PL Darts Tips: Anderson and van Gerwen set for Finals Night showdown
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The Premier League reaches its conclusion tonight with four of the world’s top players going for glory at the O2 Arena.
Michael van Gerwen finished top during the regular season and will take on fourth-seed Rob Cross in the first semi-final.
Then it’s the master versus the apprentice as Michael Smith faces Gary Anderson for a place in the evening’s final.
We’ve previewed both of the semi-finals below…
Michael van Gerwen v Rob Cross
After topping the Premier League table for the sixth year in a row, van Gerwen is the 1/5 favourite to see off world champion Cross (7/2).
And he’s the favourite for a reason. MVG has beaten Voltage twice during the regular season.
The Dutchman won 7-2 in Dublin at the start of the tournament. He followed that up with another 7-2 victory in Birmingham a fortnight ago.
The Green Machine is in exceptional form and appears to have the advantage over Cross when it comes to the shorter format.
A six-point swing on the averages and a slightly superior 180 account sees MVG favourite to be King of the Oche, too, at 9/4. You can back Cross at 14/1 in the same market.
Over the first to 10 legs format, we’re also expecting the treble bed to take a serious hammering.
The two players have hit 110 between them so far. It’s 8/11 for there to be Over 10.5 maximums hit tonight.
MVG is priced at 13/2 to secure another commanding success over the Englishman by a 10-4 scoreline.
Michael Smith v Gary Anderson
When the Premier League line-up was named four months ago, eyebrows were raised at the inclusion of Michael Smith.
Bully Boy flopped on his only previous appearance in the competition but has shone on his second season in elite company.
The St Helens-born star finished second in the regular campaign and produced some scintillating arrows along the way.
However, his record against Anderson leaves a lot to be desired.
Ando has won nine of the 12 meetings between the pair, including their most recent match-up in Rotterdam last month.
The Scotsman also has a vast depth of experience to call upon this evening, which could be Smith’s undoing in only his second major semi-final.
The master has also chalked up 57 180s to the apprentice’s 47 in this season’s competition. It’s 4/7 Anderson edges the maximum count and 10/11 for him to fill the treble bed Over 5.5 times.
To win the Premier League
Van Gerwen is the odds-on favourite to win the tournament at 1/2. Anderson is next at 7/2, with Cross (13/2) and Smith (12/1) considered the two outsiders.
All Odds and Markets correct as of date of publication
