8th February 2012

Premier League Darts Betting: Adrian Lewis' consistency in the big events can help him land first Premier League title

The McCoys Premier League Darts returns to our screens on Thursday as the 14 week darting extravaganza begins at the MEN Arena in Manchester. The tournament sees eight of the best players in the world travelling the length and breadth of Britain, and this year even into Ireland, all pushing for places in the top four and with it qualification for the end of season playoffs in London on May 17^th. Gary Anderson will be defending his title.

Despite being a losing semi finalist last year and losing in the second round of the World Championship in December, Phil Taylor is still the favourite for the tournament at a best price of 15/8 with Coral. He and Anderson will be joined by world champion Adrian Lewis, UK Open champion James Wade, Players champion Kevin Painter as well as Raymond Barneveld, Simon Whitlock and Andy Hamilton, the losing world finalist.

Betting on this tournament can be a bit awkward because 14 weeks is a long time to remain in form for but essentially we are only looking for someone to make the top four over the 14 weeks and then who can raise their game on finals night. Phil Taylor is obviously someone who fits the bill but his recent results, in particular at the World Cup at the weekend where he lost to the likes of Ken MacNeil, Gary Mawson and Richie Burnett, don’t inspire confidence to take such a short price.

It’s hard to see Gary Anderson’s power scoring keeping him out of the top four but he misses so many doubles that you wouldn’t be surprised in what could be the most competitive league ever if missed doubles cost him a chance of successfully defending his title. There isn’t a lot wrong with Simon Whitlock’s game right now but he can still be found a bit short on the top occasion. James Wade has demons of losing from 5-1 up against Lewis to get over and lacks the scoring power to assure himself of a top four spot in this field.

We saw enough from Raymond Barneveld in the World Cup at the weekend to suggest he can be competitive but whether he can force his way into the top 4 remains to be seen. Kevin Painter and Andy Hamilton showed enough in their fine runs in major tournaments at the back end of last year to suggest they will be more than competitive in this tournament too. Whether they will have the consistency over 14 weeks to push into the top four will be revealed over the coming months.

That leaves us with a man who is becoming a real big time player now in Adrian Lewis. The only TV tournament he qualified for and didn’t make at least the semi final in during 2011 was the UK Open, a lottery of an event at the best of times and the World Grand Prix when he fell victim to the short first round format. He has won the last two World Championships and finished second in the Premier League and European Championship and also made the semi finals of the World Matchplay and the Grand Slam of Darts. That is excellent consistency and looking at this tournament I fail to believe someone of Lewis’ abilities will fail to make the top four.

He struggled in the beginning of the tournament last year as the outside factors of being world champion hit home but he won’t have that problem this year and I think we will see just why Lewis is the world champion throughout this tournament. He should make the top four comfortably and then he’ll be the one to beat on finals night for me.

Back A.Lewis to win McCoys Premier League for a 2/10 stake at 5.50 with Ladbrokes

» £50 Free Bet at Ladbrokes