Premier League Darts: Lewis and Wade provide ‘Judgment Night’ value

In a concept new to the Premier League of Darts, the bottom two divisional players will be eliminated following the next renewal of fixtures in Brighton.

And with the stakes even higher, we have picked out four potential winners that we feel can bring returns exceeding 11/1.

We begin with the first match of the night, in which the resurgent Adrian Lewis is priced at 2/1 to overcome Raymond van Barneveld.

After a dismal start to the season, ‘Jackpot’ has found his form of late, failing to lose any of his past four matches, and triumphing in three of those.

His disposal of Dutch hotshot Michael van Gerwen was particularly impressive, and the Stoke thrower can improve his play-off credentials with a victory over a player winless in three.

Next, we opt for Lewis’ former mentor Phil Taylor to further improve his position at the head of the Premier League standings.

On the back of consecutive emphatic victories, ‘The Power’ looks a banker at 1/2 opposite Robert Thornton, who has won only one of his previous four matches leading into this bout.

Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the table to Taylor lies Gary Anderson, and we expect the ‘Flying Scotsman’ to be condemned from the tournament prematurely here.

In 5/6 James Wade, Anderson faces a player buoyed by halting the sensational recent form of Van Gerwen, and one that has lost only twice all season.

By contrast, 2011 winner Anderson is woefully out of form, and with only one victory to his name throughout the campaign, seems set to suffer his sixth defeat in nine seasonal outings.

Finally, we believe Simon Whitlock will be relying on results elsewhere to ensure he isn’t drawn into the drop zone.

Because at 1/2, we side with Dutch prodigy Van Gerwen to see off ‘The Wizard’.

Prior to his loss to Wade last week, Van Gerwen earned rave reviews for his 7-1 demolition of Anderson, and remains level on points with table-topper Taylor.

‘Mighty Mike’ possesses a superior 6-2 head-to-head record with Whitlock, and has lost just twice in this competition this season, in contrast to his Australian counterpart’s five defeats.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.