Premier League Darts: Night 16 predictions, permutations, stats, betting tips, accas, order of play in Leeds & TV time
The final week of the Unibet Premier League Darts regular season is staged in Leeds and we have the qualification permutations, match-by-match predictions, best bets, stats and accas.
- 2019 Premier League fixtures, results & standings
- Follow @ChrisHammer180 on Twitter
One of the closest regular seasons we've ever seen in terms of both top spot and the race for the play-offs comes to a conclusion in Leeds on Thursday night, with Rob Cross bidding to become the third player ever to finish at the summit.
Michael van Gerwen has always gone into the play-offs as the league 'champion' ever since his debut in the tournament back in 2013 - the year he became the first player to end Phil Taylor's streak - but he heads into Thursday in an unfamiliar second place.
Behind them are four players striving to take those final two play-off spots for the O2 next week - James Wade, Mensur Suljovic, Daryl Gurney and Gerwyn Price.
As ever, I'lI run through all five fixtures, complete with head-to-head records, season stats so far, match verdicts, suggested bets and accas - plus a reminder of how the table looks and all the permutations for qualification to Finals Night.
Premier League Night 16: Thursday May 16
Click on the odds for more Sky Bet match markets
- TV Coverage: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
- Format: Maximum of 14 legs
Accumulators
Treble: Wright, Smith & Wade at 17.75/1
Four Fold: Wright, Smith, MVG & Wade at 22.44/1
Draw no bet accas: The above two accas at 8.5/1 and 9/1 respectively
Gerwyn Price (6/5) v Peter Wright (6/4), draw (7/2)
Tournament Average: 96.00 - 95.51
Best Average: 104.11 - 106.64
Tournament 180s: 49 - 41
Checkout %: 42.52% (91/214) - 41.95% (73/174)
High Checkout: 170 - 160
Head-to-head: 3-12 (1 draw)
Meetings since start of 2018: 2-4 ( 1 draw)
PDC Titles Since Start of 2018: 4-2
Career Titles: 6-22
It's fair to say Gerwyn Price's heated draw with Daryl Gurney last Thursday night was evidence how desperate both players were to reach the play-offs.
In Price's case, it perhaps caused him to buckle as he missed a crucial match dart that allowed Gurney to pinch a point before tempers flared on the oche.
Wow.
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) May 9, 2019
As close as you can get to a fight on the oche between Daryl Gurney and, of course, Gerwyn Price! pic.twitter.com/wCoEUsqZXJ
The Grand Slam of Darts champion, who also revealed they've since patched things up after Gurney apologised, said: "Last week's game meant a lot to me, I knew I needed a win or at least a draw and I should've won. But it didn't go my way and I've got to move on now."
He's drawn six times this season and on all but one of those occasions, he lost the final leg and spurned a total of 11 match darts in those matches combined.
Considering how badly Price wants this, it could be to his detriment to be up against someone with zero pressure on their shoulders.
Peter Wright has endured a pretty miserable season to say the least and last week's 8-1 spanking at the hands of Michael van Gerwen was his fifth Premier League defeat in a row and extended his winless run, which includes three draws, to 10 games.
However Snakebite showed genuine signs of a return to form by reaching the weekend's European Darts Grand Prix final, beating MVG along the way before losing a last-leg decider against the in-form Ian White.
I'm going to go for a rare Wright win here but to boost the odds to 11/4, he'll need to do it by hitting over 2.5 180s and having a checkout of over 82.5 (Sky Bet's Player Performance market).
Scoreline Prediction: 5-8
Suggested Bet: Peter Wright to win the match, score over 2.5 180s and checkout over 82.5 at 11/4 (Sky Bet)
Daryl Gurney (5/4) v Michael Smith (6/4), draw (7/2)
Tournament Average: 96.38 - 96.84
Best Average: 104.05 - 101.25
Tournament 180s: 40 - 52
Checkout %: 40.09% (85/212) - 35.85% (76/212)
High Checkout: 140 - 170
Head-to-head: 4-7 (1 draw)
Meetings since start of 2018: 2-2 (1 draw)
PDC Titles Since Start of 2018: 2-3
Career Titles: 4-11
Just like the opening game of the night, we have a player in his second Premier League season desperate to reach the play-offs for the first time against someone who really should be challenging for the same goal, but isn't.
Michael Smith has played so much better than his lowly position in the table but time and time again he's self destructed with sloppy passages of play and poor finishing.
The 2018 runner-up has hit more 180s than anyone and been averaging around the 100 mark consistently in recent weeks but his doubling is considerably worse than everyone else's and that's ultimately proved costly.
Last week's match against James Wade was testament to that as he let a 4-2 lead slip but to his credit he had the character to take the last two legs and earn a draw.
Obviously there's going to be a lot more pressure on Daryl Gurney, especially if Gerwyn Price wins the opening match of the night, and on general player talent I'd always be interested in backing Smith as an underdog against anyone apart from MVG.
Even Gurney said: "He is a sleeping giant right now - the most naturally gifted player there is on the circuit."
I'll keep this relatively simple - Smith to win and hit the most 180s at 3/1.
Scoreline Prediction: 4-8
Suggested Bet: Michael Smith to win and hit the most 180s at 3/1.
Michael van Gerwen (1/4) v Mensur Suljovic (7/1), draw (5/1)
Tournament Average: 102.22 - 95.97
Best Average: 110.85 - 101.38
Tournament 180s: 38 - 39
Checkout %: 48.77 (99/203) - 39.73% (89/224)
High Checkout: 132 - 144
Head-to-head: 12-4
Meetings since start of 2018: 4-0
PDC Titles Since Start of 2018: 126-2
Career Titles: 24-5
Michael van Gerwen's 100% record of always finishing top of the regular season is in grave danger of ending but at least he has the opportunity to pile the pressure on Rob Cross.
The Dutchman has bagged the £25,000 bonus in each of his six previous seasons - going onto win the title on finals night four times - and if he does so again it'll be the third time he's managed it by a single point.
That said, he might end up topping the table on leg difference should he win and Cross draws to Wade, but either way, it's as close as it possibly can be!
Regular readers of these predictions will know I often side against MVG, usually in the handicap market, and it's paid off on numerous occasions given he's dropped points in six matches.
However, while his vulnerable side re-emerged during the weekend's European Darts Grand Prix, I haven't been very impressed with Mensur Suljovic this season and feel he's been rather fortunate to catch many of his opponents on their off nights.
That could be doing him a disservice of course because some would say his style will be contributing to their troubles but there's no denying his stats and general levels have been much lower to those of MVG.
I'm heading into the Player Performance market for this one where van Gerwen is 11/8 to win, score over 2.5 180s and have a checkout of over 96.5.
Scoreline Prediction: 8-4
Suggested Bet: Michael van Gerwen to win the match, score over 2.5 180s and checkout over 96.5 at 11/8
James Wade (2/1) v Rob Cross (10/11), draw (3/1)
Tournament Average: 98.10 - 100.18
Best Average: 109.59 - 104.71
Tournament 180s: 43 - 51
Checkout %: 45.50% (96/211) - 45.50% (96/211)
High Checkout: 161 - 164
Head-to-head: 5-6
Meetings since start of 2018: 4-2
PDC Titles Since Start of 2018: 5-2
Career Titles: 33-7
If all my predictions have come in so far then James Wade will be relaxed knowing his play-off spot has been confirmed without throwing a dart while Rob Cross will need to win to finish top of the table.
But we obviously can't bank on all the above happening!
That said, the Machine actually only needs one of Daryl Gurney or Mensur Suljovic to drop points and he's made it to the O2 for the first time since 2013 so few will expect him to have a lot at stake.
For those wanting to bet on this match - aside from accas - then perhaps it's best waiting until they're about to make their way to the oche, just so you know what both players' motivations are and their exact scenarios.
You could have a situation where both Gurney and Suljovic have both won meaning Wade must do the same against an opponent who would have now sealed top spot. You just can't assume anything in this crazy world of darts.
However, I've got to make a call for the accas so I'm going with Wade.
His price of 2/1 is far too big considering how well he's been playing on the whole tour this season, winning three titles compared to Voltage's 'unlucky' zero.
Not only that but the Aldershot man's performances are so much stronger than in recent years, complimenting his trademark timing prowess with heavier scoring and higher averages.
I say Cross is unlucky to have no titles to his name this season because he's reached two finals and two semis, playing some great darts along the way, while his Premier League form has clearly been of a fantastic standard.
It should be an entertaining end to the regular season so as well as backing Wade at 2/1, I'm going for the match to have over 12.5 legs, a high checkout of over 108.5 and more than 5.5 total 180s at 11/8.
Scoreline Prediction: 8-6
Suggested Bets: James Wade to win at 2/1, match to have over 12.5 legs, highest checkout to be over 108.5 and over 5.5 total 180s at 11/8.
2019 Premier League Darts Table & Permutations
- Cross (Q) P 15 W 10 D 2 L 3 LegD +28 Pts 22
- Van Gerwen (Q) P 15 W 9 D 3 L 3 LegD +37 Pts 21
- Wade P 15 W 6 D 6 L 3 LegD +18 Pts 18
- Suljovic P 15 W 7 D 3 L 5 LegD +2 Pts 17
- Gurney P 15 W 7 D 3 L 5 LegD +2 Pts 17
- Price P 15 W 5 D 6 L 4 LegD +1 Pts 16
- Smith P 15 W 3 D 4 L 8 LegD -21 Pts 10
- Wright P 15 W 2 D 5 L 8 LegD -27 Pts 9
- Relegated: Van Barneveld P 9 W 1 D 2 L 6 LegD -22 Pts 4
CLICK HERE FOR FULL SEASON FIXTURES, RESULTS & TABLE
James Wade
- Qualifies with a win or a draw.
- If Gurney or Suljovic do not win, Wade has qualified before playing his match.
Gerwyn Price
- If Price draws, he needs Suljovic and Gurney to lose.
- If Price wins, he needs Suljovic and Gurney not to win.
Daryl Gurney
- Needs a better result than Mensur Suljovic and Gerwyn Price.
Mensur Suljovic
- Needs a better result than Daryl Gurney and Gerwyn Price.
Players tied on points are split as follows:
- League Points
- Leg Difference (+/-)
- Legs Won Against Throw (LWAT)
- Tournament Average from Sportradar
Related Darts Content
MOST READ
Next Off
Fixtures & Results
