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

premier leagueThe 2019 edition of the PDC Premier League overcame the late withdrawal of Gary Anderson to give us a thrilling night of darts in week one. In a repeat of this year’s World Final, Michael Van Gerwen came through in a tight battle with Michael Smith while we also saw wins for Gerwyn Price and James Wade.

The opening night in Newcastle also saw drawn games as Peter Wright and Rob Cross finished tied at 6-6 while Chris Dobey also drew with Mensur Suljovic. Dobey was in as one of a number of replacements for the injured Anderson in a revised format that has drawn confusion and disapproval in equal measures.

This week, it’s the turn of BDO World Champion Glen Durrant to step in for the Flying Scotsman but before we look at Thursday night’s matches from Glasgow, we’ll have a quick update on the outright tournament betting.

Outright Update

Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen

Michael Van Gerwen’s position as favourite to win the 2019 title has been reinforced by his opening win in Newcastle. MVG is now on offer at 4/9 with most bookies including William Hill and 188Bet and that puts him some way ahead of second favourite Michael Smith. ‘Bully Boy’ Smith is quoted at 9/1 with Ladbrokes and Coral while 2018 PDC World Champion Rob Cross is just behind at 10/1 with Betway and Royal Panda.

The market remains tight in the case of Peter Wright who is quoted at 12/1 with BetFred and then things start to open out. We have a significant gap to fifth favourite Mensur Suljovic at 20/1 with Coral and Betway and the Austrian is followed by James Wade at best odds of 33/1 with William Hill and Ladbrokes.

Ladbrokes also have Daryl Gurney at best odds of 40/1 while it’s back to William Hill for the same top price of 40/1 on Gerwyn Price. That just leaves us with the rank outsider Raymond Van Barneveld who completes the market at a distant best of 80/1 with Coral and Betway.

Those are the outright options but how will week two’s matches affect that betting?

First up to the Oche

Mensur Suljovic
Mensur Suljovic

The first game of the night sees Michael Smith take on Peter Wright. Back in 2018, Wright had a dismal tournament and Smith saw him off by seven legs to one on two separate occasions. It’s a tighter market this time but Bully Boy Smith is favourite for the win at best odds of 6/5 with Unibet and SportPesa. Victory for Snakebite Wright follows at 33/20 while the draw rounds things off at a top price of 7/2 with BetFred.

It should be a closer game than those 7-1 thrashings a year ago but Smith as favourite looks a correct call.

We then move on to our second contest where 2018 World Champion Rob Cross is up against a resurgent James Wade. Cross is short on form but he starts as favourite for this one at best odds of 15/13 with SportNation and RedZoneSports. James Wade is a close outsider at a top price of 2/1 with William Hill while the draw is at 7/2.

Cross looks vulnerable here and with Wade winning in Newcastle last week, this could be our first upset of the evening.

Troubled Dutch

Raymond Van Barneveld
Raymond Van Barneveld

Raymond Van Barneveld’s call up to this year’s tournament wasn’t widely welcomed and the popular Dutchman is out of touch right now. Barney did push Wade to a 4-7 defeat last time out but it could be a long and fruitless phase for RVB this year.

On Thursday, Van Barneveld is up against Gerwyn Price who the bookmakers have installed as favourite at best odds of 6/5 with SportNation. Barney isn’t too far back at 9/5 with Ladbrokes and Coral while it’s the turn of BetBright to list the draw at a best of 7/2.

Gerwyn Price isn’t the most consistent of players but Barney needs to lift his game every time he steps up to the oche and this is another match that should go with the favourite.

Following on, Glen Durrant enters the fray as he takes on Daryl Gurney. A three-time world champion at the BDO, it’s going to be fascinating to see how ‘Duzza’ fares on his step up to the PDC and there is a lot of interest on him for the upcoming UK Open.

This is the closest market of the night with some bookies quoting the same win price for both men. Elsewhere, Durrant is the favourite at best odds of 7/5 with Coral and BetFred while Gurney is just behind at a top price of 8/5 with Unibet. Naturally, the draw will get some attention here and it’s at a shorter best of 100/30 with Betway.

Closing the Night

That just leaves us with Michael Van Gerwen who will look to continue his dominant 2019 form as he takes on Mensur Suljovic. MVG is the only thrower to see an odds on price this week and you can back him at 1/3 with most companies including BetBright and RedZoneSports.

The draw comes in as the second favourite in this contest and that’s listed at 5/1 with BetFred while a win for Suljovic is out at 13/2 with Unibet and RedZoneSports.

With Austrian Suljovic struggling for form, that looks to be a fair summation but we’ll look for better value than that 1/3 win price.

Verdict

If our deductions are correct, four of these games should go with the favourites while James Wade looks a good bet as the outsider against Rob Cross. The Machine is back to his best while Cross has looked shaky ever since he lifted that world championship trophy a year ago.

Two of those favourites look to have good value prices so we’re starting with Smith to beat Wright and Durrant to beat Gurney. We would have liked to have seen higher odds for Duzza but 7/5 is a decent sum and will hopefully contribute to a nice profit on the night.

To round things off, we’re tipping a big win for Van Gerwen over Suljovic. There’s nothing to stop the Dutchman right now and odds of 13/2 from Ladbrokes for a 7-1 victory conclude this week’s round up.

Best Bets: