Premier League Final

Maybe I shouldn't take up a career as a predictor!

I was proven wrong in all 3 matches on Finals Night as it became an all Dutch Final as Raymond Van Barneveld and Michael Van Gerwen won their respective semi-finals. In the final Van Barneveld managed to win his first ever Premier League title by defeating the reigning champion 10:6. Congratulations to Raymond Van Barneveld. 

P.S. Sorry for the extremely short post and for the delay, exams have really heated up lately and it might be a while before my next post but from the summer onwards, you can look forward to some more great darts tournaments and some raving reviews! Thanks.

Premier League - Week 15

The Fantastic Four

After 15 weeks of scintillating darts, Brighton rounded off the League format of the Premier League 2014 and the night culminated in Michael Van Gerwen, Raymond Van Barneveld, Phil Taylor and Gary Anderson all making it through to the finals to fight it out to be Premier League Champion. Unfortunately, due to the ‘lovely’ British exam board planning both GCSE History and PE exams the next day, I was unable to watch any of the darts but thanks to the terrific technology of Twitter, I was able to keep up to date with the action. 

Due to not being able to properly watch any of the darts, I am not going to try and describe the night based on what I have read as it is likely to be incorrect. Therefore I will just place the results of the night and averages below along with my predictions for the finals. Next week might also be difficult for me to watch the final of the Premier League and report on it but I will see where the tide takes me! However, I would like to say a huge thank you for all the support and comments I have received for this blog and at Dartoid’s World. I have achieved over 4500 views on this blog since its introduction in January, which is amazing seen as it is targeted at such a niche audience. It feels like I am coming to the end of an era with the end of the Premier League 2014 but I will continue to write the blog throughout the year and on Dartoid’s World.

Week 15 Results

(92) Dave Chisnall 4-7 Adrian Lewis (95)

(101) Gary Anderson 7-4 Raymond van Barneveld (96)

(95) Robert Thornton 5-7 Phil Taylor (101)

(104) Peter Wright 5-7 Michael van Gerwen (110)

Final Predictions

Raymond Van Barneveld is the only player in the top 4 that is yet to win the Premier League and I am going to stick my neck out and say he still won’t win the competition this year. Therefore, I predict that Phil Taylor will make the final but I don’t think he will win it. Neither do I think Michael Van Gerwen will win. Prepare for a shock darts fans! I predict that the outsider, the Flying Scotsman Gary Anderson will claim his second Premier League title. Tune in on Thursday night, to see if I am right! 

Premier League - Week 14

There is never a dull moment in Newcastle!

As the Premier League entered its final stretch, it was Newcastle’s turn to host the most entertaining darts tournament in the world! As all the players have now played an equal number of games, there was only 4 games on the night but it still didn’t make the night any less important. Incredibly, the occasion marked one year since I went to the Metro Radio Arena to see the darts myself and the Georgie crowd were exceptional again (even without my help!)

The first game of the night saw Gary Anderson take on Dave Chisnall with Anderson knowing that a win would hugely boost his chances of a play off place but Chisnall was only playing for pride. The match kicked off with a break of throw as Anderson showed his nerves by missing 6 doubles as Chisnall punished him. However, Anderson broke straight back on double 4 in the next leg. The next 4 legs then all went with throw and so did the 7th leg after a calamitous end to the leg where both players missed several doubles as the match more resembled a pub match than a world class tungsten tussle. Anderson then won the next legs despite miscounting a 74 finish before coming back to win the leg. The match finished 7:4 to Anderson as his play off hopes took a huge boost. 

Adrian Lewis then took on Robert Thornton in what should have been a meaningless match but no Scotland vs England tie is ever meaningless! Thornton went into the back of the game full of form after he won his last Premier League game and he won both Players Championship tournaments at the weekend! On the other hand, Lewis went into the game on the opposite end of the form scale having not won in the Premier League in 8 weeks. This form showed at the beginning as Thornton won the first 2 legs but Lewis bounced back as he then won the next 3 legs as he hit a scoring streak. Following this, there were 5 holds of throw in a row despite Lewis averaging nearly 15 points more than Thornton. In the end this payed off as Lewis won the last 2 legs after a perfectly timed 180 to set up a D5 finish and win the match 7:5. 

The most important game of the night and probably the whole tournament so far came next between Phil Taylor and Peter Wright as the winner knew they would take a huge step to guaranteeing their play off place. The match kicked off with 2 breaks of throw before Taylor punished 4 missed doubles as Taylor hit a 120, ‘Shanghai’ finish. Wright wasn’t downhearted however as he hit back by winning the next 3 legs to lead 4:3. This topsy turvy tussle then took another twist as Taylor hit back by winning the next 3 legs including in an 11 dart leg. The last 2 legs broke the trend of the match as they both went with the throw to finish the match as a draw. But it wasn’t all plain sailing as in the final leg, Wright required 150 and after hitting T20 and T18, he narrowly missed the double after choosing to do his trademark showboating turn to the crowd at just the wrong time. He got lucky however as it also seemed to distract Taylor who missed his double to let Wright take the draw. In the post match interview, Taylor said he wasn’t bothered by Wright’s showmanship and he was one of the nicest men you will meet off the stage. Wright’s destiny in this year’s competition now lies in the hands of his game with rival Michael Van Gerwen next week but Wright brushed off the pressure by saying he didn’t care what Van Gerwen thinks of him, he is going to beat him next week and he will be in the play offs on May 22nd. Is Peter Wright slowly turning from being an entertaining, crowd favourite to being too arrogant for his own good?

It has been the year of the Dutchmen this year as both Michael Van Gerwen and Raymond Van Barneveld have already qualified for the play offs and they went head to head in the final game of the evening. The crowd was clearly split between their favourite player as they traded chants of ‘Barney Army!’ and ‘Oh Michael Van Gerwen!’. The match kicked off all guns blazing as they shared the first 2 legs. In the 3rd leg, both players kicked off with a 180 and Van Barneveld finished off the leg in 11 darts. Both players then again traded legs but this time they broke each other’s throw and then Van Gerwen held his throw to leave the match level at 3:3. Van Gerwen then took control of the game by winning the next 2 legs and hitting 4 perfect darts along the way. After 2 more holds of throw, Van Gerwen rounded off the match on the bull to win 7:4 as he replicated the 132 finish he hit to win the Premier League last year.

Premier League - Week 13

Full steam ahead as the Flying Scotsman defeats Van Gerwen

The best darts players in the world headed to Birmingham for Week 13 of the Premier League. This year’s competition seems to flying by, so much so that the finals night at the O2 seems to be approaching as quick as my oncoming exams!

The night began with a high quality match between Robert Thornton and Dave Chisnall. Thornton already knew he couldn’t make the play offs before the match but it didn’t stop him making a flying start to the match with two 180’s in the first leg. After the first 2 legs went with throw, both players missed darts at doubles in leg 3 before Chisnall responded to the jibes of the crowd by hitting D4 to break Thornton’s throw. However, Thornton broke straight back in the next leg after hitting 5 perfect darts. The next 5 legs then went with throw despite Thornton averaging more than 10 points more than Chisnall for the majority of the match. This pressure paid off in leg 10 for Thornton as he hit D20 to break Chisnall’s throw again and guarantee a point. In the end despite Chisnall breaking straight back in the next leg, he couldn’t draw the match as Thornton ran out 7:5 winner. In this match, Thornton set the record for 180’s in the 2014 Premier League by hitting nine 180’s in the match which led to his average of 104.3. This loss for Chisnall realistically breaks his chances of a top 4 position and he went into the last game of the night against Phil Taylor knowing a loss would totally eliminate his hope for a play off place.

The oldest rivalry in the game was reignited between Phil Taylor and Raymond Van Barneveld in the second match of the night. After a poor first leg, the second leg sparked into life as Van Barneveld hit 4 perfect darts and Taylor hit 7 perfect darts before Taylor hit D10 to level the scores at 1:1. Taylor then built on this to win the next 2 legs to move 3:1 ahead before Van Barneveld returned the favour to level the scores at 3:3. Van Barneveld then showed the quality that has led to him guaranteeing a play off spot as he broke Taylor’s throw again with the minimum of fuss to lead 5:3. After Taylor broke straight back in leg 9, leg 10 summed up what was in truth, a very poor match as both players missed numerous darts at doubles before Taylor finally hit D4 to level the match at 5:5. The last 2 legs both went with throw as Taylor checked out 104 to draw the match. It meant that Van Barneveld is still to defeat Taylor in Premier League history and Taylor’s play off place still hangs in the balance. 

The next match of the night again saw a player who was flying high in the Premier League take on an opponent who was fighting for their life to gain a play off place. This time it was Michael van Gerwen against Gary Anderson. Going into the match, Van Gerwen had celebrated his 25th birthday earlier in the week and Gary Anderson was living up to his nickname of the ‘Flying Scotsman’ as he was in the form of his life. The match started off with 2 holds of throw before Anderson broke the world champion’s throw and then held his own throw with an excellent 108 finish to lead 3:1. Anderson then secured another break of throw in the next leg as even though he missed bullseye on a 170 checkout, he followed up to hit D12. After 5 barren legs for Van Gerwen, he eventually got another leg on the board to trail 5:2 but only after Anderson missed a dart to secure a point. However, Anderson did secure his point on D10 in the next leg and even though Van Gerwen then won the next 2 legs, Anderson rounded off the match with a 7:4 win. This loss won’t have hurt Van Gerwen too much but it is a vital win for Anderson as he is still in with a great chance of earning a play off place. 

Peter Wright went into his game against Adrian Lewis knowing he had to pick up at least a point to stay in the top 4. On the other hand, Lewis knew he had to win just to keep his miniscule chances of progressing alive. Wright was off to a bright start in the game as he broke Lewis’ throw before holding his own throw to lead 2:0. Then after Wright missed two darts at D20, Lewis broke straight back by taking out 122 and levelled the match at 2:2 by also holding his throw. The breaks of throw then dried up as the next 4 legs went with throw after Lewis missed 2 darts at double to break Wright’s throw in leg 8. In leg 10, Lewis did produce a break of throw and his timing was perfect as it also secured a draw for the man who had lost his last 4 matches. However, he couldn’t transform 1 point into 2 as he let Wright back in to win the last 2 legs and steal a point on D12. This result means Wright clings on to his place in the top 4 but it means Lewis’ chances of winning his first Premier League title are over. 

Phil Taylor and Dave Chisnall returned to the stage for the final match of the night in a repeat of the 2013 Grand Prix Final in which Taylor whitewashed Chisnall 6:0. Chisnall knew he was up against it from the outset as Taylor broke his throw in the first leg and Taylor’s determined celebration let Chisnall know that Taylor was in the mood for another whitewash. That whitewash certainly looked on the cards throughout the early stages of the match as Taylor won the first 4 legs with no reply. Chisnall had an opportunity to earn his first leg in the 5th leg but after missing 3 darts at D12, Taylor hit the same target to move 5:0 ahead. However, when Taylor missed the D16 on a 111 checkout, Chisnall did win a leg after he hit the D7. Despite this, Chisnall only won 1 more leg in the match as Taylor wrapped up the match 7:2. This rounded off a great night for Taylor where he picked up 3 points from his 2 games but it was a nightmare for Chisnall as he lost both his matches and as a result, lost his chance to get into the top 4. 

Last week I made a bold statement that the top 3 of the Premier League had all but been secured. I was wrong! We know that Michael Van Gerwen and his dutch compatriot Raymond Van Barneveld have secured their play off places but Phil Taylor, Peter Wright and Gary Anderson are left to fight it out for the 2 remaining spots. I now believe that Taylor and Anderson will win those spots as they are both in fine form and Wright’s run in looks increasingly difficult.