Premier League Darts 2020 Winner Odds & Predictions

Can MVG be toppled in the Premier League?

Michael van Gerwen /Netherlands ©imago images / Beautiful Sports 05.02.2020

Michael van Gewrwen will be defending his Premier League darts title this year. He will be aiming for his fifth straight title in the competition. he is proving time and time again, to be very difficult to knock off his perch.

The action for the new 2020 season starts on February 6th and the setup will stay as it was last season. There are nine players in contention for the honours. They will be joined by one of nine “challengers” in each of the first nine rounds of action.

Premier League Darts 2020 Winner Odds*

Michael van Gerwen 11/10
Peter Wright 9/2
Gerwyn Price 11/2
Gary Anderson 8/1
Rob Cross 16/1
Nathan Aspinall 14/1
Michael Smith 16/1
Glen Durrant 28/1
Daryl Gurney 28/1
* (betting odds taken from William Hill on February 4th, 2020 at 22:53)

Tournament Format

Things had a shakeup last season in the format, after a late withdrawal by Gary Anderson. Instead of just replacing him, the PDC decided that in each of the first eight weeks of action, one of the regular nine Premier League players would face a “challenger”. That stays the same.

The challengers don’t play for points and only have one match each. But the points that the Premier League players take in a match against a “challenger” do count towards their final tally.

The first nine rounds of action are played over eight weeks. There is a doubleheader in back to back nights in Rotterdam. In each round of action, there will be four matches between Premier League players. The other match of the night will see the ninth Premier League player taking on a “challenger”.

At the end of the first nine rounds, Phase 2 starts. Only the top eight in the table go on to play each other once more. That all leads to the Play Off Night where the top four players in the final regular-season standings face off in a knockout bracket.

Glen Durrant Semi Final
7/2

Unibet

2020 Premier League Darts Players

Micahel van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, Michael Smith, Gary Anderson, Daryl Gurney, Nathan Aspinall*, Glen Durrant*
* (debut season).

2020 Premier League Darts Challengers

John Henderson (Aberdeen), Fallon Sherrock (Nottingham), Jonny Clayton (Cardiff), William O’Connor (Dublin), Luke Humphries (Exeter), Stephen Bunting (Liverpool), Chris Dobey (Newcastle), Jeffrey de Zwaan (Rotterdam), Jermaine Wattimena (Rotterdam).

Michael van Gerwen

It has been four titles in a row for Michael van Gerwen in the Premier League Darts. It’s five titles overall from him in the competition and he has made it to the Final in each of the last seven seasons. Given that track record punters his claims are pretty big at 11/10 odds* (betting odds taken from William Hill on February 4th, 2020 at 22:53).

The ability to keep the consistency going week after week is far different from playing a huge chunk of games within a small block, such as at a week-long knockout tournament. MVG handles it better than most. The league format often leads to the cream rising to the top.

Van Gerwen is the 4/7 odds-on favourite to Top The League at the end of the regular season* (betting odds taken from William Hill on February 4th, 2020 at 22:53). But after a failed attempt to retain his World Championship title and a shock first-round loss at the Masters, is there room to oppose him in Premier League Darts 2020 betting?

Can Snakebite build on World Championship success?

Peter Wright lost the 2017 Premier League Darts Final to MVG. The two met on New Year’s Day in the final of the World Championship and Snakebite upset the odds by taking down Mighty Mike. It was the biggest moment of his career and he went straight back into action after that and also landed the Master’s title.

So Wright is the form player at the moment. Will he raise his game for the Premier League Darts 2020? Aside from his place in the 2017 Final, Wright has never managed to finish higher than fifth in the final standings on any other occasion.

Does Price have better Premier League form in him?

Entering his third season of Premier League Darts, Welshman Gerwyn Price has yet to ruffle any feathers in the tournament. Whether it is the format of just playing once a week that doesn’t suit him, or it’s something else, he hasn’t been a great fit thus far. His recent form has seen him take a semi-final place at the World Championship and a quarter-final at the Masters. So much potential is there, but he has been missing out in a lot of tournaments come the final stages of them.

Can Cross get in the picture?

Rob Cross, in just his second Premier League Darts season, finished as runner up to Michael van Gerwen in the regular season. He was beaten 11-5 by MVG in the Final. But that was a progression gain from Cross who had made it to the semi-finals in his debut season in 2018. So Voltage seems to handle the conditions of the tournament pretty well. His 2020 form hasn’t been there at all yet but being ranked 4th in the world and out at 16/1 odds to win outright, there is some each-way appeal at least* (betting odds taken from William Hill on February 4th, 2020 at 22:53).

Debutants a threat

The two debutants in 2020 Premier League Darts betting, easily look as if they could really shake things up. In comes Nathan Aspinall and Glen Durrant. Former BDO World Champion Durrant had a great first season on the PDC in 2019 and has easily earned his spot in the Premier League.

He was one of the “challengers” last season and fell to a 7-3 loss against Daryl Gurney in week 2. But given his rise on the PDC in rankings, he is a player that is going to cause a lot of problems. He went to the quarters in his debut PDC World Championship campaign.

Then there is Nathan Aspinall. The Asp has taken back to back semi-final berths in the World Championships. Like Durrant, he was a guest player in last season’s Premier League Darts and lost 2-7 against Michael Smith in Nottingham on week six.

Aspinall is a heavy scorer and is one of the rapidly rising young stars of the game. The 28-year-old is fearless and can rattle some cages. Both Durrant and Aspinall at 7/2 and 7/4 respectively to Reach The Semi-Finals may be worth consideration* (betting odds taken from William Hill on February 4th, 2020 at 22:53).

Predictions

Of course, it is Mighty Mike who is the one to beat. His record at the event just speaks for itself. But the 11/10 odds on him outright are barely worth taking on* (betting odds taken from William Hill on February 4th, 2020 at 22:53).

But he does have proven longevity throughout the season and frankly if he gets to the Play-Off night, opposing him would be hard. None of the main contenders has the recent form or track records in the event to really get wholeheartedly behind. The only way would be the 4/5 option on The Field v MVG* (betting odds taken from William Hill on February 4th, 2020 at 22:53)

So it’s alternative markets that may offer the real value. A Semi-Final Place for Nathan Aspinall at 7/4 has a lot of appeal as an alternative bet because this could shape up to a huge year for the 28-year-old* (betting odds taken from William Hill on February 4th, 2020 at 22:53).

A 5/2 quote on Daryl Gurney getting relegated* (betting odds taken from William Hill on February 4th, 2020 at 22:53). SuperChin did get to the semi’s against the odds last season, but looks the most vulnerable of the lot, even against the debutants.