Things Much Clearer in the Premier League Darts after Rotterdam

With the PDC moving the postponed set of fixtures in Exeter from earlier in the season into a second night of action in Rotterdam on Week 11 of the Premier League Darts, the Dutch leg of this epic tournament was always likely to be dramatic.

What it has also done is clarified the position in the table for many players and unless there is a change in fortune for the top four players, it looks a solid bet that the players occupying those positions following two nights of top quality darts in Rotterdam, will be the ones making the playoffs at Wembley in May.

Let’s take a closer look at how the results in Rotterdam panned out.

Week 11A (Wednesday) Rotterdam

• Michael Smith 2-7 Gary Anderson
• Rob Cross 7-4 Daryl Gurney
• Raymond van Barneveld 7-3 Simon Whitlock
• Peter Wright 7-5 Michael van Gerwen
• Rob Cross 3-7 Gary Anderson

The big benefactor on Wednesday evening was Scot Gary Anderson. The former two-time World Champion put together back to back wins against two players above him in the table, Michael Smith and Rob Cross, to move well into contention in the playoff race. Cross night wasn’t a waste either as he recorded a nice 7-4 win over Daryl Gurney.

The biggest shock of the night was Peter Wright’s 7-5 win over Michael van Gerwen, only the second defeat for van Gerwen in this event but it was the second time Wright had beaten him this season. In the other match on the night, Raymond van Barneveld found some better form to defeat Simon Whitlock 7-3 in front of his home support.

Week 11B (Thursday) Rotterdam

• Simon Whitlock 1-7 Michael Smith
• Daryl Gurney 3-7 Gary Anderson
• Rob Cross 6-6 Peter Wright
• Michael van Gerwen 5-7 Raymond van Barneveld
• Daryl Gurney 7-1 Simon Whitlock

There was another big shock on Thursday night as Michael van Gerwen went down to his second successive defeat, once again derailed by his nemesis Raymond van Barneveld in a battle of the two Dutch darting legends. Michael Smith bounced back well to defeat Simon Whitlock 7-1 and it was an unhappy two days for the Aussie as he also went down by the same scoreline to Daryl Gurney in the last match of the night.

Gary Anderson recorded another huge win over Gurney in the second match of the evening while the final game saw Rob Cross and Peter Wright battle out a fantastic 6-6 draw. Cross once again playing well, but Wright battled superbly to claim a point which just about keeps him in with a chance of reaching the playoffs.

Premier League Table (players in italics are eliminated)

As you can see, with four places up for grabs in the playoffs, van Gerwen (despite his two defeats), Anderson, Cross and Smith are clear of the next four players with a three point gap between Smith in fourth and Gurney in fifth.

Each player has three games remaining, apart from Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen who have four apiece, which means that the chasing pack will be desperate for van Gerwen to defeat Smith this week to allow them a chance to bridge that gap.

Let’s have a look at the remaining three weeks of fixtures that are on the horizon for the players:

Week 12 – Manchester Arena

• Peter Wright v Michael Smith
• Daryl Gurney v Michael van Gerwen
• Simon Whitlock v Gary Anderson
• Raymond van Barneveld v Rob Cross
• Michael Smith v Michael van Gerwen

After week 12, both the remaining two weeks of games have just four matches on each night.

Week 13 – Arena Birmingham

• Peter Wright v Simon Whitlock
• Daryl Gurney v Michael Smith
• Rob Cross v Michael van Gerwen
• Gary Anderson v Raymond van Barneveld

Week 14 – BHGE Arena, Aberdeen

• Michael Smith v Raymond van Barneveld
• Peter Wright v Daryl Gurney
• Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson
• Simon Whitlock v Rob Cross

The pressure is most on Michael Smith as he has a three point advantage and a game in hand over those players below him, but Smith must face Wright, van Gerwen, Gurney and van Barneveld in his final four games and they will not be easy. However one win for Smith could well be enough for him to make it through, unless one of the players chasing him can put together a string of three wins to move into the playoff positions.

For the chasing pack, they must feel that three wins from their final three games is a must to stand any chance of progressing. My gut feeling is that Simon Whitlock is out already as the Aussie’s form has tailed off after an exciting start to his campaign, but Wright, Gurney and van Barneveld all have the capability of putting together a run of three wins.

Gurney’s problem though is he will be facing a Michael van Gerwen this week who will be furious after two defeats on home soil meant that he isn’t yet already assured of a qualifying spot. In truth, he likely already is given his dominant position in the league, but the Dutchman will want to bounce back strongly after a disappointing week the last time out.

The final three weeks of games promise to be hugely exciting and while we seem to know which four players will be contesting the playoffs at Wembley in May, with the PDC Premier League, you can never be sure that the results will go as you expect them to.