We are down to the fourteenth and final week of 2012 Premier League darts betting and while Phil Taylor has booked his place in the finals, joining him will be Aussie Simon Whitlock so there are just two remaining spots up for grabs. Thankfully, for excitement value, everything has gone down to the wire with five players still in contention to take those two remaining spots. So there is a great deal of excitement to come on Thursday, May 10th, as we head to the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle for the final night of the league match ups. The Finals Night of the 2012 Premier League darts will be held at the O2 Arena in London on May 17th. Defending Champion Gary Anderson won’t be there, as he is likely to finish bottom of the table and can’t make Finals night now.
Standings: Taylor 23pts, Whitlock 14pts, Lewis 12pts, Wade 12pts, Barneveld 12pts, Painter 11pts, Hamilton 11pts, Anderson 9pts.
Adrian Lewis V Simon Whitlock
Well, the pressure is all going to be on Adrian Lewis to churn out a win in this one. He is sitting in third place at the moment, but is one of three players on twelve points. Lewis, after a good run of form, really blew a big chance last week as he went down heavily against Kevin Painter. It wasn’t the greatest night of the Premier League season for Lewis and now he needs to muster up one more big effort just to get over the finish line. That defeat last week snapped a four match unbeaten run and it is no done deal for him yet, as he lost 8-4 against Whitlock earlier in the season. Aussie Whitlock has booked his place in the Finals of the 2012 Premier League darts after a surprisingly solid season. He choked last week as well though, going down against Andy Hamilton. That was The Wizard’s second defeat in a row, so is choking a bit. Still, the pressure is on Lewis. Nothing much to chose between them, but would just edge Lewis to strike.
Lewis 15/13, Draw 9/2, Whitlock 13/8 at Bet365
Andy Hamilton v Kevin Painter
A fascinating end of season match up between the two new-boys in their first season here. Both are still in with a chance of making the finals if other results go their way. They will both want Simon Whitlock to beat Lewis for starters, because both Hamilton and Painter are just a point back. So this is going to be a huge match and both scored big, morale boosting wins last week. Andy Hamilton, who has battled so well, but struggled to pick up wins all season, got the better of Simon Whitlock to keep his chances of reaching Finals night alive. That was a big win, and Hamilton is now unbeaten in four, after drawing his previous three before his triumph over Whitlock last week. Kevin Painter pulled out the stops when necessary as well, beating Adrian Lewis 8-3. Huge win there too, which keeps the Artist alive. Painter is now unbeaten in three, having picked up a bit of form at the end of season run in. Nothing much to split them, the darts are with Hamilton, and after beating Painter 8-5 earlier in the season, would just lean towards him.
Hamilton 5/4, Draw 9/2, Painter 11/8 at Bet Victor
Raymond van Barneveld v James Wade
Everything is at stake here for these two. A defeat and they know that they could be out of the top four. Both are on twelve points heading into the final week, but Wade is just edging things on Leg Difference. So there is a slight advantage, but it will mean nothing if he loses. So this is going to be a winner takes all affair, and the big match of the night. Very much looking forward to his one. Wade has probably edged things over the course of the season, but only has one win in his last four matches. He was thumped 8-1 by Phil Taylor last week, which won’t have done too much for his confidence. Barneveld too, for all of his heavy scoring this season, he just hasn’t been able to finish off matches and has drawn his last two, so he isn’t in the strongest form either. This is going to be a real show down and probably a very close and tense match. A draw could be enough to suit both, it will depend on what happens in the Whitlock v Lewis match, and if there is a winner in the Painter v Hamilton match. Anything could happen here. Wade took an 8-6 win over the Dutchman earlier in the season. Would just take that to be reversed this time around.
Barneveld 13/8, Draw 9/2, Wade 6/5 at Bet365
Gary Anderson v Phil Taylor
Well, we round out the regular season with a top v bottom match. Never thought for a moment at the start of the season that this was going to be the situation. Well, we expected Phil Taylor to power his way to the top of the table, but it has been a very distracted and disappointing season for Gary Anderson, who has never really gotten going. He is out of contention for finals night, so would expect Taylor just to finish the job in a meaningless match.
Anderson 6/1, Draw 8/1, Taylor 5/18 at Bet Victor
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