It all started in a town hall in Stoke in January 2005 in front of 800 people. Darts’ Premier League has grown to such epic proportions that Thursday will see the world’s eight leading players battling it out in front of a record crowd of 10,000 at London’s O2 Arena, with each of them aiming for a place in finals night at Wembley Arena in May. Before such an eventuality, there are 14 league nights to look forward to. Here we take a look at the runners and riders:
Phil Taylor
World Ranking: 1
Title Odds: 2/5
Previous Best: Winner (2005, 2006, 2007 & 2008)
The great man goes into this tournament fresh from his first TV ranking tournament defeat for 18 months at last week’s Players Championship Finals at the Circus Tavern. Last year’s version of this tournament was just about the only title he didn’t pick up in 2009 and he is a best-priced 2/5 to lift the trophy for the fifth time in six years on finals night at Wembley in May. It was at Sheffield in the 2007 tournament against Raymond van Barneveld where Taylor went off as the outsider for the first (and only) time in his PDC career and backers can expect not to see any fancy prices about ‘The Power’ this time around.In the five years to date, Taylor has lost in the weekly league stage on just four occasions, with three of those coming in the first four weeks in 2008 (a tournament he came back to win after being pushed to 11/2). He is as short as 1/6 to top the table after week 14; something he has never failed to do thus far. His 65 180s last year (8 more than anyone else) was a tournament record and despite the presence of heavy maximum scorer Adrian Lewis, we like the look of the 3/1 being dangled about Taylor yet again coming out on top in this particular market.
James Wade
World Ranking: 3
Title Odds: 9/1
Previous Best: Winner (2009)
The current Champion makes it a hat-trick of Premier League appearances this year having reached the final on both occasions so far. Many may deem him to be out of form after a string of disappointing early exits in recent TV tournaments but the statistics tell a slightly different story in that his averages are still consistently around the 100 mark and he represents the biggest threat to Taylor. There may be takers for the 9/1 available on him retaining his title given that each way terms dictate returns of 3/1 should he reach a third consecutive final. ‘The Machine’ is openly a big fan of the matchplay format (legs rather than sets); a view backed up by past Premier League form and his three consecutive final appearances at Blackpool’s World Matchplay in 2006, 2007 & 2008. When on his game, we have come to expect a barrage of 180s from the Aldershot ace. Skybet have taken a big chance on their forecast on the number he will hit in this year’s league stage. It’s 5/6 on over 44.5 180s (he hit 52 last year) and with an average of just 3.2 maximums per match required, we will be piling in at this mark.
Raymond van Barneveld
World Ranking: 2
Title Odds: 14/1
Previous Best: Semi Finals (2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009)
It’s almost six weeks since we seen anything of Raymond van Barneveld. Having not qualified for the televised Players Championship Finals and sowing the seeds of failing to do so again next year by missing the weekend double header in Gibraltar, it’s difficult to know what sort of state the Dutchman’s game is in, or more importantly, what state his mind is in. In his four previous Premier League outings, van Barneveld has comfortably negotiated the league stage before going on to exit at the semi finals on each occasion (to Roland Scholten, Terry Jenkins & James Wade twice). His recently publicised health problems may be the reason behind him constantly bemoaning the travelling requirements of the PDC tour, something that he will need to do for fourteen weeks in a row until May. At times, ‘Barney’ looks a beaten man on stage as soon as things do not go his way and given that the quality of this year’s field is higher than ever, it is hard to envisage him still being around on finals night and the 5/4 on him finishing outside the top four is worth taking.
Simon Whitlock
World Ranking: 18
Title Odds: 16/1
Previous Best: Debut
Having already committed to moving over to the UK to compete on the PDC tour, Simon Whitlock has found that he will have to do so a little quicker than expected after being fast-tracked into the weekly Premier League on the back of his majestic performances at Alexandra Palace in the World Championship. His success may depend on how much travelling he will need to do back to Australia in order to tie up loose ends – we have seen in the past the negative effects of long-distance commuting have had on John Part’s game. Should he repeat anything like his World Championship form over the next fourteen weeks, then the 16/1 available on him will not last long. The bookmakers appear undecided as to whether he will finish inside the top four with most firms going yes/no 5/6 the pair. Whitlock’s finishing at Ally Pally was right up there with the very best of them with constant 100+ checkouts being taken out. Of these outshots, the Aussie nailed the maximum 170 shot twice (as did Taylor) and Skybet’s 5/6 on 3 or more 170 checkouts being pinged over the duration over the tournament may be of interest.
Adrian Lewis
World Ranking: 7
Title Odds: 16/1
Previous Best: Semi Final (2008)
Much has been made of the maturing of Adrian Lewis over the last six months or so. Probably the most naturally gifted player on the circuit, a series of stunning performances at the World Championship left many feeling that now was the time to finally realise his potential and challenge Phil Taylor for major honours. His first Premier League appearance in 2007 was littered with instances of him getting too involved with the rowdy crowds, so much so that he made Peter Manley look popular. It’s imperative that ‘Jackpot’ does not get involved this time around and continues his relentless pummelling of the treble 20 bed. He is the market leader on the most tournament 180s market (2/1 Boylesports) and a generous looking 11/10 to qualify for the semi finals with the Irish firm.
Mervyn King
World Ranking: 4
Title Odds: 18/1
Previous Best: Final (2009)
Despite being so gracious in defeat in the final of last week’s Players Championship Finals, Mervyn King will be kicking himself at having missed out on his greatest chance to date of landing a PDC major title. He was head and shoulders above the field at that event before a producing a sub-standard performance in losing to Paul Nicholson. King debuted in this tournament last year, winning his first four matches and claiming a draw against Taylor in the fifth. He eventually defeated Taylor at the semi final stage before going on to lose to Wade later in the evening. He is rated as just sixth favourite in the outright market (18/1) but regular darts viewers will understand that this man is capable of steamrollering any of the other plays on show here – a fact evident in his 8-1 demolition of Wade in Edinburgh last year.
Terry Jenkins
World Ranking: 5
Title Odds: 25/1
Previous Best: Final (2007)
At one stage last year, it looked as if Terry Jenkins had little hope of qualifying for this year’s Premier League but the final six months of 2009 saw him successfully defend his earnings and stay inside the top six of the PDC’s order of merit. It’s now a fourth consecutive appearance for the ‘Raging Bull’ since he marked his arrival in big time darts. In order to shrug off the tag of ‘perennial major tournament bridesmaid’, Jenkins will have his work cut out to do so here. After an excellent first year in making the final, the Ledbury man has failed to make it out of the league phase in the last two years. Worryingly, he hasn’t managed a 95+ average in a TV ranking tournament since his World Matchplay quarter final win over Raymond van Barneveld in July – figures that will struggle to stand up against the calibre of opponents here. Should he not re-raise his game to that of 2007 proportions, then it could well be a difficult three months in store. Luckily for us, Totesport are prepared to go a standout 5/1 on him propping up the pile.
Ronnie Baxter
World Ranking: 6
Title Odds: 80/1
Previous Best: 5th (2006)
The outsider of the field (80/1) is Blackpool’s Ronnie Baxter. The current world number six returns to the Premier League after a three year absence. He qualified for the 2006 offering as world number three before sliding to the periphery of the world’s top sixteen. Whilst he is trading at odds-on to finish bottom of the league table, the layers seem to be dismissing all that has occurred in the last twelve months. ‘The Rocket’ is the world number six for a reason. He reached three televised ranking semi finals in 2009 alone (a feat only bettered by Taylor) and is rarely seen deviating away from the 93-97 average mark. A model of consistency and a breath of fresh fair who will continue chipping away at the lipstick no matter how far in front or behind he is, Baxter will take major scalps if not quite having the game to knock out the astronomical 105+ averages required to win tournaments of this quality.
Specials
As official Premier League Darts bookmaker, Skybet have produced an array of specials ahead of opening night. They ask the question of will any player be on the receiving end of a whitewash during the tournament. Since that opening night five years ago in Stoke, we have witnessed 267 Premier League fixtures and despite the presence of Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld in his heyday, we have only ever seen 2 whitewashes (Colin Lloyd 8-0 Terry Jenkins in 2007 & Phil Taylor 8-0 Wayne Mardle in 2008). On average a whitewash has occurred once every 133.5 Premier League matches. This year’s line-up is the strongest to date and it’s 6/4 that there are none in the 59 games to be played this year.
Verdict
Phil Taylor to hit most tournament 180s at 3/1 (Skybet)
James Wade to hit over 44.5 tournament 180s at 5/6 (Skybet)
Raymond van Barneveld not to qualify at 5/4 (Skybet)
Terry Jenkins to finish bottom at 5/1 (Totesport)
No whitewashes in the tournament at 6/4 (Skybet)
Our week 1 preview will follow on Thursday.
