Darts Premier League
Premier League Darts play-offs preview: Clayton seeking back-to-back victories
Monday sees the culmination of the Premier League Darts season, as the four qualifiers go head-to-head in the play-offs in Berlin.
Jonny Clayton will be looking to secure consecutive titles but he will have to go through Englishman Joe Cullen, followed by the winner of Michael van Gerwen v James Wade to defend his title.
With the play-offs upon us, we take a look at the two semi-finals set to light up the Mercedes-Benz arena in Berlin.
Can Michael van Gerwen secure a record equalling sixth Premier League title or will we see one of the three Brits lift the trophy?
Jonny Clayton v Joe Cullen
Jonny Clayton heads into his semi-final match against Joe Cullen as the favourite at 4/9. That’s understandably given Clayton’s record in the Premier League this season, which saw him win four Nights. He faced Cullen six times during the season, winning four times.
While The Ferret is the favourite in this semi-final it’s certainly not expected to be a walkover with a close result of 10-7 in favour of Clayton the most likely outcome at 11/2. Despite having the most 180s in the tournament, Clayton averages under three per match with odds of 17/10 for the Welshman to throw more than Cullen.
Joe Cullen defeated Peter Wright on Night 16 in Newcastle to qualify for the play-offs. Cullen is the underdog coming into this matchup at 7/4.
If Cullen is to win this game his superior 180 hitting ability may be a big reason as to why. The Englishman averages 0.38 more 180s per match than his opponent which see him come into this match as the 3/4 favourite to hit the most.
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Michael van Gerwen v James Wade
Five-time Premier League champion Michael van Gerwen faces this season’s surprise package, James Wade for a place in the final. Unsurprisingly MVG comes into this match-up as the strong 4/11 favourite.
This pair met five times during the 16 Nights of the season, and van Gerwen just held the advantage, winning three to Wade’s two matches.
The Dutchman has the highest tournament average at 99.08 partly down to 82 180s, so it’s unsurprising that he’s 4/9 to hit the most 180s in this one.
After reaching the play-offs for the first time since 2019 James Wade heads into this semi-final as the underdog at 21/10. Despite only having the sixth best average in the competition, the Englishman qualified third, so it’s fair to say he relied on his finishing prowess. He averaged 1.61 180s per match – the lowest in the Premier League – and he heads into the match with odds of 3/1 to hit the most 180s.
Who will be crowned champion?
At 11/8 Michael van Gerwen is the favourite to lift the trophy for what would be a record equalling sixth time. The favourite from the other semi-final, Jonny Clayton, is the second favourite at 13/8 as he bids to defend his title. Joe Cullen is hoping to make it three years in a row where we have seen a winner in their debutant season, whilst James Wade is hoping lift the Premier League trophy for the first time since 2009. Both players head into the play-offs at 11/2 to leave with the trophy.
