A Massive Week for Premier League Darts as it’s a Double for Rotterdam

Following the postponement of Night 5 of the Premier League Darts at the Westpoint Arena in Exeter due to the poor weather conditions caused by the Beast from the East, organisers had to try and squeeze in an additional night of action into the schedule.

Unable to do this prior to Judgement Night, the solution was to allow the Ahoy Rotterdam to stage two evenings of darts on Week 11 of the event. Week 11A would take place on the Wednesday night at the venue, with Week 11B taking place on the customary Thursday night.

What this means is that if you are a punter that has been enjoying the many and varied bets on offer with Coral Sport for the Premier League darts, then you have double the amount of action to enjoy this week. Before we preview the action on both nights in Rotterdam, let’s now take a look at how the Premier League Darts table stands ahead of this double-week of action.

Premier League Darts table after Week 10

Mensur Suljovic and Gerwyn Price were eliminated from the competition after Week 9 in Liverpool.

As can be seen from the table, Michael van Gerwen’s eight-game winning streak has seen him establish a dour point lead over Michael Smith and Rob Cross chasing him and they are both three points ahead of Gary Anderson and the improving Daryl Gurney. Simon Whitlock’s good start seems to have petered out with just one win in his last six games, and Peter Wright and Raymond van Barneveld find themselves in real trouble at the foot of the table for the second phase despite having played one game more than any of their other opponents.

This means that it is a huge week for several players with four points up for grabs for some and six points for others. Let’s now take a look at the games scheduled for both nights in Rotterdam this week.

Night 11A – Wednesday 18^th April

• Michael Smith v Gary Anderson

What a game to start the action on Wednesday night with Michael Smith taking on Gary Anderson in a clash involving second taking on fourth. In truth, this is a game Anderson must win as he is three points behind both Smith and Cross in the top four and if he harbours ambitions to move closer to van Gerwen at the top of the table, he has to make his charge now. Smith is in good form though and recently whitewashed Raymond van Barneveld. He won’t do that to Anderson though and I’m picking the Scottish former World Champion to come out on top here.

Our Tip – Gary Anderson to win (4/5 with Coral Sport)

• Rob Cross v Daryl Gurney

The second game of the night is another absolute belter as Rob Cross seeks to gain revenge on Daryl Gurney, the only player to have beaten the current World Champion after the first two weeks of games in the tournament. That win in Ireland was a huge boost for Gurney and he has pushed on up the table since, but Cross played some outstanding darts in his win last week over Michael Smith and he will be itching for revenge over the Irishman.

Our Tip – Rob Cross to win (4/5 with Coral Sport)

• Raymond van Barneveld v Simon Whitlock

Both these players are somewhat out of form at the moment with Raymond van Barneveld in particular struggling. A home crowd should inspire the Dutchman to get back to his best against Whitlock who after a good start in this tournament has won just one of his last six games. Barney’s lack of appetite at the moment when playing these games is worrying me here and while I can’t see him losing, I am not sure he will win either given how Whitlock is battling.

Our Tip – The draw (3/1 with Coral Sport)

• Peter Wright v Michael van Gerwen

The only man to beat Michael van Gerwen in this tournament so far gets another chance to do so again, this time in Rotterdam. Peter Wright has got back some semblance of form over the last few weeks but he is still playing far from his best at the moment and to be honest, that simply won’t be enough against van Gerwen who is steam-rollering opponent after opponent in the Premier League and I can foresee the Dutchman doing precisely that here.

Our Tip – van Gerwen to win (1/3 with Coral Sport)

• Rob Cross v Gary Anderson

The final game of the night sees both Rob Cross and Gary Anderson back in action in what promises to be a cracker. Both players can play some superb darts but at the moment Cross is playing the better of the two, although you can never rule out Anderson due to his tremendous fighting spirit. I think Cross better physical fitness here may be the crucial factor with Anderson’s back still problematic at times.

Our Tip – Cross to win (7/5 with Coral Sport)

Night 11B – Thursday 19^th April

• Simon Whitlock v Michael Smith

Thursday night’s action kicks off with the top two from the first three weeks of the tournament facing each other. While Michael Smith has kicked on from there and still remains in the top three, Whitlock’s form has taken a nosedive of late and the Aussie needs to start putting together some wins here. Smith wasn’t well at the weekend but should be fully recovered here and I am backing Bully Boy to add another win to his belt here.

Our Tip– Smith to win (10/11 with Coral Sport)

• Daryl Gurney v Gary Anderson

With matches against all his direct opponents around him in the table this week, this is a pivotal three games for Gary Anderson. Daryl Gurney will know that if he can get a win here, he may just have the upper hand on the Scot in the race for the playoffs, but that is a big ask against a player as experienced and as talented as Anderson. The problem Anderson has is that Gurney is playing great at the moment and as a result, I think this could be the closest contest of the night.

Our Tip – The Draw (10/3 with Coral Sport)

• Rob Cross v Peter Wright

Given the form both of these players are in at the moment, it is hard to see anything but a Rob Cross win here. The World Champion has bounced back from a poor start to move up to third in the table and while catching van Gerwen may be beyond him, second place certainly isn’t. I can’t see much hope for Snakebite Wright here given his lack of form of late, especially against a player that is matching a high three dart average with phenomenal checkout stats.

Our Tip – Cross to win (4/5 with Coral Sport)

• Michael van Gerwen v Raymond van Barneveld

The penultimate game of the night is an All-Dutch clash in Rotterdam as Michael van Gerwen takes on Raymond van Barneveld in what should be a highly charged atmosphere at the Ahoy. Of the two, van Gerwen is in by far the better form and is playing massively better darts but there is something about him that brings out the best in Barney and I am going to surprise many people when I say that I am going to back Barney to cause a massive upset here.

Our Tip – Van Barneveld to win (7/1 with Coral Sport)

• Daryl Gurney v Simon Whitlock

The fourteenth and final game of a busy week in Rotterdam pits two playoff hopefuls against each other as Daryl Gurney and Simon Whitlock come face to face. Gurney is in the better form but Whitlock has surprised a few this year with his tenacity and ability to hit key doubles at key times, something that Gurney has failed to do at times. This will be a close one and I think it may well end up with the spoils shared.

Our Tip – The Draw (10/3 with Coral Sport)