outcome I do like is the name the finalist bet at 20-21 with MVG and Wright although backing the double reaps a tad over even money at 103-100 for any Marathonbet account holders.
Part of me cannot see past this being the final for the reasoning I provide.
Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson (MVG leads 27-14 with 2 draws)
MVG has lost just once in the last nine attempts and in the last calendar year three times. When it comes to the major events MVG has been the man defeating Anderson in the World Grand Prix last October and the hard-fought World final in January.
Van Gerwen averaged 103.56 in his 7-4 win over Anderson in Aberdeen. Gary's inconsistency has been a factor in that some games have been under par going by The Flying Scotsman's standards.
Wright v Taylor (Taylor leads 20-9)
Wright is proving to be difficult to beat. Whether averaging 100 or less Snakebite is a better player than ever and he rarely has a bad visit.
The pair have traded victories over the campaign. I do like Wright to hit the most 180s with a 180 per leg average of 0.2893 compared to Taylor's 0.2151 per leg. Wright landed 46 in 159 legs with Taylor competed in 172 legs and hit 9 fewer.
This could go either way and the betting lines are tight to call on this occasion but I'm going with my gut feeling on this one.
Recommendations
- Wright/MVG win – 11/10 William Hill (special) or 2.03 Marathonbet 3pts
- Wright to hit more 180s than Taylor – 4-6 Winner 2pts
- MVG/Anderson – 1st leg 180 no – 11-10 Ladbrokes 1 pts
Interest bets
- MVG/Wright both to net six or more 180s – 5-1 William Hill 0.5pts
- MVG/Anderson – both over 100 average – 7-5 William Hill 1pt
