2011 Premier League Darts Betting – Week 9 from Aberdeen

There really was only one truly exciting match in last week’s round of Premier League darts betting, and that was the tough throw down between James Wade and Gary Anderson, which was a lot tighter than expected. Wade, who has been in pretty poor form recently, was not expected to challenge quite so hard in this one. This is because Gary Anderson has been looking pretty sharp (apart from a couple of recent slip ups against Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis), and by and large, Anderson has been quite dominant. So it was a little surprising to see the 6-8 scoreline in favour of Scotsman Anderson, as we expected him to crush Wade. However, a win is a win at this stage, and that kept Anderson firmly in the top four, along with Adrian Lewis who did himself a big favour by crushing Mark Webster. Big victories were the order of the night, as Simon Whitlock kept himself on the fringe of a qualifying spot by thumping Terry Jenkins, and Phil The Power Taylor kept up his incredible form, by blitzing Raymond van Barneveld again. This is now week nine of the fourteen week league challenge section of the Premier League darts, and then the top four move on to a knockout stage. Taylor is now streaking away with things on 14 points at the top of the league, having won seven out of eight matches, while Anderson and Barneveld are tied on 10 points each, and Lewis is holding down fourth place with nine points, just one point ahead of Simon Whitlock. It does not look too good at this stage for Jenkins, Webster or Wade who are struggling badly to keep pace. So it is back to Scotland this week for round nine, as the eight players head to the AECC in Aberdeen on Thursday night.
Raymond van Barneveld v Simon Whitlock

Barneveld did not have any trouble dispatching Aussie Whitlock when them met in week two. The Dutchman breezed through by an 8-3 scoreline, putting up just over a 100 three dart average. Barneveld has been playing some solid darts in the 2011 Premier League this year, to many people’s surprise, and has looked hungrier than expected. He looks a safe bet to get through to the knockout stage, but this is now a big match for Whitlock. Whitlock needs a win to keep up the pressure on three of the four guys above him, so that he can sneak into the top four. He has picked up the pace over the last two weeks, winning his last two games, and will need his best to take out Barneveld. However, we think that the Dutchman, having the arrows to start with, should be able to see this one out safely.
Barneveld 5/4 at Bet365, Whitlock 8/5 at Stan James, Draw 9/2 at Unibet
Adrian Lewis v James Wade

The inconsistency that Adrian Lewis has to really make more of a solid impact in this enduring tournament has blighted him. Lewis for example, has beaten Taylor and Anderson, the best two players in the Premier League this season, but has lost heavily to Mark Webster and couldn’t put Terry Jenkins away a couple of weeks ago either. It is all a bit hit and miss with him, and he is on the bubble in the league standings. However, this is a match which he should be able to get through without too much bother. That is what you would have though back in week two when they met, but Wade battled to an 8-6 win there, even though he had a lower three dart average score. That was one of only two victories for Wade this year, and it simply is not worth backing Wade with any confidence in your darts betting at the moment. So stick with current World Champion Lewis to come good, his 8-1 hammering of Mark Webster last week should have instilled some new confidence in him.
Lewis 5/6 at SkyBet, Wade 5/2 at Totesport, Draw 9/2 at Bet365
Mark Webster v Phil Taylor

Bit of a foregone conclusion unfortunately. We tipped Mark Webster to be one of the bright sparks of the 2011 Premier League of Darts, but he just hasn’t made the impact which was expected. He battled well against Taylor on week two, and lost out 8-5 against The Power, who had come off a hammering at the hands of Adrian Lewis the week before. Now Phil Taylor has gained some serious momentum after that first victory, winning all of his games since then. He is looking at his most ominous, best form at the moment, and is consistently posting an average of over 100 points in his three dart average. The man is a legend and he will no doubt get through this one as well. Webster, who beat Taylor at the World Championships just is not in the kind of form needed to beat The Power, not after losing 8-1 to Lewis last week, and 8-2 to Whitlock the week before that. Go with Taylor again.
Taylor 1/4 at Unibet, Draw 7/1 at SkyBet, Webster 8/1 at Totesport
Gary Anderson v Terry Jenkins

Second placed Anderson would have welcomed the win over James Wade last week, ending a two game slide for him. However, his great form right out of the blocks in his first Premier League season, has kept him well in contention. This is a match which he should be able to use as a confidence building exercise, an after beating Jenkins 8-4 on week two of the season, the Scot should be in fine shape to take another victory from the Englishman. Jenkins has really struggled to keep pace in some classy company, and went down heavily against Simon Whitlock last week. It has just been two wins and a draw for Jenkins this season in the Premier League, and a place in the top four looks out of the question already, so Anderson will be the hungrier of the two.