PDC Premier League Darts 2019: Week 9 Betting and Odds Preview

After our double header in Rotterdam last week, we have our first casualty of the 2019 Premier League season. Home favourite Raymond Van Barneveld crashed out in an emotional manner and may be about to walk away from professional darts forever.

We wave goodbye to Barney and head now to phase two with eight throwers remaining in the race for this year’s title. Our destination is the SSE Arena in Belfast so we’ll quickly update the outright tournament markets before assessing Thursday’s four games.

Outright Updates

Fellow Dutchman Michael Van Gerwen ended RVB’s run in this year’s competition and he remains the clear favourite to win the 2019 title. Van Gerwen is now back at the top of the table and on offer at odds of 8/15 with William Hill and Betway.

2018 PDC World Champion Rob Cross is level with MVG on 13 points and he is the second favourite in the outright betting at 11/2 with 10Bet and Royal Panda. James Wade follows at best odds of 12/1 with BetFred and then we have Daryl Gurney at a top price of 20/1 with SportingBet.

Mensur Suljovic can also be picked up at 20/1 with SportPesa before we come to Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright who can both be claimed at that same 20/1 - this time with Ladbrokes and Coral.

With Van Barneveld eliminated, our outsider moving into phase two is Michael Smith who is available at 25/1, also with Ladbrokes and Coral.

Michael Van Gerwen looks to be moving ominously back into form but 4/7 is a little too short. We’ll therefore move on and see what Thursday night in Belfast has in store.

First up to the Oche

Our first game of the night sees Mensur Suljovic take on James Wade. As we’ve seen, these two are among a clutch of players at similar prices for an outright win and we therefore have quite a tight betting market for the match.

Wade is the favourite here and the left hander can be backed at 11/10 with Coral and  10Bet while a victory for Suljovic is available at best odds of 7/4 with Unibet and SportPesa. The draw then completes this market at 7/2 with Betway.

The second game of the evening features the struggling Michael Smith against Peter Wright. Bully Boy Smith started the 2019 season in fine style with a run to the final of the PDC Worlds but the Premier League has yielded some poor results.

Smith, however, has been installed as favourite to win this one at 5/4 with William Hill, followed by Snakebite Wright at 6/4. Completing this match is the draw at that same 7/2 with Betway.

Second Plays Fourth

Next up is Rob Cross against Daryl Gurney. The two men sit in second and fourth place respectively but the market for this one is more clear cut. Voltage Cross is the favourite and an odds on shout in most places but you can pick him up at best odds of Even Money with SportingBet and SportPesa.

A win for Gurney can be claimed at 21/10. The draw, once again, is at that 7/2 figure with Betway.

Closing Out

Michael Van Gerwen headed back to the top of the table after last week’s double header and he finishes off the night with a tie against Gerwyn Price. As you would imagine, MVG is the clear favourite and available at best odds of just 1/3 with Bethard and RedZoneSports.

Victory for Price is out at a best of 13/2 with Betway while the draw is much longer this time at 6/1 with BetFred.

Verdict

Those are our options and with the exception of the final match, we have three fairly close markets. The Premier League has been unpredictable this season but that does mean there is some value as long as we make the correct call.

James Wade sits in an impressive third place in the table but he has been tricky to predict at times. Against Mensur Suljovic, we expect the Machine to be switched on in Belfast so we’ll start by taking Wade to win at that 11/10 price.

Michael Smith hardly justifies his position as favourite but his opponent Peter Wright lost twice in Rotterdam last time out and the Scot has this tendency to get in a rut of wretched form. We’ll therefore opt for Smith in that game and we’ll finish with an upset by backing Daryl Gurney to overcome Rob Cross. There will be an outsider coming through at some point and Gurney’s rise into the top four suggests he can carry on his good form.

Van Gerwen really should come through against Price so we’ll settle on these three tips and look forward to a profitable evening in Belfast.

Best Bets:

• James Wade to beat Mensur Suljovic at 11/10 with Coral