Premier League Darts Finals Night: Taylor, MvG, Jackpot, Anderson scuffle in semis
Published:
Holly Thackeray | May 18, 2016
Premier League Darts 2016
- Night 16: Finals Night
- Thursday, May 19th
- Session from: 19:15-22:30 BST
- The O2 Arena, London
- Live on Sky Sports 2
Fantastic four arrive at the O2 Arena for Finals Night
Having toured the Home Nations and even stopped off at Rotterdam to much oche acclaim, now the 2016 Premier League Darts band wagon finally rolls into London and the 02 Arena. This can only mean one thing – it’s time for Finals Night.
For any customers sad that this extraordinary darts season is drawing to a close, Coral are there to pick up the pieces with some tremendous prices for punters to enjoy in these star-studded play-offs.
Before a new king is crowned in the English capital, there are two semi-finals to cut our fantastic four down to two, and spectators should be set for a real show-stopper.
First up on Thursday evening, world number one Michael van Gerwen takes on recent World Darts Championship finalist Adrian Lewis, while legendary tungsten titan Phil Taylor tussles with reigning champ Gary Anderson as the Englishman eyes a potential seventh Premier League title.
So, hold on to your seats and enjoy this last installment, and some excellent offers from Coral, before the summer Masters tours get underway…
Michael van Gerwen v Adrian Lewis
This fabulous fixture will undoubtedly be all about vibrant Van Gerwen and his lime green get-up, as Mighty Mike hones in on a possible second Premier League title (for which he has an odds-on 4/7 shot of capturing with Coral), having already tremendously topped the tournament table in the regular season.
It’s no wonder the winning nationality is also 4/7 to be Dutch after MvG’s dominant displays despite a wobbly start to this campaign. He’s still been smashing records left, right and centre and is 7/4 to be the player with the highest checkout in the semi-finals, after after setting a record average of 123.4 for televised darts back in February.
The Green Machine is also overwhelmingly odds-on at 1/8 to end Jackpot’s lucky run, after the Stoke-born arrowsmith smashed Anderson to squeeze through to these semis, having been highly inconsistent over the course of the campaign.
It would be a huge shock if Lewis (4/1) brushed the bullish thrower aside, as MvG has lost just one of his last seven against the Englishman, and has dispatched him twice already in the PL this term.
Lewis did manage to notch a nine-darter earlier this season, so this match between stupendous scorers is 12/1 to see a perfect leg.
Though, as darting giant Van Gerwen, runner-up at the O2 Arena for the past two terms, has hit a whopping 62 180s so far in this competition, 10 more than anyone else, best value for the powerful 27-year-old prodigy could be Coral’s odds of 11/8 for the PDC’s star name to be King of the Oche in his semi (to win match, most 180s and highest checkout. If any of the markets are tied, bets will be settled as losers).
Barring a stunning defeat on the night, Mighty Mike should make it through, as long as he paces himself and doesn’t run out of steam late on, with a tempting price of 9/1 for a 10-8 result in his favour. Who, of the remaining two is he most likely to face in the finale?
Phil Taylor v Gary Anderson
The Power is second favourite at 4/1 to take a seventh Premier League title, after a resurgent recent run saw him top the Premier League summit for most of the season before being toppled by main rival MvG.
Still, Taylor’s tenacious form means the all-time great is tipped to make the final for a potential re-match of the Rotterdam scorcher in which he narrowly fell to Van Gerwen, but first must find a way past The Flying Scotsman – though taking the reigning champ’s title will be no easy feat.
The Power has put out Anderson’s spark in their previous two Premier League meetings and so is appealing at 11/5 for most maximums in the match after scoring four more so far in the regular season.
Yet crucially, it is undeniably the business end of big tournaments that brings out the best of Anderson, who despite being current world and Premier League champion remains an underdog at 11/10 to win this wrangle and an outsider at 5/1 to retain his trophy.
So, expect the Scot to come out all-guns-blazing as he seeks to rectify a poor record against The Power (8/11 favourite for the match) and set-up a replay of the skirmish which saw him edge MvG on the O2 Arena stage last year.
This quality clash should be a close contest, and there are excellent prices of 7/1 for a 170 checkout in this second semi-final of the night, in this duel between truly top-draw dartsmen.
Related
Coral’s top tip: Why not place a wager on sensational odds of 7/1 for a 170 checkout in Taylor v Anderson?
