Sports Blog 30/03/2015: League Preview – Premier League Darts Week 9, Thursday April 2nd 2015

Premier League Darts is in full swing, and there have been some big surprises in the past few weeks as the season enters Week 9.

Alongside spread betting and fixed odds on each match, Spreadex is offering an Outright Index 60-40-20-10 spread for the tournament. This index is made up of 60 points for the winner with 40 for the runner up; the losing semi-finalists get 20 points apiece, whilst 5th to 8th place get 10 points. The bottom 2, however, receive a big, fat zero.

With that in mind we turn to Thursday’s matches. First up is the game’s current king versus the second most successful player in PDC history, as Michael van Gerwen faces James Wade at 7.20pm. Van Gerwen is the only undefeated player in the league this season, and unsurprisingly sits atop the table, the PDC’s Order of Merit and our Outright Index at 39-42. However, van Gerwen has dropped points against Adrian Lewis and Peter Wright, giving the joint 4th place Wade a chance for an upset. Wade has won 3, drawn 3 and lost 2, is at 17-20 on the Outright Index, and faces a tough task against Mighty Mike. Our Spreadex traders can’t see beyond the Dutchman, at a Van Gerwen/Wade 10-3 Leg Supremacy spread betting quote of 8-11.



Next up is a tie lower down the table, with league first-timers Stephen Bunting and Kim Huybrechts facing off at 8pm. Stephen Bunting, who hasn’t found the same level of success in the PDC since leaving the BDO, has won 2, drawn 2 and lost 4, including heavy defeats to van Gerwen and Taylor. He continues to lay outside the PDC Order of Merit top ten, and is currently sitting in 6th in the league with an Outright Index spread of 9-12. Yet in Huybrechts, Bunting faces a player who is having a much worse debut season. Huybrechts, with a dismal Outright spread of 0-1, has only won one match so far, against Raymond van Barneveld, whilst drawing against Adrian Lewis and losing his other 6 matches. Given the gulf in form between the two, our Spreadex traders are offering a Bunting/Huybrechts 10-3 Leg Supremacy spread betting quote of 0-3.

The third match of the night sees action from both ends of the table, as 2nd place Gary Anderson takes on 8th place Raymond van Barneveld at 8.45pm. Anderson, at an Outright Index spread of 33-36, is hot on the heels of van Gerwen at the top. It is only his two losses (to van Gerwen himself and a surprise defeat to Dave Chisnall) compared to the Dutchman’s draws separating the two. Van Barneveld, on the other hand, has only won 2, drawing one and losing the other 4; this leaves him on an Outright spread of 4.5-6.5, and behind the Flying Scotsman at an Anderson/van Barneveld 10-3 Leg Supremacy spread betting quote of 7-10.



There is then a very interesting scrap in the top half of the table, as PDC Order of Merit’s 9th place player Dave Chisnall, 3rd in the actual league, takes on OoM No.2 Phil Taylor, who disappointingly sits in joint 4th place. ‘The Power’, who sits at an Outright spread of 30-33, won’t be happy with his performance so far, losing three of his 8 matches to Anderson, van Gerwen and shockingly van Barneveld. Chisnall, on the other hand, has been one of the bigger surprises of the tournament, with only losses to van Gerwen and Bunting, and a draw against Wade, sullying his form sheet. Yet Chizzy, on an Outright spread of 20-23, remains the underdog at a Taylor/Chisnall 10-3 Leg Supremacy spread betting quote of 7-10.

Finally, 10.15pm sees another lower table battle, with 9th place Adrian Lewis taking on 7th place Peter Wright. Lewis, on an Outright spread of 6-8, has lost four of his matches, his only win coming on the opening day against van Barneveld, a disappointing run in his 8th league season. Peter Wright only fares slightly better, losing 3 of his 8. However Wright, at an Outright spread of 8-10, has shown his strength against bigger players, taking points off of both Taylor and van Gerwen. Despite this, the more experience player remains the favourite, at a Lewis/Wright 10-3 Leg Supremacy spread betting quote of 0-3.

Make sure to check Spreadex on Thursday for more Premier League Darts spread betting opportunities, fixed odds and Week 9 specials!