MVG, Anderson, Wright or Phil Taylor? Premier League Darts play-offs odds, statistics & profiles
All you need to know ahead of tonight's Premier League Darts play-offs at London's O2, including a player-by-player guide, tournament statistics, head-to-head records, the latest odds and TV details.
Can the great Phil Taylor mark his final Premier League Darts season before retirement with a seventh title - and his first since 2012? Will Michael van Gerwen further underline his status as world number one by defending his crown? Is Gary Anderson going to get his hands on the trophy for the third time? Or could Peter Wright land the biggest prize of his career, which is going from strength to strength?
As a fascinating 16-week season finally comes to an end, these questions will be answered at London's O2 Arena tonight (Thursday May 18) as the four remaining players battle it out for a top prize of £250,000 in the play-offs, live on Sky Sports 3 from 1900 BST.
Here, we analyse both semi-finals, reflecting on their head-to-head records, form and tournament statistics so far while we also have the latest Sky Bet odds, all the results this season and a look at the past winners of the event.
CLICK HERE FOR JOHN PART'S ANALYSIS AND PREDICTIONS
Premier League Darts Play-Offs schedule & odds
Semi-Finals (best of 19 legs)
Michael van Gerwen (2/7) v Gary Anderson (11/4)
Peter Wright (8/15) v Phil Taylor (6/4)
Final (best of 21 legs)
MVG/Anderson v Wright/Taylor
Title odds (Sky Bet)
Van Gerwen - 1/2
Wright - 4/1
Anderson - 11/2
Taylor - 11/1
Semi-Final 1: Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson
Click here to read what both players said ahead of finals night
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORDS
Overall
Van Gerwen 27 wins, Anderson 14 wins, 2 draws
Last 10
Van Gerwen 7 wins, Anderson 2 wins, 1 draw
Premier League meetings in 2017
Gary Anderson 6-6 Michael van Gerwen - Week 1
Michael van Gerwen 7-4 Gary Anderson - Week 15
Other meetings in 2017 (leg play unless stated)
Van Gerwen 4-6 Anderson - Players Championship 10, L16
Van Gerwen 6-4 Anderson - Players Championship 9, L16
Van Gerwen 6-3 Anderson - UK Open Qualifier 4, F
Van Gerwen 11-7 Anderson - Masters, F
Van Gerwen 7-3 Anderson (sets) - World Championship, F
PREMIER LEAGUE 2017 KEY STATISTICS
Finishing position and record
1. MVG P 16 W 10 D 4 L 2 LD +32 Pts 24
4. Anderson P 16 W 7 D 4 L 5 LD +12 Pts 18
Click for all the results and weekly reports/stats
Overall three-dart average
Michael van Gerwen: 104.68
Gary Anderson: 102.16
180s thrown
Michael van Gerwen: 58
Gary Anderson: 53
Finishing percentage
Michael van Gerwen: 41.13% ( 102/248)
Gary Anderson: 39.91% (91/228)
Ton + checkouts
Gary Anderson: (15) 170, 161, 147, 145, 143, 132, 130, 130, 126, 121, 119, 114, 110, 108, 104
Michael van Gerwen: (7) 170, 138, 124, 116, 109, 108, 102
PLAYER PROFILES
Michael van Gerwen
Age: 28
Tournaments won in 2017: Six (including the world title)
Premier League Play-Offs record: Winner (2013, 2016), Runner-up (2014, 2015)
Not only has Michael van Gerwen topped the Premier League regular season table in each of his five campaigns, but he's never failed to reach the final of the play-offs.
He beat Phil Taylor to win the title in his debut season back in 2013 before suffering back-to-back defeats to Raymond van Barneveld and Gary Anderson to take the runners-up trophy.
He reclaimed the crown during his incredible season of dominance in 2016 by thrashing Taylor and he could well meet the Power once again should he get past the man who beat him in the 2015 final.
Although the world champion remains an understanable odds-on favourite after he again scooped the league leaders' bonus of £25,000 last Thursday night, there have been occasional dips in his form this season - including a 6-0 defeat to Peter Wright in a European Tour event - so this could give his rivals hope at the O2.
Gary Anderson
Age: 46
Tournaments won in 2017: Two
Premier League Play-offs record: Winner (2011, 2015), Semi-finals (2014, 2016)
Just like MVG, Gary Anderson won the Premier League Darts title at his first attempt in 2011 and that proved to be the catalyst for what has been a stellar career in the PDC.
The two-time world champion then defeated the Dutchman to claim his second Premier League crown four years later to further demonstrate his ability to peak when it really matters.
Having failed to retain his Premier League and world titles in the last 12 months, the Flying Scotsman will be determined to get one over on van Gerwen in the semi-finals on Thursday and should he succeed, then he'll surely head into a clash with either Phil Taylor or Peter Wright as favourite.
Semi-Final 2: Peter Wright v Phil Taylor
Click here to read what both players said ahead of finals night
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORDS
Overall
Wright 9 wins, Taylor 20 wins, 3 draws
Last 10
Wright 4 wins, Taylor 5 wins, 1 draw
Premier League meetings in 2017
Peter Wright 5-7 Phil Taylor - Week 8
Phil Taylor 3-7 Peter Wright - Week 13
Other meetings in 2017
Taylor 10-5 Wright - Masters QF
PREMIER LEAGUE 2017 KEY STATISTICS
Finishing position and record
2. Wright P 16 W 10 D 3 L 3 LD +30 Pts 23
3. Taylor P 16 W 8 D 3 L 5 LD +7 Pts 19
Click for all the results and weekly reports/stats
Overall three-dart average
Peter Wright: 98.86
Phil Taylor: 98.15
180s thrown
Peter Wright: 46
Phil Taylor: 37
Finishing percentage
Phil Taylor: 40.17% (92/229)
Peter Wright: 38.89% (91/234)
Ton + checkouts
Peter Wright: (14) 156, 125, 121, 120, 120, 120, 116, 116, 116, 116, 116, 115, 108, 104
Phil Taylor: (9) 142, 121, 121, 121, 120, 118, 112, 110, 104
PLAYER PROFILES
Phil Taylor
Age: 56
Tournaments won in 2017: 0
Premier League Play-offs record: Winner (2005-2008, 2010, 2012), Runner-up (2013, 2016), Semi-Finals (2009, 2011, 2014)
Six-time champion Phil Taylor is taking part in the Premier League Darts play-offs for the 13th time in 14 seasons - but he's not lifted the title since 2012.
Last year's crushing 11-3 defeat to Michael van Gerwen in the final hurt him but he's incredibly managed to beat the current world number one five times in their seven matches since then so that will give him plenty of belief should they meet again on Thursday night.
One of those victories, during the regular season two weeks ag0, effectively sealed his play-off spot and now he fittingly has a chance to get his hands on the trophy for the final time before he retires at the end of 2017.
Peter Wright
Age: 47
Tournaments won in 2017: 7
Premier League Play-offs record: First appearence
Peter Wright is no spring chicken at the age of 47, but he's finally reaching the peak of his powers as he targets the biggest title of his career on Thursday night.
Snakebite ended his long wait for a major televised title at the UK Open earlier this year and since then he's gone from strength to strength on the PDC Tour, with more tournament triumphs than any other player in 2017.
He ended a 16-match losing streak against MVG en route to one of those wins before defeating the Dutchman in a tournament final for the first time in his career (at the 10th attempt no less) to land the German Darts Championship.
Wright layed down another marker by thrashing the Dutchman 6-0 in the final of the European Darts Grand Prix before pushing him all the way in pursuit of the league leaders' bonus.
And having finished runner-up, he is a worthy second favourite behind the world number one ahead of his first appearence in the play-offs having failed to qualify in his previous three seasons.
CLICK HERE FOR JOHN PART'S ANALYSIS AND PREDICTIONS
The Final: Head-to-head stats for possible finals
Michael van Gerwen v Phil Taylor
Overall
Van Gerwen 24 wins, Taylor 32 wins, 2 draws
Last 10
Van Gerwen 4 wins, Taylor 5 wins, 1 draw
Premier League meetings in 2017
Phil Taylor 4-7 Michael van Gerwen - Week 7
Michael van Gerwen 3-7 Phil Taylor - Week 14
Other meetings in 2017
No other meetings in 2017
Gary Anderson v Phil Taylor
Overall
Anderson 15 wins, Taylor 39 wins, 3 draws
Last 10
Anderson 2 wins, Taylor 7 wins, 1 draw
Premier League meetings in 2017
Gary Anderson 6-6 Phil Taylor - Week 5
Phil Taylor 7-4 Gary Anderson - Week 12
Other meetings in 2017
Taylor 9-11 Anderson - Masters SF
Michael van Gerwen v Peter Wright
Overall
Van Gerwen 45 wins, Wright 11 wins, 2 draws
Last 10
Van Gerwen 6 wins, Wright 3 wins, 1 draw
Premier League meetings in 2017
Peter Wright 3-7 Michael van Gerwen - Week 2
Michael van Gerwen 6-6 Peter Wright - Week 11
Other meetings in 2017
Van Gerwen 0-6 Wright - European Darts GP, F
Van Gerwen 6-1 Wright - Players Championship 6, F
Van Gerwen 3-6 Wright - German Darts Championship, F
Van Gerwen 6-3 Wright - UK Open Qualifier 4, QF
Van Gerwen 4-6 Wright - UK Open Qualifier 3, QF
Gary Anderson v Peter Wright
Overall
Anderson 21 wins, Wright 12 wins, 1 draw
Last 10
Anderson 7 wins, Wright 2 wins, 1 draw
Premier League meetings in 2017
Gary Anderson 5-7 Peter Wright - Week 3
Peter Wright 2-7 Gary Anderson - Week 11
Other meetings in 2017 (leg play unless stated)
Anderson 6-3 Wright - Players Championship 10, F
Anderson 6-1 Wright - Players Championship 2, F
Anderson 6-3 Wright (sets) - World Championship, SF
How the regular season unfolded & tournament stats
MVG (Q) P 16 W 10 D 4 L 2 LD +32 Pts 24
Wright (Q) P 16 W 10 D 3 L 3 LD +30 Pts 23
Taylor (Q) P 16 W 8 D 3 L 5 LD +7 Pts 19
Anderson (Q) P 16 W 7 D 4 L 5 LD +12 Pts 18
Chisnall P 16 W 6 D 4 L 6 LD -5 Pts 16
RVB P 16 W 6 D 2 L 8 LD -10 Pts 14
Wade P 16 W 5 D 3 L 8 LD -13 Pts 13
Lewis P 16 W 6 D 1 L 9 LD -14 Pts 13
Klaasen P 9 W 1 D 1 L 7 LD -16 Pts 3
Huybrechts P 9 W 0 D 3 L 6 LD -23 Pts 3
* Klaasen & Huybrechts relegated after week nine
CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE WEEKLY RESULTS, REPORTS & STATS
Premier League Darts 2017 Statistics
Overall three-dart average
Michael van Gerwen: 104.68
Gary Anderson: 102.16
Peter Wright: 98.86
Dave Chisnall: 98.71
Raymond van Barneveld: 98.69
Phil Taylor: 98.15
Adrian Lewis: 96.84
Kim Huybrechts (nine games): 95.75
James Wade: 94.64
Jelle Klaasen (nine games): 91.81
Overall 180s thrown
Dave Chisnall: 71
Raymond van Barneveld: 58
Michael van Gerwen: 58
Gary Anderson: 53
Adrian Lewis: 46
Peter Wright: 46
Phil Taylor: 37
Kim Huybrechts (nine games): 24
James Wade: 25
Jelle Klaasen (nine games): 19
Finishing percentage
Michael van Gerwen: 41.13% ( 102/248)
Phil Taylor: 40.17% (92/229)
Gary Anderson: 39.91% (91/228)
Peter Wright: 38.89% (91/234)
James Wade: 38.68% (82/212)
Dave Chisnall: 38.32% (82/214)
Raymond van Barneveld: 37.09% (79/213)
Adrian Lewis: 36.89% (76/206)
Jelle Klaasen (nine games): 34.71% (42/121)
Kim Huybrechts (nine games): 34.58% (37/107)
Ton + checkouts
Gary Anderson: (15) 170, 161, 147, 145, 143, 132, 130, 130, 126, 121, 119, 114, 110, 108, 104
Peter Wright: (14) 156, 125, 121, 120, 120, 120, 116, 116, 116, 116, 116, 115, 108, 104
Raymond van Barneveld: (10) 156, 154, 140, 140, 128, 124, 121, 107, 107, 104
Phil Taylor: (9) 142, 121, 121, 121, 120, 118, 112, 110, 104
James Wade: (8) 121, 121, 120, 110, 106, 100, 100, 100
Michael van Gerwen: (7) 170, 138, 124, 116, 109, 108, 102
Adrian Lewis: (7) 170, 160, 141, 140, 126, 122, 114
Dave Chisnall: (7) 160, 145, 142, 141,129, 123, 109
Kim Huybrechts (nine games): (4) 140, 134, 110, 110
Jelle Klaasen (nine games): (3) 152, 122, 111
Best three-dart match averages
119.50 - Peter Wright v Lewis (Week 5)
113.62 - Michael van Gerwen v Wade (Week 10)
113.44 - Gary Anderson v Wright (Week 11)
111.52 - Adrian Lewis v Van Barneveld (Week 11)
110.62 - James Wade v Van Gerwen (Week 10)
110.75 - Michael van Gerwen v Lewis (Week 13)
109.48 - Peter Wright v Anderson (Week 3)
109.36 - Dave Chisnall v Van Barneveld (Week 14)
109.15 - Adrian Lewis v Wright (Week 5)
107.94 - Michael van Gerwen v Anderson (Week 1)
Who is the bookies favourite to win the title?
World number one Michael van Gerwen is unsurprisingly Sky Bet's odds-on favourite - as he has been all season - at 1/2 to defend his Premier League title having topped the regular season table.
He will meet world number two Gary Anderson, who he beat in Birmingham last Thursday to conseign the Scotsman to fourth place, in the semi-finals and you can back him at 2/7 to advance.
Anderson is 11/4 to avenge that defeat while he's 11/2 third favourite behind Peter Wright to become champion for the third time.
Snakebite, who won his maiden TV title at the UK Open earlier this year, is 4/1 to claim the biggest prize of his career ahead of a semi-final meeting with former six-time champion Phil Taylor for which he is 8/15 to win.
The Power is 6/4 to beat Wright and 11/1 to live out a fairytale finish to his final Premier League season before retirement by getting his hands on the trophy for the first time since 2012.
Premier League Darts: Prize Fund
Winner £250,000
Runner-Up £120,000
Semi-Finalists £80,000
Fifth Place £65,000
Sixth Place £55,000
Seventh Place £50,000
Eighth Place £45,000
Ninth Place £30,000
10th Place £25,000
Premier League Darts History
Past Finals
2005 - Phil Taylor 16-4 Colin Lloyd
2006 - Phil Taylor 16-6 Roland Scholten
2007 - Phil Taylor 16-8 Terry Jenkins
2008 - Phil Taylor 16-8 James Wade
2009 - James Wade 13-8 Mervyn King
2010 - Phil Taylor 10-8 James Wade
2011 - Gary Anderson 10-4 Adrian Lewis
2012 - Phil Taylor 10-7 Simon Whitlock
2013 - Michael van Gerwen 10-8 Phil Taylor
2014 - Raymond van Barneveld 10-6 Michael van Gerwen
2015 - Gary Anderson 11-7 Michael van Gerwen
2016 - Michael van Gerwen 11-3 Phil Taylor
Historical Records
Most Titles: Phil Taylor - 6
Longest Unbeaten Run: Phil Taylor - 44 (2005-2008)
Biggest League Victory: Phil Taylor 11-1 Wayne Mardle (2005) & Phil Taylor 11-1 Peter Manley (2005)
Biggest Play-Off Victory: Phil Taylor 16-4 Colin Lloyd (2005 Final)
Whitewashes (since dead legs removed in 2006): Colin Lloyd 8-0 Terry Jenkins (2007), Phil Taylor 8-0 Wayne Mardle (2008), James Wade 8-0 Simon Whitlock (2012), Michael van Gerwen 7-0 Phil Taylor (2014), Michael van Gerwen 7-0 James Wade (2015), Robert Thornton 0-7 Dave Chisnall (2016), Robert Thornton 0-7 Phil Taylor (2016), Michael van Gerwen 7-0 Adrian Lewis (2017)
Most 180s in a Match: Gary Anderson - 11 v Simon Whitlock (2011)
Most 180s in a Season: Gary Anderson - 79 in 2011
Top 10 High Averages:
123.40 - Michael van Gerwen v Michael Smith, 2016
119.5 - Peter Wright v Adrian Lewis, 2017
117.95 - Michael Smith v Robert Thornton, 2016
117.35 - Phil Taylor v Simon Whitlock, 2012
116.90 - Michael van Gerwen v James Wade, 2015
116.67 - Michael van Gerwen v Peter Wright, 2016
116.10 - Phil Taylor v James Wade, 2012
116.01 - Phil Taylor v John Part, 2009
115.08 - Phil Taylor v Raymond van Barneveld, 2015 *Record Losing Ave*
115.25 - Phil Taylor v Dave Chisnall, 2015
114.17 - Dave Chisnall v James Wade, 2015
Nine-Dart Finishes
2006 - Raymond van Barneveld v Peter Manley, Bournemouth
2010 - Raymond van Barneveld v Terry Jenkins, Aberdeen
2010 - Phil Taylor x2 v James Wade, Wembley (Final)
2012 - Phil Taylor v Kevin Painter, Aberdeen
2012 - Simon Whitlock v Andy Hamilton, London
2016 - Adrian Lewis v James Wade, Belfast
2017 - Adrian Lewis v Raymond van Barneveld, Liverpool
CLICK HERE FOR JOHN PART'S ANALYSIS AND PREDICTIONS
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