Premier League Darts: Night Five Review and Night Six Preview

Well it was something of a snowy surprise last week in the PDC Premier League Darts as the action scheduled to take place on Thursday night at the Westpoint Arena in Exeter, Devon was cancelled at the last minute due to horrendous (and life-threatening) snowfall in the Devon, Somerset and South Wales regions of the UK.

That meant that the ten players were essentially stranded in Exeter, but the one fortunate thing for them was that the forthcoming UK Open was due to be played just a short distance north in Minehead over the weekend, so fortunately players were able to get there from Exeter following the end of the blizzard-like snow.

However, this meant that we now were missing a crucial week of fixtures in the PDC Premier League and with the schedule already very tight, the PDC needed to come up with a solution to resolve the situation.

PDC Announce Rearranged Date for Exeter Fixtures

That announcement came earlier this week when PDC Chairman Barry Hearn announced that the fixtures that were scheduled to be played in Exeter last week will now be played on what has now become Week 9 of the Premier League season, also known as Judgement Night.

This means that Judgement Night will now take place at the Liverpool Echo Arena on April 5^th.

The new revised schedule for the first 9 weeks of action (four of which have been completed) are now as follows:

• Night One – Dublin
• Night Two – Cardiff
• Night Three – Newcastle
• Night Four – Berlin
• Night Five – Leeds (formerly Night Six)
• Night Six – Nottingham (formerly Night Seven)
• Night Seven – Glasgow (formerly Night Eight)
• Night Eight – Belfast (formerly Night Nine – Judgement Night)
• Night Nine – Liverpool – Judgement Night (formerly Night Ten)

However, there was still the issue with an extra set of fixtures in the second phase of games as Liverpool has moved forward to become Judgement Night, so the PDC have decided that week the fixtures head to the Ahoy Rotterdam (Thu 19^th April), there will be two nights of PDC Premier League Darts that week, one on Wednesday 18^th and another on Thursday 19^th.

The revised schedule for the second part of the season is now therefore

• Night Ten – Sheffield (12^th April)
• Night Eleven- Rotterdam Ahoy (18^th April)
• Night Twelve – Rotterdam Ahoy (19^th April)
• Night Thirteen – Manchester (26^th April)
• Night Fourteen – Birmingham (3^rd May)
• Night Fifteen – Aberdeen (10^th May)
• Playoffs & Final – London (17^th May)

So, heading into Leeds this week, here are the current standings in the table (which are obviously unchanged from last week).

Current Premier League Darts table

Night One 180’s – N/A

Most Individual 180s on Night One – N/A

Total Tournament 180’s – 106

Premier League Darts Night Five Preview

Two weeks ago, I managed to go through all five fixtures and nailed the correct result in each one, which saw me land a lovely £480 return from a £10 wager. I’m hoping that the cancelled week last time around hasn’t saw me lose my hot touch and that I can bank on some solid returns on these tips from the matches taking place at the First Direct Arena in Leeds this Thursday night.

• Michael van Gerwen (1/7) v Simon Whitlock (10/1) (8-1 the draw)

Both players have six points from four games but it is the World Number 1 Michael van Gerwen who is the massive favourite to win here. The Dutchman didn’t win the UK Open as he was knocked out by Jeffrey de Zwaan in the First Round. Whitlock too went out in the first round 10-7 to Ian White do both players should be well rested here. Van Gerwen seldom disappoints on the big stage though and I’m backing him to do a number on Whitlock here by defeating him 7-2.

• Gerwyn Price (19/10) v Raymond van Barneveld (Evens) (10/3 the draw)

Welshman Gerwyn Price has found playing the top players week in week out very tough in the Premier League so far this season and he faces another big test in Raymond van Barneveld this week. Barney hasn’t won since the opening night and I feel his intensity isn’t quite the same as what it used to be. Price’s three dart average is low but Barney’s isn’t much better and Price has hit more doubles more often. I fancy a little shock here with Price perhaps stealing his first win by a 7-5 scoreline.

• Peter Wright (8/11) v Mensur Suljovic (13/5) (7/2 the draw)

Although it is still early days, Peter Wright will know fourth is a precarious position in the Premier League, especially heading into Week 14. I think the Scot will want to improve his situation here but he faces a tough evening against the Austrian Mensur Suljovic who picked up his first win the tournament in the last set of games played. Wright is the favourite here but I just have a feeling Suljovic’s slow pace will cause him a few problems and I’m backing this one to finish in a 6-6 draw.

• Gary Anderson (8/15) v Daryl Gurney (7/2) (4/1 the draw)

Gary Anderson signalled a return to form with a superb win at the massive UK Open in Minehead at the weekend when he defeated young Aussie Corey Cadby in the final. The Scot has also started to show glimpses of his best form in this tournament of late but he only has three points so far. I think he’ll add two more to that total with a win over Daryl Gurney here with the Irishman struggling for form and yet to win a game in the tournament this year.  Anderson to take this one 7-4.

• Rob Cross (4/5) v Michael Smith (5/2) (10/3 the draw)

I think this could be the match of the evening. The two met in the World Championships and Bully Boy almost eliminated Cross then, but didn’t hit the crucial double. The shorter format will suit the current league leader more, but there is no doubt that Rob Cross is finding his best form after two wins in two weeks saw him jump from bottom of the table to fifth. This could be a very close battle with one leg either way deciding it, but I am going for Cross to take the win here to burst Smith’s 100 per cent record.