GLASGOW'S new Hydro hosts the Premier League darts tonight – and the 11,000 sell-out crowd should make enough noise for me to hear them along the road at the Daily Record.
Top Treble sponsors Betway are now tournament backers but instead of soaking up the atmosphere I'll be stuck in the office – but that's life. Good news is the Betway boys felt so sorry for me they've given me tickets to hand out for the Premier League event in Aberdeen so watch out for a competition in the next couple of weeks.
I'm not at a darts expert but with the event taking place less than a mile from where I'll be sitting it would be remiss not to have a bet.
I've had a good look at tonight's game and these are my thoughts more than tips. If you agree back them but if you disagree you'll probably be right.
Three of the five matches could go either way but two look easy to call and that will be my main double of the night.
So let's start with Phil Taylor who has incredibly lost all three of his matches and is in relegation trouble. Taylor of course was stunned 9-0 by Michael van Gerwen and his crown is slipping.
He badly needs a win and should get it against fellow winless struggler Simon Whitlock against whom he has a 9-0 league record.
The Aussie averaged just 88.18 in his last league match and Taylor, who usually rises to the challenge posed by a raucous Scots crowd is a best 9-20 at Betway.
The other match that shouldn't be close is Michael van Gerwen against Raymond van Barneveld. Van Gerwen is the only player with a 100 per cent record after three games and while his Dutch rival has two wins his recent form isn't great.
Van Barneveld is a favourite of the Scots fans but I'll be on MVG at 1-2 with Betfred and Betway.
The other three games are tougher to call. First on stage is Peter Wright against Adrian Lewis and with home advantage I'll favour the Scot who is excelling on his league debut.
His win over Taylor will have boosted confidence, especially as he averaged more than 100, and while it will be close I'll try Snakebite at a best 1-1 with Betway and William Hill.
Robert Thornton is the second Scot in action and could face an even closer match against Wes Newton who has enjoyed back-to-back wins. If Thornton starts well and uses the noise to his advantage he could edge it.
Thornton is 1-1 at Coral while Newton is 2-1 with Betway. It's a long shot but could this be a draw at 9-2 with Betway?
So that leaves me with my favourite Scots player Gary Anderson. The guy's great to watch because you don't what's going to happen – in any leg.
One minute Ando looks the best player in the world with the treble 20 bed as big as a bucket but then he turns into the planet's worst pub player trying desperately to hit a double before the last bell sounds.
His doubles success rate was something like 18 per cent last time out and he has to show a massive improvement if he wants to beat Dave Chisnall.
Anderson will be given phenomenal support but that doesn't always work for him and he's never won in Glasgow. However, he says the change of venue will hopefully end his jinx and he's desperate to do well for his home fans.
I'm willing to take Anderson at 5-4 with Betway and William Hill and sit back and enjoy the rollercoaster.
Remember matches are played over 12 legs and the action starts at 7.15pm.
Darts Double
Taylor/MVG
Pays £21.80 to a £10 stake at Betway
Recommended Bets
Wright
(1-1, Betway, Hills)
Anderson
(5-4, Betway, Hills)
Thornton v Newton both to win 5 legs
(11-10, Betway)
In December 2020 we sadly 
###SCOTS TO BRING THE HOUSE DOWN###
GARY ANDERSON TO BEAT DAVE “CHIZZY” CHISNAL 2.2 BETFAIR
ROBERT THORNTON TO BEAT WES NEWTON 2.0 BETFAIR
DOUBLE PAYS 4.3 BETFAIR
STICK MICHAEL VAN GERWEN IN FOR GREEDY TREBLE PAYS 6/1 BETFAIR
MADBET.COM FOR U CRAZY CATS GO THRU THE CARD
A LEWIS / R THORNTON/ P TAYLOR/ MVG/ G ANDERSON 18/1 BETFAIR
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mr f hi hoping u can help nothing important, how do i add a picture to me comments? im not a specialist at these things….
gbjefr, go to gravatar.com and follow the instructions.
Anderson win would be my shout.Chisnall 1 of the best 180 scorers in the PDC but his biggest problem is his doubles.Both similar players in terms of high scoring and poor finishing but with home advantage i’d fancy Anderson,possibly 7-5
Good to see a Premier League Darts thread MrF, should get some opinions flowing. Personally I love the PL and although footie is my obsession the Darts gets my vote over the Europa League hands down. Thursdays are my new fave night of the week!
On to Week 4!
Im getting right to the point, Taylor SHOULD beat Whitlock going on H2H and Taylor averaged 100 last time out so is showing signs of improvement. There should be a turning point for the now shruken big man and this SHOULD be it. I’m taking Phil @4/9
MVG against RVB should be a simple watch as Mighty Mike is doing what he does best, throwing his arrows with ease and there flying in for him. Barney should raise his game against his compatriate but if Van Gerwin is in the right frame of mind (can’t see any reason he wouldn’t be) its a 7-3ish win. MVG @ 4/9
Now on to the match which promises to be a hard hitting, treble 20 masterclass from 2 players that just love smashing the tight bits and then have struggled with the slightly bigger bits (Doubles). To call the winner here is to call the player that will land the finishes. Both will once again be high scoring so the over 6.5 match 180’s @ 4/5 could be the way to go, especially if you have no affiliation to either (unlike Ando fan MrF)!!
That way we can sit back and, hopefully, count up those maximums! If i am to dabble with the winner it would be Ando but the stats go against that. The 180’s route seems a no brainer!
Taylor win 4/9
MVG win 4/9
Chizzy v Anderson over 6.5 180’s 4/5
£10 returns £37.56
Good luck all!
Carl D, I’d do it every week if I had the time but I don’t. Made a special effort as it’s the Glasgow. Glad you agree with the Taylor/MVG double – it’s my main bet tonight.
thanks mr f
oooossshh rong thread!!!
gbjefr, who does your hair for you? very nice.
carl D,
I love the darts aswell, second to football ofcourse but I look forward to a Thursday night now I have to say! keeps me away from betting on europa league ha!!
For me though I think your right in what your saying Taylor has to turn in around one week and yes it could be tonight but im not risking it on him! he has been very very very poor so far, he is a bit like man utd in footy terms….SHOULD win but whether he does I another thing!
going to take a double of MVG to win and over 6.5 180’s in Anderson match!
Hi Graeme,
Yeah it does have the bonus of keeping me away from the dreaded minefield of the Europa too!
I have really considered the Taylor match and as of last night my bet was the double of MVG and overs in the Chizzy/Ando match.
Taylor was alway going to take time to get going ith the change of arrow maker but I never, ever saw his humiliation to MVG coming and also his further 2 losses.
The main factor tonight is coming up against Whitlock, a player that has had sickness and other problems in the lead up to this game and then there is that record of 100% Taylor wins v Whitlock. I know records are there to be broken etc etc but it must seem unfeasable that he doesn’t get on the board sooner rather than later!
Taylor gave himself a weekend out of the spotlight by swerving the UK championship and it should prove to be a good move, the last thing he needs at the moment is to rock up in the Uk’s to get beaten again. If this had been the Taylor of old we would have stuggled to get 1/3 for this match up so the general 4/9 on offer reflects his last three PLD outings.
Still siding with Taylor but not touching the first 2 matches, want a few drinks down me in warm up for the main event. Nothing worse than taking an early one only for it to fall at the first hurdle. For now im sticking by the Top Thursday Treble but don’t blame you for been uneasy about taking, dare I say it, ‘The power’ tonight.
Adrian Lewis v Peter Wright
Wright, revealed after beating Taylor for the first time last week, that he changed darts once again, a few days prior to their match, then hit a 9-darter in practice on the Wednesday and produced a 100 average and a tidy 54% check-out success (7/13) in winning 7-4. Following the match, he mentioned once-more, that he may change darts again, and judging by his two opening match exit’s on Sat & Sun in Wigan, the feeling here is, he is still not settled with one set of darts.
Lewis, edged a 6-5 win over Wright earlier in the month in a UK Open semi-final qualifier, and apart from a blip last week versus Wes Newton, he was back in form again during the weekend, in defeating former BDO world champion Jelle Klaasen and the current one, Stephen Bunting, alongside a run to the semi-finals on Sunday, before going down 6-3 to Michael van Gerwen.
The evens (2.0) generally around on Lewis appeals here, although the Betfair exchange market is currently 2.02 – 2.22, and this may be the best way to go, once the market becomes stronger nearer the off.
Robert Thornton v Wes Newton
Thornton was in formidable form last week, playing at a “quicker tempo”, in easing to a 7-2 victory over Gary Anderson, with a 105 average and an incredible 8 X 180’s. 48 hours after this performance, he then had a run to the final in Saturday’s UK Open qualifier 5, where en-route, he defeated Newton himself 6-2, and was then defeated by Anderson in the final, by the same margin he beat him in the Premier League.
Thornton and Newton shared a 6-6 draw in the league last year, although Newton defeated Thornton 4-1 in December’s World PDC championships at the last 16 stage, and following his impressive win on paper versus Lewis last week, with 6 X 180’s, he only averaged 93.
“The Warrior” was also in good form at the weekend, with a quarter-final showing on Saturday and a semi-final on the Sunday, and was a consideration on the +1.5 H/cp here at a shade odds on, but with averages in the first 3 weeks of only 93, 91 and 93, this shows how poorly his two opponents have also played in his 2/3 wins, and none of the 8 high profile markets I looked into, appeal here.
Phil Taylor v Simon Whitlock
These two appeared in the 2012 Premier League final, but how things can change, after 3 matches a piece so far, both currently remain pointless, and it’s Taylor who won 5/6 of their matches in 2013, including 7-2 and 7-4 wins in the Premier League.
“The Power” who has hit averages of 99, 98 and 101 in the opening 3 weeks, looks to offer no value at 9/20 (1.45) with the sponsors, Betway, against a player who appears to be slowly coming good after 3-dart averages in the league of 86, 90 and 95.
Whitlock, unlike Taylor, was also in action in Wigan over the weekend, and on Saturday on the way to reaching the quarter-finals, he defeated Adrian Lewis 6-2 and the following day had a 6-3 win over Saturday’s champion, Gary Anderson in reaching the last 16.
I expect Whitlock to improve his 95 average from last week and the +2.5 H/cp was considered closely, but the feeling here is, if Taylor can just find a little more form, which wouldn’t be a surprise, his average will sail over the 100 mark, which could well prove too much for Whitlock, to win at least 5 legs to secure this handicap line.
That said, it’s hard to get away from Whitlock in the Player 180’s market again, (O/2.5) with bwin at 11/13 (just over 1.84), with others as short as 4/6 (1.66), considering he’s banged in 3 in successive weeks, improving averages, solid weekend form and likely to be really up for the challenge, against the games greatest winner.
Michael van Gerwen v Raymond van Barneveld
These two Dutchman played 6 times in 2013, with van Gerwen winning 5, including two Premier league wins of 7-3 & 7-4, although Barneveld won their last encounter 8-6 last November.
Since “Barney” opened his league match with a near perfect display, his form has dropped alarmingly and following his mediocre average of 95 last week, he lost his opening two matches in Wigan on Fri & Sat, and didn’t participate on the Sunday.
After van Gerwen’s 103 average in maintaining his 100% league record last week, and beating an impressive Dave Chisnall 7-4, he mentioned after, ahead of his match versus “Barney”, that he “didn’t want to lose that match”, and their appears to be some deep rivalry here, not surprisingly, as Barneveld was the Dutch No1 player for many years, until MVG over-took that mantle.
A semi-final showing on Friday in Wigan for van Gerwen, was followed by him winning the UK Open qualifier on Sunday, in which he beat Adrian Lewis 6-3 in the semi-final and in 11 minutes, whitewashed Michael Smith 6-0 in the final, Phil Taylor’s conqueror in December’s World PDC championships.
The -2.5 H/cp on van Gerwen at 11/10 (2.1) all went earlier in the week with bwin, now 18/19 (1.94), but with “Mighty Mike” banging in averages of 109, 95 and 103 during the league so far, it’s Betway‘s +101.5 on van Gerwen’s average at 17/20 (1.85), (bwin only 1.64), I like here, with his form and him likely to be highly motivated.
Gary Anderson v Dave Chisnall
Anderson, a player who is frequently either brilliant or poor, with little middle-ground, demonstrated this again over the space of 48 hours last week.
In losing 7-2 to his Scottish compatriot Robert Thornton last Thursday, he only hit 2/11 (18%) in doubles attempted, but then 2 days later, he captured the UK Open qualifier, defeating Thornton in the final by the same margin.
Chisnall had a 101 average, 7X 180’s and a impressive 67% check-out success last week, but still lost 7-4 to van Gerwen, plus had a best last 16 showing in Wigan the following day, where en-route he beat Wes Newton 6-1.
It’s this form from “Chizzy”, and the fact that Anderson often under-perform’s when he’s playing fellow Scots or on home soil, similar to last year in Glasgow, where he produced a below par performance in losing to Wes Newton 7-5, with a standard 95 average, that I want to be with the man from St Helens here.
The venue this week is the new Hydro in Glasgow, and although this could be a close one, I want to cover the draw here too, and back Chisnall on the +0.5 H/cp at 4/6 (1.66) with Betvictor.
Recommended Bets
Thur 27 Feb – 7.10pm – 6 points Adrian Lewis to beat Wright at Evs (2.0) (general) – Betfair exchange currently 2.02 – 2.22.
Around 8.30pm (3rd match on) – 6 points Simon Whitlock to hit O/2.5 180’s v Taylor with bwin at 11/13 (1.84)
Around 9.10pm (4th match on) – 6 points Michael van Gerwen to score over 101.5 average v Barneveld with Betway at 17/20 (1.85)
Neo, that’s some round-up – I’ll need to set up darts threads more often.
jeeez Neo you know your darts ha!!!
i initially thought to take lewis but the Glasgow crowd don’t like him if memory serves me right and if he gets off to a bad start I will fully fancy Wright to edge it as lewis will start sweating and panic and his darts get worse and worse when he does that as we all know.
just my thoughts im not disagreeing mate?
Evening guys, a brand new darts thread, as we are in Scotland tonight and I can see at least two home victories.
Thornton v Newton, Both won 7-2 last week although Thornton was the most impressive victory. Newton beat an out of sorts Lewis, although he was more impressive the week before when he beat Barney. Thornton throws first and if he holds and gets an early break the crowd will get louder and louder and I cant see Newton coming back in. Thornton is evens at William Hill.
The last match of the night is going to be played in a rapid pace with two fast heavy scorers, who normally struggle on their doubles. I feel a bit sorry for Anderson truth be told, he won the German masters a couple of weeks ago and won a UK qualifier and his playing well. He has just ran into Barney and Thronton averaging 100+. Chisnall tends to take his time over doubles and if he does the crowd will get on his back and we saw at the worlds when he takes his time he misses. I think Anderson wins and his 5/4 William Hill.
This game should produce the most 180s of the night as there may be a few legs in it and two of the best 180s hitters in the game. Its 5/2 Betvictor for this match two have the most 180s on the night.
Betway who sponsor the Premier league go 4/1 for both Thornton & Anderson to win and whilst I will be doing them as singles, I will have a small punt on the double too.
As always I will have a small punt on a 9 darter on the night 9/1 Betway and a 170 Checkout at 7/2 Coral
THORNTON TO BEAT NEWTON 1/1
ANDERSON TO BEAT CHISNALL 5/4
THORNTON & ANDERSON TO WIN 4/1
ANDERSON/CHISNALL MATCH WITH MOST 180s 5/2
Good luck if your having a bet
like ur thinking chief!!
Barney is a massive price tonight imo.
my call was right with the crowd hating lewis lads! Remember that for next year ha!
Cheers gbjefr, Graeme it stems from an unsavoury incident a couple of years ago when he was playing Anderson, although he Wright was superb there, lets hope the other Scots do the same :)
yeah mate coins and stuff! shocking really but he should be able to phase that out but obviously he couldn’t and I thought that would be the case! Thornton I hate betting on but Anderson I think could do it! heres hoping!!
superb performance for mvg :D
pestache, my first three darts tips are up – Wright, MVG and draw Newton v Thorrnton. Can’t believe I tipped a draw:
Thornton is 1-1 at Coral while Newton is 2-1 with Betway. It’s a long shot but could this be a draw at 9-2 with Betway?
Not sure exactly what the odds were but I correctly predicted not only Anderson to beat Chizzy but also but the correct scoreline of 7-5 so well done to anyone who got on
jamie180, that’s 4 out 4 for me – a non-darts tipster. Tell me Taylor won as well please.
Taylor won 7-3
A brilliant 11 dart leg earned Newton a well deserved draw, but scuppered my double, but Anderson won at 5/4 & a 170 checkout on the night pays off at 7/2 :)
Yes that’s some going Mr f fairplay.darts is becoming more and more popular and I know u won’t always have time to post and study darts tips for every Thursday but as a darts fanatic and a player for over 20 yrs I’d be more than happy to comment if a thread was put up here
jamie180, 4 out of 5 in the end – Taylor won but MVG lost.
Mvg didn’t win mr F
Graeme, I know – must have dreamed it.
Great calls on the scotsmen Mr F, Thornton was awfuly awful tho don’t reckon he won’t be in it next year!
hopefully this carries on most Thursdays if you get time, some superb tipping cheers guys!!
Graeme, I’ll put up a thread but can’t guarantee tips.
Graeme, yeah he’s admitted he didn’t play well so draw was a good result.
ha dreaming darts…such thrilling dreams lol!
totally understand if no tips even a thread and seems there are a few who know their darts will comment, hopefully keep this going I’ve been up every week of the premier league so far. cheers
Barney won through for me. Massive price to win in Glasgow.