PDC Premier League 2019

[ssjsa]

LiveDarts interview with MVG.

[Mensur Suljovic Fan]

There is really 0,0% confidence for Barney. At this moment I can only see Barney's career end like a disaster.

He was at exbo in Cardiff I attended a couple of weeks ago he just looks completely finished in terms of any kind of fight or enjoyment for darts anymore. Still talented enough to win some games in the PL but I really don’t see him doing anything of note on the floor and thus won’t be in many of the pdc majors this year.

Matchplay is looking a long way away at the moment unfortunately for Barney. Still got a bit more time to make the Grand Prix, I'd say he has half a chance of that. If he enters most Players Championship and European Tour events, all he'll have to do is win a few games on a consistent basis to be in the mix, he still has enough quality for that even if I don't think he'll really threaten to win an event

[Thrifty]

On a diffrent note who do people think is getting eliminated this year?

I think the loser of the Price versus Wright match, whenever it is, will be eliminated. My money's on Wright - he still looked a bit lacking in confidence at the Masters.

As for the rest of the league, it's hard to see van Gerwen not finishing top; Gurney and Cross will finish in the second and third spots; Suljovic and Smith will battle it out for the final play off position; Wade and van Barneveld will slog away without any realistic danger of elimination and then without any real hope of reaching the play offs.

Hopefully come the end of the tournament, the powers that be will deem the inclusion of the 'contenders' a success. With any luck they may then decide to change the format of the tournament next year to a series of standalone, eight-man knockout competitions (as has been proposed by other posters earlier in this thread). Up to twenty different players could be involved, keeping the line-ups fresh and offering some Thursday nights off to the likes of van Gerwen, with the play off participants to be decided via an order of merit. If I was a betting man I'd say it's unlikely though - the old "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mantra.

[dartsweekly]

Got some time to spare before the Premier League starts tonight? Episode 90 of the Weekly Dartscast podcast is out and we preview the new Premier League season, give our week 1 picks and also review the Masters and Dutch Open too: https://weeklydartscast.com/2019/02/07/ ... -and-more/

[JOEY]

Come on barney

[Wubbalubbadubdub]

With a few of the "contenders" playing infront of a home crowd could affect quite a few results(due to cheers and jeers)
Having Dobey to win at 3-1 is worth a shot.

[ChrisW]

James Wade (99.24) 7 (12) 4 (95.15) Raymond Van Barneveld
Gerwyn Price (104.11) 7 (12) 4 (98.78) Daryl Gurney
Chris Dobey (98.53) 6 (12) 6 (100.99) Mensur Suljovic

[Little Lonely Garry]

barney proving yet again his lack of ambition, passion or fight.

[ChrisW]

Gezzy doing his talking on the dartboard.

[trotter01]

If Dobey didn't have the crowd 100% behind him then that walk on music will ensure it even more...

We'll see how he plays...not been overly impressed normally to be fair apart from parts of the Anderson match.

[ssjsa]

Christopher Kempf, the statistical analyst of the PDC, takes a look at how the nine Contenders will stack up against the Unibet Premier League players.

Gary Anderson's absence from the Premier League will be felt acutely by his fans, as well as by any person who recognises the impressive contributions made by the two-time Premier League champion across his eight appearances in the tournament.

But if Anderson's colleagues in the top echelons of darts thought that his withdrawal would make at least one week of the grueling 16-week campaign substantially easier, they are wrong.

Nine players have been selected as Contenders to test themselves against the Premier League players, and all have proven that they have the ability to cost their designated opponents two points.

Over the past 12 months, all nine contenders have maintained an average of at least 91, and two (Jeffrey de Zwaan and Glen Durrant) have outscored four Premier League regulars over that period of time.

In spite of his ranking, De Zwaan in particular has stats more akin to the regulars' than to the other contenders; only the two PDC World Championship finalists among the tournament roster have joined him in hitting at least three 180s for every ten legs, and no other contender has won two out of five legs in 15 darts or fewer.

Rob Cross, having withstood a colossal 106 average from the Black Cobra at the World Championship, will be prepared for a dangerous player.

Durrant, in claiming a third Lakeside Championship title last month, boosted his 101+ checkout percentage to over 13, behind only the reigning PDC World Champion; his proficiency on the various combinations of setup trebles and checkout routes make him a bigger danger to Daryl Gurney than his average might indicate. 

While Nathan Aspinall leads the contenders in sub-101 checkouts, his historical lack of 101+ finishes means that he struggles, in comparison to his colleagues, to win legs in 12 darts.

However, in his World Championship semi-final rematch with Smith, Aspinall had the slight advantage in three-darts-at-double checkouts.

Consider also the high doubles accuracy of John Henderson (76%), which will come in handy against Michael van Gerwen, who uncharacteristically struggled on doubles at The Masters.

Dimitri Van den Bergh's erratic performances in 2018 are encapsulated by his low average (91.64), but his relatively high probability of winning legs in 12 darts or fewer (nearly 6.5%).

12-darters from the Belgian will frustrate James Wade, his week eight opponent, who relies on 15-darters and small checkouts to put relentless pressure on his opponents.

While none of the contenders can match the outrageous stats of Van Gerwen, even the lowest-ranking individuals only hit slightly fewer 180s and a slightly lower percentage of checkouts than the players bidding for the Premier League title.

In such a short format as best-of-12, a one-off performance on the level of MvG that defeats a top-10 player and secures a tidy £5,000 for one night's work is never out of the question.

Any of the contenders clearly have the talent to take down any other player in the Premier League on the right evening, and in the right circumstances, but unlike Wright, Smith or Wade they will only get one chance to prove themselves before a crowd of thousands.

The heroics of Dobey, Aspinall and Luke Humphries at Alexandra Palace will be difficult to replicate with such a small margin for error, and the fantastic 2018 seasons of Van den Bergh, de Zwaan or Hopp were not without their disappointments.

The Thursday night veterans' advantage will nonetheless expect to demolish their opponents, and it will take inspired performances from the contenders to prevent that fate from becoming reality.

[ssjsa]

2019 Unibet Premier League
Night One - Thursday February 7
Utilita Arena, Newcastle

James Wade (99.24) 7 (12) 4 (95.15) Raymond van Barneveld
Gerwyn Price (104.11) 7 (12) 4 (98.78) Daryl Gurney
Chris Dobey (98.53) 6 (12) 6 (100.99) Mensur Suljovic
Michael van Gerwen v Michael Smith
Peter Wright v Rob Cross

[ChrisW]

Good match. This contender idea was genius.

[ssjsa]

Just catching up after having finished work. Watched the Wade vs Barney on catch up, thought Raymond blew his chances from 4-3 up when looking the stronger player, but Wade does what Wade does.

Looks like Price played really well, and watched the last 2 legs of Dobey vs Mensur live. Great quality so far.

[ChrisW]

Just catching up after having finished work. Watched the Wade vs Barney on catch up, thought Raymond blew his chances from 4-3 up when looking the stronger player, but Wade does what Wade does.

Looks like Price played really well, and watched the last 2 legs of Dobey vs Mensur live. Great quality so far.

Dobby was 5-1 up. Bad house elf!

[ssjsa]

LiveDarts interview with Gerwyn Price.

[ssjsa]

LiveDarts interview yesterday with Rob Cross

[ssjsa]

2019 Unibet Premier League
Night One - Thursday February 7
Utilita Arena, Newcastle

James Wade (99.24) 7 (12) 4 (95.15) Raymond van Barneveld
Gerwyn Price (104.11) 7 (12) 4 (98.78) Daryl Gurney
Chris Dobey (98.53) 6 (12) 6 (100.99) Mensur Suljovic
Michael van Gerwen (104.98) 7 (12) 5 (95.23) Michael Smith
Peter Wright v Rob Cross

[ssjsa]

James not holding back in his interview yesterday with LiveDarts.

[ssjsa]

Good to see Snakebite sticking with the set up he used at the Masters. The more he stays with these darts, the more consistent he will become with them.

Expecting a nip and tuck match, with 1 break of throw either way, being the end result.