The semi finals of the 2012 Premier League Darts betting season are set, as we head towards Finals Night at the O2 Arena in London on May 17th. The top four players from the regular Premier League season booked their places in the final, and now it is a straight knock-out to lift the title. Just two matches stand between one of the four and some glory. Of course Phil Taylor is there, after winning the league, but there are some surprise names alongside him ready to contest. One of the ones not making it, is defending champion Gary Anderson. Nor is double world champion Adrian Lewis. The bookies have little doubt as to who they think is going to win the title outright, it is of course, The Power, who lost only one match during the regular season. But he only lost once last season too, and then lost in the semi finals against Adrian Lewis. So we could still be in for some drama.
Phil Taylor v James Wade
This is first versus fourth from the final standings, and yet Taylor finishing a massive eleven points ahead of fellow countryman Wade. Taylor picked up two wins over Wade this season, with an 8-2 win on March 22nd, and then a recent 8-1 demolition job on May 3rd. So Taylor is firm favourite here, because Wade has really struggled throughout his career to make any kind of indent on Taylor. The Power was scoring phenomenally throughout the regular season of the 2012 Premier League Darts betting finishing with a three darts average of 107.95 compared to Wade’s 95.82 for the season. So it really should be Taylor all the way and hard to go against him. Taylor was the only player to finish in the positive for Leg Difference on the season, and the only one to finish with a three figure 3-dart average. He is the one to beat. Taylor beat both Whitlock and Hamilton twice this season. Wade, who won the 2009 Premier League Darts title, won just one of his last six matches this season, but it was his strong middle part of the season which carried him through.
Taylor 2/9, Wade 7/2 at Bet Victor
Simon Whitlock v Andy Hamilton
The Aussie Wizard has been a solid performer all season and won 50% of his games, so you can’t argue with that. There has always been a nearly-man kind of feel about Whitlock, but he has put together some good consistency this season, to a lot of people’s surprise He isn’t a bad player, obviously, but always seemed to lack a bit of cutting edge against the top guns. He will be happy with his semi final draw, simply because by finishing second, he avoided Taylor in the semi’s. Andy Hamilton is a surprise name in the final four, because he looked to be down and out for most of the season. He scrapped brilliantly though and put together a strong run of form to end the season with, and forced his way into third place from nowhere. Hamilton went unbeaten in his last five and one of those matches was a massively important 8-4 win over Whitlock a couple of weeks ago. The two drew earlier in the season, so this should be a close match. Would edge Hamilton, just because he has been scrapping so well.
Whitlock ½, Hamilton 13/8 at Bet365
2012 Premier League Darts Betting Odds at Bet365
Phil Taylor 4/11, Simon Whitlock 5/1, James Wade 7/1, Andy Hamilton 14/1
Highly popular online bookmaker Bet Victor are worth looking out for in your darts betting through the year, because they run a great promotion for live televised darts events. When you have a match bet in a televised tournament, if your match selection gets defeats, but there was a 170 check out during that match, then Bet Victor will pay you out as a winner. Yes, you can get paid out as a winner, even if you lose with this darts betting promotion at Bet Victor. This applies to televised darts tournament. The highly popular Bet Victor offer a free £25 bet for new customers registering an account with them. The bookie will match the value of your first stake on a new account with a free bet, up to the maximum value of £25.
