Gary Anderson, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright and Michael Smith were unable to finish in the top four places when it came to the 2022 Premier League Darts, leaving the other quartet of players to line up in the finals.
The top four darts players in the standings head to the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, with the finals taking place in front of a fervent crowd on 13 June. There is going to be lots of darts betting interest when it comes to the action which has traditionally been held at the O2 Arena.
Can Jonny Clayton Retain PDC Title?
Clayton is big favourite with the darts bookmakers to overcome Joe Cullen in the first semi-final. The two players are pretty familiar with each other considering that the Ferret overcame the Rockstar in Newcastle when claiming a 6-4 win.
Previously to this, it was Cullen who came out on top when the pair met at the O2 Arena and that was a 6-4 win in the final, so perhaps it’s the underdog who is the best betting value to get the job done here.
Van Gerwen Favourite to Beat Wade
Michael van Gerwen will have plenty of backers when he lines up in Berlin, with MVG strong darts betting favourite to overcome James Wade in the second semi-final. However, Van Gerwen was beaten by Michael Smith in his past PDC match.
Wade was the winner of Match Day 10 and Match Day 12, although there was a spate of quarter final exits towards the end of the regular campaign. Therefore, it could be that Van Gerwen is a good bet to line up in the final.
Can Gerwyn Price Land First Ever Premier League Title?
Gerwyn Price was a notable absentee when it came to the 2021 Premier League Darts, with the Welshman testing positive for COVID-19 on the eve of the tournament. The Iceman is the outstanding player in world darts right now and his performances in the Grand Slam of Darts were spectacular, with Price putting compatriot Jonny Clayton to the sword in the quarter final.
He then achieved facile wins over James Wade and Peter Wright, so it will certainly be in his interests to challenge hard this time around. However, Price has never made the play-offs after finishing fifth in 2019 and 2020, with the former rugby player having a point to prove.
Van Gerwen Looking to Land 6th Premier League Title
While Michael van Gerwen hasn’t enjoyed a vintage 2021, the Dutchman has plenty of experience when it comes to securing Premier League titles. Mighty Mike broke his duck in 2013 and has subsequently followed this up with four consecutive triumphs between 2016-2019, making MVG the man to beat in this tournament.
However, there is no getting away from the fact that MVG’s win ratio has been dropping over the past couple of years. There have been plenty of semi-final appearances over the past twelve months, although things have been off since 2019 and it could be that other players are ready to topple someone who looks less bombproof.
Clayton Could Be a Big Contender Despite Lack of Experience
Jonny Clayton has only entered one Premier League Darts tournament and he came away with a maiden victory. It catapulted The Ferret into plenty of success over 2021, although it needs to be noted that this wasn’t an ordinary competition. Things might be different when Clayton takes to the road on a relentless basis while balancing the other tournaments.
However, this is a steady player who conquered all before him over this format and he was able to beat Van Gerwen in the semi-finals last time before dumping out Jose de Sousa. It will be interesting to see what sort of game Peter Wright also produces and he has the capability to reach the business end.
2021 Premier League darts – Van Gerwen and Van den Bergh head betting
We’re approaching the business end of the 2021 Premier League Darts, with Michael van Gerwen enjoying a recent three-match winning run which has propelled the already-legendary Dutchman to the head of the betting market.
MVG has already bagged five Premier League titles at the relatively young age of 32 and the bookies think he has a big shot at making history by securing a sixth crown in 2021, with the matches being played exclusively in Milton Keynes and the Dutchman is proving hard to stop.
What Are the Latest 2021 Darts Premier League Odds?
Michael van Gerwen sits top of the standings after securing seven wins and three draws from his twelve games played thus far. He’s in excellent nick and destroyed Dimitri van den Bergh when averaging nearly 110, while he then kicked on recently to beat Nathan Aspinall and James Wade.
Obviously the semi-finals and the final will be a knockout phase although the darts betting sites are taking few chances with their quotes about a player who has so much experience when it comes to this competition and the best darts betting odds available are 13/8 that Van Gerwen is champion once again.
With Gerwyn Price not participating after testing positive for COVID-19, we are seeing a couple of other young pretenders near the top of the standings and it shouldn’t be overlooked that Nathan Aspinall reached the 2020 Premier League Darts final.
The Asp will therefore benefit from the experience of this run which saw him finish third in the standings before getting past Peter Wright to set up a closely-fought final against Glen Durrant which saw the latter land a victory.
Can Van den Bergh Land First Premier League Title?
Dimitri van den Bergh very much represents the future of darts and the exciting Belgian will be ready to wow the Premier League crowds when they return, with this being his second appearance in this tournament and the previous one was as a challenger in 2019.
The bookies are showing Dimitri plenty of respect with their 3/1 quotes about the Dream Maker landing a maiden Premier League success, with the Belgian having shown his prowess when beating Nathan Aspinall 8-6 and he’s capable of power scoring.
Nathan Aspinall is next in the betting, although the darts betting sites are prepared to offer short prices about Johnny Clayton and Jose de Sousa, with Peter Wright the only player who is really regarded as being out of the running.
2021 Premier League Darts betting tips and preview
We’re getting closer to the 2021 Premier League darts event kicking off, although this year’s tournament is not going to be held at stadiums across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of Europe such as Netherlands and Germany.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are instead going to see the ten world-leading players compete at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, with the players battling it out in a round robin format before the best-performing ones go through to the latter stage of the competition.
What Are the 2021 Premier League Darts Dates?
During a normal season, the Unibet Premier League would take place as part of a 17-night tour across a four month period, although the initial action will be confined to one venue in England, with the ten players competing on five consecutive nights between 5-9 April.
They will then return between 19-22 April to battle it out over four more rounds of fixtures, with that meaning that each player will have competed against everyone else in the competition.
The bottom two players will then be eliminated following Judgement Night before the remaining eight players compete over seven more game nights although the dates of these are yet to be confirmed. The same applies to the play-offs.
Which Darts Players Will Line Up in the 2021 Premier League?
Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price are the favourites to win the 2021 Premier League and they have a healthy rivalry within the game, with the latter being the recently-crowned world champion.
Price was excellent in winning his first world crown at Alexandra Palace although he’s never got close to winning a Premier League and one might prefer Van Gerwen who has five titles to his name and will be hungry to land another this time around.
Peter Wright is third favourite and you can get darts betting odds of 11/2 about the Scotsman winning his first Premier League after finishing runner-up in 2017, with Wright being third in the Order or Merit to qualify.
Dimitri van den Bergh and Gary Anderson are both trading at betting odds of 10/1 to win the Premier League, with the former making his first appearance in this tournament although the Flying Scotsman has won two titles and was boosted by reaching the 2021 World Championship final.
When Will the 2022 Premier League Darts Take Place?
- Thursday February 3 - Night One, Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
- Thursday February 10 - Night Two, M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
- Thursday February 17 - Night Three, SSE Arena, Belfast
- Thursday February 24 - Night Four, Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin
- Thursday March 3 - Night Five, Westpoint Exeter
- Thursday March 10 - Night Six, The Brighton Centre
- Thursday March 17 - Night Seven, Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
- Thursday March 24 - Night Eight, Rotterdam Ahoy
- Thursday March 31 - Judgement Night, Utilita Arena Birmingham
- Thursday April 7 - Night Ten, First Direct Arena, Leeds
- Thursday April 14 - Night 11, AO Arena, Manchester
- Thursday April 21 - Night 12, P&J Live, Aberdeen
- Thursday April 28 - Night 13, 3Arena, Dublin
- Thursday May 5 - Night 14, The SSE Hydro, Glasgow
- Thursday May 12 - Night 15, FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield
- Thursday May 19 - Night 16, The O2, London
- Thursday May 26 - Play-Offs, Utilita Arena Newcastle
The first night of the 2022 Premier League Darts is scheduled to take place on 3 February in Cardiff, with the action taking place throughout the spring months until the final on 26 May 2022 in Newcastle.