The Premier League is only two days away now, and here is our preview for the illustrious event. An analysis of the 8 players and then darts tips that we hope reflect it and provide profit.
Luke Humphries goes off as favourite for the tournament. The reigning world champion, world number 1, and multiple major champion, seems to finally have dipped below the incredible heights that he was performing at before and during the World Championship. Following it’s conclusion, he seems to be playing at a high level, but no longer that of the best in the world, more so a level indicative of a top 8 player – certainly a good level for the premier league, but not the threat he was.
Luke Littler seems to be one of the best two players in the world right now, winning the Bahrain Darts Masters and reaching the final of the Dutch Darts Masters. However, how long this may continue is yet to be seen and as the event lasts for 17 weeks and debutants notoriously perform poorly, him being the second favourite for the tournament does not appeal.
Michael van Gerwen is also likely one of the best two players in the world right now with the same record of a final and a win that Luke Littler boasts in the World Series events of 2024. Michael van Gerwen on the other hand, is a 7-time winner of the Premier League, an incredible record. On this alone, he should be 7/11 to win the Premier League, so being 2/3 favourite seems very tempting. His last 5 PLs have been, from oldest to newest, 1st, 6th, 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
Gerwyn Price has not typically done well in the Premier League with the sole exception being last year. This year, in a change to the last few years, his friend and countryman Jonny Clayton will not be joining him in the Premier League which can only be a negative for Price’s enjoyment of the event. Price has shown constantly his mental struggles with darts and his lack of enjoyment for the game at times. Despite his incredible talent, he gets nowhere near the amount of wins his monumental averages would demand and we don’t find him a tempting prospect for Premier League glory. His last 5 PLs from then to now are 5th, 5th, not present, 7th, and 1st. His best finish was runner-up.
Michael Smith is playing far below the quality that saw him lift the Sid Waddell Trophy just over a year ago. There is little to say about his consistent quality but there is no reason we see to suspect him to win the gruelling competition this year against the 7 other best players in the world. His last 5 PL from then to now were 7th, 7th, not present, 6th, and 2nd. His best PL was runner-up.
Rob Cross is the 6th favourite for the event but arguably playing the best he has been in years, making the World Championship semi-final for the first time since he won the event. With the way he is playing, we think that he may be slightly undervalued by the bookies, with us here at Darts Tipping seeing no reasons to think he is the 3rd weakest player of the field. His last 5 PLs from then to now were 2nd, 9th, 9th, not present, and not present. His best was runner-up.
Nathan Aspinall is the 7th favourite for the event, priced around 22/1 with various firms. We believe that he is one of the weakest players and is not playing the consistent level of darts right now that is needed to excel in the Premier League. His last 5 PLs from then to now was not present, 3rd, 3rd, not present, and 5th. His best PL was runner-up.
Peter Wright is the outsider for the tournament, and we think this is rightly so. He finished bottom of the table last year and was very likely playing better darts then. There’s nothing to indicate that Snakebite will have a resurgency this year with poor showings in the World Series events. His last 5 PLs were 8th, 2nd, 7th, 5th and 8th. His best was runner-up.
Based on the above, our outright darts tips for the Premier League 2024 are:
5 points e/w (1/3) on MvG to win the Premier League at 7/2.
2 points e/w (1/3) on Cross to win the Premier league at 11/1.
15 points on Peter Wright to finish bottom of the Premier League at 10/11.
Published 30/1/2024, 21:06
DartsTipping.com 