Betting preview, tips, stats & TV details for Premier League Darts finals night

TV: Sky Sports Action & Main Event, 7pm Thursday

James Wade has defied the odds on his Premier League comeback simply by making the playoffs and the rock-solid leftie might not be done yet as we brace ourselves for finals night at London’s O2.

Standing between pre-tournament 40-1 shot Wade and a second Premier League title are the flaky Rob Cross and probably, though not necessarily, a not-so-mighty Michael van Gerwen who on TV this week summed up his campaign in one four-letter word.

And that word wasn’t ‘good’.

Van Gerwen, the 8-15 favourite for a fourth straight title, first has to get past Daryl Gurney to get to his seventh successive final and having already lost to Superchin twice in this year’s schedule, he’s no shoo-in.

Exactly ten years after winning his one and only Premier League trophy, Wade looks a massive price at 15-2 on a night when nerves will be tested and clutch doubles missed, and the unshakeable Englishman is just the man you’d want in your corner in those circumstances.

Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney
Career head-to-head: Van Gerwen leads 19-5

2019 meetings
D Gurney 7 M van Gerwen 5 Premier League, Mar 21
D Gurney 8 M van Gerwen 5 Premier League, May 2
M van Gerwen 7 D Gurney 3 Austrian Open semi-final, May 5

Michael van Gerwen has vowed to make it third time lucky and ‘smash’ Daryl Gurney in the first semi-final, but backing the Dutch world number one and defending Premier League champion at 2-9 doesn’t look the smartest of plays.

Van Gerwen has twice lost to Superchin in this year’s competition, the second of those an 8-5 loss just three weeks ago.

And the layers have taken notice. Gurney was a 6-1 shot that night; this time – even though we’re now in the longer best-of-19 format which should play to Van Gerwen’s strengths – the Northern Irishman is just 7-2.

There’s a nice simmering tension between these two which should add to the drama and Van Gerwen will be aching to avenge those previous setbacks.

He did, it has to be said, beat Gurney 7-3 in Austria three days after that second Premier League loss, but the hairless lowlander admits he’s not been playing well.

Indeed, so perturbed is he by his form that he went to Barnsley at the weekend for a pair of confidence-boosting Pro Tour events, but it was a weekend in Yorkshire which left more questions than answers. He reached the Saturday semi only to be battered 7-2 by Glen Durrant, then exited in the last 32 on Sunday, beaten 6-4 by Robert Thornton, a player he hadn’t lost to for four years.

If Van Gerwen fires he makes a nonsense of any debate and Gurney, of course, will have to play well – and that can’t be guaranteed.

What we do know about the Chin is that even if he’s not clicking he’ll still wallop in maximums galore. He topped the 180s charts last Thursday with five and can out-max his Dutch opponent.

Recommendation
D Gurney most 180s
2pts 29-20 Red Zone

Rob Cross v James Wade
Career head-to-head: 6-6

2019 meetings
R Cross 7 J Wade 4 Premier League, Feb 14
J Wade 8 R Cross 6 Premier League, May 16

There are echoes of last year to be heard and that should spell danger in the Rob Cross camp.

Twelve months ago Voltage headed to the O2 after a confidence-shattering 6-6 draw with Simon Whitlock in which he averaged just 89. He went to London and again didn’t perform.

Fast forward a year and Cross heads for the capital after another disappointing dress rehearsal, this time beaten 8-6 by James Wade, a defeat which cost him top spot in the table and a £25,000 bonus.

Wade reckons Cross was under pressure and the vastly-experienced multi-major winner knew exactly how to keep him under the cosh. It was typical, top-class matchplay from Wade, who hit 39 ton-plus scores compared to Cross’s 27 and a number of soul-destroying combination outshots.

So if Cross can crumble once, should he be trusted at 4-6 this time?

It isn’t as though there’s anything in the head-to-head form and Wade is playing better than ever with a scoring power not seen since his youth.

The 11-8 about Wade winning his semi-final looks a value bet in itself, but there's every incentive to go all the way and back Hampshire’s finest to lift the trophy.

Recommendation
J Wade to win Premier League
2pts 15-2 Betfair, Betway

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