Phase 1 Of The Premier League Of Darts Set For Exciting Finale

We have now had seven nights of action in the PDC Premier League of Darts competition and there are just two nights of action remaining in Phase 1, including the all-important Judgement Night on Thursday when two players will be eliminated from the tournament.

We already know that one of those players will be the defending champion Glen Durrant after he suffered a miserable campaign this time around where he has lost all seven of his matches in the tournament so far to sit well adrift at the bottom of the table.

However, who will join him out of the tournament, and which eight players will progress is wide open and means that there is a huge amount at stake over the final two sets of games on Wednesday and Thursday evening.

If you want to involve yourself in the action with a wager on the darts, either pre-match or In Play, then bet365 Sport offers a fantastic selection of betting on the tournament, and especially with its excellent In Play betting service when the games get underway.

Let’s now take a look at how things stand in the tournament heading into the final two nights of action in Phase 1.

PDC Premier League Current Standings – Match Night 7

1. Dmitri Van den Bergh – 10pts (+12)
2. Nathan Aspinall – 9pts (+5)
3. Michael van Gerwen – 9pts (+5)
4. Jonny Clayton – 8pts (+3)
5. Jose de Sousa – 8pts (+3)
6. Gary Anderson – 8pts (+3)
7. James Wade – 7pts (+2)
8. Peter Wright -6pts (-3)
9. Rob Cross –5pts (-3)
10. Glen Durrant – 0pts (-27) – Eliminated

The players shown in bold are those that are in the elimination positions and who will be eliminated from the tournament on Judgement Night if they cannot improve their position. Glen Durrant is already confirmed as eliminated.

Players listed in italics are currently occupying the top four spots that would qualify for the Playoffs after the end of Phase 2 of the tournament in May.  Players finishing 5^th to 8^th would be eliminated from the tournament at the end of Phase 2.

So far, only Dmitri Van den Bergh has confirmed for certain that they will be playing in Phase 2 of the tournament, which means that there is still a massive amount to play for over the remaining two sets of matches.

Premier League Remaining Fixtures

Night 8 – 21^st April

• Rob Cross v Nathan Aspinall
• Gary Anderson v Dmitri Van den Bergh
• Michael van Gerwen v Jose de Sousa
• James Wade v Jonny Clayton
• Peter Wright v Glen Durrant

The first game of the evening tonight will be arguably the most decisive in terms of qualification for Phase 2. Rob Cross currently occupies the second to bottom spot in the table with 5 points after losing his last three matches in the tournament to drop down the table.

He faces a tough task against Nathan Aspinall, who has lost just one of his seven games so far and sits second in the table. Aspinall knows a draw or win will make certain he qualifies for Phase 2 and a win would put him top of the table at least until Van den Bergh plays against Gary Anderson in the next game.

The other games with major implications for elimination are Peter Wright’s must-win game against the already-eliminated Glen Durrant in the final game of the evening. The former World Champion, a previous winner of this event too, has lost his last two games and needs to put that right here against Durrant, who has been badly out of sorts since the tournament began.

The other game to watch is James Wade against the in form Jonny Clayton. Clayton has the highest three-dart average in the event so far at 105.56, well clear of any of the other competitors, so Wade will have to be at his very best on the doubles in order to stand a chance of earning at least a point from this game.

Our Wednesday Night PDC Premier League Accumulator

If you are looking for an accumulator bet for the games taking place in the Premier League on Wednesday night, then we have come up with the following set of tips.

• Rob Cross v Nathan Aspinall – Aspinall to win (evens)
• Gary Anderson v Dmitri Van den Bergh – Van den Bergh to win (21/20)
• Michael van Gerwen v Jose de Sousa – Draw (7/2)
• James Wade v Jonny Clayton – Clayton to win (11/10)
• Peter Wright v Glen Durrant – Wright to win (3/10)

This accumulator would return at odds of 49.36/1 with bet365 Sport. All odds were correct at the time of writing.

Night 9 – Judgement Night – 22^nd April

• Jonny Clayton v Michael van Gerwen
• Glen Durrant v Rob Cross
• Jose de Sousa v Peter Wright
• Nathan Aspinall v Gary Anderson
• Dmitri Van den Bergh v James Wade

It is worth remembering that in addition to trying to avoid elimination from the tournament, players are also playing for a strong position heading into Phase 2 of the tournament and the higher up the table you can finish in Phase 1, the stronger the position you start in Phase 2.

As such, don’t expect to see any players that have already qualified for the second phase of the tournament from their performance on Wednesday night slack off any here. There have been plenty of examples of players qualifying for the second phase and then their form deserts them in this second part of the tournament and allows players from lower down the table to snatch a playoff place.

As such, the onus is on the players occupying the top slots in the table to keep winning and maintain their place throughout the end of the First Phase and into the Second Phase.

For Rob Cross, this may be a last chance saloon as he faces the already eliminated Glen Durrant. A win is a must here for the former World Champion and he will have to hope that results in other games go his way in all likelihood with Peter Wright and James Wade the two players most likely to be drawn into the battle against elimination.

Judgement Night Prediction

It’s going to be very close, but I think ultimately it will be Rob Cross that joins Glen Durrant in being eliminated from the tournament at the close of play on Thursday night. I can see the Englishman winning one of his two final games, but I think he needs at least eight points to stay in this tournament as I can see James Wade and Peter Wright earning enough points from their games to reach this total.

At the top end of the table, I think Dmitri Van den Bergh will hold onto top spot just from Jonny Clayton and Michael van Gerwen, although I don’t think there will be more than two points separating the players at the top of the table and those in 5^th place or below.