With little surprise, Phil “The Power” Taylor heads up Premier League darts betting again this season. Taylor has never failed to finish top of the league table since the formation of the competition, and has gone on to power his way through finals night six times out of the last eight seasons. This is a tournament which is simply built for the style of Phil Taylor, where others seem to struggle. The season is a long one and the players turn up at a different venue each week and play just one match. Taylor seems to have a unique ability to be so consistent and not let the week’s break in between games get him out of his zone. Taylor lost just one of his league matches last season and went on comfortably to beat Australia’s Simon Whitlock in the final. Taylor has been installed as 2/1 favourite with online bookmaker Bet Victor to win the title again this year.
The format of the competition has changed a little bit, the number of competitors having been extended from eight to ten. After the first nine rounds, where everyone will have played everyone else, the bottom two get relegated from the season and then the remaining eight players will face off against each other again in a race to make it into the top four. The top four then head to finals night in a straight knockout competition. So with such a history and such dominance in the competition before, and another world crown, Phil Taylor is understandably running as favourite. Can anyone stop him? It has been hard to do so before, but for 2013 Premier League darts betting there is a new kid on the block who could well spring a surprise.
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Back on New Years’ Day, Phil Taylor claimed his sixteenth World Championship title, beating Holland’s Michael van Gerwen in the final. Michael van Gerwen is the next big thing in darts, he has the potential to fill the massive shoes that Taylor will leave when he finally retires. Van Gerwen is a powerhouse darts player and he, although he is making his Premier League debut this season, looks a fantastic fit to wrestle the championship out of the hands of Taylor. Most newcomers struggle in the competition to get used to the format, but Van Gerwen could be right at home. Bet Victor have pulled him into 5/2 second favourite behind Taylor. That is a massive compliment to his talent, and potential, which still looks as if he still looks as if he has more to go to reach the very top of his game.
Premier League frequenters Adrian Lewis, Simon Whitlock, Gary Anderson and Raymond van Barneveld look to be the best options behind those two. Lewis, a double world champion fell a little flat in the tournament last season, never really pulling together any kind of consistency, one of the downfalls that he may have again this year. Wasn’t in bad shape at the recent World Championships though. Raymond van Barneveld was in the same boat, usually a solid performer in the Premier League, but missed out on the top four after letting chances slide away. Focus and motivation sometimes looks to be lacking with Van Barneveld. Anderson had a disrupted season but is a powerful scorer when he is in the mood.
Perhaps the pick of the four should be Whitlock. The Wizard lost in last year’s final against Taylor has been a solid, under the radar player over the seasons. May lack conviction when it matters most, but not a bad shout to make it to the top four again. The other strong outside bet could be James Wade. One of only two other players besides Taylor to win the Premier League of Darts title, Wade was in decent shape at the World Championships and found his feet well last season in the Premier League after a slow start. A long shot, but then everyone will be behind Taylor and Van Gerwen.
The 2013 Premier League darts betting action starts on Thursday, February 7th with the top clash of the evening being the coming together again of Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen. Along with Van Gerwen, also making their debuts will be Wes Newton and Robert Thornton as the new season kicks off at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast.
2013 Premier League Darts Betting Outright Winner Odds at online bookmaker Bet Victor
Phil Taylor 2/1, Michael van Gerwen 5/2, Adrian lewis 8/1, Raymond Van Barneveld 8/1, Simon Whitlock 9/1, Gary Anderson 11/1, James Wade 14/1, West Newton 25/1, Andy Hamilton 25/1, Robert Thornton 28/1
