After the fourteen weekly roadshows around the UK, it’s crunch time in the 2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts as the four remaining hopefuls battle it out to a finish at Wembley tonight. Phil Taylor, Simon Whitlock & Mervyn King are all desperate the wrestle the coveted trophy from 2009 champion James Wade.
James Wade v Simon Whitlock
After the mandatory ‘tooing and froing’ of league places throughout the weekly rounds, two of the pre-tournament favourites ultimately prevailed in securing their place at Wembley. Reigning champion James Wade went off the outset at the same price being dangled now (9/1) after a mixed bag of performances at the league stage albeit enjoying a sharp upturn in fortune in the second half of the competition.‘The Machine’ has finally registered something like his best form in recent weeks having only dipped below the 95 average on one occasion in the last five (an overall average of 97.54 in that period) to claim the points required. His general form away from the TV screens is as impressive after the former mechanic claimed his first Pro Tour title since October in defeating Gary Anderson in Wigan a fortnight ago.
When talking about Pro Tour form, no-one has been as relentless as Simon Whitlock on the floor. In his previous ten floor tournaments, the Australian has notched four victories since early April; a feat made more standout when noting that these tournaments feature circa 150 of the best PDC players on any given day and that Phil Taylor has been in the field on two of the these four triumphs. Whitlock very nearly managed to make it five wins as recently as last Sunday in Austria only to go down to Taylor in the final with the Aussie having to settle for the perfect nine-dart leg (hit in the opening leg of the final) and the £3000 runner up prize in addition to his winners’ cheque from Saturday’s tournament.
The bookmakers are well aware of Whitlock’s upsurge in form both on and off the TV screens and make him the 4/6 jolly with world number three James Wade at 6/5. In truth, the pair are probably a little closer matched than the prices suggest given that Wade can sporadically burst into 105+ average territory and that Whitlock was partial to the odd stinking 80 average in the early weeks of this league. The layers are not quite as clear cut about who will prevail in the most 180s market with both generally available at odds against. The tie (11/2 general) is an interesting option in consideration of the fact that over both players’ previous five Premier League outings, they are virtually level in that department with Whitlock averaging a maximum every 3.76 legs compared to Wade’s 3.71. Should the match go the distance tonight (15 legs), which we fully expect it to do, we can expect 4 180s apiece should these two continue scoring at their average rate although the industry seems clued up to this with the line invariably available at over/under 7.5. Whitlock’s average over the previous five weeks stands at a hefty 100.38, including his second highest ever on UK television in his week 14 win over Mervyn King (104.60). With this in mind we don’t half like the look of the 4/5 about the man from the land down under recording over 97.5 – something that he has not failed to do since early April.
Verdict
Match to go over 13.5 legs at 13/10 (Bwin)
Simon Whitlock to average over 97.5 (Various)
