Rob Cross v Michael Smith
What better way to start week 5 than a rematch of one of the UK Open semi-finals from the past weekend in Minehead. That encounter saw a win for Cross, but what that weekend did tell us is that Smith can still play very effectively, even though he can barely walk after surgery on his groin.
Both Smith and Cross will be disappointed not to have won the UK Open after all the bigger names fell by the wayside, but all in all, they have to be feeling confident for the second Scottish PL night this season.
It will be hard to pick a winner here as they are in similar form, but you do feel that Cross shades the stakes as he had better showings in Minehead and in Exeter, where he took advantage of a Daryl Gurney that couldn’t get his scoring on track. And let's not forget that he beat Smith in that semi-final on Sunday when they were both running low on gas.
Historically, the more Cross goes deep and the more he plays, the stronger he becomes and with Smith potentially weakened by his exploits in the past seven days, Cross might be too good again.
Expect Cross to nick a big out here, because he has found his love for treble 18 again at the start of big number checkouts.
Cross to have highest checkout of the night – 6/1
Daryl Gurney v James Wade
Gurney will want a quick rebound after Exeter, where he really struggled to get going. He cannot start slowly against Wade because if you do that right now, he will gobble you up like a pancake on shrove Tuesday. Ask Michael van Gerwen!
Gurney was only just shaded by Michael Smith by a score of 10-9 in the mid stages of The UK Open, and that is no disgrace. I still feel Daryl is looking sharp, but his game depends massively on his ability to plant that first dart in the 60. If he can do that in Aberdeen, he will fly. If he doesn’t, then Wade won’t think twice.
Leg or breast?
A night out with @MvG180 or a night out with @snakebitewright?♂️ It’s 50/50 with @JamesWade180 #Unibet180 #lovethedarts #PremierLeagueDarts pic.twitter.com/At2HfRUQUR
— Unibet (@unibet) February 28, 2019
Wade was clinical in his 7-3 demolition of MVG in Exeter. We have said it time and time again about his ability to outscore someone and not do anything flashy. Well, this is what he did in the South West of England a few days ago. His doubles were excellent, and he constantly pressurised Michael’s spots, resulting in Wade getting another two points.
This could be a game of swings and whoever comes out of the blocks sharpest I feel will have the advantage, however they’ve played each other eight times, and its four all, and there is no discernible pattern with the results for form. Anything goes here, but in this format, the start is key.
Mensur Suljovic v Gerwyn Price
Now that the dust has settled after Minehead, Gezzy will feel he probably should’ve won the UK Open for the first time, but his form continues to impress and the only reason he didn’t win in Minehead is because of Nathan Aspinall's ridiculous timing with some key outs.
If Gezzy continues to swim in the pool of confidence that he has been treading water in the last few weeks, I think he will win in Aberdeen.
One massive point has to be made here though. Mensur will want revenge for his loss to Price in the Grand Slam semi-finals in 2018 and isn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with the fire roaring Welshman. History tells us, if Mensur can breathe his own fire, he can unsettle Price into making a few mistakes.
After Exeter, you have to think that the pressure may be on Price to get out of the draw zone which Gurney was mayor of last season, and two wins for the Austrian against Snakebite in the last seven days will no doubt swell his confidence for this game.
I have surveyed the Price game a lot lately and he isn’t afraid of a deficit, but he isn’t getting the points that he deserves in this PL, even though he is still unbeaten. This time around though, I think he may have too much in the tank for Suljovic and will continue to march towards The O2, with most 180’s alongside his win.
Price to score the most 180’s in the match – 4/5
Raymond van Barneveld v Peter Wright
All things considered, this could be the most intriguing game of the evening. RVB playing his last ever PL game in Scotland, and Wright looking to find some consistency with his equipment and his game.
Wright played OJ in Minehead and last week in Exeter but both times he was done by the mercurial Mensur, something that he is getting used to considering their head-to-head record. Here he has the perfect chance to rebound as he runs into the favourite to be relegated in ninth place, Raymond van Barneveld. The equation is simple, if Wright gets an early cushion, he wins. If he comes out of the gun like gunge, Raymond might scratch away and steal more points away from Peter.
Raymond was defiant on Twitter this week saying that he isn’t going to give up now that he is out of the top 32 places in the world rankings. After watching his only game at Minehead though, where he was outclassed by Simon Stevenson, you can’t help but worry about RVB and how much intensity he is bringing to his matches. It just isn’t there, and it feels like he needs a catalyst to get him going. In Exeter he was defeated by Bully Boy and some classy stuff, but Raymond had no answer. This is why we all think he has the number nine shirt waiting for him come Judgement Night, and why he won’t be playing past Rotterdam.
He just isn’t playing as well as all the others, and Wright even though he is not sure of himself right now, is still mentally strong enough to get this win.
MVG v John Henderson
MVG has had a rather ordinary week with a loss in the PL courtesy of Wade in Exeter, and then an early exit in The UK Open for the second straight year, this time to Mervyn King. Anyone who rights off MVG at this point needs their head examining, but questions are being asked and theories are being discussed as to whether his decade old darts have hit the tipping point of weight loss. We have all speculated as to when he will have to use a new set, and he may be nearing that point now.
The last thing you want when you’ve had a bad week is to roll into Aberdeen and play one of the cult heroes in all of darts, and that is Big John Henderson. He is loved like no other in that part of Scotland as he lives very close by in Huntly, Aberdeenshire. He will get a walk on and reception that will more than likely eclipse that of Dobey in The Toon and Lennon in Dublin, and he will seriously test MVG in more ways than one.
Hendo has played consistently well this year and this chance to shine in Aberdeen is completely warranted after years of service to Scottish darts. He does also have history with MVG in big games and Hendo has beaten Michael in the first round of The Grand Prix in a shorter format match before, so he can do this. The entire PL field will want him to get the result too, just to keep MVG within range.
I do see John being inspired here and MVG getting some heckling, but you can’t back against Michael in an arena where he set the world record average of 123.40.
If there was a bet on which arena would be loudest for a walk-on, this would be favourite, because the roof is in serious trouble of flying off on Thursday night.
UniBets of the night
1 – Rob Cross to win and have highest checkout – 3/1 That has Robs name written all over it.
2 – Wade and Gurney to be 2-2 after 4 legs at 11/8. This game should start cautiously and this is an extremely likely score at that point.
3 – MVG 9-darter is 40/1. The longest odds I’ve seen for him to hit one in some time. The PL is due for one as well, and there have been two in this arena previously, so it lends itself to good play.
A £10 treble on our UniBets of the night returns £3903.20!
